“The pickings were poor and not worth the risk.”
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Sep
6
Sun
The newspaper of Sunday, September 6, announcing a derby. DP: Léonce-Henri Burel.
– Michel
Mélodie en sous-sol [Any Number Can Win] (Henri Verneuil, 1963)
Sep
6
Tue
Mario (Henri Virlojeux), bathhouse proprietor. A nearby wall calendar reads mardi, septembre 6. DP: Louis Page.
“That's the trouble with young people – they're so doggone young!”
Touchez pas au grisbi (Jacques Becker, 1954)
Sep
5
1953
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A hand holds up a paper announcing a large reward for who knows more about eight stolen gold bars. The crime took place at Orly Airport on September 5, 1953. DP: Pierre Montazel.
– Max
E-clip-se (Chris Marker, 1999)
Aug
11
1999
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A young woman or child at the Jardin des plantes de Paris wears protective glasses while looking up in amazement during the August 11, 1999 solar eclipse, her baguette a vague memory. DP: Chris Marker.
“I don't give a damn. But I have the jewels and I need the money.”
Le doulos [The Informer] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962)
Jun
12
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Belmondo and a white woman in a Cheongsam – both looking straight at us – awkwardly sit at a small round table in some sort of nightclub-ish establishment. There are cigarettes, an empty glass, and an ice bucket in front of her. DP: Nicolas Hayer.
– Silien
“Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible”
Grands soirs & petits matins [May Days] (William Klein, 1978)
May
24
1968
Sorbonne students discussing the political situation with an elderly Parisian man. DPs: William Klein & Bernard Lutic.
– May 68 slogan
“Hélène Picard, born in Lyon, May 20, 1943. A child in care, she is reported as a runaway, a thief and unstable.”
La Femme Bourreau [A Woman Kills] (Jean-Denis Bonan, 1968)
May
20
1943
A dark-haired woman lounging on a bed. DP: Gérard de Battista.
Beaubourg, centre d'art et de culture Georges Pompidou [Beaubourg] (Roberto Rossellini, 1977)
Jan
31
1977
Rossellini on site. DPs: Néstor Almendros, Jean Chiabaut & Emmanuel Machuel.
“Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”
Soleil Ô [Oh, Sun] (Med Hondo, 1970)
Dec
10
Human Rights Day
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An optimistic Robert Liensol in the city of lights (via). DPs: François Catonné & Jean-Claude Rahaga.
Celebrating human rights on Human Rights Day: the right to work
– Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations General Assembly
A Mauritanian immigrant (Robert Liensol) too starts anew in Paris. But first, he'll need a job.
– The Paris Court of Appeals, meeting on October 15, 1959, pursuant to the charges against Dominique Marceau. – With a girl like that, truth may be the best defense for once.
La vérité [The Truth] (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960)
Oct
15
1959
Gilbert (Sami Frey) and Dominique (Brigitte Bardot). DP: Armand Thirard.
The day of the court case. Numerous other dates are mentioned, all in flashbacks.