Program Note
At a luxury hotel on the French Riviera, a septuagenarian John D. enjoys a life of quiet elegance. Once a globe-trotting spy in the 1960s—an era marked by secrets, promises, conflict, and glamour—he now spends his days leisurely strolling the beach and basking in the sun. But his calm routine is disrupted when a mysterious woman checks into the room next door and catches his eye. One day, she vanishes without a trace, and the familiar stirrings of fear pull John back into the shadows of his past…Reflections in a Dead Diamond is a passionate arthouse homage to the Eurospy genre that surged across Europe in the '60s and '70s, following the debut of the 007 franchise with Dr. No in 1962. The flashbacks encountered by the retired John serve as a cinematic tunnel, guiding the audience through the sensory pleasures and iconic moments of the Eurospy tradition. Overflowing with cinephilic love, the film is a visual and auditory feast shaped by the distinct style of Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani—renowned for their genre-blurring work that dances on the edge of fantasy and reality. (Jin PARK)