Most René Clément’s films include second-hand materials (quotations, allusions, pastiche effects) which give his work a post-modern appearance avant la lettre. This mosaic of references highlights the innovative features of Clement’s work, and actually creates a critical dialogue with his predecessors. Indeed, this is a cinema “raised to the second power”, that invites the audience to consider not too literally the proceedings it makes use of, but to separate them critically.