Story of a 3-Day Pass

1968. France. Written, directed, and music by Melvin Van Peebles. Based on Van Peebles's novel La Permission. With Harry Baird, Nicole Berger. Van Peebles made his debut film in France, and its jumpy blend of realism, fiction, and documentary footage anticipates the artist's expansive and visually freewheeling style. Its narrative alone—the chronicle of an affair between a black American soldier on leave in Europe and a white Parisian woman—is a landmark for American cinema. In French, English; English subtitles. 87 min.