The Little theatre of Jean Renoir

Four vignettes (three stories and a song) compose Renoir's last cinematic work and represent the director's varied film styles. 1) The Last Christmas Eve-- In this contemporary fairy tale, a group of wealthy revelers hire a beggar to stand before them as they partake of a lavish dinner. The mendicant takes home the sumputous leftovers to his wife , and the two re-live extravagant fantasies. 2) The Electric Floorwaxer -- Described by the director as an opera about man versus the machine, this musical farce focuses on a housewife's obsession with her parquet floor and her new electric floorwaxer. 3) La Belle Epoque -- Jeanne Moreau, in period dress, sings When love dies, a sentimental song that mocks 20th-century veneration and nostalgia for the last years of 19th-century France. 4) The King of Yvetot -- This comedy with a surprise ending tells the story of an older man, his young, seductive wife, and her lover. (Does not circulate)