Tirez Sur Le Pianiste (aka Shoot The Piano Player) (1960)

A former concert pianist (Charles Aznavour) now plays piano in a neighborhood dive. A complex past history has him retreating into himself but the waitress (Marie Dubois) at the bar begins to bring him out of his shell. Based on the novel DOWN THERE by David Goodis and directed by Francois Truffaut. This follow up to Truffaut's acclaimed THE 400 BLOWS is a totally different cinematic experience. It's a pastiche (unlike the novel which is straightforward) of film styles: film noir, comedy, romance, thriller, tragedy yet somehow it all fits together. It's Truffaut's valentine to American pulp film making. Aznavour's protagonist is weak and held together by the women in his life. When his attempt at rejoining the world backfires terribly, the film's haunting final shot pretty much makes it clear that he's emotionally dead. The underscore is Georges Delerue at his finest. With Nicole Berger, Michele Mercier, Daniel Boulanger and Albert Remy.