French Cinema

Paris in 1895 was the beginning of great cinema, not only for France, but also for the world. It was this time period and this area that allowed a revolution to occur in the world of art in cinema. France was one of the great leaders of this era for producing some of the best classics in movies. This began with the movie L’Arrivee d’un train en gare de la Ciotat by Auguste and Louis Lumiere. This movie is now considered to be the official birth of the movie era for the globe. From this beginning, experimentation with film ideas, technology and the overall concept of movies began to be produced. Famous works such as Le Voyage dans la Lune, a science fiction movie from 1902, began to add into the experiment of cinema history.

Soon after the experimentation of film in France began, companies and producers became a popular entity. Gaumont Pictures and Pathe Freres were both studio pioneers in the world of movies in France. The advancement from the experimentation stage in French movies began with World War I. The changes in political and social systems moved French film into “poetic realism.”The films of this era were largely devoted to plot and were designed to show the reality of the situations apparent at the time. Films such as Les Enfants du Paradis, La Grande Illusion and La Regle du Jeu became the basis of this movement in the 1930s, and are now considered some of the greatest films of all time because of their thematic material.

While the idea of realism took one side of French movies, others found that it wasn’t the dramatic poetry that was needed. A second branch that occurred in movies around this time that also focused on developing plot was comedy. Movies such as Le Salaire de la Peur, and Le Journal d’un cure de campagne, directed by Rene Clair, were some of the many comedy classics that added into the entertainment industry. A third area where French cinema continued to expand was in the continuation of experimenting with the technology available. Some of the most well known experiments of the 1930s include Zero de Conduite, and L’Atlante, both directed by Jean Vigo. These experiments are a large tribute to the library of cinema, as they propelled the ideas forward even further with technology and how this influenced plot.

After the realism of the war settled, modern cinema began to be apparent in France. This is sometimes referred to as the “new wave.” The 1940s to the 1970s also held a beginning of new techniques and ideas for what most around the world use in movies now. Not only were resources of inspiration found here, but magazines such as Cahiers du Cinema influenced and critiqued the best movies. Film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, also allowed viewers to discover the available opportunities and ideas being represented in film at the time. Works such as A Bout de Souffle, Hiroshima Mon Amour, and Les Quatre Cent Coups led into thematic and experimental cinema.

During this time, not only were movies gaining a reputation as an art related to experimentation, but actors and actresses were also becoming well known. Antoine Doinel, Jeane-Pierre Leaud, and Christine Darbon are a few of the names that represented film in this time period. All acted in several movies, allowing film to gain a character in France as a new art form through those who represented it. Not only did these leading actors and actresses help to expand the idea of film, but also helped to begin the Cesars, beginning in 1976. These are awards given to the best in the business, who are leading the ideas of movies significantly.

After the 1970s, French movies began to take a turn in approach. While experimentation was still at the forefront, directors were not as focused on further development of the form. This caused films to spotlight the characters, plot and the completion of masterpieces. This caused a continuation of branches for film concepts and led to what is now known as the 80s wave. This particular movement began with Diva, made in 1981. The themes and ideas behind the movie expanded into a series that followed the same trend.37, 2 le Matin, Le Grand Bleu, La Femme Nikita, Indochine, and Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, all were after thoughts of the movie concept Diva. During this time, cinema began to explode with the development of these concepts and plots. Over 140 films, most which gained international recognition were produced in this decade.

The movies that have led cinema around the world, straight from the heart of France have also allowed the movies of today to add into the classic repoire. The movies of the 1990s began to expand the idea of French movies into several markets. Most of these are based around fantasy and thematic material that allows the viewer to see eye-opening plots. Delicatessen, made in 1991 and La Cite des enfants Perdus, from 1995, are both recognized as leaders in film for taking the fantasy style and stretching it to the limits. The other movies to follow this, while moving back to the poetic realism, helped to continue to expand ideas in movies. The Three Colors trilogy, still recognized today as one of the greatest international sets of films, and La Haine, were both ones to approach deeply rooted political and social issues, while maintaining an artistic edge and expanding the idea of cinema.

It was these beginnings and the ideas of experimentation combined with thematic material that allowed the movies in France to gain a new form of expression as art. With the expansion of concepts and with the great leaders in film, French movies have led a path in cinema history for all to follow.

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La Grande Illusion

Hiroshima Mon Amour

Indochine

Delicatessen