One of my all time favorites.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

They are filming "Meet Pamela."You watch the film the first time and you might think it's telling us about how films are made, and about all the people. I did. Then on another viewing, you might wonder if they are doing it right. The film goes along in an interesting way and suddenly, still photos of Jacqueline Bisset fill the screen and wow! But when she is acting the part of Pamela, the director puts a wig on her and she becomes ordinary. What? How can they bring in the star and not use her? But then perhaps they are doing it right, you can't have her outshine the co-stars too much. Then you might wonder about other decisions in making "Meet Pamela." Now you might be looking for bad decisions. What is the deal with the script girl? She has beautiful red hair and blue eyes, wears large goggle-like glasses, must be wearing 5 inch heeled boots yet never stumbles despite her long strides. She is always watching the acting and sees everything with those goggles. She has that script and her stop watch. She knows which scenes can be shot today and which can't. She is always there, it seems, somewhere in the frame, but rarely do we get a good look at her. She must be beautiful, but gee, can't we see her some more? Can't I see her some more? She never looks towards us, she looks only at the acting. We see a lot of side views of her. Unlike the actors, the script girl is completely task-oriented. Her work is far more important to her than any personal relationship. She is completely stable. Actors are taught to express their emotions for their part, with gestures, facial expressions, anything. But this character is not emotional at all, so I wonder if the script girl was a difficult part to play for an actress-with all that emotional restraint.In fact, from the Trivia section, it appears someone thought that she was not an actress, but a script girl. That is how well the actress did her job here. The script girl understands the emotions of all the actors who are under stress. She knows why each one of them has problems, and defends them when someone complains to her. Maybe she makes it up, but I believe her every time. She is aware when someone else is not doing his job properly and is ready to step in and fix things by herself. She even can help out the director with a few ideas here and there. So now I wonder: is this film is about the script girl? She's indispensable. Maybe this film is about whatever you think it's about. Perhaps it's a different film for each viewer-even for each viewing.

A nicely made love letter to the often chaotic, complicated, drama filled, engaging process of making a film. It should be viewed more as a documentary than an entertaining show, since not that much really happens that holds any meaning. At times, it was even a little boring. It would actually be quite educational to the everyday viewer, revealing a few secrets in the industry. The title, for example, refers to the cinematic techniques used to simulate a night scene while filming in daylight, usually involving filters. I always appreciate it when the director is more than the director. Here, François Truffaut fittingly plays the director. Overall, an interesting if not very captivating film.

Magic tricks are not as interesting when you know how they are done and this movie, which shows a behind-the-scenes look at how a movie is made, left me feeling that I will now be less susceptible to the illusions movies try to create.Francois Truffaut plays a movie director on the set of a movie titled "Meet Pamela." The story is clearly so autobiographical that I don't know why Truffaut gave himself the fictional name of Ferrand. Ferrand is seen in a state of turmoil having to make a dozen decisions a minute, having to contend with constant interruptions, having to deal with the personal problems of the actors, and so forth, all while trying to direct. Truffaut wants us to see that the pressures on a movie director are *enormous*. Pity the director.The opening scene has Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Léaud) emerging from a subway into a busy street scene. This scene sets you up for what is to come, since it seemed so staged. Indeed, the camera pulls back to see Ferrand directing this scene from "Meet Pamela." Ferrand tries to control all the action, like how fast a woman is walking with her dog, how Alphonse should walk, exactly when a car should arrive on the scene, and so forth. Trying for such tight control results in obvious fakery. Perhaps a more generous analysis would be that Truffaut is purposefully trying for artificiality in order to establish that "Meet Pamela" is a bit of dog.This is no "8 1/2," since the focus is on the mechanics of movie making rather than the psyche of the director. We see fake snow, a candle lighted from its interior, wood in a fireplace lighted by gas, and so on. The most elaborate set made to deceive has the construction of an elevated platform placed so that it can be made to appear that the actors on it are across the street from a remote camera location on an upper floor.The acting is pedestrian for the most part with Jacqueline Bisset being the only one who is making an effort. I am sure that things can get pretty tedious on a movie set with multiple takes being done, but I did not feel that it was necessary to pound that point home to where I experienced the tedium myself as a viewer.I liked the look at the personal relationships among the cast and crew, how that during the filming a community is established. It is the exception that lasting relationships are formed. At the end of filming, the community collapses and everyone goes off in different directions. People come and go in anyone's life, but that phenomenon is exaggerated in the lives of movie people.

In Nice, the Studios La Victorine is producing the film "Je Vous Presente Pamela", about a French man that marries the English Pamela in England and brings his wife to France to introduce her to his parents. However, his father and Pamela fall in love with each other and she leaves her husband to live with her father-in-law. The producer Bertrand (Jean Champion) and the director Ferrand (François Truffaut) invite the British Julie Baker (Jacqueline Bisset), who had a nervous breakdown and married her Dr. Nelson (David Markham), to the role of Pamela. Along the shooting, the cast and crew are lodged in the Hotel Atlantic and Bertrand and Ferrand have to deal with problems with the stars Severine (Valentina Cortese), an aging artist with drinking problems that affect her performance; the immature, spoiled and needy Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Léaud); Julie that is emotionally unstable. But in the end, they succeed to complete the film."La Nuit Américaine" is a film about making a film and a great tribute to the cinema. This is one of my favorite Truffaut's films and the last time I saw it was on 08 January 2001. It is impossible to highlight performances in this film, but the mesmerizing beauty of Jacqueline Bisset shines. Jean-Pierre Léaud performs his usual role of an insecure man, using the same gestures of Antoine Doinel.In 1992, Louis Malle explored the storyline of "Je Vous Presente Pamela" in "Damage". My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): "A Noite Americana" ("The American Night")