In the end I chose Le Feu Follet because it had a prettier name, and I could sort of remember what it was about without having to google it, or bang it into the ever reliable 'resource' of Wikipedia.
Le Feu Follet follows the story of Alain Leroy, a recovering alcoholic who decides to end his life. The film follows him on his last few days in Paris and the surrounding areas, as he visits his friends, trying to find a reason to carry on living.
The film is shot in black and white and adds to the starkness and depression that Alain is suffering from, seeing his world (which spans to one room when he is not visiting friends) in black and white not only adds to the depression he is feeling, but also seems to draw lines or barriers between things that are not normally noticeable.
The barrier between Alain's girlfriend in a taxi and Alain is more noticeable for instance, not only because of their separation in the frame, but Alain's reluctance to travel to New York with her.
The next morning Alain calmly narrates 'Tomorrow I'll kill myself', which at the time seems like a very 'off the cuff' remark, but as we explore his world and his relationships with other characters we can see that he really has nothing enjoyable left to live for.
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