Restorations and retrospectives are plentiful enough that it’s hard to believe Oliver Assayas’ early career bears no imprint on American film culture. While certain pre-Cold Water titles could be obtained if one looks hard enough, 1991’s Paris Awakens and 1993’s A New Life are basically non-existent in any context stateside. (I knew my efforts were bound to fail when I finally found a copy of one and it was, to my amazement, dubbed in German.) I’m accordingly thrilled to program new restorations of both, which make their North American premiere on Tuesday, November 4 at BAM––tickets are now available.
That neither has been acquired by a North American distributor leaves uncertain when they’ll be seen again. Just this summer, Assayas expressed his enthusiasm for the program while acknowledging this ultra-rare status:
“I was really happy Bruno [Pésery] green-lighted it, like, a year ago. So I did the restoration job. And I was really happy to do it. It was extremely strange because Une nouvelle vie [A New Life], I hadn’t even… I mean, there never was a DVD; there never was a Blu-ray. It’s been on French TV once 20 years ago, 30 years ago, whatever. So all of a sudden, you know, I’m just happy it’s resurrected, but I hope it’s… yeah, no, I hope that they make a deal for a Blu-ray. I’m happy the films are revived.”
These may not be the product of an artist we know. Assayas has spoken of finding himself before Cold Water, when cinema was “made in the framework of French indie filmmaking.” During an interview in 2018, he told me that A New Life is “very much a transitional film” that attempted to transform his approach: “I kind of pushed to the extreme what I was doing, into some strange, abstract area.” Even less has been said about the Jean-Pierre Léaud-starring, John Cale-scored Paris Awakens. What better means of finding out for ourselves?
Find synopses and stream John Cale’s Paris Awakens score below:
Paris Awakens
Tuesday, November 4 at 7 p.m.
Before Cold Water and Something in the Air, Olivier Assayas offered this study of contemporary youth’s malaise. The 19-year-old Adrien (Thomas Langmann) finds his father, Clément (Jean-Pierre Léaud, Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel), in a relationship with Louise (Judith Godrèche), a girl his own age. Drug use and illicit romance emerge in a blue-gray Paris of late nights, squats, and petty crime, with Louise oscillating between father and son, seeking independence and freedom. A perpetually gliding camera follows the instability of young people struggling to live in a world that’s as sticky as it is romantic. Featuring an original score by John Cale, Paris Awakens is a film of harsh beauty, softened by the presence of Godrèche and the whimsy of Léaud, a son of the New Wave and now a father at last.
A New Life
Tuesday, November 4 at 9:15 p.m.
Tina (Sophie Aubry) is a warehouse worker whose simple life is turned upside down by her mother’s passing. In shock, Tina seeks out the wealthy father she’s never met, and discovers the existence of a half-sister she never knew about while having strange encounters with her mysterious father’s lawyer. In only his third feature, Olivier Assayas crafts a cruel tale of kinship, sex, money, and the fragility of emotions, yet one that also finds tenderness in a young girl’s determination.