Dîner de gala aux Ambassadeurs: Just people talking in suits

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you have a thing for Sacha Guitry or just want to feel like a fly on the wall of a 1930s fancy dinner party. If you need explosions or a fast-moving plot, you will be bored to tears within five minutes. But for the curious? It’s a weirdly charming little relic.

The whole thing is basically just people eating and talking, which sounds like a nightmare if you’re looking for high-stakes drama. But there’s a certain rhythm to how they handle the silverware that I found oddly hypnotic. It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to be posh, and it succeeds at that better than something like Breakfast at Sunrise ever managed.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Dîner de gala aux Ambassadeurs (1934) through its definitive frames.

The Guitry Factor

Guitry just knows how to hold a room, even when the camera is barely moving. He’s got that way of speaking that makes you lean in, even when he’s saying something that doesn't really matter. It reminds me a bit of the vibe in Where Sinners Meet, where the dialogue carries more weight than the actual sets.

• The lighting is surprisingly flat, but it makes the faces look honest.
• Pauline Carton steals a look about halfway through that made me rewind.
• The ambient noise of the silverware clinking is strangely soothing.

I noticed a guy in the background of the gala scene who seems to be struggling with his wine glass for like, a full minute. Maybe he was just nervous? It felt dangerously human in a movie that usually feels very staged.

The film is thin, but that’s okay. It doesn’t overstay its welcome. Sometimes I’d rather watch a short, breezy dinner party than a clunky mess like Brothers. It’s light, it’s French, and it’s over before you can get bored. 🥂