Quatorze Juillet (1932)
Director: René Clair
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The opening shot, in which Périnal's camera cranes sinuously around Meerson's distillation of a Paris quartier to the accompaniment of Jaubert's gently lyrical score (what a team!) is followed by a series of vignettes introducing the principal characters as they prepare for the 14th July festivities. It's lovely but, oh dear, you think, I bet there's going to be a story. In fact, there isn't much of one. Taxi driver Rigaud and flower girl Annabella (emblematic '30s occupations) are lovers. They fall out, spend some time being separately unhappy, until Clair contrives a whimsical reunion for the finale. It's the most Borzage-like of Clair's romances, with such incidents as the death of the heroine's mother lending unaccustomed weight to the proceedings.Author: BBa
Cast & crew
Director: René Clair
Cast: Annabella, Georges Rigaud, Raymond Cordy, Pola Illéry, Paul Olivier, Raymond Aimos full cast
Duration: 90 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.



What do you think?
Post your review now