Bastille Day
René Clair
France,
1933
On a particularly festive Bastille Day in the City of Light, flower seller Anna (Annabella) and hack driver Jean (George Rigaud) fall in love, and all seems right with the world—until a seductive former girlfriend, Pola (Pola Illéry), returns to Jean’s life. Soon the femme fatale introduces him to a pair of thieves (Thomy Bourdelle and Raymond Aimos), who plan to rob the local bar where Anna now works, forcing Jean to decide whether to take part in a big score or to protect his former belle. An effusive love letter to Paris—which is subtly recreated by the legendary art director Lazare Meerson, in some of the early sound era’s most extraordinary sets—Bastille Day (also known as July 14) showcases director René Clair’s preternatural ability to balance drama, romance, and comedy, applying a light touch to the profoundest of sentiments.
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