Au Bonheur Des Dames (1930): South West Silents

Set within the glamorous world of a Parisian department store, this long-forgotten masterpiece, one of the last silent films made in France, is ripe for rediscovery.

Dita Parlo, a German actress who later appeared in Jean Vigo’s L’Atalante (1934) and Jean Renoir’s The Grand Illusion (1937), plays a wide-eyed innocent from the country who is relocated to the city of lights, lured away from her uncle’s small shop by the sparkle of the department store. Based on the novel by Zola, both a celebration of Parisian life and a damning portrait of rampant consumerism, this breath-taking work – by the director of such future classics as La belle équipe (1936), Pépé le Moko (1936) and Un carnet de bal (1937) – will leave you laughing, crying and asking for more.

With live musical accompaniment by Meg Morley. 

New restoration by Lobster Films, Paris.