Cinema
Paris Belongs to Us
Paris nous appartient
Jacques Rivette · 1961
Synopsis
In 1957, Anne Goupil, a literature student in Paris, is drawn by her brother Pierre into an evening party where she meets Philip, an American who fled McCarthyism, and Gérard, a director preparing a Shakespeare play. She learns of the suspicious death of a Spanish musician, Juan, whose recording is missing from Gérard's production. In searching for what happened, she believes she is uncovering a vast conspiracy, without being able to say whether it exists.
Context
Written in 1957, the film was shot from July to November 1958, but was not released in cinemas until 13 December 1961. Chabrol was its co-producer, and he, Godard and Jacques Demy make a brief appearance in it. The story deliberately leaves open the question of whether the conspiracy is real or exists only in the minds of the characters. The Larousse sees in it, beneath the appearance of a detective plot, a reflection on the mystery of cinema.
Who it is for
A film of two and a quarter hours, with a deliberately unresolved plot; it demands attention and patience.
Prizes and reception
The author's first feature film; the Criterion Collection released it on Blu-ray under the title Paris Belongs to Us.
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