FRN 2055 French Cinema: From the New to Banlieue
To what extent does cinema reflect society? How does the cinema of the nouvelle vague (New Wave) mirror post-war French society? In what ways does the cinéma de banlieue, which portrays the lives of the marginalized living in the housing projects or cités of French suburbs, depict France's struggles to integrate its multicultural and multiethnic population? In this course, we will conduct a thematic and stylistic analysis of French films from the late 1950s through the new millennium and examine the images of French society that emerge. We will also study films that deal with France's relationship with its colonies. Filmmakers to be studied will include François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Louis Malle, Jean-Jacques Beineix, Mathieu Kassovitz, Josiane Balasko, Sembène Ousmane, and Cédric Klapisch. The course is taught in English, has no prerequisites, and does not require any knowledge of French.