Critic’s Choice: ‘Shadows of the 20th Century’ brings Ophuls and Ophuls back to the big screen
The name Ophuls is one of the most justly revered in French cinema, and “Shadows of the 20th Century: Ophuls Film Festival” offers Los Angeles audiences the opportunity to put the work of two great filmmakers, a father and a son, in a rich cultural and historical context through June 8.
The UCLA-curated program includes screenings of Marcel Ophuls’ monumental World War II documentaries “The Sorrow and the Pity” (1969), “The Memory of Justice” (1976) and the Oscar-winning “Hotel Terminus” (1988), plus a Monday evening conversation with Ophuls (who will be interviewed by my Times colleague Kenneth Turan) about the influence of his family’s exile from Europe on his work.
Also on the program are a few dramas directed by Ophuls’ father, Max, much beloved (if also misunderstood) for his elegant visual style. These include “Liebelei” (1933), his last big hit in Germany pre-exile, and later Hollywood classics such as “Letter From an Unknown Woman” (1948), a masterful black-and-white romance, and “Lola Montès” (1955), an unhinged Technicolor fever dream that must be seen to be believed. Information: www.cjs.ucla.edu
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