Acclaimed French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier also happens to be a dedicated film historian. Tavernier brings his two professional callings together in this epic documentary that offers a personal look at the cinema that shaped and excited him as both a cinephile and a filmmaker. Rather than serving up a traditional recounting of French film history, Tavernier lets his own path of discovery guide his appreciation, starting with Jacques Becker and Jean Renoir, the first filmmakers who impressed him, and moving on to screenwriter Jacques Prévert, actors Jean Gabin and Eddie Constantine, and composers Maurice Jaubert and Joseph Kosma. It's a subjective tour through French cinema history with fresh insights and a particular focus on crime cinema. Tavernier explores the poetic realism of the 1930s and the values of post-war France reflected in 1950s gangster films, both of which were guided in part by Gabin's scuffed dignity and world-weary morality, and director Jean-Pierre Melville (who Tavernier served as an assistant). Some of the greatest and most celebrated French filmmakers are never mentioned (silent film pioneers Louis Feuillade and Abel Gance, the influential René Clair, or the singular Robert Bresson) and the Nouvelle Vague and its key directors are practically an afterthought, but the film also champions lesser-known directors and artists such as Edmond T. Greville, so viewers will end this journey with a whole new cinematic map to explore. Extras include an interview with Tavernier and fellow director Jean Ollé-Laprune. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Axmaker)
My Journey Through French Cinema
(2016) 192 min. In French w/English subtitles. DVD: $25.99, Blu-ray: $30.99. Cohen Media Group (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 2
My Journey Through French Cinema
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