In this course we will discuss a series of films that are representative of the rich and varied tradition of French cinema from its origins to the recent past. We will be paying particular attention to the ways in which films engage the spectator and use moving images and recorded sound to tell their stories. We will also be considering how the films reflect on and interrogate aspects of twentieth-century French and Francophone culture and society, and in particular on the role of film itself as a vehicle of cultural perception. In addition to reading a selection of short texts on film criticism, we will be viewing the early films of the Lumiere brothers, films from the twenties and thirties of Jean Vigo, Abel Gance and Jean Renoir; films from the fifties of Robert Bresson and Jacques Tati, films from the New-Wave cinema of the sixties by such directors as Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard and more recent films of Agnes Varda, Claude Chabrol and others. Conducted in French. Format: seminar. Requirements: frequent short writing assignments on each of the films, two short papers, one longer paper, one presentation. Prerequisites: French 109, 110 or 112, or permission of instructor. Enrollment limit: 20 (expected: 20).