The French film industry: A crisis of art and commerce

Abstract Three decades after “New Wave” directors JeanLuc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer captivated the world with a revolutionary style and an uncompromising vision, the French film industry is in a state of crisis. No longer a dominant cinematic force even in its own country, the proud inventors of filmed entertainment sit aghast as Hollywood siphons millions of francs out of its citizens' pockets and lures away the country's promising young talent. At a time when bold new American directors like Quentin Tarantino, Larry Clark and Tom DiCillo are pushing French film out of the art houses where it once reigned, the audience for foreign language features in the United States is graying and not being replenished. Unless French filmmakers switch reels and begin to make movies that the global marketplace demands, the country that produced classic motion pictures like “L'Annee Derniere a Marienbad,” “Jules et Jim” and “Jean de Florette” will become just another ancillary market.