The Moon Eater

The Moon Eater (Le Mangeur de lune) is a French film from 1994, written and directed by the Chinese-born filmmaker Dai Sijie, who would later become known internationally both as a director and as a novelist. The cast features two familiar faces of French stage and screen, Rufus and Jacques Mathou, alongside Catherine Hiegel, Chick Ortega, Geneviève Fontanel, Luc Palun, Mohamed Camara and Yann Collette. The film belongs to a strand of 1990s French cinema shaped by directors who came to France from other cultures, bringing their own perspectives to everyday material. The story unfolds through its characters rather than spectacle, reflecting the personal, literary sensibility that characterises Dai Sijie's work across both film and fiction. It stands among the earlier entries in his filmography, made before he achieved wider recognition with later productions adapted from his own writing.