Jules and Jim (1962)

I had not expected to see another movie set in a world war so soon. The next disc in my queue must have had an unannounced wait. Thankfully, only a small portion of this one takes place in war. It's mainly a romantic drama.

Jules is Austrian but, while in France at least, pronounces his name the French way. Jim is French but pronounces his name the English way, because it suits him. The fast-paced opening establishes them as friends via art appreciation. Two factors put that friendship to the test: They serve on opposite sides of World War I, and they both have feelings for a mutual friend and Manic Pixie Dream Girl named Catherine (Jeanne Moreau). Only Jules gets lucky with her, while Jim takes up with a Gilberte instead. None of them remains satisfied.

Shoot the Piano Player (1960)

Sometimes marketed as Shoot the Pianist, this François Truffaut film had sat among the Netflix suggestions for me for a long time before I agreed to add it to my queue. I had found the title alternately intriguing and off-putting. Oddly enough, nobody in the film ever says the title (or its French equivalent), and enemies don't spend much time trying to shoot the title character.

That character, a former celebrity brought down emotionally by a personal tragedy, now makes a living playing in a dive. He'd rather have nothing to do with his career criminal brothers, but desperation leads one to beg for his help. One little favor is all it takes for him to gain further, much less welcome attention, like he might get in a Hitchcock classic....