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Jun
12
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.
“I don't give a damn. But I have the jewels and I need the money.”
– Silien
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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.
“Soyez réalistes, demandez l'impossible”
– May 68 slogan
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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.
“Hélène Picard, born in Lyon, May 20, 1943. A child in care, she is reported as a runaway, a thief and unstable.”
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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.
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Soleil Ô [Oh, Sun] (Med Hondo, 1970)
Dec
10
Human Rights Day
“Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”
– 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.
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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.
– 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.
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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.
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Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
Sep
6
Sun
The newspaper of Sunday, September 6, announcing a derby. DP: Léonce-Henri Burel.
“The pickings were poor and not worth the risk.”
– Michel
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Petit à petit [Little by Little] (Jean Rouch, 1970)
Sep
3
Skyscraper Day
Damouré (Damouré Zika) measures a Parisian with craniology callipers. No skyscraper in this still, but there's scaffolding. DP: Jean Rouch.
In the sequel to Rouch's Jaguar (1967), Damouré wants a high rise for his Niger business with “as many floors as he has wives”. He decides to travel to Paris to learn about the construction of such building, and what made Paris to the Paris of today. While there, he gets distracted by the peculiarities of the French natives. Worried about Damouré's increasingly puzzling postcards, his company sends out Lam (Lam Ibrahim Dia) to bring him home.
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Les Vampires [The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of Paris] (Louis Feuillade, 1915/1916)
Aug
24
black
Black, in food or fashion*
“It is vital to be photogenic from head to foot. After that you are allowed to display some measure of talent.”
– Musidora
Possibly the first, and definitely the most, iconic catsuit in cinema is worn by Musidora as Irma Vep in Les Vampires. Skintight and scandalous, Musidora's screen presence in the serial further cemented the popularity of the vamp and set the scene for many man-eaters to come.
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