Une nouvelle cartographie de l’accueil du néoréalisme en France

This article re-examines the French reception of Italian neorealism between 1946 and 1950 by focusing on a set of critical positions that challenged its aesthetic and ideological foundations. Moving beyond the dominant narrative centred on the enthusiastic support of politically engaged critics, the study reconstructs a heterogeneous “anti-realist” interpretive community that questioned both the realism of Italian films and the notion of neorealism as a coherent movement. Through an analysis of film journals, newspapers, cine-club activities, and ephemeral publications, the article situates these dissenting voices within the broader context of the early Cold War and the reorganisation of French film criticism. It argues that these marginalised readings prefigured key aesthetic debates of the 1950s and contributed to reshaping French approaches to Italian cinema.