Night for Day

Year: 1973
Genre: Comedy
Directed: Francois Truffaut
Stars: Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Dani, Alexandra Stewart, Nathalie Baye, Jean Champion, Francois Truffaut
Production: Les Films du Carrosse

Movies about making movies are nothing new. The idea of showcase and expanding on the foibles, struggles and setbacks of committing stories to celluloid has been around since Buster Keaton turned around and made The Cameraman (1928). On the long list of well-worn high concepts in Hollywood, self-aggrandizing navel-gazing is, at this point, as old as film itself. Yet to varying degrees films on the subject have often struggled for authenticity. Many follow in the mode of Singin' in the Rain (1952), a story sold almost as a showbiz homily. Others are so bleakly cynical that they serve as a warning.

Looking at you, The Player (1992).

Day for Night is certainly more Singin' in the Rain than 8 1/2 (1963) though not without a liberal dose of The Last Movie (1971) and a sense of group dysfunction that's completely French. In the film, director Ferrand (Truffaut) struggles with balancing the various narrative plot-points and logistical nightmares of running a high-budget French melodrama. In competition for largest headache includes Severine (Cortese) an Italian diva and alcoholic, British actress Julie (Bisset) whose recovering from a nervous breakdown and a love triangle between neurotic French actor Alphonse, intern Liliane (Dani) and his stunt double. On Ferrand's side in-between takes is script supervisor Joelle (Baye) who thanklessly keeps crew on task and little seen producer Bertrand (Champion) who at one point muses "The way to make money is in real estate, not movies!"

Sold as "A movie for people who love movies," Night for Day certainly wears its heart in its sleeve. Despite a few instances of existential toiling, the movie disarms and entertains its audience, like a magician showing the ingenuity behind his various illusions. We get to see the artifice and the function-only scaffolding underneath, yet despite that the allure still lingers. We want to be amid the lavish sets, flattering lights and fine hotel rooms. There's an excitement, an energy that shows moment prominently when the crew achieves small victories like when a studio cat drinks from a saucer on cue.

Day for Night however is not just known for its insightful if rose-colored depiction of the film-making process. Self-anointed citadel of integrity, Jean-Luc Godard saw the death-kneel of the Nouvelle Vogue within Day for Night's frames. In a letter largely consisting of a plea for patronage, Godard called Truffaut a liar and an apologist for an antiquated and politically fascistic studio system. Truffaut responded by calling Godard a manipulative "s***".

Not gonna lie, he does kinda look like a s***

While many can (and largely should) dismiss Godard's bomb-throwing as nothing more than sour grapes, he does pick up on details I myself couldn't shake. Most importantly is the part the director Ferrand plays in the entire narrative. Played by Truffaut himself, Ferrand completely lacks any defining features or characteristics other than a desire to complete the film. Ferrand fits the description of a Mary Sue character: he just doesn't do anything particularly interesting other than state that a director "is a man who answers questions all day and sometimes he has answers but not always." Otherwise he's not even the most passionate or competent person on the set, that distinction goes to Joelle who says "I'd leave a guy for a film but I'd never leave a film for a guy." In Godard's words "one can't help wondering why the director is the only one who doesn't screw in [Day for Night]."

Yet thematically, Day for Night is ultimately a triumph. Much like theater, war or a trial, the tribulations of making a big-budget film are fraught with conflict but are held together through teamwork, gumption and lots of alcohol. While much of the humor might seem archaic by today's standards, there are a few key moments and playful cinematography that keeps the viewers interest. In my view, Day for Night joins The Player (1992) as required watching for anyone interested in making a living making big-budget films in Hollywood. After all there's a reason the French title of the film literally translates to "The American Night."

Final Grade: B-