Truffaut's Day for Night is, quite simply, one of the most fascinating films about the movies that I've ever encountered. Second viewings usually make or break a film for me, but I actually thought it was much stronger than I remembered. Unlike Sunset Boulevard or Singin' in the Rain, Day for Night is a love-letter to the movies and what they mean to Truffaut. Sure, they're messy and shit happens that completely fuck them up, but he wouldn't have it any other way. I also thought the performances were surprisingly strong considering they're hardly Truffaut's main concern here. Valentina Cortese's character arc isn't especially strong, but she's humorous and affecting in her few scenes and quite the diva. Jean-Pierre Leaud understands the immature young man bit quite well by now and delivers nicely. I also noticed in the scene where Leaud asks Truffaut to be his best man how similar they act and look. It was almost a Persona moment it was so eerie. Jacqueline Bisset, as the American actress who's just recovered from a nervous breakdown, was also much better than I remembered. She seemed so lost (in a good way) throughout the whole movie, and I finally understood why she cheats on her husband and sleeps with Leaud's character.
I know this was a little scattered and thread-bare, but I'm positive I'm going to write something more in depth sometime in the future. This movie is much too fascinating to be summarized in a paragraph or two.
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