Dir. Jacques Becker, 1947, France. 78 min. B&W DCP
With Roger Pigaut, Claire Mafféi, Noël Roquevert
In French with English subtitles
In Jacques Becker’s zippiest, most stylish romantic comedy, the loss of a winning lottery ticket sends salesgirl Antoinette (Claire Mafféi) and her factory worker husband Antoine (Roger Pigaut) on a hunt through the streets of Paris. The result is a vivid, lighthearted picture of working-class life in the years following World War II.
Full of the sights and sounds of a gentrifying city—where luxury boutiques and throngs of tourists are beginning to overwrite an industrial past—Antoine and Antoinette is more than a time capsule. It is an entire world, brought to life by one of France’s great humanist directors.
The only film to ever be awarded the Cannes Film Festival Best Psychological and Love Film.
“The film walks an evocative line between realism and fantasy, capturing the energetic effervescence of the city of light and showing how it complements the unbreakable bond between our impassioned heroes.” — Time Out New York
“Becker depicts the couple warmly and tenderly, and frankly displays their hearty and vigorous eroticism.” — Richard Brody, The New Yorker
Video: Introduction by Max Nelson
Max Nelson
Max Nelson’s writings on film have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The Nation, Film Comment and other publications. He studies English at Yale.
