Janine

Directed by Maurice Pialat

17 minutes / B&W
French / English subtitles
Release: 2023
Copyright: 1961

Included on 2-disc box set Early Short Films of the French New Wave.

During a desultory night on the town—playing pool, buying the paper, eating fries—two men talk about their experiences with women. One of them (Hubert Deschamps) disparages his ex-wife, “the queen of whores,” who he admits to beating with his fists. The other (Claude Berri) is enamored of the prostitute he was with earlier in the evening, and thinks he might marry her. Without realizing it, both men are talking about Janine, a woman whose essential humanity they fail to see because of their own projections.

“Pialat’s touch with characters and drama is assured even at this early phase of his career.” —ZekeFilm

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