Truffaut the Cinephile: Five Favorite Parisian Films
Immerse yourself in the world of François Truffaut the cinephile through five Paris-based films that shaped his path as a critic and filmmaker. Discover the works that inspired this master of the Nouvelle Vague and his unconditional love for Parisian cinema.
Cinema as a ‘drug’
In the book The Films in My Life (1975), François Truffaut looks back on his time as a critic at Cahiers du cinéma (1949–1956). He shares his love of cinema, which he calls a “drug,” and memories of his youth in Pigalle, where he skipped school to spend his days in darkened movie theaters.
If the magazine ushered in a new way of watching and talking about films, it was certainly Truffaut who best embodied this fiery, liberating energy. His writings were as passionate as they were compelling, embracing every film he could get his hands on.
In love with the capital, in love with cinema—what could be better for François Truffaut the cinephile than a great film shot in Paris?
Casque d’or, Jacques Becker (1952)
In Joinville-le-Pont, Manda, a carpenter from Belleville, falls in love with Casque d’Or, a Parisian prostitute. But Leca, the leader of a gang of thugs, also desires the young woman.
Truffaut deeply admired Jacques Becker (1906–1960), even paying tribute to his mentor in The Films in My Life. Fascinated by Becker’s realism and elegance, he would draw inspiration from his style for his own films, especially in the Antoine Doinel series.
When Truffaut admired a director, he didn’t do it halfway. The surnames of some of his characters reflect his affections (Fanny Ardant plays Barbara Becker in Finally, Sunday!). Certain romantic comedies directly inspired the Doinel series. But the most touching expression of Truffaut’s respect for Becker is found in this short text, published in 1961, a year after Becker’s death: “He was meticulous and thoughtful, of infinite delicacy (…) Attentive to all new films and filmmakers, easily admiring and always affectionate, this man didn’t know professional jealousy (…).” Seeing his friend paralyzed by the thought of not filming again, Truffaut lashed out at the cruel world of the arts and entertainment. Years after Becker’s death, he was still outraged that no study or tribute worthy of the man or his career had been made.
Truffaut’s take:
A raw film that gets straight to the point—that’s how François Truffaut saw Casque d’Or. Becker didn’t care for rules, did things his own way, and constantly challenged vulgarity: yes, he could show a couple in pajamas, just out of bed, without it being crass or comic! Quite the opposite. Admiring Reggiani and Signoret—“a little alley cat all nerves and a beautiful carnivorous plant that doesn’t turn down cheese”—Truffaut praised this “character-driven film” as visually and narratively ingenious. So much so that he often turned to Becker’s genius in this film whenever he faced script difficulties!
The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne, Robert Bresson (1945)
To get revenge on her lover, a young woman manipulates a dancer into seducing him.
To Truffaut, Robert Bresson was a singular filmmaker whose rigor and minimalist style he admired. After discovering The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne, he defended the film against its critics, showing his sense of justice and his affinity for bold cinema.
Truffaut’s take:
After seeing the film applauded by a nearly full cinema club audience, Truffaut was delighted to witness The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne winning “its appeal,” to borrow Cocteau’s own phrase (he was the film’s dialogist). Truffaut grew angry at people who judged films too hastily and outraged at the plight of filmmakers who must struggle for years to receive recognition equal to their talent. His vocation as a critic was born.
La traversée de Paris, Claude Autant-Lara (1956)
In Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943, a taxi driver smuggles black-market meat, aided by a painter he meets by chance.
Though he often criticized Claude Autant-Lara’s “cinéma de papa” (“old man’s cinema”), Truffaut was captivated by the biting realism of The trip across Paris. The unflinching depiction of Paris under Occupation and the powerful performance by Jean Gabin made it a masterpiece in Truffaut’s eyes.
Autant-Lara was a central figure of the “cinéma de papa” that the Cahiers du cinéma critics—especially the “young Turks” of the Nouvelle Vague—sought to upend: studio-driven, popular but stale, too industrial for their tastes. He was frequently in Truffaut’s crosshairs: “A butcher who insists on making lace,” Truffaut once said of him. And yet…
Truffaut’s take:
And yet, Truffaut almost cheerfully admits to being won over: “If I admire La Traversée de Paris today almost without reservation, if the film’s success now seems self-evident, it’s because Claude Autant-Lara finally found the story of his life, a script in his own image—and because the gusto, exaggeration, vitriol, vulgarity, and excess didn’t undermine it, but elevated it to the epic.”
Authentic, brilliantly acted characters; unrelenting harshness unmarred by political or moral discourse. Truffaut was won over—and so are we.
Zazie in the Metro, Louis Malle (1960)
Zazie, a mischievous little girl, visits Paris to stay with her uncle. All she wants is to ride the metro, but it’s on strike…
A fellow traveler of Louis Malle (1932–1995), Truffaut praised his boldness and humor. In a letter dated October 25, 1960, addressed to Malle, he confessed to being dazzled by the creativity and modernity of Zazie in the Métro, calling it a ‘wildly ambitious’ film.
Truffaut’s take:
In the letter sent to Louis Malle, Truffaut admitted being won over by his film, ‘wildly ambitious and immensely brave,’ which had completely floored him. First screening and already first favorites: favorite scene, favorite shot, favorite character… Truffaut offered a verdict he stood firmly by. And in his words, one can almost see his eyes sparkling with joy: ‘I have rarely wished so much success for someone else’s film as I did this time (…)’.
Vivre sa vie, Jean-Luc Godard (1962)
Nana, a young record store clerk, sinks into prostitution to survive in Paris.
Before their falling out, Truffaut admired the innovative style of Jean-Luc Godard (1930–2022). Vivre sa Vie, with its experimental approach and twelve-chapter structure, deeply moved Truffaut, who admitted to having cried several times while watching it.
These two leading figures of the French New Wave crossed paths at Cahiers du cinéma. Friends and admirers of each other’s work, they co-directed the short film Une histoire d’eau in 1961. Then came the falling out, the rupture, and the harsh criticisms… An artistic breakup but also an irreconcilable rift between two fundamentally different men. Godard accused Truffaut of being a liar, to which Truffaut responded with a scathing letter: “You’re acting like shit.” The two men would never speak again.
And yet, it was Godard who would write the preface to Truffaut’s published correspondence:
« And so we tore each other apart, little by little, to avoid being the first one devoured. Cinema had taught us about life (…) Our pain spoke, spoke, and spoke again, but our suffering remained cinematic — that is to say, silent. François may be dead. I may be alive. What’s the difference, really? »
— Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut: Correspondence (1988)
Nonetheless, before this internal feud, François Truffaut, true to form, had been on fire for the film made by the one who was still his companion then: Vivre sa Vie.
Truffaut’s take :
He praised this little gem to many of his correspondents. It’s hard to say how many times he went to see it in theaters, alone or in good company: “I watched Vivre sa Vie again the other day and, my God, I don’t often cry at the movies” (letter to Helen Scott, 06/20/62), and later, “I went to see it again the other day with Jeanne Moreau and we cried like calves three or four times” (letter to Helen Scott, 07/20/62).
Truffaut fought for the film to be distributed, and was outraged by the refusal “of that bastard Halliday” (the American distributor). For him, this masterpiece absolutely had to be seen, as widely as possible, so that the raw emotion it conveyed could reach the greatest number of viewers. And he concluded: “There are films we admire that make us feel discouraged — what’s the point of continuing after them.”
That said it all.
Discover François Truffaut’s Paris as a cinephile with Ciné-Balade
Want to dive into François Truffaut’s cinematic world in Paris?
Ciné-Balade takes you on a guided tour through the Paris of François Truffaut, retracing the steps of this legendary filmmaker in the neighborhoods that inspired his art.
You’ll find a reference to this tour in Philippe Lombard’s book Le Paris de François Truffaut, published in 2018 — a highly recommended read!