The Lovely Month of May

1963

2h 4m

Documentary

List

94%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

92%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

This film by acclaimed director Chris Marker depicts the state of France during the early 1960s by presenting interviews with numerous Parisians. Recording these citizens in their familiar surroundings, the documentary, narrated by French actor Yves Montand, captures a wide range of unfiltered thoughts and opinions about various topics, including the Algerian War, the economy, religion and art. More than anything, however, the production features simple observations about everyday life.

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J. Hoberman

The New York Review of Books

...a pioneering work of free-associational "direct cinema" by Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme...

Aug 14, 2020

Full Review

Michael Kustow

Sight & Sound

With Le Joli Mai, [Marker] has made a film as comprehensive and lucid as a Donne poem; and like the best of Donne, the film's audacities and conceits are welded into one by the freedom of its creator's personality.

Mar 11, 2020

Full Review

J. Hoberman

ARTINFO.com

What is astonishing about the movie, even today, is the joie de vivre, cinematic and otherwise, with which it levels its critique.

Feb 25, 2019

Full Review

Gene Youngblood

Los Angeles Free Press

The uncanny magic, the devastating power of this film is the realization that by recording exterior reality [Chris] Marker has documented an intangible interior reality.

Jan 30, 2020

Full Review

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

The people and cinematography are compelling, and so, by extension, is this 1962 documentary.

Rated: 8/10

Jan 15, 2014

Full Review

Phil Hall

Film Threat

A distinctive preservation of the lives and thoughts of the people in Paris during May 1962.

Rated: 3.5/5

Dec 13, 2013

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spencer p

Beautifully shot and masterfully conducted, this tour of a month in Paris not only tells the full picture of current events of the time, but paints life in the city like a filmic painting.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

My favourite actress narrates the English version of this. The film consists of numerous interviews with Parisians during the month of May 1962 which was a pivotal moment in French history as it was the first time in many decades that France was at peace. There was a cease fire with Algeria and De Gaulle had said that if Algerians wanted independence it was their choice and so Algeria was on the verge of said. There were references to recent events such as the massacre of 8 protestors during a protest on Feb. 8th, 1962 and a procession marking the anniversary of the death of Joan of Arc but primarily ordinary citizens were interviewed. What gets me the most is that in all the interviews with so many Parisians so few saw beyond the end of their noses and less cared. With peace came the prospect of using war dollars for social programs and thus a hope for a better future for all where poverty would be eradicated and so on.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

My husband and I thought it was brilliant.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It is another man-on-the-street kind of documentary but then it isn't..with extreme political unrest unfolding at the same time, this is a society not at ease with itself. People undertake their day to day activities but with full knowledge that their rights and freedoms may be at risk threatening their existences.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

walter m

With the documentary "Le Joli Mai," Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme attempt to capture a particular time and place, namely May 1962 in Paris. Sadly for them, nothing much was happening that month, just after Algerian independence. But at least we do get a weather report at one point, along with a musical interlude. On a thematic level, it just comes down to political statements and Marker's continuing fascination with all things cats. Otherwise there are just person on the street interviews which are much more miss than hit, and mostly dull, with the highlights being a couple of Algerian men. In short, this is nowhere near as fluid as some of Marker's later films, and only late do the filmmakers manage something interesting cinematically like the stop motion photography of Paris and the overhead shot of the women's prison where politics again overwhelm the visuals.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fascinating vox pops protrait of Paris and Parisians in May '62 - just after the Algerian peace was sealed. An interesting counterpoint to the Battle of Algiers, reflecting the mood of ordinary Praisians.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Chris Marker

Director

Pierre Lhomme

Director

Yves Montand

Narrator

Chris Marker

Screenwriter

Catherine Varlin

Screenwriter

Michel Legrand

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Synopsis

This film by acclaimed director Chris Marker depicts the state of France during the early 1960s by presenting interviews with numerous Parisians. Recording these citizens in their familiar surroundings, the documentary, narrated by French actor Yves Montand, captures a wide range of unfiltered thoughts and opinions about various topics, including the Algerian War, the economy, religion and art. More than anything, however, the production features simple observations about everyday life.

Director: Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme
Screenwriter: Chris Marker, Catherine Varlin
Production Co: Sofracima
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: French (Canada)
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 20, 2016
Runtime: 2h 4m

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