La Vie en Gris: The Anglophone Louis Malle in Seven Pictures

Filmmaker Louis Malle worked adjacent to the French Nouvelle Vague, but was admittedly never fully part of it, cementing his reputation instead with films like Elevator to the Gallows (1958), Zazie dans le Metro (1960), and Murmur of the Heart (1971), among others. In 1978, he made his first English-language picture, the highly controversial Pretty Baby, produced by Paramount Pictures. For the next decade and a half, he continued working in the English language, mostly in the United States, with films as varied as Atlantic City (1980), My Dinner With Andre (1981), Crackers (1983), Alamo Bay (1985), Damage (1992), and Vanya on 42nd Street (1992). What distinguishes these seven Anglophone films from Malle's previous Francophone films? And when Louis Malle arrived to make pictures in America, what did he see? What did America mean to Louis Malle?

Directed by Daniel Kremer, La Vie en Gris: The Anglophone Louis Malle in Seven Pictures leans on a strong ensemble — Louis Malle, Daniel Kremer — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 2022.