Anne Keenan Higgins - Le Cinema Francais: An Illustrated Guide to the Best of French Films

WHEN I FIRST SAW THE NOUVELLE VAGUE (FRENCH NEW WAVE) film bout de souffle (Breathless), directed by Jean-Luc Godard, I wanted to be Jean Seberg. Her pixie haircut and androgynous style were, to me, the definition of cool. But, at the time, chopping off my very long hair was never going to happen. Instead, I found a pair of mod black sunglasses and stocked my closet with striped Breton shirts. The style of Ms. Seberg is but a small part of what youll find when you delve into the forty French films this book celebrates.

Although Le Cinma Franais spans the 1950s to modern day, it emphasizes New Wave cinema, including award-winning films Jules et Jim (Jules and Jim), Les quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows), and Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg). But latter-day cult films like Diva, La Femme Nikita, and Amlie are equally deserving of discussion. You may recognize most films by their French titles. I have included the official US release titles, too.

On these pages, youll read about the work of Franois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, Alain Resnais, and Agns Vardaiconoclast directors who broke the rules of the traditional in-studio productions and shot on location, invented innovative camera techniques, and shared personal and political stories. The illustrations highlight the vibrant realism of the streets of Paris, quaint French villages, and beautiful beaches and villas along the coastline.

There is no need to be a film aficionado to enjoy this book; it is for anyone enchanted by French culture. You will recognize movie icons, such as the timeless beauty Catherine Deneuve and femme fatale Brigitte Bardot, and meet a few less familiar actors, such as the incredibly handsome Alain Delon and hypnotizing Franoise Dorlac. Let these captivating creatures be your hosts on a one-of-a-kind tour of French cinema.

Vive la France!

The movie opens in a small French town at the Delassalle Boarding School for boys, which is owned by a wealthy, fragile, and sickly headmistress named Christina (played by Vra Clouzot, the film directors wife). Michel Delassalle, her sadistic and abusive husband and the school principal, is openly having an affair with one of the teachers, Nicole, played by Simone Signoret. Nicole, too, is subject to his despicable treatment. The two desperate women soon bond over Michels horrid behavior and join forces to devise a plan to do away with him for good.

Wasting no time, Nicole tampers with a bottle of whiskey and persuades Christina to make Michel drink it. The co-conspirators then drag his drugged body into a tub full of water, drown him, and dump his waterlogged body into the schools filthy swimming pool. The true intrigue of the movie begins when Michels body mysteriously disappears from the pool and the suit he was wearing returns from the dry cleaner. After that, Christina begins to see and hear things that arent really thereor are they?

Days later, a body turns up in the Seine, and Christina is asked to meet Inspector Fichet at the morgue. Unfortunately, its not Michel, and Fichet offers some unwanted help to find her husband. As he digs deep into the case, Christina and Nicole remain bundles of nerves and anxiously wait an ending, which no one sees coming.

Les diaboliques has been described as one of the most suspenseful psychological thrillers of all time. With its masterful surprise ending, Clouzot was compelled to implore viewers not to reveal the ending to their friends, and he added a final frame with the message: Do not be devils! Do not ruin the interest your friends could take in this film. Do not tell them what you saw. Theyll thank you.

Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955

Starring Simone Signoret, Vra Clouzot, and Paul Meurisse