Zazie in the Subway
Krzysztof Mętrak Competition
A young critic has been awarded for the 22nd time. As is tradition, this year’s winner, Klara Cykorz, will present a film of her choice: Zazie in the Subway.
A little prankster named Zazie arrives in Paris, where countless impressions await her. Stop. That sentence doesn't quite sound right. It's basically true but somehow inadequate. Let me start again, this time using more exuberant vocabulary. Zazie, a youthful surrealist, arrives in Paris, where she throws herself into the surging surf of the city to ride the waves of chaos with a smile on her face. Better. This is more or less the story of Louis Malle's film. I would add that it was staged with an almost magical flair, thanks to which there is not a single shot in the film that could be considered normal-and therefore boring. And the film was based on the famous novel by Raymond Queneau, which-at least according to the erudites who had the change to read it-is an extremely difficult work to adapt for the screen.
Louis Malle
Louis Malle (1932-1995) came from France. He first studied Political Science at the Sorbonne, before studying at the IDHEC film school in Paris. He was an assistant to Robert Bresson. As a cinematographer and co-director, he worked with Jacques-Yves Cousteau on the documentary The Silent World, which won a Palme d'Or and an Oscar. He made his debutwith the crime film Elevator to the Gallows. His next film, the melodrama The Lovers, caused a scandal. He worked both in France and in the United States.
Selected filmography
1958 Windą na szafot / Ascenseur pour / Elevator to the Gallows
1958 Kochankowie / Les amants / The Lovers
1960 Zazie w metrze / Zazie dans le métro / Zazie in the Subway
1974 Lacombe Lucien / Lacombe Lucien / Lacombe, Lucien
1980 Atlantic City
1981 Moja kolacja z André / My Dinner with André