UNTIL YOUR LAST BREATH

The charm of Parisian arthouse cinemas

FEBRUARY 2024 - GAZE

“La photographie, c'est la vérité et le cinéma, c'est vingt-quatre fois la vérité par seconde...”

Jean-Luc Godard

Baguette under his arm, red lips, beret, oversized coat, knee-high boots and nonchalance to spare.

Pretending to be the typical French girl of the first lines, I entered the passages like a Baudlerian flâneuse and, after dreamily curling up on numerous velvet armchairs, here is an excursus of the Parisian must-see cinéma d’essai.

Most of them are located in the Latin Quarter, the intellectual heart of the city, at least at the beginning of the twentieth century, where you could walk along the left bank, between the Café de Flore and Les Deux Magots in St. Germain-de-Près, where you could meet Simone de Beauvoir or Ernest Hemingway.

It all began with Louis Delluc, a pioneer of arthouse cinema, who founded the first ciné-club in the 20s in Paris, starting the phenomenon. With the rise of the concept of “auteur cinema” in the 60s, the need to select films outside the traditional programming will arise, and specialized cinemas will increasingly become spaces dedicated to rare pearls.

Nostalgic, romantic and ephemeral Nostalgic, romantic and ephemeral

But what is so fascinating about nostalgic Parisian cinemas? First of all, romance, the one that still lives in the memories of past loves, not yet forgotten, and perhaps never fully consummated. Then the instability. Cinemas today are ephemeral, precarious, or that’s what they want us to believe, and they stand on a dancing balance. Today they exist, tomorrow who knows.

Cinéma La Clef @laclefrevival

Independent cinema founded in the 70s by Claude Frank-Forter to promote young emerging directors. In 2019, a radical Parisian group, called Cinéma La Clef Revival Collective, prevented its closure by occupying the spaces illegally. Even today, the cinema tries to resist despite financial obstacles and requests rejected by the city’s managers.

Le Champo @cinema_lechampo

Among the historical places, however, we cannot fail to mention the Cinéma Champo, a tribute to the one who was one of its most assiduous visitors, Jean-Luc Godard. It is said that the director skipped classes to take refuge at the Champo with his teachers. And the same is also said of Claude Chabrol and Truffaut. Located on the corner of Rue des Écoles and Rue Champollion, the cinema has existed since 1938 with its Art Deco façade, after having spent two lives, one as a bookshop and the other as a cabaret theater.

Perhaps mindful of this past, the cinema periodically organizes nocturnes dedicated to a director or a particular theme. It starts at midnight and at dawn we have breakfast with café au lait and croissants. Champeau!

Studio 28 @cinemastudio28Tucked away in the heart of Montmartre, Studio 28 was a rebellious, avant-garde space, frequented by painters and poets since its opening in 1928. In 1930 he screened “L’Age d’or”, a provocative film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, which was banned after less than a week, sparking riots among the spectators and causing many problems for the management of the place. The room was decorated by Jean Cocteau who was its main patron, and today there is also a pleasant café-garden, but no popcorn.

Cinéma du Panthéon @cinemadupantheon

The Panthéon, which opened in 1907, is the oldest working cinema in Paris. His only giant screen promoted the French New Wave and was one of the first to screen foreign films in the original language. Today, its theater-like salon is the result of Catherine Deneuve’s 2006 design. Jean-Paul Sartre described his visit to the cinema as a child in Les Mots: “We followed the usher, stumbling, I felt stealthy; above our heads a beam of white light crossed the room, we could see smoke and dust dancing”.

And finally, a secret place on the Left Bank…

Le Grand Action @legrandactioncinemaA neighbour of Le Champo, the Grand Action is also part of the history of Parisian cinema, initially known as a variety and entertainment theatre for the game of volleyball (jeau de paume).

The Pagodas

Transformed into a cinema in the fifties, with a Japanese garden, this space is an original pagoda. The building became an important landmark in the film scene because it adhered to the Nouvelle Vague, with the screening of films by Ingmar Bergman, Jean Cocteau, Jacques Rozier and François Truffaut. Currently it seems closed to the public for renovation, but keep an eye on it… to discuss movies soon over a green tea.

And if you still have no shortage of curiosity, but rather has been piqued, take a look at @cinemasdeparis’s Instagram profile for new and hilarious goodies between popcorn and cameras.

by Alessandra Busacca

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