Parisian Streets and Corsican Roads: Wandering Youth in Jacques Rozier's Adieu Philippine (1962)

Jacques Rozier's NewWave classic Adieu Philippine is divided in two parts: a "sedentary half," set in Paris, and a "nomadic half," set in Corsica. In Paris, the lives of Michel, Liliane, and Juliette, the film's young protagonists, are constricted and stagnant. In Corsica, the trio is on vacation and wanders freely around the island. Paradoxically, the first half of the film is marked by speed, flux, and rhythm, whereas the second half is contemplative and slowpaced. I submit that Michel, Liliane, and Juliette are mobile sedentary in Paris and motionless nomads in Corsica.