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French Film Festival · 2014

French Film Festival 2014

Panorama Horizons

Programme

20 films · 10 reviews

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24 Days

Review preview for 24 Days

Always there is tension.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4.5 out of 5
Drama based on the true story of a Parisian telephone seller who was kidnapped and tortured.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Alexandre Arcady; Writer: Alexandre Arcady, Emilie Frèche, Antoine Lacomblez; Stars: Zabou Breitman, Pascal Elbé, Jacques Gamblin, Sylvie Testud, Éric Caravaca, Syrus Shahidi, Tony Harrisson, Olivier Sitruk, Olivier Barthelemy, Ron Reznik, Pierre Abbou, Rebecca Azan, Alka Balbir, Barbara Bolotner, Lucie Boujenah)

Full review

Ariane's Thread (Au Fil d'Ariane)

Review preview for Ariane's Thread

What might have been a comic cliche with a cast of oddballs is so much more humane

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
A woman alone on her birthday heads for adventure in Marseille.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Robert Guédiguian; Writer: Robert Guédiguian, Serge Valletti; Stars: Ariane Ascaride, Jacques Boudet, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Anaïs Demoustier, Youssouf Djaoro, Adrien Jolivet, Gérard Meylan, Lola Naymark, Judith Magre)

Full review

Belle And Sebastian (Belle et Sébastien)

Review preview for Belle And Sebastian

Succeeds in transposing its overt sentimentality into an exciting narrative

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
The adventures of a boy, his grand-dad and a runaway dog in the French Alps during the German occupation

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Nicolas Vanier; Writer: Juliette Sales, Fabien Suarez, Nicolas Vanier; Stars: Félix Bossuet, Tchéky Karyo, Margaux Châtelier, Dimitri Storoge, Andreas Pietschmann, Urbain Cancelier, Mehdi El Glaoui, Paloma Palma, Karine Adrover, Loïc Varraut, Jan Oliver Schroeder, Tom Sommerlatte, Andrée Damant, Pasquale D'Inca, Eric Soubelet)

Full review

The Blue Room (La Chambre Bleue)

Review preview for The Blue Room

François Gédigier's inspired editing trusts that mismatched sounds and images form an emotional whole.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Psychological thriller about a couple's torrid affair.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Mathieu Amalric; Writer: Mathieu Amalric and Stéphanie Cléau, based on the book by Georges Simenon; Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Léa Drucker, Stéphanie Cléau, Mona Jaffart, Laurent Poitrenaux)

Full review See: Mathieu Amalric in conversation on The Blue Room , Mathieu Amalric in conversation on The Blue Room

Diplomacy (Diplomatie)

Story of Hitler's orders to destroy Paris.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2014; Director: Volker Schlöndorff; Writer: Cyril Gely, Cyril Gely, Volker Schlöndorff; Stars: Niels Arestrup, André Dussollier, Robert Stadlober, Burghart Klaußner, Lucas Prisor, Paula Beer, Thomas Arnold, Jean-Marc Roulot, Johannes Klaußner, Charlie Nelson, Tristan Robin, Stefan Wilkening)

The Finishers (De toutes nos forces)

Drama about a man and his handicapped son as they participate in the gruelling Ironman triathlon. Inspired by true events.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2013; Director: Nils Tavernier; Writer: Laurent Bertoni, Pierre Leyssieux, Nils Tavernier; Stars: Jacques Gamblin, Alexandra Lamy, Fabien Héraud, Sophie de Furst, Pablo Pauly, Xavier Mathieu, Christelle Cornil, Fred Epaud, Sandra Leclercq, Lydia Guillermin, Sonia Jacob, Laura Lardeux, Yvette Petit, Hélène Gourdin Doherty, Raphaël Boyes)

French Riviera (L'homme qu'on aimait trop, In The Name Of My Daughter)

Review preview for French Riviera

Production designer Olivier Radot and costume designer Pascaline Chavanne revel in the colors and textures of Seventies casino ambiance.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
Nice, 1976, Following the failure of her marriage, Agnès Le Roux returns from Africa to her mother Renée, owner of the Casino Le Palais de la Méditerranée and falls in love with Renée's confidant, Maurice Agnelet.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: André Téchiné; Writer: Cédric Anger, Jean-Charles Le Roux, André Téchiné; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Guillaume Canet, Adèle Haenel, Pierre Michiels)

Full review See: Cédric Anger on working with André Téchiné

Get Well Soon (Bon rétablissement!)

A grumpy retiree finds himself reflecting on his life after an accident leaves him laid up in hospital.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Jean Becker; Writer: Jean Becker, Jean-Loup Dabadie, based on the book by Marie-Sabine Roger; Stars: Gérard Lanvin, Fred Testot, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Swann Arlaud, Daniel Guichard, Anne-Sophie Lapix, Claudia Tagbo, Philippe Rebbot, Mona Jabeur, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Isabelle Candelier, Maurane, Lydia Fabien, Irène Ismaïloff, Pauline Rodhain)

Going Away (Un beau dimanche)

Review preview for Going Away

Nicole Garcia has a loose-limbed almost casual approach to directing, her easy way with actors drawing you in to this emotionally complex tale of loneliness and connection.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A loner teacher finds his life changed by an encounter with a single mum.

(Country: France; Year: 2013; Director: Nicole Garcia; Writer: Jacques Fieschi, Nicole Garcia; Stars: Pierre Rochefort, Louise Bourgoin, Dominique Sanda, Déborah François, Eric Ruf, Benjamin Lavernhe, Mathias Brezot, Olivier Loustau, Vanessa Liautey, Jean-Pierre Martins, Juliette Roux-Merveille, Emmanuelle Reymond, José Cidolit, Michel Bompoil, Laurence Roy)

Full review

Goodbye To Language 3D (Adieu Au Langage)

Musings on relationship problems, betrayal and identity.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2013; Director: Jean-Luc Godard; Writer: Jean-Luc Godard; Stars: Kamel Abdeli, Dimitri Basil, Zoé Bruneau, Richard Chevallier)

In The Courtyard (Dans la cour)

Review preview for In The Courtyard

Where is the plot? What is the hook?

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2.5 out of 5
Life, cracked ceilings, friendship and despondency in a Parisian apartment block

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Pierre Salvadori; Writer: Pierre Salvadori, David Léotard; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Gustave Kervern, Pio Marmaï, Michele Moretti, Nicolas Bouchaud, Oleg Kupchik)

Full review

Longwave (Les Grandes Ondes (À l'Ouest))

A comedy.

(Country: Switzerland, France, Portugal; Year: 2013; Director: Lionel Baier; Writer: Lionel Baier, Julien Bouissoux; Stars: Michel Vuillermoz, Valérie Donzelli, Patrick Lapp)

Marie's Story (Marie Heurtin)

Review preview for Marie's Story

The sense of period and the deprivations of the time are authentically evoked without ramping up the emotional charge.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Biopic about a woman who was born deaf and blind.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Jean-Pierre Améris; Writer: Jean-Pierre Améris, Philippe Blasband; Stars: Isabelle Carré, Brigitte Catillon, Laure Duthilleul, Martine Gautier, Sonia Laroze, Patricia Legrand, Christophe Tourrette, Gilles Treton, Ariana Rivoire)

Full review

Not My Type (Pas son Genre)

A philosophy teacher falls for a hairdresser.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Lucas Belvaux; Writer: Lucas Belvaux, Philippe Vilain; Stars: Émilie Dequenne, Loïc Corbery, Sandra Nkake, Charlotte Talpaert, Anne Coesens, Daniela Bisconti, Didier Sandre, Martine Chevallier, Florian Thiriet, Annelise Hesme, Amira Casar, Tom Burgeat, Kamel Zidouri, Christophe Moyer, Philippe Le Guay)

Our Summer In Provence (Avis de mistral)

After there parents separate, three kids are shipped off to stay with their grandparents.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Rose Bosch; Writer: Rose Bosch; Stars: Jean Reno, Anna Galiena, Chloé Jouannet, Hugo Dessioux, Aure Atika, Lukas Pelissier, Tom Leeb, Jean-Michel Noirey, Hugues Aufray, Charlotte de Turckheim, Fabien Baïardi, Laurent Fernandez, Rodolphe Saulnier, Oussama Abassa, Joris Zapiain)

Paris Follies (La Ritournelle)

A long-married wife of a cattle farmer finds temptation in Paris.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Marc Fitoussi; Writer: Sylvie Dauvillier, Marc Fitoussi; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Michael Nyqvist, Pio Marmaï, Marina Foïs, Audrey Dana, Anaïs Demoustier, Clément Métayer, Jean-Charles Clichet, Lakshantha Abenayake, Benoît Giros, Meryem Serbah, Pierre Diot, Irène Ismaïloff, Louise Coldefy)

Patchwork Family (Du Goudron Et Des Plumes)

Review preview for Patchwork Family

Rabaté is strong on seeking out the irony in middle class mores.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A salesman finds his sharp practice comes back to haunt him.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2014; Director: Pascal Rabaté; Stars: Sami Bouajila, Isabelle Carré, Talina Boyaci, Daniel Prevost, Zinedine Soualem, and Gustave Kervern)

Full review

School of Babel

Documentary about young migrant schoolkids.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Julie Bertuccelli )

Timbuktu (Le chagrin des oiseaux)

Review preview for Timbuktu

The way Sissako exposes the double standard makes the Jihadists' behavior no less threatening, on the contrary.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
After a herdsman accidentally kills someone, he finds himself a victim of Sharia law fundamentalists.

(Country: France, Mauritania; Year: 2014; Director: Abderrahmane Sissako; Writer: Abderrahmane Sissako, Kessen Tall; Stars: Pino Desperado, Abel Jafri, Toulou Kiki, Kettly Noël, Hichem Yacoubi)

Full review

Weekends In Normandy

Two couples who have been friends for decades find their worlds start to crumble when one of the pairs splits up.

(Year: 2013; Director: Anne Villaceque; Stars: Karin Viard, Memie Lvosky, Jacques Gamblin, Ulrich Tukur)