Review of Day for Night (1973) by Guillaume H — 20 Feb 2013

I don't know how real movies are made but I love watching movies about movie-making. The challenges of moving from concept/idea/script to its practical realization in front of the camera is endlessly fascinating and, of course, movies in this tradition are always focused on the troubles that ensue.

Whereas Fellini's 8 1/2 sees the director stuck for ideas, Truffaut's more minor (but still endearing) work shows the director trying to hold a motley cast and crew together while they over-react to relationship dramas on the sidelines and downgrade (or upgrade) their expectations about what kind of film is going to be accomplished.

The moneymen are barely kept at bay. Truffaut brings a lot of anecdotes from his own career to the table (e.g., working with a cat) and also pays tribute to some of his favorite filmmakers. Similar in some ways to Richard Rush's The Stuntman (1980) although with a much more sedate director (played by Truffaut himself), this is an affectionate depiction of the passion that is required to get a movie made.