Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 7, 2016

Jacques Rivette's "Paris Belongs to Us" a.k.a. "Paris nous appartient" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the early short film "Le Coup du Berger" (1956) and new interview with Richard Neupert, author of A History of the French New Wave Cinema. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

On the stage

The short quote from Charles Peguy, "Paris belongs to nobody", that pops up immediately after the opening credits feels like a slap in the face. But it is an intended slap because one immediately begins to question the logic behind it and this is exactly the type of reaction Jacques Rivette wanted his debut feature to provoke in the late 1950s. It was time for people to learn how to stay alert and begin asking questions.

The majority of the events in the film are seen through the eyes of Anne Goupil (Betty Schneider), a young and slightly naïve girl who has come to Paris to study classic literature. Anne does not have a boyfriend which is why her brother, Pierre (Francois Maistre), routinely invites her to go out with him. At a party Anne is introduced to a group of fascinating characters who have lost one of their closest friends. The official theory that explains Juan’s death is that he committed suicide, but a few people are skeptical. The paranoid American writer Philip Kaufman (Daniel Crohem) speculates that someone might have killed him. The ambitious theater director Gerard (Giani Esposito), who is working on an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Pericles, is also suspicious, but does not have the time to speculate. The beautiful American exile Terry Yordan (Françoise Prevost) also has many questions, but prefers not to ask them in front of her friends. Throughout the night their conversations make quite an impression on Anne.

A few days later, Gerard invites Anne to replace one of his missing actors. She reluctantly agrees because she has never acted before and during the rehearsals slowly warms up to him. When they talk Juan is frequently mentioned, and the more she hears about his relationship with Gerard and his circle of friends, the more determined she becomes to find out exactly what might have forced him to end his life. Around the same time Anne learns about a tape that belonged to Juan that could have answers to the many questions his friends have asked. But when she decides to find it, she suddenly annoys a lot of different people.

Paris Belongs to Us can be deconstructed in two different ways. At its core it is an experimental project that bends the conventional cinematic rules other films followed before the emergence of the Nouvelle Vague. Rivette fractures its narrative into multiple segments and then begins exploring different possibilities by blending elements from different genres. So there are times when it feels like one is viewing a tense thriller, other times a romantic melodrama, even a raw documentary feature.

The film is also a fascinating time capsule. It very effectively documents the fluid nature of life in the French capital during the late 1950s and early 1960s. There is tremendous positive energy in the air and a desire to be creative, but young people also sense that the pure freedom they are experiencing is in danger. Some are only suspicious but others are already trying to raise awareness that something truly precious can be lost if they don’t stay alert. The paranoia that is lurking in the shadows is easily felt as well.

The acting can be somewhat uneven at times, but the actors do not struggle with their given identities. There is simply a lot of improvising which Rivette never attempts to control. (Similar is the case with Rivette’s much more ambitious project Out 1, but the improvising there actually alters one’s perception of reality and the viewing experience becomes very different).

Three prominent Nouvelle Vague directors have very short cameos in the film: Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Demy. Rivette quickly steps in front of the camera as well.

Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Rivette's Paris Belongs to Us arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution from the original camera negative on an ARRISCAN film scanner equipped with wet-gate processing. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management, jitter, and flicker.

Transfer supervisor: Lee Kline.
Colorist: Russell Smith/Criterion, New York.
Scanning: Eclair Laboratories, Epinay-sur-Seine, France."

The release is sourced from a new 2K restoration of the film. The outdoor footage is wonderfully balanced -- depth is outstanding and there is a wonderful range of light/shadow nuances (see screencaptures #4 and 12). Grain is stable and well resolved, though there are segments where small density fluctuations emerge. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Contrast levels remain stable throughout the entire film. Overall image stability is very good. However, during two different segments I noticed some very light momentary focus instability which appears to be inherited. Few viewers will spot it, but it is there. (You can see an example in screencapture #18). Also, a few tiny dust particles pop up, but there are no large damage marks, debris, cuts, or torn frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film does not have an elaborate soundtrack. Rather predictably, the overall range of nuanced dynamics is limited. However, the dialog is always very crisp, clean, and stable. Separation and balance are also excellent. There are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or digital distortions.

Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Richard Neupert - in this brand new interview, Richard Neupert, professor of film studies at the University of Georgia and author of A History of the French New Wave Cinema, discusses the career of Jacques Rivette, some of the early films he championed, and the styles and themes of his debut feature, Paris Belongs to Us. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (25 min, 1080i).

• Le Coup du Berger - Jacques Rivette directed this early short film about an adulterous wife in 1956. The wife is played by Virginie Vitry while Jean-Claude Brialy (Le beau Serge) becomes the lover. Also, there are cameos by Jacques Rivette, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Claude Chabrol. In French, with optional English subtitles. (29 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Luc Santie.

Paris Belongs to Us [Paris nous appartient] Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jacques Rivette's debut feature, Paris Belongs to Us, is most effective if approached with the knowledge that it is an experimental project with an attitude. Its narrative and stricture are unusual but both help it accurately capture the fluid nature of life in the French capital during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Criterion's Blu-ray release is sourced from a recent and very good 2K restoration of the film. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. (If you enjoy Paris Belongs to Us, also consider Rivette's legendary project Out 1, which was fully restored under the supervision of its cinematographer, Pierre-William Glenn, and is now also available on Blu-ray via Carlotta Films U.S.).