Paris qui dort
d. Rene Clair, 1925
As further proof of how uneducated I am, this is the first Clair film I've seen, but I do believe it's a good introduction to his work. Clocking in at 35 minutes, Paris qui dort has to be one of the earliest and most enjoyable science fiction films. The premise is simple: the watchman of the Eiffel tower wakes up to find the world has fallen asleep. Over the course of the film, he and some of his friends--who managed to avoid the sleep spell because they were flying over Paris--go around the city wreaking havoc. They drink, steal, and gamble. The film works both as a critique of modern life, mostly in the way we see the characters taking valuable possessions from the immobile civilians, when it's clear material goods will hardly matter when everyone else is dead. And on another level, it's also a very spiritual film, arguing that however fun it may be to always keep to oneself; in the end, no man is an island. Paris qui dort may not be as poetic as the work of Jean Cocteau, but it's a predecessor to films like Wenders' Wings of Desire (1987) and Ramis' Groundhog Day (1993). Most importantly, Paris qui dort is a gorgeous love letter to the city of Paris.
