NEW FRENCH RESTORATIONS
ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN'T
Each month of our fall calendar features recently rediscovered gems from French cinema history that will be shown in newly restored versions. Three of the selections, Agnes Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t, Diane Kurys’ Peppermint Soda and Jacques Rivette’s Duelle, show the directors working in the 1970s and delivering some of their finest achievements. Poet and filmmaker Jean Cocteau is represented by his post-war classic Les Parents Terribles, one of only a handful of features Cocteau ever directed.
- Fri., Sep. 14 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Varda’s offbeat and upbeat musical tells of the deep bond that develops over ten years between teenaged Pauline (Mairesse) and young mother Suzanne (Liotard). Tracing the dawning of the women’s movement in the late 1960s/early 1970s, One Sings, the Other Doesn’t also finds time for a digressive Middle East adventure! A brand-new digital restoration will be shown.
- Fri., Oct. 19 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
In this adaptation of director Cocteau’s play, middle-aged couple Yvonne and Georges set up an elaborate plot to thwart the romance between their 22-year-old son Michel (played by Marais, Cocteau’s muse and star of Beauty and the Beast) and Georges’s former mistress, Madeleine. Recruited to help is Léo, Yvonne’s sister who is another old flame of Georges’s. “Cocteau's dramatic model, as ever, never strays too far from Greek tragedy and resolves appropriately” (Glenn Kenny, The New York Times). A new 2K restoration will be screened.
- Sat., Nov. 10 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Kurys’ critically-celebrated debut feature and autobiographical memory piece captures a particular moment in the tumultuous life and development of sisters Anne (Klarwein) and Frederique (Michel), both entering their teen years in 1963 France. Torn between divorced parents and struggling with the confines of their strict school, the two girls undergo awakenings both political and romantic. “Peppermint Soda feels timeless and relatable while also specific to its era - Kurys herself was between Anne's and Frédérique's ages in the years the film takes place” (Kristen Yoonsoon Kim, Village Voice).
- Sat., Dec. 8 | 7:00 PM4070 Vilas Hall
Rivette followed up his celebrated Celine and Julie Go Boating with another fantasy about two women, this time plunging headlong into dream logic. Two goddesses battle in contemporary Paris over a magic diamond that will allow the winner to remain on Earth. Rapturous and enigmatic, Duelle has frequently been cited as a precursor to the work of David Lynch. (MK)