Cinéma DU LOOK
The 1980’s culturally was known as the “decade of decadence” and movies were no exception. Whereas the 1960’s and 1970’s had been about politics and experimentation, the 1980’s became increasingly about the “look” of things: The hedonism, pleasure and scintillating glamour of the visual image.
In Britain, directors such as Ridley and Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne and Alan Parker came out of advertising to direct some of the most iconic Hollywood films of the era.
In France, a parallel movement coined “Cinema Du Look” by the French critic Raphaël Bassan began in earnest. Directors Leos Carax, Jean-Jacques Beineix and Luc Besson boldly emerged to blow apart the French Cinema of their forebears with colourful, emotionally resonant movies combining both high and pop culture to produce some of the most famed films ever in European cinema. Calgary Cinematheque welcomes you to 2025 with a selection of the best of the “Cinema Du Look”, a movie movement that famed critic Pauline Kael once said “thinks with its eyes.”
Français: Les années 1980 étaient connues culturellement comme la «décennie de la décadence» et le cinéma ne faisait pas exception. Alors que les années 1960 et 1970 avaient été marquées par la politique et l’expérimentation, les années 1980 ont été de plus en plus marquées par le «regard» des choses : l’hédonisme, le plaisir et le glamour scintillant de l’image visuelle.
En Grande-Bretagne, des réalisateurs comme Ridley et Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne et Alan Parker ont quitté la publicité pour réaliser certains des films d’hollywood les plus emblématiques de l’époque.
En France, un mouvement parallèle, le «Cinéma Du Look», du critique français Raphaël Bassan, a véritablement commencé. Les réalisateurs Leos Carax, Jean-Jacques Beineix et Luc Besson sont sortis audacieusement pour faire exploser le cinéma français de leurs ancêtres avec des films colorés et émotionnellement résonnants qui allient la culture haute et pop pour produire certains des films les plus célèbres du cinéma européen.
La cinémathèque de Calgary vous accueille en 2025 avec une sélection des meilleurs du «Cinéma Du Look», un mouvement cinématographique dont la célèbre critique Pauline Kael a fait le commentaire qui «pense avec ses yeux».
Art by Leetia Lyons
Series Films
Lovers on the Bridge / Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf (1991)
Directed by Leos Carax
January 2, 2025
Infamous as one of the most expensive French films ever produced, and iconic because of its extravagant, ecstatic visual romanticism, Leos Carax’s Les Amants Du Pont-Neuf (Lovers On The Bridge) remains its directors most epic vision of love on the margins of society.
La Femme Nikita (1990)
Directed by Luc Besson
January 9, 2025
Strung out junkie Nikita (Anne Parillaud) gets involved in a shoot out with police and is believed dead. Secretly however, she has been detained by the government to serve a new purpose: An assassin for the French government. Her devotion to her mission is not only tested by her own past but by the trust of her boyfriend (Jean Hugues Anglade), a checkout clerk at the supermarket who has no idea of Nikita’s true identity.
The Big Blue/Le Grande Bleu (1988)
Directed by Luc Besson
January 16, 2025
Loosely based on the life story of famed diver Jacques Mayol, Luc Besson’s fairy tale romance The Big Blue (Le Grande Bleu) is one of the legendary cult films of 80’s European cinema. The relationships revered diver Jacques (Jean Marc Barr) has with his arch rival, Enzo (Jean Reno at his most charismatic) and his insurance adjuster girlfriend, Johana ( Rosanna Arquette) are tested by his nearly mystical obsession with the sea itself. When his arch rival challenges him to a deep sea diving contest where the winner must essentially break a world depth record, Jacques limits begin to know no bounds…
Betty Blue (1986)
Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
January 23, 2025
Betty (Beatrice Dalle) lives in romantic seclusion in a stilt house on the beach with barely employed writer Zorg (Jean Hugues Anglade). Betty has dropped into Zorg’s life on a whim and decided not only is he her soulmate but he’s also an artistic genius. Their intense mutual passion is very soon tested by Betty’s inability to ground her own autonomy: Her passionate attraction to Zorg becomes dangerously all consuming, threatening both her sanity and Zorg’s genuine love for her.
Diva (1981)
Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix
January 30, 2025
Diva is the starting point of “Cinema Du Look.” It’s the film that invented a cinematic movement. Famed opera diva Wilhelmina Higgins refuses to have her voice recorded in any shape or form. When a devoted fan secretly records her lucrative voice, multiple parties in the underground Parisian crime world begin to vie to get their hands on the coveted recording.
