La Belle noiseuse

An incisive and exquisite adaptation of a Balzac novella, La Belle noiseuse is one of Rivette's biggest commercial successes and most beloved films--and not just because Emmanuelle Beart spends most of the film nude as the "beautiful troublemaker" of the title. The film is another Rivette marathon that offers a hypnotically engrossing look at the creative process. An acclaimed but long inactive painter (the great Michel Piccoli) discovers a new muse in Beart, much to the unease of his wife (Jane Birkin). (238 mins. + intermission, 35mm)

Special thanks to David Schwartz and Livia Bloom from the Museum of the Moving Image and Francois Leloup-Collet from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy for the coordination of this long overdue tour.