Le combat dans l'île (Alain Cavalier, 1962)
Jul
8
lait
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Clément (Jean-Louis Trintignant) – well-suited in a wood-panelled elevator – opening a milk bottle. DP: Pierre Lhomme.
“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
– I saw you the other morning, eating frites. – I like frites.
Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
frites
Anne (Isabelle Corey), a cute blonde with a beret, eats a fry (French, obviously) while giving us a side glance. It's all very proto-Vague. DP: Henri Decaë.
“I'd even lose at hopscotch these days.”
Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
Friday
Bob (Roger Duchesne) at the tables, gambling. DP: Henri Decaë.
An unlucky character on Friday the 13th
– Bob Montagné
Bob gambles, and always wins. But then he starts losing. And not just games.
“Their heritage of instability, extravagant caprice, and natural elegance was their paternal portion.”
Les enfants terribles [The Terrible Children] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1950)
Nov
13
World Orphans Day
The siblings – children on the cusp of adulthood, played by adults – sharing a bed. Elisabeth (Nicole Stéphane) points up towards the ceiling with one arm wrapped around her brother Paul's (Edouard Dermithe) neck. Both wear dressing gowns. DP: Henri Decaë.
With their mother bedridden, Elisabeth (Nicole Stéphane) nurtures her snowball-fight-injured brother Paul (Edouard Dermithe) back to health.
– Jean Cocteau, Les enfants terribles (1929)
Withdrawn in their family home, they form a strong manipulative bond, drawing others into their games.
“I never lose. Never really.”
Le Samouraï [The Samurai] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1967)
Apr
25
License Plates Day
A pair of hands switching license plates on the front of a Citroën DS. The scene is almost black-and-white. DP: Henri Decaë.
Hitman Jef Costello (Alain Delon) coolly drives a #Citroën DS 21 to his garagiste (André Salgues), who routinely switches the license plates in a beautifully wordless, efficiently lit scene.