The French Polar: 4 masterpieces at the cinema in Milan
From October 6 to 14, a retrospective dedicated to French crime fiction is to be seen in Milan: a selection of 4 great films signed by two masters of the 7th art, Henry-George Clouzot and Jean-Pierre Melville.
The Cineteca Milano regularly offers to review or discover the classics of French cinema. And on the occasion of the theatrical release of La nuit du 12, by Dominik Moll, presented in the official selection at the last Cannes Film Festival, the spotlight is on the Polar!
But what is it exactly? The term “Polar” was invented to define these films which, in a virtuous contamination between French and American cinema, combine the action and suspense of the detective novel with aspects linked to human and social introspection.
Four French films on the bill
Of Henri-Georges Clouzotfound on the big screen The crow (He corvo) and Devilish (I diabolical).
The first is a ruthless portrait of the French petty bourgeoisie, which caused a scandal in particular because it was filmed during the years of German occupation. Les Diaboliques, based on the novel Celle qui n’est plus (1952), by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, also authors of the book The Woman Who Lived Twice, is a high-tension crime drama, featuring two women , masterfully interpreted by Simone Signoret and VĂ©ra Clouzot.
Of Jean Pierre Melvillethe Cineteca Milano (Arlecchino cinema) presents Un Cop, with a dark Alain Delon and a luminous Catherine Deneuve, and Le Samourai, again with Delon, a brilliant example of Melville’s ability to refer to American models.
Complete program at consult online.