Vincent, François, Paul and the Others
Cinema has always been fond of groups of individuals: the affinities, tensions, differences and impulses that animate these groups make them ideal microcosms for understanding human relations and portraying an era, a generation or a society. Not to mention the fact that the dynamics of a group of people can be a formidable narrative, humorous and psychological engine, never lacking in twists and emotions. This cycle proposes to explore this motif through a first selection of films placed under the sign of friendship: from the edgy teenagers of the 1980s to the idle youth of the 1990s, from Yves Robert's post-war children to** Xavier Dolan's millennial lovers, via **Jacques Rivette's independent students or Claude Sautet's aging friends.
Three friends face mid-life crises. Paul is a writer who’s blocked. François has lost his ideals and practices medicine for the money. The charming Vincent, everyone’s favorite, faces bankruptcy, his mistress leaves him, and his wife wants a divorce.
Claude Sautet
Claude Sautet is a French film director and screenwriter. He first studied painting and sculpture before attending a film university in Paris where he began his career and later became a television producer. His first movie, Hello Smile! (Bonjour Sourire) was released in 1956. He earned international attention with The Things of Life (Les choses de la vie, 1970), which he wrote and directed, like the rest of his films. The film revived the career of Romy Schneider; she acted in several of his films. Vincent, François, Paul and the Others (Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres, 1974) is one of Sautet's most acclaimed films. His film A Simple Story (Une histoire simple, 1978) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. He won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the César Award for Best Director for A Heart in Winter (Un cœur en hiver, 1992) and received the César once more for Nelly and Mr. Arnaud (Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud, 1995). Apart from his own directing, he also wrote screenplays for other directors like Jean Becker and Alain Chevalier.
