Les violons du bal (1974)

This is the story of a filmmaker who has wanted for 20 years to make the same autobiographical film. Alongside his present-day life, he shoots a chronicle of the present with a cameraman, on a shoestring budget. All the elements of his childhood—his dream life, transformed and unrealistic memories—merge with the present. Dazed, nine-year-old Michel watches as everything that had been his life falls apart: furniture is shoved around, rugs are rolled up, knickknacks and books disappear into crates, and his family packs clothes and belongings into suitcases. It is wartime. In the apartment, several members of the family, including Jean, have put on gas masks that were lying around, and joke about them to make light of the situation in front of the astonished Michel. Wearing his gas mask, Jean reads from a notebook: “And now, here are the instructions from Father, Captain Cafoulis, in the event of an evacuation. First, it is recommended that you leave the key with the concierge.” At his mother’s request, Jean takes off his mask and continues: “All the shutters must be closed...” Then the family follows the route of the Exodus by car and moves back to the provinces. Later, the family will return to Paris.