Yoshifumi Kondo (Japan, 1995). (Mimi wo Sumaseba). Ages 10 and up. A masterpiece about the awakening of creative talent, Whisper of the Heart was the first and only full-length feature by Yoshifumi Kondo before his sudden death at age forty-seven. One of the classics of Japanese animation. (111 mins)

Agnès Varda (France, 1994). Varda's third documentary on Demy is a beautiful summary of her husband's career, and features interviews with Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli, Danielle Darrieux, Jeanne Moreau, and many more of his collaborators. With Demy's 1957 short, Le bel indifférent. (120 mins)


Pierre Granier-Deferre (France, 1973). Set almost entirely on a train en route out of France just ahead of the German invasion, Le train stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a married man and Romy Schneider as a Jewish refugee; the two meet and fall in love when the man is separated from his family. “Granier-Deferre . . . finds the right tone for the Simenon story” (The Guardian). (95 mins)

Jacques Demy (France/Italy, 1973). (L'évènement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune). Driving instructor Marcello Mastroianni and his hairdresser wife Catherine Deneuve are faced with an unexpected pregnancy-his, in Demy's surreal comedy. (93 mins)

Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1926). Digital Restoration! Judith Rosenberg on piano. Hitchcock's first foray into the thriller genre, starring Ivor Novello as the eponymous lodger who just may be a serial killer. The director himself called it “the first true Hitchcock movie.” (90 mins)

Bertrand Tavernier (France, 1974). (L'horloger de Saint-Paul). Tavernier's debut feature is an expertly crafted adaptation of a Simenon novel. The clockwork existence of Descombes, the craftsman of the film's title, is shattered by the news that his son has been accused of murdering a factory spy. “An extraordinary film” (Roger Ebert).

Alfred Hitchcock (U.K., 1927). Digital Restoration! Judith Rosenberg on piano. In the world of boxing, hungry amateurs vie with professional prizefighters for money, status, and love. (108 mins)

Jacques Demy (France, 1982). (Une chambre en ville). Demy's return to the musical is in an emotional key closer to opera than to Hollywood-more Donizetti than Stanley Donen. A 1955 labor strike in Nantes is the backdrop for a tale of tragic passions starring Richard Berry, Danielle Darrieux, Dominique Sanda, and Michel Piccoli. (95 mins)