Paris nous appartient

Paris Belongs to Us

An underseen early French New Wave landmark, Jacques Rivette’s superb feature debut pulsates with the turmoil of an emerging cinematic revolution.

  • Director

    Jacques Rivette

  • With

    Betty Schneider, Gianni Esposito, Françoise Prévost

  • France 1961. 141min

  • 35mm

  • Certificate

    12A

  • English subtitles

Filmed over a two-year period, Rivette’s debut follows a young literature student who befriends a group of meandering twentysomethings, with tensions soon arising. Featuring cameos by fellow Cahiers du Cinéma critics Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard, it captures a real sense of the city during the rudderless Cold War era. Showcasing Rivette’s formal playfulness, this key title in the movement was the winner of the BFI’s Sutherland Trophy in 1962.

Diana Cipriano

Film on Film