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Le mépris [Contempt] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
May
5
Europe Day
Michel Piccoli, director Fritz Lang, Jack Palance, and director Jean-Luc Godard behind the scenes. The clapperboard held by Godard is for the movie that Lang's working on in Le Mépris, an adaption of Homer's Odyssey. DP: Raoul Coutard.
A director from the EU for Europe Day
“Producers are something I can easily do without”
– Fritz Lang
A film in a film, the latter directed by Fritz Lang, directed by Godard.
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Todo modo [One Way or Another] (Elio Petri, 1976)
May
1
National Day of Prayer
M. (Gian Maria Volontè) speaks to the gathered elite while a gypsum Christ multiplies bread and fishes. DP: Luigi Kuveiller.
“Have you ever tried to dress as a priest? Try it, at least once. It's a bit like being a woman. In summer the breeze enters under the genitals. You can go without briefs. Priests are half men and half women.”
– Don Gaetano
Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, Italy's political leaders, industrialists, bankers, and business leaders gather for a retreat as an atonement for their past crimes of corruption and unethical practices, and to reinforce their power.
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Les demoiselles de Rochefort [The Young Girls of Rochefort] (Jacques Demy, 1967)
APr
10
Siblings Day
Sisters Delphine and Solange Garnier mid-song, played by real-world sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac. DP: Ghislain Cloquet.
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Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie] (Luis Buñuel, 1972)
Feb
16
No One Eats Alone Day
The diners at a long table. DP: Edmond Richard.
“My God. What am I doing in this place?”
– Henri Sénéchal
The bourgeoisie meet for dinner in various settings, but never consume.
* this event takes place on the Friday of the second full week in February, which makes the 2025 date February 14.
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Adieu Philippine [Farewell, Philippine] (Jacques Rozier, 1962)
Feb
11
friendship
Juliette and Liliane (Stefania Sabatini and Yveline Céry) walk along a promenade in a beautiful, vérité tracking shot. DP: René Mathelin.
A film about friendship for Jennifer Anniston's birthday (1969).
1960. Michel is due to leave for Algeria to serve in the Algerian War. Juliette and Liliane are best friends as inseparable as “Filipino almonds”(?). When they meet, the girls decide to join Michel on his final vacation, on Corsica.
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L'udienza [The Audience] (Marco Ferreri, 1972)
Feb
2
Aiche (Claudia Cardinale) washing Principe Donati's (Vittorio Gassman) feet. DP: Mario Vulpiani.
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Mauvais sang [Bad Blood / The Night Is Young] (Leos Carax, 1986)
Jan
8
David Bowie's birthday
(Alex) Denis Lavant in a scene set to David Bowie's Modern Love. DP: Jean-Yves Escoffier.
A [favourite] scene featuring a Bowie song for David Bowie's birthday (1947).
“They pulled in just behind the fridge
He lays her down, he frowns
“Gee, my life's a funny thing
Am I still too young?”
He kissed her then and there
She took his ring, took his babies
It took him minutes, took her nowhere
Heaven knows, she'd have taken anything”
– David Bowie, Modern Love (from Let's Dance, 1983)
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Touche pas à la femme blanche [Don't Touch the White Woman!] (Marco Ferreri, 1974)
Nov
23
potato chips
“Whoever dies for the country hasn't lived in vain. I, on the contrary, will live for the country because I'm not that stupid.”
– George A. Custer
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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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Les créatures [The Creatures] (Agnès Varda, 1966)
Aug
29
Mylène (Catherine Deneuve) and Edgar (Michel Piccoli) Piccoli playing checkers at a small table. DPs: Willy Kurant, William Lubtchansky & Jean Orjollet.
“Everything is rotten. Decadence is everywhere. Why fight it?”