THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS COURSE TITLE: PARIS CINEMA COURSE NO: FR/FM 3087 PREREQUISITES: FR 2100 SEMESTER: Fall 2013 PROFESSOR: Dr. Nathalie DEBROISE CREDITS: 4 CLASS Wed., 16H55-19H50 ROOM NO: G 29 SCHEDULE: OFFICE HOURS: Th., 10H00-12H00, G 45 and by appointment (ext: 637) PERIOD (S): 6&7 CONTACT: Mailbox at Grenelle or mail: ndebroise@aup.fr / nathalie@copsidas.com COURSE CONTENT: STUDENT LEARNING GOALS Paris, je t aime: In 2005, Gus Von Sant and the Cohen brothers, among other famous filmmakers, signed this collective love declaration to Paris, the most filmed city of the world. A few years later in Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen revisits the clichés that nourish the imaginary Paris fantasized by foreigners. In this course, students will explore the representation of a multi-faceted Paris through different genres (film noir, comedy, drama, musical) and various cinematographic styles (realist, realist-poetic, new wave). Weekly screenings will strengthen students knowledge of the cinematographic Paris with its mythical places recreated in studios (cafés, metro, bridges ), allowing them to analyze and deconstruct the types of clichés that made Amélie Poulain internationally famous. We will also attribute a special focus to the French New Wave, a genre that inspired filmmakers such as Cassavetes or Lars Von Trier, who prefer the reality of natural settings to the artificiality of the studio. Just like Truffaut and Godard, students will discover the infinite resources of the Cinématheque de Paris (museum, exhibitions). By walking through the neighborhoods filmed or recreated by filmmakers, they will be able to confront their own experience of the city with the visions of Renoir, Carné, Polanski and others Paris is an ever-changing environment, and through contemporary films (Chacun cherche son chat, La Haine), students will be able to understand how the architectural transformation of a historical capital and its social changes generate new forms of fiction. Through this exchange between the student and the city itself, invaluable insights into filmmaking will be acquired as well as a deep comprehension of the processes. The course will be taught in French but students are allowed to write theirs essays (as well as mid-term and final) in both English and French After completing this course, students should be able to analyze the different cinematographic representations of Paris through the works of the major filmmakers from all over the world. They will understand how most of these representations conform to specific rules that define a particular cinematic genre. They should be able to think critically about the esthetics and the modes of production that characterize different cinematographic trends. They should be able to elaborate on the way films reflect (or deny) urban transformations and social, cultural and political realities. They should also have a good knowledge of the cinematographic concepts and be able to use them when writing critical essays and giving oral reports ASSIGNMENTS: - Reading the articles and chapters given in class - Viewing films outside the class - Oral presentations on the films seen in class - Writing essays 1
GENERAL EDUCATION: This course fulfills one or more General Education requirement _X Yes No This course can be used to fulfill the «Comparing Worlds Past and Present» requirement The students will learn about the architectural transformations of Paris through a close analysis of a broad range of films from all over the world. They will understand how French social, cultural and political realities are portrayed and distorted. They will also reflect on the fantasized Paris created by Hollywood and see how major filmmakers project their vision of the city. Many film genres will be explored through several eras (cinema of the 30s, classical cinema, new wave, cinema of the 70s, 80s, 90s and recently released movies) TEXTBOOKS: Chapters of La ville au Cinéma, Thierry Jousse and Thierry Paquot (Cahiers du Cinéma) will be available on the Blackboard A detailed glossary of keywords of the cinematic syntax will be given to students Recommanded: Dictionnaire de la pensée du Cinéma, Antoine de Baecque (PUF) ATTENDANCE: It is essential to attend at all times. Absences will therefore be taken into account when determining the course grade. GRADING: The final grade will be based upon: - Class participation and oral presentations: 20% - Research papers: 30% - Mid-Term: 25% - Final test: 25% ABSENCE POLICY: Students at The American University of Paris are expected to attend all sessions. Certain absences may, however, be excused. Excused absences fall into two categories: sickness or unforeseen emergency, and universitysponsored activities, such as study trips. When a student misses a class, he or she must present an excuse to the teacher. If three consecutive classes are missed, however, the student must go to the Student Affairs Office to present third-party verification (a doctor's note, for example) in order for the absence to be excused. In all cases the responsibility for making up missed work rests solely with the student. However, the instructor may recommend administrative withdrawal of a student whose absences, excused or not, have made it impossible to continue in the course at a satisfactory level. ATTENDANCE POLICY: Students studying at The American University of Paris are expected to attend ALL scheduled classes, and in case of absence, contact their professors to explain the situation. It is the student s responsibility to be aware of any specific attendance policy th faculty member might have set in the course syllabus. The French Department, for example, has its own attendance policy, an are responsible for compliance. Academic Affairs will excuse an absence for students participation in study trips related to thei Attendance at all exams is mandatory. IN ALL CASES OF MISSED COURSE MEETINGS, THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATION WITH THE PROFESSOR ARRANGING TO MAKE UP MISSED WORK, RESTS SOLELY WITH THE STUDENT. Whether an absence is excused or not is ALWAYS up to the discretion of the professor or the department. Unexcused absence or failing participation grade. In the case of excessive absences, it is up to the professor or the department to decide if the stude for the course. An instructor may recommend that a student withdraw, if absences have made it impossible to continue in the c satisfactory level. Students must be mindful of this policy when making their travel arrangements, and especially during the Drop/Add and Exam P 2
ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY STATEMENT: As an Anglophone university, The American University of Paris is strongly committed to effective English language mastery at the undergraduate level. Most courses require scholarly research and formal written and oral presentations in English, and AUP students are expected to strive to achieve excellence in these domains as part of their course work. To that end, professors include English proficiency among the criteria in student evaluation, often referring students to the university Writing Lab where they may obtain help on specific academic assignments. Proficiency in English is monitored at various points throughout the student's academic career, most notably during the admissions and advising processes, while the student is completing general education requirements, and during the accomplishment of degree program courses and senior theses. COURSE OUTLINE Outline may be slightly modified during the semester 1) Wednesday 11 September Paris: the City of Light? Emblematic places and monuments / Architecture and Cinema / Type characters Screening: Paris I love you: a collective film / a multi-faceted city / an international casting (behind and in front of the camera) / reaffirming and/or challenging clichés? 2) Wednesday 18 September Screening: The Children of Paradise: Carné s poetic realist vision / Paris as a stage The Golden Age of Studio (30/50) / the reign of set designers (Lazare Meerson, Alexandre Trauner) and scriptwriters (Prévert) / Theatrical aesthetics Paris vu par: romantic Paris in question 3) Wednesday 25 September Screening: Amélie Poulain Jeunet s modern fairytale. Montmartre: a mythical location / Paris retro / special effects / stylized acting / sound track: voiceovers, Tiersen s score / cinematographic references 4) Wednesday 2 October Screening: When the Cat s Away La Bastille: a mix of generations / identity in question / tradition and modernity: a changing neighborhood / between documentary and fiction / score in Klapish s films First written assignment: Paris seen by Hollywood / romanticism in comedy and musicals / Audrey Hepburn: the embodiment of the Parisian spirit / Analysis of the roots of the aesthetics developed by these films (painting, music, photography). Recommended films: Funny Face, An American in Paris, Gigi, Irma la douce, Midnight in Paris, Two days in Paris 5) Wednesday 9 October First Research paper due Screening: Breathless Le Film noir French style / The New Wave against Hollywood / homage and pastiche / narrative discontinuity / Acting 6) Wednesday 16 October: MID-TERM 7) Wednesday 23 October Paris seen by Truffaut (the Doinel cycle) Screening: The 400 Blows: The child in the city / autobiographical cinema / wandering on the streets of Paris 3
8) Wednesday 6 November : Screening: Cléo de 5 à 7 (Agnès Varda) Between life and death: an existential journey / cinematographic space and time Student presentations on Le Feu follet and Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle) 9) Wednesday 13 November Screening: The Tenant Paris fantastic / Polanski s paranoid vision Haunted space / Possession / Polanski: director/actor Student oral presentation on excerpts of Frantic Assignment for the 21 st : Thematic and comparative analysis of the representation of the bridge in cinema (recommended films: Boudu saved from drowning, Hôtel du Nord, Le Pont des Arts, The Girl on the Bridge, Le Pont des Arts, Everybody says: Paris I love you, Manhattan) 10) Tuesday 20 November 2d research paper due Screening: The lovers on the Bridge The colors of the night: between dream and nightmare Analysis of Carax s camera work / acting (Denis Lavant /Juliette Binoche) Student oral presentations on excerpts of Holly Motors 11) Wednesday 27 November: Screening: The Hate / Suburbs on the screen Analysis of Kassowitz s editing techniques and camera moves Student oral presentation on Tati s vision in My Uncle: nostalgia and parody 12) Wednesday 4 December: Screening of Les Nuits Fauves (Cyril Collard) followed by a debate Cyril Collard: actor, director, composer / autobiographical cinema On the edge / Sex, drugs, prostitution 13) Wednesday 11 December Screening: The last Tango in Paris, a cult film Marlon Brando s acting style To watch for the Final Exam: Les chansons d amour (Christophe Honoré) and J embrasse pas (Téchiné) 14) FINAL TEST: December 18 (19H00) Visit of the Cinémathèque with a lecturer: date to be announced l FILMOGRAPHIE Boudu saved from drowning, Renoir (1932) Children of Paradise, Marcel Carné (1945) An American in Paris, Vincente Minnelli (1951) Funny Face, Stanley Donen (1957) Mon Oncle, Jacques Tati (1958) Elevator to the Gallows, Louis Malle (1958) The 400 Blows, François Truffaut (1959) 4
Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard (1959) Le feu Follet, Louis Malle (1963) Irma la Douce, Billy Wilder (1963) Cléo de 5 à 7, Agnès Varda (1962) Paris vu par, collective film (1966) Tenant, Roman Polanski (1976) Lovers on the Bridge, Leo Carax (1988) Les nuits Fauves, Cyril Collard (1992) Hate, Mathieu Kassovitz (1995) When the Cat s Away, Cedric Klapish (1996) The girl on the bridge, Patrice Leconte (1999) Amélie Poulain, Jean-Pierre Jeunet (2001) Le Pont des Arts, Eugène Green (2004) Paris, I love you, collective film (2006) Les chansons d amour, Christophe Honoré (2007) 2 Days in Paris, Julie Delpy (2007) Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen (2011) 5