Love Exists
Early Short Films of the French New Wave
•
19m
Directed by Maurice Pialat • Documentary • 1961 • 19 minutes
Maurice Pialat may have grown up in the suburbs, but he has little love for them. In this poetic but critical essay, he turns his gaze to a range of post-war Paris suburbs: From the bourgeois plots of land where the “little” aesthetic dominates (“little house,” “little garden,” “nice little quiet life”), to massive new apartment blocks, and even shantytowns. And the film is prescient in drawing attention to class segregation and disparity of opportunity between those who live in Paris and in the towns that ring the metropolis.
Music by Georges Delerue.
Up Next in Early Short Films of the French New Wave
-
The Overworked
Directed by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze • Drama • 1957 • 25 minutes
A morality tale about the dangers of modern urban life. Catherine (Yane Barry), a champion young typist from small-town France, heads to Paris to be with her fiancé (Jean-Pierre Cassel) — who also happens to be her new boss. Living ...
-
The Marines
Directed by François Reichenbach • Documentary • 1957 • 21 minutes
François Reichenbach follows a group of young men from the day they enlist in the US Marine Corps, all the way through basic training. The power of this is twofold. It lies in the poetic visuals focused on the men’s faces and exp...
-
In Memory of Rock
Directed by François Reichenbach • Documentary • With Johnny Hallyday, Les Chaussettes Noires • 1963 • 11 minutes
IN MEMORY OF ROCK captures the power, promise, and fear generated by the early days of rock n’roll. It is also a fascinating study in the juxtaposition of image and music. Outside an...
