Formal Film Study: Films Francais

Trois films francais assez differentes, mais avec des similarites subtils et une disposition eternel.

Films: For this formal film study I chose to look at three films from France. Two of the films A Bout de Souffle (Breathless), and Quatre Cent Coups (400 Blows) are iconic films from the French New Wave era of 1960. My third choice Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (Amelie) is a more recent 2001 film starring Audrey Tautou that is full of quirky avant-garde imagery and romantic comedy scenes akin to Richard Curtis's Love Actually.

Here are trailers for each of the films to give you an idea of what each film is about:

A Bout de Souffle:

Quatre Cent Coups:

Amelie:

Now that we have a few snapshots:

How are these three films connected?

It would be easy just to say uh, well, they're all French films filmed near Paris, and they feature French directors, French actors and French sound and lighting and cinematography people...however, I didn't watch these three movies just to practice my french accent.

All three of these films are captivating works of art that break the boundaries of film-making in the times they were made to make all audiences, french speaking or not, ponder daily life,  ambitions, and our relationships with one another.

How?

Between Breathless, 400 blows, and Amelie I can pick out a number of striking similarities in over style and composition. All of these films tend to experiment a bit with atypical artsy shots and editing. In all of these films we see many "dutch" angle shots where the camera is set purposely off axis to emphasize some important aspect of the characters expression or reaction. In one particular scene from Amelie, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet uses a montage of close-ups, extreme close-ups, up and down angles, to build tension and emotion between Amelie and her lover. Then, when Amelie misses her chance to spark a conversation with Nino, she literally melts in a computer generated splash.

For Breathless and 400 Blows, Goddard and Truffaut didn't have access to the same type of contemporary special effects and editing capabilities that characterize Amelie, yet we still see similar back and forth angles and camerawork that complements the dialogue.

If it weren't for the difference in color and editing technology, it might not be hard to forget that these films were produced 40 years apart from each other. If I put a blindfold on and simply listened to the ways in which sound is used in each film I can count a number of similarities.

Upbeat, french bistro type music can be heard at some point in all of these films often at points where there is narration of philosophical commentary. The way the directors use sound separates the simple plot elements from the more thought provoking scenes and dialogue.

Take for example the way a suspenseful piano track creates tension in the hotel scene of Breathless:

Related Side Note-Acting and Expression: In all of these films I noticed a very definitive and distinct set of complex facial expressions that are essential to the overall mood and tone of each shot and scene. Take a look at each of these shots and try to imagine the thoughts and emotions of the characters. Dialogue isn't even necessary in these moments.

The passion in these three french films is one that we rarely see in typical Hollywood productions but rather in auteur projets. Here is a glimpse of what the Criterion Film Collection has to say about Francois Truffaut's 400 Blows:

"The 400 Blows sensitively recreates the trials of Truffaut's own difficult childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, petty crime, and a friendship that would last a lifetime." -Criterion

 Overall Conclusions: Ces trois films francais qui viennent de differents temps me montre que le mouvement, expression corporelle, le visage, et le son sont peut-etre plus important que la dialogue dans un film. On ne doit pas comprendre le francais pour comprendre les themes et les messages de ces films. Je suggere les voir sans subtitles et vous aurez une experience tres bien de film plus pure francais.

(Translation: These three French films that come from different times show me that the movement, body, face, and sound are perhaps more important than the dialogue in a movie. We need not understand French to understand the themes and messages of these films. I suggest seeing them without subtitles and you will have a very good experience of pure French film.)

Let me know what you think below!