Journeys Through French Cinema

Bertrand Tavernier discusses the directors who have both influenced him personally and impacted French Cinema: Max Ophuls, Jean Grémillon and Henri Decoin.

In part two, Tavernier explores the format and thematic approaches of Sacha Guitry, Marcel Pagnol, Jacques Tati, and Robert Bresson.

Tavernier dissects the importance of music in French Cinema with palpable enthusiasm. He treats us to a feast of joyous clips from beloved classics like Agnès Varda's CLEO FROM 5 TO 9, Louis Malle's VIVA MARIA!, and Jacques Demy's THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT, before honing in to focus on prolific director Julien Duvivier.

Tavernier explores the ways in which French Cinema was enriched by foreign talent as many directors were forced to leave their native countries and settle in France. Filmmakers discussed include Viktor Tourjanski, Robert Siodmak, and André Cayatte.

As a postscript to his survey of moviemaking in occupied France, Tavernier takes a deep dive into how that period of history impacted films by three essential directors - Claude Autant-Lara, René Clément, and Henri-Georges Clouzet - all the way through their post WWII work.

In seeking to upgrade his own outmoded perspective on several filmmakers such as Raymond Bernard, Maurice Tourneur, Anatole Litvak, René Clair, and Jean Boyer, Tavernier credits critic/programmer Patrick Brion and other writers for championing directors who, decades after their heyday, were finally restored to the respect they deserve.

Tavernier continues to spotlight director names that might be unfamiliar even to ardent film buffs and unveils glorious restored footage from one of France's first-ever color films, 1936's LA TERRE QUI MEURT.

Tavernier recounts firsthand experiences from his 10 rewarding years as a press attache to and with legendary producer and publicist Pierre Rissient.