**Max Ophüls (1902-1957)**, Austrian-born French director, is remembered for his unique and refined visual style. His career spanned Germany, France, and Hollywood, as he fled Nazism before returning to Europe.

Renowned for his fluid and virtuosic direction, characterized by long takes, elaborate camera movements, and sumptuous staging, Ophüls explored themes of lost love, desire, fate, and the social conventions that trapped his characters, often women. His films are imbued with melancholy and a bittersweet grace, set in bygone eras.

His masterpieces include European classics such as *La Ronde* (1950), *Le Plaisir* (1952), *Madame de...* (1953), and the sumptuous *Lola Montès* (1955), which solidified his reputation as a master of cinematic elegance. His unmistakable touch left a lasting mark on the history of cinema.