Maurice Pialat: An American Cinematheque Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is pleased to present the stunning 4K restoration of THE HOUSE IN THE WOODS, the seven-part series often regarded as French filmmaker Maurice Pialat’s master work, alongside films that bring Pialat’s themes of adolescence, the historically momentous and the ordinary into even greater focus. Originally made for French television over 50 years ago, it is with great privilege that the American Cinematheque offers this rare opportunity to experience Pialat’s epic in theatres.

Commissioned in 1971, THE HOUSE IN THE WOODS tells the story of a small family in the French countryside who find themselves the guardians of three young men, displaced by World War I, the unfathomable destruction of the war reverberating through the classrooms, kitchens and neighborhood streets of their normal lives. Pialat’s preference for realism over sentimentality is present from his very first film, L’ENFANCE NUE, the story of a foster child in constant conflict with his caretakers, carefully collecting moments that paint a broader picture of emotional truth. In the iconic romance dramas LOULOU and À NOS AMOURS, Pialat pierces through sexual and class politics to the heart of human unpredictability. In THE MOUTH AGAPE, as a family deals with a matriarch’s final days, the realism is sobering as it is in 1987 Palme D’Or winner UNDER THE SUN OF SATAN, the story of a young Catholic priest unsure if his divine mission will prove successful. In his final film, LE GARÇU, Pialat returns to the home front in an autobiographical portrayal of complicated family dynamics with all the honesty, clarity and fearlessness Pialat is remembered for. Join us as we watch these exceptional films and beautiful restorations shine like a cinematic mirror on the silver screen.