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CinémaTuesdays
The Radiance of a grand acteur:
Michel Piccoli
June 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30, 2009
July 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2009

A small window into the colossal film career of radiant French actor Michel Piccoli, whose talent for “listening, entering into the secret… to be the best marionette that they had imagined” (Piccoli) enabled him to adapt to characters without altering his essential iconic screen persona. A tireless performer, he has collaborated with Godard, Buñuel, and many of cinema’s greatest directors.

Contempt
Le Mépris
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Jean-Luc Godard, 1963. Color. 102 min.
Cinematographer: Raoul Coutard
In French with English subtitles
With Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli, Fritz Lang, Jack Palance

Arguably Godard’s greatest film, Contempt stars Piccoli
as a screenwriter-for-hire enlisted to rewrite an adaptation
of The Odyssey. Bardot, luminous as ever, is his wife who
finds herself helplessly watching their marriage fall to pieces.
An achingly beautiful score and Raoul Coutard’s sumptuous
cinematography bolster the quietly devastating lead
performances.

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The Prude
La Puritaine
Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Jacques Doillon, 1986. Color. 90 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Michel Piccoli, Sabine Azéma, Sandrine Bonnaire

A theater director (Piccoli) learns that his estranged daughter will be visiting him and scrambles to prepare for their reunion. His troupe collectively acts as his daughter to help him rehearse their encounter, but all goes awry when the girl finally appears. Piccoli balances his tricky union of performance and pathos masterfully.

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May Fools
Milou en Mai
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Louis Malle, 1990. Color. 107 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Miou-Miou, Michel Piccoli, Michel Duchaussoy,
Bruno Carette

A bitterly funny film from Malle, May Fools sets one family’s turmoil against the backdrop of the 1968 uprisings.
Madame Vieuzac long held her family together; her death, therefore, exhumes old tensions and threatens to descend them into chaos. The encroaching unrest of the student rebellions adds sudden perspective to their plight.

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I’m Going Home
Je rentre à la maison
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Manoel de Oliveira, 2001. Color. 90 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Michel Piccoli, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich,
Antoine Chappey
Nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes

In the twilight of their careers, Piccoli and de Oliveira collaborated on this masterpiece about an aging actor who learns that he has lost his family in a car crash. The life he forges after his loss is a tribute to his art, his city, and his mourned loved ones.

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The Creatures
Les Créatures
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Agnès Varda, 1966. B&W. 92 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Eva Dhalbeck,
Marie-France Mignal

A grisly accident leaves an author injured and his pregnant wife mute. As both persevere in their need to conceive, their sense of friendship, community, and creation takes new shape, with sometimes fantastical results. Deneuve and Piccoli, always outstanding in their work together, are especially moving in this Agnès Varda film.

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Belle de jour
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Luis Buñuel, 1967. Color. 101 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli,
Geneviève Page

A pivotal film for all involved, Belle de Jour stands as one of Buñuel’s most enduring and mysterious works. Deneuve is Séverine—young, newly married and already bored with life. As violent fantasies interrupt the tedium of her life, she seeks work in a brothel as a prostitute.

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The Things of Life
Les choses de la vie
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Claude Sautet, 1970. Color. 89 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Michel Piccoli, Romy Schneider, Gérard Lartigau,
Jean Buise
Nominated for the Golden Palm and winner of the Prix Louis Delluc at Cannes

A successful businessman lies dying in a road, paralyzed from a collision with another car. In his final moments, he looks back on his life and recalls his dreams for the future, which are now fading. Piccoli, in a complex performance, embraces a lifetime of emotion.

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The Woman in Blue
La femme en bleu
Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Michel Deville, 1973. Color. 95 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Michel Piccoli, Léa Massari, Michel Aumont,
Geneviève Fontanel, Amarande

A glimpse of a woman seizes Pierre (Piccoli), haunting him long after the moment has passed. Determined to locate the mysterious woman in blue, he even enlists his occasional mistress in the search, only furthering the rift between them. As the hunt continues, his obsession threatens to devour him.

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Everything’s Fine, We’re Leaving
Tout va bien, on s’en va
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 12:30, 4 & 7:30pm

Claude Mouriéras, 2000. Color. 96 min.
In French with English subtitles
With Michel Piccoli, Natacha Régnier, Miou-Miou,
Sandrine Kiberlain

A highlight of Piccoli’s later films, Everything’s Fine chronicles a man’s attempt to reunite with his three daughters after fifteen years of silence. Now grown women, the daughters find themselves caught between their still-burning resentment and a muted desire for reconciliation. Evident to all, though, is their father’s growing sickness.

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Venue
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th Street

Ticket Prices
FIAF Members Free** ($2 advance tickets)
Non-Members $10
Students w/ ID $7
**Free tickets are distributed on the day of the event.
Present your membership card at the box office.

Special Offer
Present your ticket and receive a 15% discount on your bill at Bistro 60 (37 E 60 St). Valid only on date printed on ticket.

Series curated by Marie Losier

Cinéma at FIAF is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency

The FIAF Spring 2009 Season is made possible by support from American Airlines, the official airline of FIAF; the Cultural Services of the French Embassy; Florence Gould Foundation; and the Herbert J. Seligmann Charitable Trust

Photos courtesy of Photofest