Luc Moullet's A GIRL IS A GUN (1971) + UN STEAK TROP CUIT (1960)
We present a brand new 4K restoration of Moullet's gonzo New Wave Western pastiche starring Jean-Pierre Leaud, paired with his very first short film.
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Sep 14, 2025, 4:30 PM
Brain Dead Studios, 611 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036, USA
A Girl is a Gun (Une aventure de Billy le Kid)
directed by Luc Moullet
1971, France, 79m, DCP
Brand new 4K restoration! Screening as part of Luc Moullet: Hardly Working, a Mezzanine retrospective.
doors: 4pm
film: 4:30pm
Luc Moullet’s energizing third feature (his first to be released internationally) is a gonzo New Wave Western pastiche that inscribes itself in a long lineage of French auteurs exploring and subverting American culture. The film cleverly hijacks a classic Western plot – the vengeful chase of an uncivilized thief (Jean-Pierre Léaud) by bounty hunters and otherworldly men – and inserts a woman (Rachel Kest) in the equation, whose presence upends all of our narrative and ultimately social expectations. Somewhat more philosophical, romantic and defiant than its Italian counterpart, the Spaghetti Western, Moullet’s film is invigorated both by Jean Eustache’s tight editing and a hallucinatory and often offbeat soundtrack by Moullet’s brother Patrice, and is a balancing act of dissonance and conformity – the latter made possible by Moullet’s decision to shoot in the so-called “Provençal Colorado” in Luberon, France, an area almost indiscernible from the legendary far-west American topography, which had rarely if ever been used in French films. -Pauline Kraatz, Mezzanine
“Like a Hollywood B western directed by a French outsider artist, Luc Moullet’s psychotropic oater stars Jean-Pierre Léaud as Billy the Kid in a wild comic performance that’s equal parts Clint Eastwood and Three Stooges.” -Film at Lincoln Center
“The vistas are so breathtaking and the colors so gorgeous they make his meager budget irrelevant.” -Jonathan Rosenbaum
“A comedy of camera mismanagement…. Only with closer scrutiny does it become apparent that Moullet’s seemingly slapdash approach conceals a sort of precision … It’s a masterpiece, only turned inside out.” -Nick Pinkerton, Reverse Shot
Preceded by:
Overdone Steak (Un steak trop cuit)
1960, France, 19m, DCP
In Moullet’s directorial debut, two siblings argue about—what else—what’s for dinner. -Film at Lincoln Center
Total runtime: 98m