Category: Movies

Film Review: My Donkey, My Lover & I

Antoinette, a school teacher, is looking forward to her long planned summer holidays with her secret lover Vladimir, one of her pupils’ father. When she learns that Vladimir cannot come because his wife organized a surprise trekking in the Cévennes National Park with their daughter and a donkey to carry their load, Antoinette decides to follow their track, by herself, with her own stubborn donkey.

A very beautiful film, both funny and touching, which makes you want to return to France and go hiking in the Cévennes and carrying in its suitcase “Travel with a donkey in the Cévennes” by Robert Louis Stevenson.
Antoinette, a Parisian schoolteacher, has an extra-marital relationship with Vladimir, the father of one of her students. The latter abandons him for the summer holidays to go hiking in the Cévennes with his wife and daughter. Neither one nor two, Antoinette also decides to make “the way of Stevenson” accompanied by Patrick, a recalcitrant donkey. If the beginnings are more than laborious, a beautiful relationship is established between the two protagonists and Patrick even comes to guide Antoinette in her love choices. Laure Calamy, always just as fair, finds the perfect tone and does not give in to cliché or caricature

Le Petit Journal

‘No culture, no future’: French film awards turn into protest over Covid closures

France’s annual celebration of cinema, Les Césars, on Friday became the stage for venting frustrations over the months-long shutdown of theatres. Actress Corinne Masiero stole the limelight when she stripped naked with the words “No culture, no future” written across her front as she presented the costume award.

The mood was set from the opening monologue, as mistress of ceremonies Marina Fois launched a scathing attack on Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot.

“The minister hasn’t done nothing… Madame Bachelot, you released a book with your recipe for pasta and gorgonzola,” the actress joked, before striking a sad note to conclude: “What we miss is what unites us, the emotions that we experience together.”

Bachelot was reportedly present in the Olympia venue in Paris for the 46th edition, but the television channel Canal+ was instructed not to zoom in on her.

Several participants at the César Awards used the event as a platform to confront the government over its decision to keep cinemas shut since October, even as most other businesses have reopened.

“My children can go to Zara but not the cinema… it’s incomprehensible,” said Stephane Demoustier as he picked up the Cesar for best screenplay for “The Girl With a Bracelet”.

 

 

For her part, actress Corinne Masiero turned her message into performance art. She wore a bloody donkey costume, before stripping naked – to reveal messages painted on her body – referring to how cinema industry workers see themselves “stripped” of work in the face of the pandemic.

On her back were the words “Give us back our art Jean,” directed at Prime Minister Jean Castex, while on her chest were the words “No culture no future”.

The country has seen mounting protests in recent days over the closure of cultural sites, with several theatres occupied by activists and students.

Greater diversity

The big winner on the night was Adieu les Cons (Bye Bye Morons), a comedy drama about a seriously ill woman searching for her long-lost child, which took home seven awards including best film and best director for Albert Dupontel.

Continue reading “‘No culture, no future’: French film awards turn into protest over Covid closures” →

French film critics crown Love Affair(s) their winner

Association of French Film Critics president Philippe Rouyer and director Emmanuel Mouret with his prize for Love Affair(s)
Association of French Film Critics president Philippe Rouyer and director Emmanuel Mouret with his prize for Love Affair(s)

08/03/2021 – Emmanuel Mouret’s feature film walks away with the title of Best French Film of 2020, while Aurel’s Josep is named Best First Film

The Association of French Film Critics has announced its champions for 2020. The accolade of Best French Film of the Year went to Love Affair(s) by Emmanuel Mouret, which sees the movie continuing a winning streak which began with Cannes’ 2020 Official Selection label and has since been bolstered by the 2021 Lumières award for Best Film, as well as 13 nominations for this year’s César awards, the victors of which will be announced on 12 March. Notably starring Camélia Jordana, Nils Schneider, Vincent Macaigne, Jeanna Thiam, Guillaume Gouix, Émilie Dequenne and Julia Piaton, this Moby Dick Films production which was distributed in France in September of last year, courtesy of Pyramide, is sold worldwide by Elle Driver.

The award for Best First French Film, meanwhile, was won by an animated film also bearing Cannes’ 2020 Official Selection stamp of approval: Josep by Aurel. Produced by Les Films d’Ici Méditerranée in co-production with France 3 Cinéma, Spanish group Imagic Telecom and film studios Les Films du Poisson Rouge, Lunanime (Belgium), Promenons nous dans les bois, Tchak, Les Fées Spéciales and Effecto, this trophy for Josep joins an already impressive horde (European Film Award for Best Animated Film, two Lumières awards and the Louis-Delluc Prize for Best First Film). Released in France back in the autumn, courtesy of Sophie Dulac Distribution, the feature film is sold by The Party Films Sales. Continue reading “French film critics crown Love Affair(s) their winner” →

The cult of Gainsbourg to be consecrated with museum at his Paris home

Thirty years after his death, Serge Gainsbourg remains an icon in France. There are now plans to mark that anniversary with a dedicated museum at the singer-songwriter’s apartment in the Saint-Germain neighbourhood. His former Parisian home is already a place of pilgrimage for the many fans of the artist.

We also take a look at an Oscar-shortlisted French animated short which brings prehistory to life thanks to oil painting and grains of sand, and we find out more about the Chateau of Versailles’ new role as an exceptionally opulent recording studio.

And Paris Fashion Week pivots as designers embrace flexibility and creativity, showing their latest collections in pandemic-friendly ways.

Source: FRANCE 24

Review: ‘Our Struggles’ (Nos Batailles)’

Romain Duris is the factory worker struggling to balance his responsibilities

Dir: Guillaume Senez. Belgium-France. 2018. 98mins

Available on Amazon

A hardworking husband and father with solid social convictions and major responsibilities on the floor of a gargantuan dispatching warehouse in provincial France is obliged to recalibrate every corner of his life after an abrupt change at home in Our Struggles (Nos Batailles).

Co-writer/director Guillaume Senez stakes a legitimate claim to his chosen narrative territory

A thoughtfully structured indictment of the creeping precariousness of steady work and exploration of the balancing act of a man suddenly left entirely in charge of his two young children, this modest but convincing film benefits from a fine ensemble cast and a committed central performance by Romain Duris.

Trendy articles praise the concept of “disruption” and bow down before the supposed value that “disruptors” lend to the marketplace, but most people probably have a soft spot for stability in their work and home lives. One such man, Olivier (Duris), is about to get thrown for a loop he could definitely have done without.

There’s not an overabundance of “human” qualities in Agathe (Sarah Le Picard) from Human Resources when she tells Olivier that one of the older workers under his supervision can’t keep up the pace anymore. Olivier defends the man in question, but the employee’s contract isn’t renewed and bad things result. Continue reading “Review: ‘Our Struggles’ (Nos Batailles)’” →

All eyes on the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York

18 features are in the programme of the 26th edition of the event organised by UniFrance and Film at Lincoln Center, unfolding online this year from 4 to 14 March

The poignant documentary Little Girl by Sébastien Lifshitz (which played in the Panorama section of the 2020 Berlinale, was broadcast on Arte France last December and will be launched on Netflix on 15 March) will open the 26th edition of the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New-York, exceptionally organised online from 4 to 14 March 2021 by UniFrance and Film at Lincoln Center. Continue reading “All eyes on the Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York” →