As a postscript to his survey of moviemaking in France under German occupation, Tavernier takes a deep dive into how that period of history impacted films by three essential directorsâClaude Autant-Lara, RenĂ© ClĂ©ment, and Henri-Georges Clouzotâall the way through their post-WWII work. They had completely different mĂ©tiers, but each can be seen as ahead of his time and as part of a New Wave even before the one formally labeled as such. Availing himself of archival interviews with the subjects and their colleagues, Tavernier marvels at Laraâs proto-feminist narratives (the Woman in White films, Le Mariage de Chiffon); ClĂ©mentâs brio with performers and framing detail (Forbidden Games, Purple Noon); and Clouzotâs novelistic eye that is loving but never sentimental (The Raven, The Wages of Fear).
My Journey Through French Cinema (2017), Bertrand Tavernierâs CĂ©sar-nominated three-and-a-half-hour tour through French film history, was too short to introduce audiences to all that he wanted to share. In this new eight-part series (8x55min), the acclaimed director of such films as Coup de Torchon and âRound Midnight guides us through a roster of filmmakers both influential and forgotten, explores how his countryâs cinema was shaped by the German occupation and changed again through the New Wave, spotlights little-known female filmmakers, and more. Subjects include: RenĂ© ClĂ©ment, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Julien Duvivier, Henri Decoin, Claude Autant-Lara, as well as composers who made movie music an art in and of itself, far from the Hollywood spotlight.
