Don Giovanni

Jean-Luc Godard’s audacious masterpiece is a riotous exploration of modern society’s breakdown, blending biting satire with revolutionary filmmaking. During what’s meant to be a relaxing holiday, a bourgeois couple embarks on a dark, comic road trip through a collapsing world, encountering absurd violence and existential despair at every turn. With its famous tracking shots, provocative social critique, and Godard’s signature fragmented narrative, Weekend remains a fearless critique of consumerism, class, and the tumultuous state of the world in the late 1960s, and a radical cinematic experience that reshapes the very language of film.

Danielle Darrieux is Louise, the unfaithful wife of a titled general (Charles Boyer), who falls in love with an Italian diplomat (Vittorio De Sica) only to see a well-traveled pair of earrings lead to her heartbreak and downfall in this tragic romance from writer-director Max Ophüls. Nominated for the black-and-white costume designs of Georges Annenkov and Rosine Delamare, the film demonstrates Ophüls’s style at its most refined and is considered by many critics to be among the greatest films of all time.

Pierre Fresnay is Wens, a police inspector in pursuit of a serial killer, “Monsieur Durand,” who places his calling card at the crime scene as his signature, in Henri-Georges Clouzot’s directorial debut feature. Clouzot, one of the greats of the thriller genre, masterfully uses suspense and humor in a perfect equilibrium, which grounds the tonality of the film while offering dynamic perspectives for its charming murder-mystery narrative.

Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel come together as Eugénie and Dodin, a cook and a gourmet, in Tran Anh Hung’s 2023 drama set in the late 1800s. Tran surveys beautiful elements in and around the act of mindful cooking and how they reflect the notions of life, death, love, and desire. In the intricate movements of the characters in the kitchen, captured by Jonathan Ricquebourg’s incredible cinematography, a warm sense of connectivity is present in the communal effort that goes into the culinary arts. This film is a graceful enchantment of not only the magic of cooking itself, but also the beauty of simplicity and joy of creativity that fulfills intangible desires.

With its script pulled straight from the trial minutes of the now-revered saint, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s classic 1928 silent film recounts the bias and badgering from court officials, whose inhumane treatment of Jeanne d’Arc ultimately led to her execution. Maria Falconetti plays the titular role in her final on-screen appearance, communicating Joan’s sorrow and passion to the audience mainly with her eyes, making for a performance that is still hailed as transformative almost one hundred years later.

Michel Hazanavicius’s directorial debut is based on a fictional character created by Jean Bruce—Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, a French secret service agent known by his code name, OSS 117. This chapter of the OSS 117 film franchise is set in 1950s Egypt, starring Jean Dujardin as the charming (and slow-witted) spy who goes undercover for the investigation of his friend and colleague’s sudden disappearance. This spy comedy is a delightful homage to the James Bond series, equipped with exuberant production design and a musical score that contributes to the film’s vibrant overtones.

The first episode of the Fantômas film series, which consists of five episodes based on the novel of the same name by Marcel Allain and Pierre Souvestre, is a gripping crime thriller showcasing stunning visual compositions and production design. Set in Paris, the film follows a manhunt by Inspector Juve (Edmund Breon) for Fantômas (René Navarre), an infamous criminal who is also a master of disguise, completely fooling his victims and the authorities. Equipped with lavish sets and costume designs, the first chapter of Louis Feuillade’s interpretation of Fantômas is a thrilling gateway to the entire series.

Based on Jean Genet’s 1947 novel Querelle de Brest, German auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final feature transports us to a visually stylized and highly eroticized realm of pure aesthetics. Released posthumously following Fassbinder’s tragic death at 37, this deeply personal work uses the artificial confines of a sound stage to create a heightened mood, pushing the cinematic form to its breaking point. The film charts the journey of its antihero, Querelle, through a labyrinth of illicit drug deals, high-stakes gambling, and violent acts in a seedy French port town, delving into the raw dynamics of male relationships, where desire and aggression continually intertwine. Saturated in bold colors and pulsing with eroticism, Querelle stands as an unapologetic, provocative testament to Fassbinder’s enduring influence as a master of cinematic confrontation.

Live accompaniment by Michael Mortilla.

Walking the line between realism and surrealism, Jean Vigo’s only feature-length film, L' Atalante, is considered an essential work of cinema and admired by many filmmakers, including the pioneers of the French New Wave. The film poetically tells the story of newlyweds Jean and Juliette, who embark on their new life together on a barge named L’atalante. Vigo’s minimal visual approach elegantly portrays the characters in harmony with the elements—the dark water of the canal, the omnipresent fog of the waterfront, and the clear sky above—and plays beautifully with cinematographer Boris Kaufman’s bold frames.

Albert Dupontel finesses his artistries in directing and acting in his 2017 feature centered around two soldiers—former bookkeeper Albert (Dupontel), and Edouard (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart), a gifted artist whose face is disfigured during World War I. Now a veteran, Edouard—with Albert’s help—plans a grand memorial scheme targeting the families of war victims. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Pierre Lemaitre, the film showcases a fantastical world, guided by dazzling production design as it delves into the dark territories of war and trauma while retaining glimpses of hope, redemption, and loyalty to humanity.

Maurice Pialat’s examination of the legendary Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh focuses on the artist’s inglorious battle of the everyday—his incurable headaches, deteriorating mental and physical health, and troubled personal relationships—rather than emphasizing his grandiose artistic vision. In depicting Van Gogh’s last few months in Auvers-sur-Oise before his death, the film maintains a respectful gaze on one man’s life, surveying and observing the artist’s routine without artificially dramatizing his activities or the aesthetics of the cinematic language.