Le Pique-nique de Lulu Kreutz (2000) Directed by Didier Martiny
Comedy / Drama
aka: Lulu Kreutz's Picnic
Film Synopsis
Jascha Steg is a world-renowned cellist but recently he has begun to lose
interest in his art and no longer puts as much passion and enthusiasm into
his recitals as he once did. He is performing at a concern in Evian
when he gets to meet up with several friends and members of his family, who
are all delighted to be reunited with him. His parents, Joseph and
Olga, are here of course, along with his cheerful uncle Michel. And
there is Anna, an old flame, and her husband Primo. When Lulu Kreutz,
another dear friend, suggests they all go on a picnic excursion into the
mountains, Jascha and his entourage willingly agree. It is now that
the cellist discovers his passion for Anna is as intense as ever it was,
and he knows he cannot give her up. Despite Anna's protestations that
their love affair is over and done with, Jascha clings to her like a man
possessed, and in doing so he risks ruining her marriage and his own reputation...
Cast:Philippe Noiret (Joseph Steg),
Carole Bouquet (Anna Ghirardi),
Niels Arestrup (Jascha Steg),
Stéphane Audran (Lulu Kreutz),
Michel Aumont (Michel Mazelsky),
Judith Magre (Olga Steg),
Johan Leysen (Primo Ghirardi),
Carlotta Alessandri (L'admiratrice),
Gabriel Garran (L'admirateur),
Maurice Hebert (Le concierge de l'hôtel),
Maria Grazia Sansone (L'amie d'Anna)
Country: France
Language: French
Support: Color
Runtime: 102 min
Aka:Lulu Kreutz's Picnic
The best of American film noir
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.