Journey Through the French Cinema
presented by Bertrand Tavernier

PostED ON 05.07.2016

In a premiere for the Lumière festival, an immersion into over three hours of French cinema from the 1930s to the 1970s, accompanied by filmmaker-cinephile Bertrand Tavernier.

"I would like this film to be an act of gratitude to all the filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and musicians who have emerged in my life. Memory warms us: the film is a bit of coal for winter nights." Such is how director Bertrand Tavernier describes the formidable documentary, Journey Through the French Cinema, the fruit of six years of work. 

In Journey, Bertrand Tavernier rehabilitates forgotten filmmakers, declares his strong affection for Becker, Melville, Sautet, Carné or Gabin, frames films in their historical and political context, dissects a certain scene, details certain camera movements, and searches among memories of filming to reveal the creative and experimentation works of the French cinema auteurs.

Like a recessed self-portrait, it is also the personal and artistic history of the filmmaker that comes through in Journey Through the French Cinema. Bertrand Tavernier does not merely assemble the excerpts: "He illuminates them with his brilliant commentary." (Jean-Claude Raspiengeas, La Croix, May 18, 2016).

Immoderately generous, featuring over 400 excerpts (out of the nearly 2,000 films and archive documents viewed), Journey is destined to become a classic, a source of inspiration for film lovers, filmmakers and insatiable moviegoers. 

"The work of the citizen and spy, explorer and painter, chronicler and adventurer - which so aptly describes filmmakers from Casanova to Gilles Perrault - is this not a beautiful definition of the filmmaker's profession? One wants to apply it to Renoir, Becker, L'Atalante's Vigo, Duvivier, as well as Truffaut or Demy. Max Ophuls and also Bresson. And to directors lesser known such as Grangier, Gréville or Sacha, who, in the course of a scene or a film, highlight an emotion or unearth some surprising truths.
Bertrand Tavernier

"I had the opportunity to see Bertrand Tavernier and discuss his very personal approach to the French cinema, his French cinema. He has created an extremely precise and detailed work on Jacques Becker, Marcel Carné, the music of the French cinema of the 30s, Jean Renoir and many other filmmakers. A remarkable work, done with great intelligence that shines a light on classic French cinema, on many forgotten or neglected filmmakers… an invaluable work. You are convinced you know it all by heart, and along comes Tavernier, revealing pure beauty."
Martin Scorsese