Dr. Douglas Smith, Senior Lecturer, School of Languages and Literature, UCD, will introduce this screening.

He (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a racing driver, she (Anouk Aimée) works in film. Both widowed parents, they meet at their children’s school. They move at different speeds, literally (he takes the car, she takes the train) and metaphorically (she is still grieving for her lost husband, he is seeking to move on). Lelouch invents a striking visual style to render their fluctuating relationship, combining hand-held camera work with telephoto lenses. Thanks to its seductive fusion of immediacy and stylisation, the film was a massive success both in France and abroad. (Notes by Douglas Smith)

Screening as part of the IFI French Film Festival 2016.