Directed by Jacques Rivette • 1974 • France
Starring Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier
Whiling away a summer in Paris, director Jacques Rivette, working in close collaboration with his stars and coconspirators Juliet Berto and Dominique Labourier, set out to rewrite the rules of cinema in the spirit of pure play—moviemaking as an anything-goes romp through the labyrinths of imagination. The result is one of the most exuberantly inventive and utterly enchanting films of the French New Wave, in which Julie (Labourier), a daydreaming librarian, meets Céline (Berto), an enigmatic magician, and together they become the heroines of a time-warping adventure involving a haunted house, psychotropic candy, and a murder-mystery melodrama. Incorporating allusions to everything from Lewis Carroll to Louis Feuillade, CÉLINE AND JULIE GO BOATING is both one of the all-time-great hangout comedies and a totally unique, enveloping cinematic dream space that delights in the endless pleasures and possibilities of stories.
Up Next in French New Wave
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Lacombe, Lucien
Directed by Louis Malle • 1974 • France, Italy, West Germany
Starring Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger LöwenadlerOne of the first French films to address the issue of collaboration during the German occupation, Louis Malle’s brave and controversial LACOMBE, LUCIEN traces a young peasant’s ...
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Black Moon
Directed by Louis Malle • 1975 • France, Germany
Starring Cathryn Harrison, Joe Dallesandro, Thérèse GhieseLouis Malle meets Lewis Carroll in this bizarre and bewitching trip down the rabbit hole. After skirting the horrors of a mysterious war being waged in the countryside, beautiful young Lil...
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My American Uncle
Directed by Alain Resnais • 1980 • France
Starring Gérard Depardieu, Nicole Garcia, Roger PierreMY AMERICAN UNCLE (a.k.a. MON ONCLE D’AMERIQUE) is unique in cinema—one of the oddest movies ever to emerge from the hand of director Alain Resnais, and also perhaps his most popular, steeped in elem...
