Six all-time classics of French cinema directed by undisputed masters of the form are coming to Kino Film Collection in July, perfect for celebrating Bastille Day.
Check out our schedule of streaming premieres below and start your 7-day free trial today!
Premiering on July 4
Casablanca Beats
Nabil Ayouch, France/Morocco, 2022
Morocco’s official submission to the 94th Academy Awards offers a refreshing dose of youthful inspiration alongside a powerful message about the power of self-expression. A former rapper takes a job at a cultural center in an underprivileged neighborhood in Casablanca and inspires his students to break free from the weight of restrictive traditions in order to live their passions.
Premiering on July 11
Godard Cinema
Cyril Leuthy, France, 2023
Jean-Luc Godard is synonymous with cinema. He arose in the 1960s as a cinematic rebel and symbol for the era's progressive youth. Six decades and 140 films later, Godard is among the most renowned artists of all time. This documentary offers an opportunity for film lovers to look back at his career, while paying tribute to the ineffable essence of the most revered French director of all time.
Alphaville
Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1965
Influential director Jean-Luc Godard’s irreverent journey to the mysterious Alphaville remains one of the least conventional films of all time. American secret agent Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) is sent to the distant space city where he must find a missing person and kill the inventor of fascist computer Alpha 60. Anna Karina and Akim Tamiroff co-star in this cockeyed science-fiction.
Last Year at Marienbad
Alain Resnais, France, 1962
Winner of the Venice Golden Lion, Alan Resnais's French New Wave classic features stunning imagery while deliberately avoiding conventional plot and character development. In a vast and opulent hotel, an unnamed man attempts to persuade a similarly unnamed married woman that they have not only met before, but that they were also romantically involved and had planned to elope together.
Premiering on July 18
Diary of a Chambermaid
Luis Buñuel, France, 1965
Working as a chambermaid, Célestine (Jeanne Moreau) observes the little failings of each member of the household in Luis Buñuel’s take on Octave Mirbeau’s classic novel. One day, unexpected events disturb the quiet life of the neighborhood. Célestine suspects Joseph, the gardener she knows to have a violent and sadistic nature.
The Nun
Jacques Rivette, France, 1971
A landmark of the French New Wave, Jacques Rivette’s The Nun, adapted from Denis Diderot’s novel, follows a rebellious nun (played by an incandescent Anna Karina) who is forced into taking her vows. Initially shunted into a restrictive, torturous convent, she eventually moves on to a more liberated one, where she becomes an object of Mother Superior’s obsession.
Premiering on July 25
Bob le Flambeur
Jean-Pierre Melville, France, 1959
From legendary director Jean-Pierre Melville comes an underworld comedy of manners. Bob Le Flambeur melds the toughness of American gangster films with Gallic sophistication to lay the roadmap for the French New Wave. An aging gambler (Roger Duchesne) navigates the treacherous world of pimps, moneymen and naïve associates while plotting one last score—the heist of the Deauville casino.
Port of Shadows
Marcel Carné, France, 1939
A classic of the golden age of French cinema, Marcel Carné starkly portrays an underworld of lonely souls wrestling with their own destinies. Jean (Jean Gabin), a deserter sick of the hand that life's dealt him, arrives at Le Havre. He meets an enticing young woman, but is halted by her suitors. Jean decides to risk it all for her, but with the last ship leaving, can either truly be free?