Paris Awakens

Programmed by Nick Newman

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.

New restoration