One Hundred and One Nights

A 1995 French comedy-drama directed by Agnès Varda, created to celebrate the centenary of cinema. The story follows Simon Cinéma (Michel Piccoli), a hundred-year-old cinephile living in a luxurious villa near Paris, whose memory is fading. He hires a young film student, Camille (Julie Gayet), to visit him over 101 days and help him relive the history of cinema in which he has been involved all his life. Together, they watch film clips, discuss famous directors and actors, and receive visits from legendary figures of world cinema, including Marcello Mastroianni, Gérard Depardieu, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, Hanna Schygulla, Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro, Sandrine Bonnaire, Anouk Aimée, Fanny Ardant, Gina Lollobrigida, and Jane Birkin. A parallel subplot involves Camille's boyfriend, Mica, who, along with his friends, is trying to make his first film and convinces Vincent, recently returned from India, to pose as Simon's grandson to secure funding. However, their plan is thwarted when an Elizabeth Taylor lookalike persuades Simon to leave his fortune to medical research. In the end, Simon attends the Cannes Film Festival and agrees to play a mafia boss in Mica's film. The film received mixed reviews from critics, noted as a tribute to cinema history featuring numerous star appearances.