A Very Private Affair
From Mon 23 to Sun 29 MarA dazzling poem of sumptuous, shimmering images, A Very Private Affair (Vie privée) was long considered one of the most beautiful colour films ever made, with its unique impressionist texture and luminosity together with its astonishing camera movements. Louis Malle did not want to make a documentary about Brigitte Bardot, but a film. He said, “Explaining the Bardot myth… is the business of sociologists, not storytellers”.
In the film, Jill, a young woman from Geneva, arrives in Paris and quickly becomes a dancer, actress, and sex symbol. She is adored but also hounded day and night by photographers and fans. She has no privacy…
A Very Private Affair (Vie privée) was invisible for almost thirty years and restored in 2023.
Special Screening
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ginette Vincendeau can no longer be with us on 23 March. She will provide programme notes for the screening and season, and will be at Ciné Lumière on 6 May for the special screening of Alain Berliner’s Bardot.
Ginette Vincendeau is the author of Brigitte Bardot (2013) and the forthcoming BFI Classics book on Godard's Le Mépris.
See also