Carte Blanche a David B.
On the occasion of the exhibition of the panels from his latest book, David B.—one of the most important storytellers in international comics—has selected three films for Cinema Modernissimo that perfectly capture his poetics. The "Carte Blanche a David B." festival is in collaboration with the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, Sigaretten Edizioni Grafiche, and Hamelin.
Mon., November 17, 4:30 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
Una sera, un treno (One Night... a train)
(Un soir, un train, Belgium–France/1968)
by André Delvaux (90')
Mathias, a language teacher, is having an affair with Anna, a theater scenographer. One evening, Mathias takes a train to attend a conference in a nearby city, and Anna joins him on the journey. Dreams and reality begin to intertwine until the tragic ending. The encounter between reality and dream, a recurring theme in David B.'s work, is at the heart of this film by André Delvaux, based on a 1950 novel by Flemish author Johan Daisne. "A story of the crossing of a frontier like my Signor Civetta, or rather of multiple frontiers: that of language (from French to Flemish), that between life and death (the train), and that between love and its end" (David B.).
Fri., Nov. 28, 4:00 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
I ragazzi terribili (The Terrible Children)
(Les enfants terribles, France/1950)
by Jean-Pierre Melville (109')
Elisabeth and Paul cultivate a symbiotic relationship that becomes increasingly exclusive. "Based on Jean Cocteau's novel of the same name, it thrives on a toxic atmosphere that the characters sublimate with their imagination. The two protagonists are brother and sister but seem like twins and invent a fantasy world depicted as a surreal space. They create the 'game of their lives' but they will not emerge victorious" (David B.). Beloved by "Cahiers," Melville's second work is illuminated by the splendid photography of Henri Decaë, the costumes of Dior, and the music of Bach and Vivaldi.
Sat., Nov. 29, 8:00 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
Il Conformista (The Conformist)
(Italy-France-Germany/1970)
by Bernardo Bertolucci (111')
"It's the first 'grown-up' film I saw as a teenager, and it touched me with its beauty and its historical setting, but also with its parallel story. And then there's the sublime, brilliant, beautiful Dominique Sanda" (David B.). The portrait of a bourgeois conformist, repressed and ambiguous, coincides with the image of an Italianness prone to any compromise and betrayal. "It was set in 1937, but even today it doesn't seem so difficult to find someone willing to betray their ideals to jump on the bandwagon of the victors. The conformists never die" (Bernardo Bertolucci).
Mon., November 17, 4:30 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
Una sera, un treno (One Night... a train)
(Un soir, un train, Belgium–France/1968)
by André Delvaux (90')
Mathias, a language teacher, is having an affair with Anna, a theater scenographer. One evening, Mathias takes a train to attend a conference in a nearby city, and Anna joins him on the journey. Dreams and reality begin to intertwine until the tragic ending. The encounter between reality and dream, a recurring theme in David B.'s work, is at the heart of this film by André Delvaux, based on a 1950 novel by Flemish author Johan Daisne. "A story of the crossing of a frontier like my Signor Civetta, or rather of multiple frontiers: that of language (from French to Flemish), that between life and death (the train), and that between love and its end" (David B.).
Fri., Nov. 28, 4:00 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
I ragazzi terribili (The Terrible Children)
(Les enfants terribles, France/1950)
by Jean-Pierre Melville (109')
Elisabeth and Paul cultivate a symbiotic relationship that becomes increasingly exclusive. "Based on Jean Cocteau's novel of the same name, it thrives on a toxic atmosphere that the characters sublimate with their imagination. The two protagonists are brother and sister but seem like twins and invent a fantasy world depicted as a surreal space. They create the 'game of their lives' but they will not emerge victorious" (David B.). Beloved by "Cahiers," Melville's second work is illuminated by the splendid photography of Henri Decaë, the costumes of Dior, and the music of Bach and Vivaldi.
Sat., Nov. 29, 8:00 p.m. | Cinema Modernissimo – Cineteca di Bologna
Il Conformista (The Conformist)
(Italy-France-Germany/1970)
by Bernardo Bertolucci (111')
"It's the first 'grown-up' film I saw as a teenager, and it touched me with its beauty and its historical setting, but also with its parallel story. And then there's the sublime, brilliant, beautiful Dominique Sanda" (David B.). The portrait of a bourgeois conformist, repressed and ambiguous, coincides with the image of an Italianness prone to any compromise and betrayal. "It was set in 1937, but even today it doesn't seem so difficult to find someone willing to betray their ideals to jump on the bandwagon of the victors. The conformists never die" (Bernardo Bertolucci).
