Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WWI inspires a new realism: portraits of ordinary lives dominate film. Watch La
Grande Illusion(The Great Illusion; 1937), based on the trench-warfare experience of
director Jean Renoir.
1940s
Surrealists eschew realism. Watch Jean Cocteau's La Belle et la Bête(Beauty and the
Beast; 1946) and Orphée(Orpheus; 1950). WWII saps the film industry of both talent
and money.
1950s
Nouvelle Vague (New Wave): small budgets, no stars and real-life subject matter pro-
duce uniquely personal films. Watch Jean-Luc Goddard's carefree, B&W celebration
of Paris À Bout de Souffle (Breathless; 1959).
1960s
France - land of romance: take in Claude Lelouch's Un Homme et une Femme(A Man
and a Woman; 1966) and Jacques Demy's Les Parapluies de Cherbourg(The Umbrel-
las of Cherbourg; 1964).
1980s
Big-name stars, slick production values and nostalgia: generous state subsidies see
filmmakers switch to costume dramas and comedies in the face of growing competi-
tion from the USA.
1990s
Box-office hits starring France's best-known, biggest-nosed actor, Gérard Depardieu,
win over huge audiences in France and abroad. See Cyrano de Bergerac(1990) and
Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre(2002).
2000s
Renaissance: Parisian philanthropeAmélie is the subject of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Le
Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain(2001), the first of a string of French-made films to
succeed globally.
