La vie des morts La sentinelle

See La vie des morts, Desplechin's first film, plus La sentinelle, his forensic thriller set in the Cold War era.

Second feature start time: 8 pm. Desplechin's first film, La vie des morts, is a beautifully acted ensemble piece about a group of relatives gathered in an apartment where they await news about the attempted suicide of a young cousin. (1991; 54 mins.)

An intricately constructed forensic thriller set in the waning days of the Cold War, La sentinelle follows Mathias, a medical student traveling from Germany to France and unknowingly smuggling a severed human head in his baggage. His obsession with solving that mystery runs parallel with the film's absorbing portrait of French student life, with the Cold War divide echoed by the characters' attempts to connect. (1992; 139 mins.)


series booklet

A booklet to accompany the series has been produced by the Wexner Center, BAMcinematek, and Wellspring Media, Inc. The booklet, available in a PDF version on this web site, features essays by noted film critics Kent Jones and Amy Taubin and a Desplechin filmography. Images and text in the booklet are protected by copyright; all rights reserved.


support credits

Season support provided by the Rohauer Collection Foundation and the Corporate Annual Fund of the Wexner Center Foundation.

Contemporary films, international films, and visiting filmmakers presented with support from the Ohio Arts Council.


series special thanks

Special thanks to Florence Almozini of the Brooklyn Academy of Music and Ryan Werner and Marisa Keselica of Wellspring for their invaluable support and cooperation.