In the ’50s, the lens shifts. Bold form, raw stories, new heroes. The world spins and all eyes lock on France.

Normal

Charlie Chaplin's final starring role. A comical and satirical view into the McCarthyism period, written and directed by the Hollywood legend while in exile from the U.S., where the movie premiered 15 years overdue.

—
When a European monarch is exiled from his country by its rebels, he will seek refuge in New York during the '50s, with nothing of his own. Having done theater in the past, he will get a job in TV commercials and he will accidentally become a celebrity. But soon everything will take an unexpected turn since, as soon as he becomes friends with a 10-year-old boy, he will be accused of being a communist.

A King in New York

A hero who opposes the modern way of life becomes the instrument of an incredibly modern comedy. Brilliant critique of the new trends that each era brings with it, a sweet and emotional film that finds Tati in great form, with non-stop visual ideas.

—
The unemployed Monsieur Hulot leaves his slum and visits his sister's family in a fashionable suburb of Paris. Her home uses state-of-the-art technology and is based on an architecture that serves style over practicality. Fatefully, the situation gets pretty rocky for Monsieur Hulot.

—
Best Foreign Language Film | Oscars | 1959
Special Jury Prize | Cannes Film Festival | 1958

My Uncle

Our first introduction to Monsieur Hulot, the iconic alter ego of Jacques Tati who would star in three more films by the great director. A unique kind of cinematic humor that remains to this day inimitable and insurmountable, in one of the best comedies of all time.

—
Monsieur Hulot, a clumsy but likable bachelor, vacations at a seaside resort, where his presence causes one disaster after another. A series of Monsieur Hulot's blunders will highlight the ways in which the rest of the vacationers try to break free from the rigid roles and routines of their industrialized, mechanical everyday lives.

—
Nomination for Best Screenplay | Oscars | 1956

Mr. Hulot's Holiday

Truffaut created a film that wasn’t just a breakthrough in the context of the Nouvelle Vague, but a real milestone in the history of cinema. It explores the cruelty of youth and administers “blows” of pure cinema exhilaration that leave you wanting more.

—
We meet Antoine Doinel for the first time, an unruly boy growing up in Paris in 1950, playing truant and stealing. His teacher torments him and his family doesn’t understand him. After getting arrested, he spends a night in a cell. The court decides to send him to a juvenile reformatory, where a psychologist assesses the reasons why he is unhappy. One day, during football practice, Antoine escapes by jumping over the fence; he runs to the ocean, a place he always wanted to visit.

—
Official Selection | Cannes Film Festival | 1959
Best Director | Cannes Film Festival | 1959
OCIC Award | Cannes Film Festival | 1959

The 400 Blows

Varda insisted she had only seen a handful of films before making her first movie, but both the film critics and her future peers were stunned when they watched one of the most mature and sophisticated debuts in French film history.

—
A man arrives at a train station to meet his wife. After 4 years of marriage, the couple has problems, but they decide they belong together. When they return to Paris, she is armed with a better understanding of her husband after having visited the area where he grew up. It’s a place of poor and proud people. Fishermen gather shellfish from a bacteria-laden lagoon. A toddler dies from an unidentified disease. A young man is allowed to flirt with a neighbor's daughter after winning a tournament.

La Pointe Courte

In 1959, Chaplin recut and re-released three silent comedies, "A Dog's Life", "Shoulder Arms", and "The Pilgrim" into a form of a single feature length film. Chaplin provided new music, narration, and a small amount of new connecting material.

The Chaplin Revue

Jean-Pierre Melville's archetypal gangster noir that influenced more than any other the subsequent generations of filmmakers, from Nouvelle Vague to Michael Mann and Quentin Tarantino.

—
A veteran gangster and avid gambler, on the verge of bankruptcy, decides to form a gang and rob a large casino. Will everything go according to plan or is it all doomed from the start?

Bob le Flambeur

The film for which Charlie Chaplin won his only competitive Oscar, 20 years after it was produced! He was the victim of intense reactions and boycotts during its initial release but was discussed and reassessed as one of his masterpieces. Buster Keaton takes part.

—
Depressed due to her seemingly failed dance career, a dancer tries to commit suicide but a bankrupt, once-famous clown will save her life. He will not only help her improve her health, but he will also redeem his own self-esteem. When the dancer proposes to him, their age difference will scare him and he will have an important decision to make.

—
Best Original Music | Oscars | 1973

1950s