I’ve just landed in Paris, and I feel that rush of excitement I get when I’m here.  This city is divine…

Just as I was leaving New York, Nora Baldenweg, a journalist here in Paris, sent me a note about the opening night of the Nouvelle Vague film retrospective earlier in the week. I bump into Nora time-to-time when I’m here. I loved reading her account of the evening and wanted to share it with you.

The retrospective will be showing at the Cinémathèque Française this month, although I don’t know if I’ll be able to see any of them while I’m here—my schedule is crazy! But if I could get there, I’d definitely see Lola on October 11. Anouk Aimée will be there.  She’s such an icon, and she’s the star of A Man and A Woman, one of my favorite French films.

Anouk Aimée in Lola

Nora’s note also gives me an opportunity to mention Diane Pernet’s film festival, A Shaded View on Fashion Film. It’s taking place this weekend here in Paris. Diane herself is an icon, and her film selections look pretty amazing.

Here’s the note Nora sent to me:

Dear Susan,

Last night I attended the opening night of the film retrospective‚ La Nouvelle Vague: Une Génération d’Acteurs, which is at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris this month.  Celebrating the 50th birthday of the Nouvelle Vague movement and its generation of actors, the invited guests were treated to an exceptional screening of the restored version of Pierrot le Fou (1965), a visual masterpiece by Jean-Luc Godard.

After the arrival of the guests on the red carpet (including Jean-Paul Belmondo, a major figure in French Nouvelle Vague), Serge Toubiana, the general director of the Cinémathèque Française, opened the soirée with a touching speech.

Jean-Paul Belmondo

Jean-Paul Belmondo arrived for the festivities looking resplendent, and decidedly more tanned than 40 years ago. Walking down the red carpet toward the flashing cameras, each of his fingers bejeweled with a ring, the now 76-year old was smiling that charming and roguish smile that had made his face famous back in the 60s. The guests were so honored by his presence, they later broke out into a standing ovation, and at one point Belmondo—visibly touched himself—even seemed to wipe a tear from his left eye. Before taking his seat in the movie theatre, he got up and thanked the intimate crowd: Je veux dire merci à tout le monde.

Anna Karina in Pierrot le Fou

Throughout the film, I was in complete awe at the beauty of Anna Karina, playing the female lead next to Belmondo. She was not only Godard’s inspirational muse, but also his wife at the time (from 1961-1967, the movie was shot in 1965). I was glued to the screen by her breathtakingly beautiful features.  She alternately made me think of either Kate Moss or Alexa Chung (a fixture at the current fashion week front rows), paired with an effortless yet always chic sense of style.  Unfortunately Anna Karina couldn’t attend the soirée because she sprained her ankle.

Pierrot le Fou

Pierrot le Fou

Other special guests included Raoul Coutard, the famed French Director of Photography, and Jean-Pierre Léaud, Godard’s assistant at the time. After the projection, the guests mingled and celebrated the anarchic pioneers of Nouvelle Vague at a little stand-up dinner in the restaurant of the Cinémathèque, which is based in a modern building designed by Frank Gehry in Paris’ 12^th district.

This Nouvelle Vague retrospective is definitely an exceptional opportunity to examine the codes, muses and myths of that influential time. And if you have not seen Pierrot le Fou, you really must get your hands on a copy. For many people, it is one of the most dazzling films of French film history.

For the occasion a DVD box with the works of directors Rivette, Godard, Resnais and Chabrol (and including Pierrot le Fou) has been made. It will be available from October 13th and exclusively at the Cinémathèque from September 23^rd if you can go by there.

La Cinémathèque Française

Nouvelle Vague: Une Génération d’Acteurs runs from September 23^rd to October 18^th at the Cinémathèque Française, Paris. A number of screenings will feature actors and actresses from the Nouvelle Vague in attendance, including Alexandra Stewart, Michel Subor, Emanuelle Riva and Anouk Aimée. For more information and the festival  schedule, click here.

Nora Baldenweg

Paris, September 24^th 2009