Events

Claude Miller's The Little Thief

Special Film Society Discount—tickets just $11! To redeem: Select the affiliate option from the ticket menu when purchasing online or mention "New York in French" at the Walter Reade Theater box office. For more info, visit filmlinc.org/janeandcharlotte

Based on a story by François Truffaut (who died before he could direct it) and Claude de Givray, this post–World War II portrait of wayward youth plays not unlike a female-driven version of The 400 Blows. Charlotte Gainsbourg stars as the titular kleptomaniac, a distaff Antoine Doinel who, with her bad-boy lover, descends into a life of crime before landing in a hellish reformatory. Reunited with L’Effrontée director Claude Miller, Gainsbourg (who was nominated for a Best Actress César Award) delivers a fascinatingly enigmatic performance, at once open and opaque. With The Little Thief she blossomed into a truly compelling screen presence.

The Little Thief / La petite voleuse
Claude Miller, France, 1988, 35

The company 14:20 will present its spellbinding magical cabaret on March 4 and 5 as part of the Tilt Kids Festival,a co-production between the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF). The performance will take place at French Institute Alliance Française's Florence Gould Hall. 

Merging dance, shadow puppetry, circus and magic tricks, this cabaret of magie nouvelle defies theatrical conventions and audience expectations. Watch as the laws of gravity are lifted, jugglers perform unbelievable feats, and fingers intertwine to become intricate shadow puppets. Born from the endless imaginations of Cie 14:20, Paris’ masterminds of new magic.

Cie 14:20 was founded by Clément Debailleul and Raphaël Navarro in 2000. The company has been one of the first artistic bodies to advance a new form of circus entitled Magie nouvelle, or New Magic. Sensorial imbalance, and the confounding of reality is at the heart of this movement, which melds circus, theater,

Jacques Doillon's The Prodigal Daughter

Q&A with Jane Birkin! Special Film Society Discount—tickets just $11! To redeem: Select the affiliate option from the ticket menu when purchasing online or mention "New York in French" at the Walter Reade Theater box office. For more info, visit filmlinc.org/janeandcharlotte

Jane Birkin delivers a daring performance in this emotionally charged psychological drama. She stars as Anne, a disturbed young woman who leaves her husband and returns home to her parents. But when she discovers that her father (the great Michel Piccoli) is having an affair, the possessive Anne is pushed over the edge. Directed by Birkin’s then-partner Jacques Doillon, this taboo-shattering exploration of father-daughter relationships marked a decisive turning point in Birkin’s career. As she stated, “It was the first time that someone making so-called ‘intellectual’ films thought of me… I made La fille prodigue, and was then regarded as a serious actress in France.” The moody

Bertrand Tavernier's Daddy Nostalgia

Special Film Society Discount—tickets just $11! To redeem: Select the affiliate option from the ticket menu when purchasing online or mention "New York in French" at the Walter Reade Theater box office. For more info, visit filmlinc.org/janeandcharlotte

Elegant and urbane, Tony (Dirk Bogarde in a feisty, charismatic performance) hasn’t been the best father to his spirited screenwriter daughter (Birkin). But now he is dying and, together again in a villa on the sunny Côte d’Azur, the two reconnect, discovering that they need each other now more than ever. As he regales her with recollections of his past, she drinks in his worldly joie de vivre, all the time aware that their days together are precious. Driven by the touching rapport between Birkin and Bogarde, this golden-hued mood piece is uncommonly graceful and wise in the way it illuminates the universal experience of letting go.

Daddy Nostalgia / Daddy Nostalgie
Bertrand Tavernier, France, 1990, 35m