week 14 ~ French Réalisme Poétique

French Réalisme Poétique
“Il peut être erroné d'entre eux, mais ils la valeur de leurs vies.”!
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~ Robert de la Cheyniest, La règle du jeu (1939)!
French Réalisme Poétique
!  In the early 1930 s, the French tendency toward fantasy during
the silent era continued.!
!  The Surrealist tradition also lingered in many works, though
these were not as violent and chaotic as other popular Surrealist
films. !
Der Andere (1913)
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Experimental sound in Á nous, la liberté! (1931)!
Der student von Prag (1913)
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Pierre Chenal’s vision of Crime et châtiment (1935) !
!  Many important French films of the 1930 s were high-quality
studio productions, while others were literary adaptations.!
French Réalisme Poétique
!  Réalisme Poétique is a style of studio filmmaking during the
1930’s that seeks to recreate realistic scenarios.!
!  Réaliste films typically center on unemployed members of the
working class who leading disappointing lives, or on criminals
living on the margins of society. !
Jean and Nelly in Le Quai des brumes (1938)!
Pépé’s arrest in Pépé le Moko (1936)!
!  Characters usually get a last chance at love, fortune, or some
form of success, however, they fall short, and films frequently
end with disillusionment or death.!
French Réalisme Poétique
!  The overall tone of Réalisme Poétique is one of nostalgia and
bitterness. !
!  Films are viewed as "poetic" because of their exaggeration and
aestheticism of love, doomed romance, and lower-class poverty,
which ultimately function to critique contemporary social
conditions in France.!
Love and fate in La grand jeu (1934)
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Drab aesthetic of L’Atalante (1934)
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French Réalisme Poétique
La grande illusion!
Directed by !
Jean Renoir!
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Written by !
Jean Renoir &
Charles Spaak!
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Réalisation d art
cinématographique,
(1937) 114 mins.!
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