SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (1960) Quintessential Existential Man

A famous classical pianist drives his wife to suicide, loses his career, is chased by two thugs, kills his boss, rescues his kidnapped brother, dumps his girlfriend, and winds up alone and forlorn playing silly ditties in a bar – and that doesn’t begin to describe SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER, François Truffaut’s classic French New Wave mélange of drama, tragedy, comedy, mystery, film noir, slapstick and film homage. You just gotta love the playful dialogue and editing, the music, and all the loopy characters, especially poor little Edouard Saroyan /Charlie Kohler, the quintessential Existential Piano Man, played wonderfully by the “French Sinatra,” Charles Aznavour. French New Wave cinema was all about experimentation, and in the case of of this film, the experiment was a total success! Be sure to watch for all the nuggets of nonsense, as when one of the goofy hoodlums swears that if he's lying, may his own mother drop dead - and suddenly we see a silent movie-styled clip of an old woman clutching her heart and collapsing on the floor. Be sure to catch this New Wave masterpiece.