Au Revoir, Les Enfants (Louis Malle, 1987). After more than a decade making English-language films, director Louis Malle returned to his homeland for this affecting drama set in a French boarding school during World War II. The autobiographical film, which … Continue reading Then Playing — Au Revoir, Les Enfants; Shithouse; Araya
#35 — Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980) I’m always struck by the grand seediness that shapes the film Atlantic City. Louis Malle’s film shows how the once glamorous metropolis of the title is rotting from the inside out: buildings falling … Continue reading Top Fifty Films of the 80s — Number Thirty-Five
Atlantic City (Louis Malle, 1980). Malle’s film is about the ways in the which the glimmers of remaining light at the end of the day can lure the most desperate into believing it’s actually the unexpected emergence of a new dawn. Burt Lancaster plays the old-time small-timer at the heart of the film, conveying his forlorn desperation and self-deluding rejuvenation with great delicacy. You can feel the character shift as his opportunities the become the big operator he’s always fancied himself begin to come to pass. But the film is about reality rather than aspirations. Malle keeps it all grounded, … Continue reading Wasting time, dropping lines like “I could get you into movies”
Coffee for Two 