The End of the Day
French Poetic Realism
•
1h 45m
Directed by Julien Duvivier • 1939 • France
Starring Victor Francen, Michel Simon, Louis Jouvet
A bittersweet reflection on aging, mortality, and the memories and regrets that make up a lifetime, this affecting tragicomedy centers on a coterie of broke, washed-up actors now living in a retirement home where they relive their faded glory days on the stage with a twinge of melancholy. When once-renowned actor Raphaël Saint-Clair (Louis Jouvet) comes to join them, old rivalries are reawakened. The great Michel Simon delivers a typically memorable performance as the perpetual understudy who never got his big break.
Up Next in French Poetic Realism
-
Such a Pretty Little Beach
Directed by Yves Allégret • 1949 • France
Starring Madeleine Robinson, Gérard Philipe, Jean ServaisThis moodily poetic noir unfolds in a seaside resort in the winter offseason where an enigmatic man (Gérard Philipe), on the run after committing a murder, checks into a flophouse hotel where he w...
-
Le ciel est à vous
Directed by Jean Grémillon • 1944 • France
Starring Madeleine Renaud, Charles Vanel, Jean DebucourtInspired by a true story, this uplifting romantic drama stars Madeleine Renaud as the wife of a mechanic and former fighter pilot (Charles Vanel) who falls in love with the idea of flying herself....
-
L’Atalante
Directed by Jean Vigo • 1934 • France
In Jean Vigo's hands, an unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean (Jean Dasté), a barge captain, marries Juliette (Dita Parlo), an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard Jean's boat, the L'Atalan...
