Film Trust Blog

On four Sundays in November and December, we’ll be presenting a short season of classic films by some of the greatest filmmakers living and working in France in the 1960s and ’70s.  Look out for the special season ticket which includes entry into all four screenings plus complimentary coffee and croissants in the Arts Picturehouse bar beforehand (£15 Full price, £12 Members/Concessions).

Our series of Sunday screenings are as follows:

Sunday 16 November, 12pm
PIERROT LE FOU (15)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard. Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Anna Karina, Graziella Galvani. France/Italy 1965. 110 mins. French with English subtitles.

Ferdinand leaves his wife and elopes with Marianna, with whom he had an affair five years ago. When a dead body is found at Marianna’s, they escape to the South of France. A roller coaster ride filled with passion, desperation and regret follows as the two lovers meet their final finale.

Sunday 23 November, 12pm
THE TRIAL OF JOAN OF ARC (LE PROCÈS DE JEANNE D’ARC) (PG)
Director: Robert Bresson. Starring: Florence Delay, Jean-Claude Fourneau, Roger Honorat. France 1962. 65 mins. French with English subtitles.

With a script taken from transcripts made at Joan’s trial, Bresson’s meticulously crafted film observes the systematic, partly sexual humiliation of the young woman with a documentary-style detachment.

Sunday 7 December, 12pm
TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS (18)
Director: Alain Robbe-Grillet. Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Marie-France Pisier, Nadine Verdier. France 1966. 105 mins. French with English subtitles.

Banned in the UK on its initial release in 1967, this film is rarely screened in this country. Jean writes a screenplay for a film while on board the Trans-Europ-Express.  Trintignant plays the protagonist of the film-within-a-film, a professional drug smuggler with sadomasochistic tendencies who becomes involved with double dealing.

Sunday 14 December, 12pm
THAT OBSCURE OBJECT OF DESIRE (CET OBSCUR OBJET DU DÉSIR) (15)
Director: Luis Buñuel. Starring: Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet, Angela Molina. France/Spain 1977. 103 mins. French and Spanish with English subtitles.

By casting two different actresses to play the single object of Rey’s tormented affections, Buñuel is able to explore opposing facets of desire in a tale of sex, violence and frustration.

Book now through our partner venue, the Arts Picturehouse, on 0871 704 2050 or via the cinema website.

With thanks to the Institut français