Film Studies: 5 Forgotten Gems of French Cinema

The cinema of France is often overshadowed by the same few films made during the country’s New Wave period, this course seeks to (re)visit and examine ‘some’ all too often overlooked films of this era but also go beyond it. Prior to the New Wave, 1930s France had already had its ‘Poetic Realism’ movement, of which Jean Renoir’s Le Grande Illusion involving German and French Officers as Prisoners of War during WW1 is regarded by many as an anti-war/class commentary masterpiece yet it remains little seen. Whilst Jean Luc Goddard’s noir-ish Alphaville adds a touch of futuristic sci-fi to what is typically a Hollywood genre. The iconic, but lesser seen, Last Year at Marienbad presents a psychological puzzle and was a huge stylistic influence on films such as The Draughtsman’s Contract and others. Orphee takes us into a romantic fantasy from the mind of Jean Cocteau (La Belle et la Bette). Whilst Left Bank artist and filmmaker Anges Varda’s documentary The Gleaners & I makes a late career use of her signature ‘cinecricture’ (cinema-writing) style. We discuss the intentions beyond all these films, consider they say about French cinema and there appeal then and now. Alphaville (1965), Last Year at Marienbad (1961), Orphee (1950), Le Grande Illusion (1937), The Gleaners & I (2000).