'C'etait un rendez-vous': Paris at Speed

by Matt Bryan

I hold the belief that there is only one correct way to see Paris, and unsurprisingly it has something to do with its rich culture. But this optimal method isn’t touring the world famous galleries, it isn’t ‘un café double et un croissant, s’il vous plaît’ at a corner café, nor is it copying the cliché stoney façade of its people. The ‘City of Light’ is actually best seen around sunrise, from behind the wheel of something loud and exotic, weaving through a sea of 2CVs down narrow cobbled streets. One man pioneered this alternative tourist’s guide to the French capital in 1976: Claude Lelouch.
His eight-minute film, ‘C’était un rendez-vous’ is legendary in cinema, particularly amongst those who are automotively inclined. It is often said that any person who drives cars fast or races for a living wanted to do so after seeing Paris in such a way. The man of mystery behind it all sums his life up rather succinctly; “la vitesse est le symbole de ma vie”.

Lelouch was a proponent of a rather direct style of cinematography, and whilst this film has some story, it is far removed from the Oscar-hopefuls of Hollywood at the time. ‘Rendez-vous’ is a single, continuous shot from a camera mounted to the bonnet of a car as it navigates through Paris on an August Sunday morning, not in the manner in which one would drive to church (although maybe this would be even more stylistic or postmodern), but rather at the limit of the engine and tyres. As the director, Lelouch is also the driver as the car runs numerous red lights, squeezes past slow moving traffic and seemingly tops out at some 120mph down public roads. 

It’s the very apparent risk that really brings the film to life; a modern audience sees plenty of car chases in blockbuster films, but none of them feel alive, rather more fabricated and staged. Using a number of camera angles and manufactured stunts breaks realism very quickly, and many franchises have almost become parodies of themselves in this regard. But with ‘Rendez-vous’, the rawness of its finish, alongside the feel of real momentum from the perspective of the car gives it an ‘edge of your seat’ edge. Perhaps it’s the way that flocks of Parisian pigeons almost meet their maker as Lelouch comes barrelling round corner after corner, or maybe it’s the way that other motorists hurriedly move across to let him storm through - regardless, it doesn’t take multi-million pound hypercars, or a hundreds strong stunt division creating a over-the-river explosive jump to get an audience’s pulses raised. Personally, I’d rather watch ‘Rendez-vous’ 142 times back-to-back than the entire Fast and Furious franchise in the same time.

What makes a lot of films memorable is their soundtrack, using a score to bring out the story and imagery; needless to say, what would Leone’s Westerns be without Morricone, Star Wars without Williams, or any film in the last ten years without Hans Zimmer. However, the sheet music for ‘Rendez-vous’ would be articulated in throaty engine noise, percussive heel and toe downshifts, and crescendos of tyre squeal. The sound not only further cements the sense of speed, but punctuates the drive as soulfully as a saxophonist. Lelouch’s audio comes courtesy of arguably the best sounding engine ever produced - a Ferrari Colombo V12. Designed by Gioacchino Colombo in the late 40s for early F1, the engine had many iterations in some of the marques most beautiful cars: the 125 S, 250, 330 all had the same rapturous noise. There’s something about a carburetted engine, with a rushing intake noise and reverberate growl, that pricks the ears to attention.

The film spans a journey across Paris, from the Champs-Elysées, past the Arc de Triomphe, all the way through Montmartre and finishing at the Sacre-coeur, where the driver embraces an unknown woman who appears from behind the hill below. But the best moment comes down a narrow street flanked by typical Parisian frontages, where the speeding protagonist meets a rubbish lorry. Lelouch has to smash the brake pedal whilst snapping down gear after gear as he steers two wheels onto the pavement and navigates his way around the blockage. It’s hard to imagine a more Parisian scene; in relative darkness, the headlights illuminate a boulangerie as he narrowly misses a woman in a very 70s chic pastel dress walking her dog. Moments like these, including his navigation through a narrow archway with little hesitation, show just how in tune with his surroundings Lelouch is. Not only is ‘Rendez-vous’ exhilarating and the source of many a petrolhead’s dream, it equally encapsulates a city and some of its culture at a point in time. In this way, the film goes far beyond the simplicity of its premise.   

Considering how infamous ‘Rendez-vous’ is as the first real street-racing film, very little was known about it for a long time; only very recently has Lelouch spoken about his work, possibly to retain its air of mystery or to avoid any legal repercussions for his driving. Rather than drive the Ferrari 275GTB that provides the soundtrack, he instead mounted a 35mm camera to the front of a large Mercedes-Benz 450SEL saloon, likely due to the car’s self-levelling hydropneumatic suspension, the same technology found on the iconic French Citroёn DS, making it a more stable camera platform. The issue is that its huge 6.9L V8 and 3-speed auto box hardly conjure the wonderment that a roaring Italian V12 can, so Lelouch apparently dubbed the film with the far superior sound. Many have tried to emulate his style, including a number of car brands attempting to capitalise off of the film’s wide adoration of late, but none come close to the allure and artistry of the original ‘Rendez-vous’.

Recently, Ferrari produced their own remake, ‘Le Grand Rendez-vous’ directed by Lelouch himself, and shot on a closed Circuit de Monaco due to the current pandemic. Whilst an exuberantly red SF90 Stradale is quite a sight through the infamous Grand Hotel Hairpin, the rest of the film feels tame in relation to its predecessor. Even on deserted roads and with F1’s Charles Leclerc directing the car, it lacks the urgency of ‘Rendez-vous’, and the use of music just further shows how the original’s engine-only soundtrack did far more for the atmosphere. The feature has been universally panned for its lack of coherence and excitement, with plenty of jokes about it being directed by Ferrari’s (sometimes) reportedly clumsy race strategists instead. If anything, this and the various other attempts at ‘dash-cam’ style films just further consolidate ‘Rendez-vous’ place as the greatest motoring film of all time.

Anyone who has ever wanted to drive a car fast through a city likely counts Lelouch amongst their mischievous childhood heroes. Whilst I can’t encourage driving around cities at breakneck speeds for copious legal reasons, I can encourage the viewing of ‘C’était un rendez-vous’ as a necessity for those who want a healthy helping of adrenaline alongside their daily dose of culture; it is certainly eight minutes well spent.

See Lelouch's classic here: