view
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
view
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.”
view
Le 15 mai (Claire Denis, 1971)
May
15
Thu
“Of course, it's the 15th of May.”
view
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut [A Man Escaped] (Robert Bresson, 1956)
May
2
A hand with dirty nails writing on a scrap of paper with a pencil stump. It starts “Mai 2 Ma chère maman, Je suis à la pris[…]“. DP: Léonce-Henri Burel.
“With nothing to do, no news and in terrible solitude, we were 100 unfortunates awaiting our fate. I had no illusions about my own. If I could only escape, run away…”
– Fontaine
view
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.
view
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
view
Les yeux cernés [Marked Eyes] (Robert Hossein, 1964)
Apr
2
1964
A typed request on official stationary dated April 2, requesting to show up at the police precinct on April 4, 1964. DP: Jean Boffety.
view
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.
view
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
view
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.
.png)
