Few retrospectives promise the revelations of this, a look at one of postwar cinema's most legendary bodies of work: the films of Jean Eustache (1938 - 1981), which have gained an almost mythical status due to their unavailability in North America. Influenced by the French New Wave, which he was both a part of and apart from, Eustache has exerted a profound influence on the following generations of French filmmakers, with his confessional, often raw and desperately sexual portraits of a generation adrift, including the monumental The Mother and the Whore. Both tender and vehement, much like their maker, Eustache's films provoke and inspire in equal measure. His volatile, brilliant career was short-lived; "the most independent of French directors and the least understood" (David Braun), Eustache committed suicide at the age of 43.

Featured Works:

Bad Company (Les Mauvaises Frequentations, 1963); Santa Claus Has Blue Eyes (La Pere noel a les yeux bleus, 1966); Le Couchon (The Pig, 1970); The Mother and The Whore (La Maman et la putain, 1973); Mes Petites Amoureuses (My Little Loves, 1974); Une Sale Histoire (A Dirty Story, 1977, pictured); The Garden of Delights of Hieronymus Bosch (Le Jardin des delices de Jerome Bosch, 1979); Photos of Alix (Les Photos D'Alix, 1980); The Lost Sorrows of Jean Eustache (La Peine Perdue De Jean Eustache, Angel Diaz, 1997)

Program information:

Bad Company: The Films of Jean Eustache

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His Little Loves by Nick Pinkerton posted Jun. 12, 2008