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Mélodie en sous-sol [Any Number Can Win] (Henri Verneuil, 1963)
Nov
22
banquet
Backstage at the Cannes casino, stars and stagehands enjoy their well-deserved end-of-season banquet. Just walking in front of the showgirls is piano player Sam (Jimmy Davis). DP: Louis Page.
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Compartiment tueurs [The Sleeping Car Murder] (Costa-Gavras, 1965)
Nov
8
Eliane Darrès (Simone Signoret) – comédienne, by herself – takes a long hard look at her table-set-for-two. DP: Jean Tournier.
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La horse [Horse] (Pierre Granier-Deferre, 1970)
Aug
23
baguette
Auguste Maroilleur (Jean Gabin) at the head of a long table, covered in Good Things (wine, butter, coffee, and fresh milk). He cuts a baguette with his pocketknife. DP: Walter Wottitz.
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Simone Barbès ou la vertu (Marie-Claude Treilhou, 1980)
Jun
19
pâté
Two female porn theatre ushers (Ingrid Bourgoin and Martine Simonet) looking bored. They sit under two large eye-shaped neon lights. Between them a small table with various half-consumed items, including part of a baguette with pâté. DP: Jean-Yves Escoffier.
– Ah, regarde, c'est Tati !
– Tati qui?
– Tati, comme Mon Oncle.
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Plein soleil [Purple Noon] (René Clément, 1960)
Jun
15
croissants
Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) going though his passport over breakfast. Multiple passport photos, a fountain pen, and a magnifying glass take precedence over his fresh croissants. DP: Henri Decaë.
“Why bother having money when you can spend other people's?”
– Philippe Greenleaf
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Série noire (Alain Corneau, 1979)
Apr
9
canned pilchards
Franck Poupart (Patrick Dewaere) about to dig into a can of pilchards. A pile of French women's magazine “marie claire” is next to him on an otherwise bare coffee table. DP: Pierre-William Glenn.
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Io la conoscevo bene [I Knew Her Well] (Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965)
Apr
2
cocktails
A lone Roberto (Enrico Maria Salerno) at a lively cocktail party in Rome's hypermodern EUR district. DP: Armando Nannuzzi.
“Trouble is, she likes everything. She's always happy. She desires nothing, envies no one, is curious about nothing. You can't surprise her. She doesn't notice the humiliations, though they happen to her every day. It all rolls off her back like some waterproof material. Zero ambition. No moral code. Not even a whore's love of money.”
– the writer
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Max et les ferrailleurs [Max and the Junkmen] (Claude Sautet, 1971)
Mar
16
Lily (Schneider) and Max (Piccoli) at a small table decked with good food, good wine, and quite a few wads of cash. DP: René Mathelin.
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Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Mar
12
Michel (Martin LaSalle) in a busy café, observing. An emptied water glass next to the thief should make him look like a paying guest. DP: Léonce-Henri Burel.
“Can we not admit that certain skilled men, gifted with intelligence, talent or even genius, and thus indispensable to society, rather than stagnate, should be free to disobey laws in certain cases?”
– Michel
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Les scélérats [The Wretches] (Robert Hossein, 1960)
Feb
26
canapés
Maid Louise (Perrette Pradier) holding a platter with canapés at a black tie party. Observing her is the master of the house, Jess Rooland (Robert Hossein). DP: Jacques Robin.
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