"Arnaud Desplechin is a protean, mercurial, supremely gifted film-maker in a depressingly linear & single-minded age... His generous, super-abundant films look & feel like no-one else's - by contrast almost everything else seems a little careful & self-contained." (Kent Jones)

Working since the early 1990's, Desplechin (1960-) has gradually built up an extraordinary body of work that marks him as one of the most significant French directors of the last 20 years. His films are both intimate and expansive in scope, combining a wonderfully precise command of the medium with a literariness and messiness that allows his work to breath life into a fascinating menagerie of grounded but larger than life characters.

This season of imported 35mm prints features most of Desplechin's work, beginning with his 2nd feature, the wonderfully labyrinthine espionage tale La Sentinell. Along the way it takes in his fascinating adaptation of Edward Bond's In the Company of Men, his only English-language film (the period adaptation Esther Kahn), and two films which fully demonstrate and explore the monumental range,narrative experimentation and experiential journeys that define his wonderfully idiosyncratic, psychologically fascinating and emotionally devastating cinema (My Sex Life... Or How I Got Into an Argument, and the epic Kings and Queen).

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October 22 - 6:30pm

Playing "In The Company of Men"

Arnaud Desplechin (2003) 121 mins

This underrated, characteristically reflexive & encompassing meta-adaptation of Edward Bond’s play about boardroom arms dealing, dazzlingly moves between the unfolding drama & rehearsals for the production we are watching. Interweaving elements of Shakespeare’s Hamlet into Bond’s play, Desplechin returns to his commonly obsessive theme of the familial struggles between power & love. With Sami Bouajila & Jean-Paul Roussillon. Music by Paul Weller.

Imported 35mm print.

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October 22 - 8:40pm

Kings & Queen

Arnaud Desplechin (2004) 150 mins

Amongst of the most extraordinary French films of the last decade, Desplechin’s epic comic-tragic melodrama deftly entwines a heightened narrative chronicling the exploits of a divorced couple: Ismael (the talismanic Mathieu Amalric), a dishevelled musician mistakenly committed to a psychiatric hospital, & Nora (the almost Biblical, spellbinding Emmanuelle Devos), a gallery director struggling to cope with tragic events. Nominated for 7 Cesars this is Desplechin’s most abandoned, beguilingly strange & emotionally devastating work. Features Catherine Deneuve as the psychiatrist.

Imported 35mm print.

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October 29 - 6:30pm

La Sentinelle

Arnaud Desplechin (1992) 139 mins

Wonderfully idiosyncratic & mysterious psychological thriller following the journey of a Parisian pathology student (Emmanuel Salinger) who after crossing the Franco-German border discovers a mummified head in his luggage. Seeking to discover its origins, he becomes involved in a vendetta between decommissioned Cold War antagonists. Inflected with touches of Dostoyevsky, Kafka & Le Carré this highly original & extremely stylish mood piece announced Desplechin as one of the emerging talents of contemporary French cinema. With Emmanuelle Devos & Bruno Todeschini.

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Otober 29 - 9:00pm

Esther Kahn

Arnaud Desplechin (2000) 142 mins

In the late 19th Century, Esther Khan (Summer Phoenix) & her immigrant Jewish family settle in London’s East End, where, against a tawdry backdrop of narrow alleys & sweatshop labour, our heroine dreams of a different & better life as an aspiring stage actress. By enveloping us in multi-layered visuals, Desplechin uses Arthur Symons’ original novel of “spiritual adventure” as a framework to enter into the lead character’s very mindset & investigate the complex nature of perception. Co-stars Ian Holm, Frances Barber & Laszlo Szabo.

Imported 35mm print.

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Nov 5 - 7:50pm

My Sex Life... Or How I Got Into An Argument

Arnaud Desplechin (1996) 178 mins M

Also known as Paul Dedalus’ Journey, Desplechin’s delicately touching character-based study traces a short episode in the romantically tangled existence of Paul (Mathieu Amalric), a university student at the existential crossroads. In a manner that’s equally warm & non-judgemental, the film is rich in observational nuance & graced by an excellent cast, as well as a stack of voiceovered literary references & an evocatively eclectic score. Eric Rohmer meets St. Elmo’s Fire!

Imported 35mm print.

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