Falbalas – Jacques Becker, 110 min, 1945, VOSTFR
« Playing with his charm as much as his cruelty, Philippe Clarence, a Parisian grand couturier, reigns over an army of devoted petites mains and draws his inspiration from the arms of conquests quickly abandoned. When his friend Daniel introduces him to Micheline, whom he is about to marry, Philippe offers to make the white dress. Jacques Becker plunges into the workshops of haute couture, where the work of the petites mains, the fittings and the fashion shows serve as the backdrop for a sophisticated melodrama. »
Jacques Becker (who himself spent part of his childhood in his mother's sewing workshop) brilliantly wove together with Falbalas the threads of a closed room drama, a melodrama, and a reflection on the hold of power in creation, all in an aesthetic often close to surrealist themes.