FAVORITE FILMS: THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN

If you liked Marie in LA MATERNELLE, then you might like Miette in THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1995) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.  Miette, certainly an ancestor of Marie, is an orphan toughened by the streets.  The film represents a trend in 1980s and 1990s French cinema called cinéma du look that would at first appear at odds with French Poetic Realism.  Cinéma du look is heavily influenced by pop culture, mostly advertising and music video, and is not highly regarded in critical circles.  Though usually associated with three filmmakers, Jean-Jacques Beineix (DIVA, BETTY BLUE), Luc Besson (NIKITA, THE FIFTH ELEMENT), and Leos Carax (MAUVAIS SANG, POLA X), Jeunet seems to fit the movement.  The central themes associated with French Poetic Realism seem central to Jeunet's cinema in works like AMÉLIE and A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT.

If you are interested in this possible connection between French Poetic Realism and cinéma du look, you might try a double feature of Jean Vigo's L'ATALANTE (1934) and Leos Carax's LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE (1991)