Join our cohort of film devotees to consider French social comedy, a genre marrying humor to social commentary. Satire is always one ingredient, but here it’s savory, not sour. Also in the mix? Social solidarity. Two films are comedies of self-absorption: that of Jean Renoir’s landed gentry and Agnes Varda’s yé-yé singer, Cleo. The second Varda film uses the director's own life’s work as social commentary, while Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie fashions a Parisian fable about loneliness.
The films to watch prior to class meetings are:
Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1939)
Cléo From Five to Seven (Agnès Varda, 1962)
The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000)
Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
Michael Walsh previously chaired Cinema Departments at Binghamton and University of Hartford, where he co-founded the Cinema major and has taught film studies for 25 years. He has published widely on film, literature, and theory. His recent articles are about the French New Wave director Chris Marker and the issue of adult/adolescent sexuality in Nabokov’s Lolita and Marguerite Duras’ The Lover. His book Durational Cinema: A Short History of Long Films came out in 2022 with Palgrave Macmillan.
Mondays, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, 9, 16 | 3 p.m.–4:30 p.m. | Wilde Auditorium/Harry Jack Gray Center | $80 | Register Here
Made possible in part by the generosity of the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving. Brought to you by the Presidents' College, where we connect the curious through lifelong learning.
For other stimulating Presidents' College offerings, see our printable PDF.
Faculty and staff are eligible to take one Presidents' College lecture for free every semester, or to receive a one-session discount ($20) for a longer course. Contact us at pcollege@hartford.edu or 860.768.4495.
Our snazzy Presidents’ College Gift Certificates are also ready for purchase. Giving the gift of knowledge is a great way to celebrate birthdays and un-birthdays in style while inviting friends and family into the Presidents' College circle.