Le Départ

Jerzy Skolimowski’s first film outside Poland stars Jean-Pierre Léaud and Catherine Duport, both fresh from Masculin féminin (along with cameraman Willy Kurant). In Brussels, a hairdresser (Léaud) becomes obsessed with the idea of driving his boss’s Porsche in an upcoming rally. His comically frenzied attempts to turn this dream into reality make Le Départ a breathless romp, but they also mark a rite of passage into adulthood for the car-crazy hero. With its acid takes on materialism and solipsistic excess, Léaud’s energized physicality, and Krzysztof Komeda’s radical free jazz soundtrack, Le Départ teems with burlesque and poetic expression. Print courtesy of the Royal Cinematheque of Belgium.