Day for Night

In Brief: François Truffaut’s Day for Night (1973) is not only a great movie about movies, but it’s fascinating as an example of how international cinema truly is. By this I mean that while we think of foreign film as a separate world, Day for Night is clearly the kind of movie that could only have been made during that era from about 1965 through 1975, and is very much a part of the explosion of art-house fare as mainstream film that existed during that time. While there have been several noteworthy films about filmmaking, Day for Night may be the best one about making a specific film, and the best at capturing the madness of the process that director Richard Lester once likened to “having a hysterical pregnancy.” It’s also one of the most movie-savvy, and it expects the viewer to be, as well. Truffaut reveals just enough without revealing too much, and he does so with a purpose—that purpose being to make you marvel all the more at the true magic of how all this can ever result in a coherent, let alone great film. And yet it does. That’s the beauty of Day for Night, and the secret of its own potent magic. This excerpt was taken from a review by Ken Hanke published on July 15, 2009.