European New Wave

I have a special love for the directors featured in this installment. These were the folks whose movies we went to see in college. The discussions at the coffee houses and in some dark living room showed how little we knew, but they were provocative as all get out. These Europeans are a who's who of film, showing us the angst and depression that hung over the continent at this time. It begins with Ingmar Bergman, using close ups to show the great pain of his characters as they tussled with their human shortcomings and their view of God and death. Robert Bresson and his "Pickpocket" who felt that we must despair to become whole and connect. Jacque Tate, the apotheosis of Chaplain, yet like him in his comedic effect. Fellini who improvised and created the circus of man. Jean Luc Godard with "Breathless" and the quick cut which focused on a single subject. Agnes Varda and "Chleo from 5 to 7." The nearly incomprehensible but enigmatic Alain Resnais, featuring "The Last Year at Marienbad." Sergio Leone, he of the Spaghetti Western, mimicking Kurosawa and bringing in Clint Eastwood to recreate Toshiro Mifume. Finally we have Francois Truffaut and Pier Paolo Pasolini, remarkable directors along with Luchino Visconti. Even though too much is covered in an hour, it is a tribute to a time of amazing, though heart wrenching, cinema.

In this segment, Marc Cousins singles out four Europeans who he thinks brought the 1950s into the modern era. They are: Ingmar Bergman, a depressing Scandinavian director very much in the mold of Carl Dreyer. He was (possibly) the first to have his actress face the camera.

Robert Bresson, whose masterpiece is "Pickpocket". He lingers on the physical, getting emotions even from a donkey who could not care less that he is being filmed.

Jacques Tati, who was inspired by Chaplin and was more concerned with letting the story tell itself than telling a story that was not there. (Of the four, Tati is the least known in America...) And Federico Fellini, with a special focus on "Nights of Cabiria". While Fellini may be better known for "8 1/2" and "La Vita Dolce", it is through "Cabiria" that I know him and I appreciate the documentary picking it apart.

For good measure, we also throw in Jean-Luc Godard and Visconti. Both of these men are folks whose work I need to look into more.