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I searched and couldn't find a discussion of Eustache in this forum aside from the International DVD thread.

Anyway, I just got news from a friend that there will be a COMPLETE RETROSPECTIVE of Eustache's works in DC in 2008. I don't know anymore of the details, but it will be sponsored by the National Gallery of Art and the French Embassy, which means that these will most likely be.... FREE!

Maybe not. This isn't official yet. When I know more I'll post it here.

Well, if it's at the National Gallery, then it will definitely be free.

That's great news! The NGA is also having Hopper and Turner exhibits later in the year (through January), so if an Eustache retro overlaps, that's even more of a reason to get to DC.

Lucky you! I was fortunate enough to catch the complete Eustache a few years ago, and it's an extremely rich and diverse body of work. Even the notionally marginal works (like the two Rosiere de Pessacs) are quite unique - who else would think to make the same documentary twice ten years apart? Then he does a similar trick, but even more disorienting, with Une sale histoire.

La Maman et la Putain is a gold-standard classic, but I like his second feature Mes petites amoureuses even more: completely different in tone, and tackling potentially hackneyed material in a fresh and imaginative way.

And don't be put off by the subject matter of Le Cochon. It's probably even harder to watch than Le sang des betes (basically you follow - relentlessly - the fate of the title beast from living creature to sausages), but for such a blunt instrument it achieves a weird metaphysical poetry. At some point - who knows where? - the nature of what you're watching changes (the material loses its 'pig-ness'), but because Eustache elides so little the point of change, which probably differs from viewer to viewer, becomes like a religious mystery.

A complete retrospective? In DC of all places! Living in Virginia isn't as bad as I thought. I hope it's in the spring or summer because I'll still be here for school. Justeleblanc, do you know what the reason for this retrospective is? I'd hope it'd be Gallic goodwill, but I doubt it somehow.

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:A complete retrospective? In DC of all places! Living in Virginia isn't as bad as I thought. I hope it's in the spring or summer because I'll still be here for school. Justeleblanc, do you know what the reason for this retrospective is? I'd hope it'd be Gallic goodwill, but I doubt it somehow.

I think this is something the cultural center of the French Embassy has been wanting to do for a while. They've been doing a great job bringing a lot of French films to DC (with the help of the NGA) and I think they have a serious budget to work with. Plus, they have a guy in charge who's a bit of a serious cinephile.

Virginia's not bad at all, at least Northern Virginia isn't. I can't vouch for Lynchburg or Blacksburg, but for what it's worth I did live near the Pohick library. Didn't realize it was funny until I gave directions to a relative.

EDIT: I forgot the city of Manasses as well.

I can vouch for Lynchburg not being a fun town at all. Jean Eustache will be worth the three hour drive to DC. Do you know if the embassy would know what time of year the retrospective might be if I e-mailed them?

Great news. I agree, the French Embassy in DC is actually quite good about local area French film programming. They did the Chris Marker films series at NGA not too long ago (5-6 years?), which included Le Joli mai and Je t'aime, je t'aime, and I had friends coming in from New York just to catch it.

Too bad the same can't be said for the Portuguese Embassy though. I found out from Pedro Costa's distributor that NGA couldn't accommodate the full retrospective in DC, so they settled for that one weekend of O Sangue and Colossal Youth at Freer/Sackler.

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:I can vouch for Lynchburg not being a fun town at all. Jean Eustache will be worth the three hour drive to DC. Do you know if the embassy would know what time of year the retrospective might be if I e-mailed them?

So far it's just March of 2008. That's all I know. I don't think the exact schedule has been finalized.

acquarello wrote:Great news. I agree, the French Embassy in DC is actually quite good about local area French film programming. They did the Chris Marker films series at NGA not too long ago (5-6 years?), which included Le Joli mai and Je t'aime, je t'aime, and I had friends coming in from New York just to catch it.

Isn't Je t'aime, Je t'aime Resnais?

Duh, you're right! #-o It was the same summer programming though, if I remember correctly. I remember they had Mauritz Stiller's Erotikon too. Come to think of it, what the heck was that program?

acquarello wrote:so they settled for that one weekend of O Sangue and Colossal Youth at Freer/Sackler.

That's a damn shame, not least because O Sangue is his only bad film. The print is beautiful and it's very well shot, but the film itself is kind of a slog. At the New York retro Costa seemed almost embarrassed that it was being shown.

March 2008 means spring break and Jean Eustache! I just might see some of you forum boys there. I've never heard of Mes petites amoureuses so I'm certainly interested in seeing that film

For those in NYC.

Can DC be far behind?

Jean-Luc Garbo wrote:For those in NYC.

Can DC be far behind?

Already announced

There's also an ongoing parallel discussion on the 'Jean Eustache on DVD' thread where the NYC and DC schedules were previously posted. Those should probably be ported here since the other one is a DVD thread.

Eastman House in upstate NY (Rochester) is hosting the Eustache retrospective next month also.

O MON DIEU

this is simply heaven. 2008 is turning out to be mindblowing. first marienbad; now eustache. next, eustache box set?! (ok, now that's just crazytalk.)

ps. the nyc screenings are not a complete retrospective. any one know if all his films will play in nyc in the near future? otherwise, i'll have to be in dc every weekend!

ps. the nyc screenings are not a complete retrospective. any one know if all his films will play in nyc in the near future? otherwise, i'll have to be in dc every weekend!

Since FIAF is putting on this series in April, it's extremely unlikely that anyone else in NY will do an Eustache retro for 2-3 years (because that's the gap required to get press coverage).

I just got back from the second day of Jean Eustache films at the NGA in DC. Yesterday we screened GARDEN OF DELIGHTS and THE PIG, today we screened PHOTOS OF ALIX, SANTA CLAUS HAS BLUE EYES, and SALE HISTOIRE. All five films were quite awesome to watch. Eustache was much more humanist than I expected. I read an interpretation that his films were bitter and I was expecting some misanthropy, but what I got was something different. In the program someone compared him to Flaubert, and so far, this is an apt comparison.

I'll be sure to share some more thoughts once I have time to sit down and collect them.

Just curious but was anyone else from this forum there this weekend?

Also, because I care about this just as much, none of the films were proceeded by a company logo. No New Yorker Films logo before Sale Histoire, which definitely proceeds their prints when they play at NGA.

Next week is Mother and the Whore, Numero Zero, and Bad Company. CANT FUCKING WAIT!!!!!

Yup, I was there this weekend too. I finished writing about the first installment of films on Sunday morning just before heading out to NGA, and will start tackling the Sunday slate later today, which was an even stronger program. There's a lot of humor in Eustache's films, so it was great to see the crowd getting into the spirit too. It was kinda funny how about 2/3 of the audience walked out after the first part of Une sale histoire though, not realizing that there was a second part.

I tend to hate the audiences at the NGA. At the 2:00 screening on Saturday they were all yelling at each other. During the screening of L'Amour fou last year, anything that was remotely humorous caused the audience to roll on the floor laughing, as if there was some sort of competition as to who is sophistacted enough to get the jokes in a French film.

I told the people in front of me "Don't Leave" in the middle of Sale Histoire, and the couple said "Are there bloopers?"

Sunday was a stronger program, but then I knew that going in. Garden of Delights is a bland mixture of Sale Histoire and Photos of Alix, and Le Cochon is a film that once you get it, it becomes repetitive. Though in terms of people walking out, I was annoyed at those leaving Le Cochon, since I think the film was directly aimed at those who have been told to be repulsed by images of slaughtered animals. Those who walked out clearly weren't listening to anything Eustache was saying.

By the way, who the hell brings their children to Eustache films?

justeleblanc wrote:By the way, who the hell brings their children to Eustache films?

Nice. But I meant 4 year olds.

Also, just in case anyone is curious, the NGA will also be showing Nazarin and May Fools in the upcoming months (both are Janus).

Hmm...now I'm actually wondering if it was the same idiot who thought it would be good idea to bring a newborn to the New York premiere of Peep "TV" Show about four years ago now.

The other event that caught my eye is the screening of Kon Ichikawa's I Am a Cat with Tatsuya Nakadai in person. Wow! I just hope it doesn't coincide with the NY Human Rights Watch timeframe.

is anyone catching the rosiere films at the maison française? i ask because i've been traveling to dc to catch the eustaches but now i'm looking at the map and it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. how can i get there? also, the showings are kind of late so i don't even know which bus i can catch out of dc. argh, it always seems to be such an obstacle course when it comes to all things eustache!

truefaux wrote:is anyone catching the rosiere films at the maison française? i ask because i've been traveling to dc to catch the eustaches but now i'm looking at the map and it seems to be in the middle of nowhere. how can i get there? also, the showings are kind of late so i don't even know which bus i can catch out of dc. argh, it always seems to be such an obstacle course when it comes to all things eustache!

i will be catching the first week at the french embassy, but i wont be at the second unfortunately. the embassy is just north of the georgetown university campus. it's a hike from any of the metro stops, but its not too far from the circulator bus, which i think goes to resevoir and wisconsin (a few blocks away). you could also just call a cab, which probably is the most reliable at that time at night.

as for a ride back, does chinatown bus go up to new york at that time? if you are already staying somewhere for the sunday and saturday showings, would it make sense to stay a third night and take a crack of dawn bus tuesday morning?

this reminds me that i need to reserve my ticket for monday night.
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What the deuce--

Monday night's screenings of Bad Company, and the two beauty pageant docs will no longer have subtitles according to the website.

justeleblanc wrote:Monday night's screenings of Bad Company, and the two beauty pageant docs will no longer have subtitles according to the website.

i caught bad company at fiaf and they announced the subtitles were lost in australia. but you don't really need them so i encourage you to watch them anyway since the films aren't available.

and thanks for the info. unfortunately, i don't have a place in dc and have just been taking the eight-hour round trips. i'll look into hiring a cab, if you've got a number for them do post.

YELLOW CAB:
General Office: (202) 546-7900
Taxicab Service: (202) 544-1212 or (202) 829-4222