It’s the story of boy meets girl, but it’s all mixed up. He’s Ferdinand (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a married man with kids. She is Marianne (Anna Karina), the babysitter. But they are not strangers; they’ve known each other for years: Four … Continue reading PIERROT LE FOU
It was a Saturday in July when Meursault killed the man. The man, an Arab, was lounging on the sun-drenched beach when Meursault approached. The Arab pulled a knife, shining sunlight in Meursault’s eyes. Meursault pulled a pistol and fired. … Continue reading THE STRANGER (LO STRANIERO)
No one face embodied the French New Wave more than that of Anna Karina. Born Hanne Karin Bayer in Denmark in 1940, Karina made her way to Paris as a model when she was 17, starring in advertisements for Coca-Cola, … Continue reading LE PETIT SOLDAT
When Anna Karina died on December 14, so did the spirit of the French New Wave. Born Hanne Karin Bayer in Denmark, Karina (Sept. 22, 1940-Dec. 14, 2019) modeled, acted, directed, wrote, and danced. Her career spans nearly five decades, … Continue reading Anna Karina
French critic cum filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard famously said that all you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun, but he could have done it with less. As an artist, Godard vacillated back and forth between incendiary … Continue reading BAND OF OUTSIDERS (BANDE À PART)
There is no greater film festival for classic movie lovers than the TCM Classic Film Fest in Hollywood, California. Every spring, throngs of moviegoers descend on the honorary capital of moviemaking for a feverish, bleary-eyed three-day celebration of the moving … Continue reading TCM Classic Film Festival — 2016
I don’t think you should FEEL about a movie. You should feel about a woman. You can’t kiss a movie. There is no point in having sharp images when you’ve fuzzy ideas. Tracking shots are a question of morality. You … Continue reading Born On This Day — December 3, 1930
The cinema is not an art which films life: the cinema is something between art and life. Unlike painting and literature, the cinema both gives to life and takes from it, and I try to render this concept in my … Continue reading In Their Words — December 3, 2012
Michael J. Cinema 