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6.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. July 14 remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like movies that feel like a street party with too many people shouting at once, yeah, watch it. If you need a plot that makes sense from start to finish, you are going to hate this.
It’s not for the person who wants quiet character studies. It’s for the person who likes to watch people run around in circles for ninety minutes.
René Clair really loved his extras, didn't he? Sometimes the screen is just packed with people doing absolutely nothing of importance. It’s refreshing. It’s like watching a real neighborhood where nobody is the main character.
Jean is the kind of guy who would annoy you in real life. He’s stuck in the past, pining for Pola while Anna is standing right there, literally being the nicest person on the block. I wanted to shake him.
There is this one bit where the crowd at the dance floor just keeps swirling. It’s mesmerizing and also kind of exhausting. You start to feel like you’ve had too much cheap wine by the time the scene ends.
The crooks? They’re barely there. They show up, they cause a ruckus, they disappear. It’s a very loose way to write a script. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Plane Cabby's Lucky Day, where everything just sort of happens because it has to.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s a snapshot of a night where nobody gets what they want, but everyone ends up exactly where they need to be. The ending is abrupt. It just stops. I like that.
It’s definitely better than the slog you get in The Golden Cocoon. It has a pulse.
Maybe don't watch it if you're feeling lonely, though. It’s a lot of people pairing off and realizing they’re miserable. 🎈