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A Hundred And One Nights

1995, Movie, NR, 125 mins

A Hundred And One Nights: Review

HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS, A | LES CENT ET UNE NUITES DE SIMON CINEMA
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Made to mark the centenary of filmmaking, Agnes Varda's whimsical pastiche may be rough going for viewers who aren't conversant with movie history (French cinema in particular), but the stunning — if overly familiar — clips from movies ranging from SINGING IN THE RAIN to MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO more than make up for the skimpy trappings of the story. Simon Cinema (Michel Piccoli), a hundred year old cinephile with a failing memory, hires pretty young film student Camille (Julie Gayet) to reminisce with him about film history over the course of 101 nights. Simon fancies himself the embodiment of cinema: He has married Catherine Deneuve, he directed Godard's WEEKEND, and so on. As Simon and Camille converse in his film memorabilia-packed chateau, Simon's Italian friend (Marcello Mastroianni) wanders in and out of scenes. As you might expect, Varda cranks out visual and verbal allusions to the entire history of cinema, supplemented with frequent, if not entirely successful, cameos by a parade of acting greats (primarily European) along the lines of Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Gina Lollobrigida, Jeanne Moreau and Hanna Schygulla. Meanwhile when not chatting up Simon, Camille is having a passionate affair with aspiring director Mica (Mathieu Demy), who desperately needs funds to make his first short film. She also discovers that Simon is holding on for the return of his long-lost, great-grandson Vincent, and schemes to pass off a lapsed Buddhist monk (Emmanuel Salinger) as Simon's inheritor. This is by no means a fully realized work, but it has style and star power to spare. leave a comment --Sandra Contreras
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