Lee Moore (ljredux)

Who framed Johnny Belmondo? A path meandering between aristocratic homes, gaudy nightclubs, unlikely transvestites and establishment figures leads us to answers... and maybe a little retribution.

Oh boy. How many reckless decisions can a seemingly rational guy make?

There are some dinner party invitations you simply should not accept.

Z̶a̶z̶i̶e̶ 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘥 dans le métro.

Probably the most important coming of age film of the New Wave era, and one that inspired many more to come.

A surprisingly authentic Film Noir for 1972. Absolutely unsurprising that Jean-Pierre Melville wrote and directed it. This captivating police thriller is however undermined somewhat by low budget special effects. The remastering process managed to accentuate prop strings on a toy helicopter, not to mention the Hornby train set furniture. It seems unlikely Melville would have wanted this. A special shout-out to Catherine Deneuve for what is probably the most archetypal femme fatale she has ever played.

A strangely plausible and moving melodrama that is based on a real-life love-triangle, and whose charming, leisurely beginning couldn't contrast more with its sudden and brutal end. Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani deliver magnificent performances as Marie and Georges and they are so young and beautiful that I didn't realise until afterwards that their familiarity was down to even more compelling performances in a couple of 1960s films I'd previously seen (Signoret in « L'armée des ombres » and Reggiani in « Le doulos »). In fact, if you enjoy « Casque d'or » I urge you to check out these two Jean-Pierre Melville titles.

This is like a Luis Buñuel film with the surrealism dialled all the way down.

Hysterically enjoyable, fast-moving slapstick about a dejected writer using his typewriter for escapism. Worth watching just to see Belmondo and Bisset in various states of undress and absurdity.

Innocent jinks beneath an ominous cloud. Constant awareness of its menacing presence... but still it manages to shock when it bursts.