Journeys Through French Cinema

In part two of his discussion of influential filmmakers, Tavernier explores the formal and thematic approaches of Sacha Guitry, Marcel Pagnol, Jacques Tati, and Robert Bresson. The first two directors were introduced to Tavernier through the writings of Francois Truffaut, who championed their style as modernist despite the naysaying of the majority of critics at the time. Tavernier notes the ways in which Guitry’s playful self-reflexivity in particular paved the way for the New Wave. Despite their differences in style and tone, Tavernier is a great admirer of both Bresson and Tati. Using clips from THE DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST, A MAN ESCAPED, MR. HULOT’S HOLIDAY, PLAYTIME and more, he draws parallels between the ways the two filmmakers utilize space in the frame, and manage to balance realism and fable.