Le Signe Du Lion recalls the great naturalist novels of Émile Zola as well as the works of American realists such as Theodore Dreiser. It marks Rohmer out as one of the most literary of New Wave directors - always devoting particular attention to his characters' complex emotions and inner thoughts." Another critic wrote that the film is "also a precise, poetic documentary on Paris, with the city turning into a stone prison that gradually crushes resistance until the musician suffers total moral and physical disintegration." Rainer Werner Fassbinder paid homage to it in 1966 with his first short film, Der Stadtstreicher. References External links French drama films Films directed by Éric Rohmer Films with screenplays by Paul Gégauff Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris 1962 directorial debut films