La Belle Nivernaise
Jean Epstein, FR 1923Screenplay: Jean Epstein after La Belle-Nivernaise by Alphonse Daudet; Cinematography: Paul Guichard, Léon Donnot; Editing: Jean Epstein, René Alinat; Cast: Blanche Montel, Maurice Touzé, Pierre Hot, Madame Lacroix, Max Bonnet. DCP (from 35mm), bw, 67 min. French with English subtitles
An abandoned boy named Victor is picked up by barge owner Louveau, who decides to make the young lad part of his family. While Louveau's grumbling wife isn't initially enamoured of the idea, their daughter Clara and Victor end up falling in love. But then Victor's biological father turns up to send the boy to boarding school ... One of Jean Epstein's key films and a central work of cinematic impressionism, with its atmospheric depiction of the barge workers' milieu and the melancholic river landscapes, the shots of bridges and banks wreathed in mist recall the paintings of Corot and Renoir. La Belle Nivernaise doesn't just suggest Epstein's later, fascinating work at the start of the sound film era, but also anticipates Jean Vigo's significantly more famous L'Atalante (1934). Henri Langlois: "One of the purest, most classical and exquisite works of French silent cinema. With its perfect simplicity and need to make everything subordinate to the subject, La Belle Nivernaise is without doubt the film from France that can compete with the masterpieces of the Swedish school." (C.H.)
Piano accompaniment by Meg Morley on October 19, 2025
Piano accompaniment by Elaine Brennan on November 3, 2025
Courtesy Cinémathèque française
Screening dates:
So 19.10.2025 19:00
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No reservations accepted for screenings from October 17 to 28; special ticket regulations apply during the Viennale. Tickets are available exclusively at the Viennale box offices, via telephone at 01/526 594 769 or via www.viennale.at.