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French Film Festival · 2015

French Film Festival 2015

Panorama Horizons

Programme

20 films · 11 reviews

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All About Them

Review preview for All About Them

Fresh, frisky and surprisingly chaste considering the amount of bed-hopping going on.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Love triangle romcom.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2015; Director: Jérôme Bonnell; Writer: Jérôme Bonnell, Jérôme Bonnell, Maël Piriou; Stars: Anaïs Demoustier, Félix Moati, Sophie Verbeeck, Patrick d'Assumçao, Olivier Broche, Laure Calamy, Hannelore Cayre, Claire Magnin, Caroline Baehr, Pierre Bizet, Marcelle Fontaine, Pascal Roux, Jurica Barisic, Mathieu Intikalau, Franck Andrieux)

Full review

Chorus

Review preview for Chorus

The film is dark. Its message of disconnection has layers of sub plots, barely hinted at yet still damaging

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A marriage torn apart by the disappearance of a child is reconnected as events offer closure, resurrecting emotions and a kind of hope

(Country: Canada, Mexico; Year: 2015; Director: François Delisle; Writer: François Delisle; Stars: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Geneviève Bujold, Pierre Curzi, )

Full review

The Clearstream Affair (L'enquête)

Review preview for The Clearstream Affair

Who does what and how they fit into the scheme of things requires a refresher course

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
Finance thriller, based on the real exploits of Denis Robert – an investigative journalist who spent years tracking the illicit activities of the Luxembourg-based Clearstream bank.

(Country: France, Luxembourg, Belgium; Year: 2014; Director: Vincent Garenq; Writer: Vincent Garenq, Stéphane Cabel, based on the book by Denis Robert, Yan Lindingre and Laurent Astier; Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Charles Berling, Laurent Capelluto, Florence Loiret Caille, Christian Kmiotek, Grégoire Bonnet, Antoine Gouy, Eric Naggar, Gilles Arbona, Hervé Falloux, Laurent D'Olce, Thomas Séraphine, Jean-Pol Brissart, Marie-Christine Orry, Marc Olinger)

Full review

Diary Of A Chambermaid (Journal d'une femme de chambre)

Review preview for Diary Of A Chambermaid

The film, co-written with Hélène Zimmer, functions like exquisite lacework with new patterns emerging at every turn.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
An alert servant works for a wealthy couple in rural France.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Benoît Jacquot; Writer: Benoît Jacquot, Hélène Zimmer, based on the novel by Octave Mirbeau; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Vincent Lacoste, Clotilde Mollet, Hervé Pierre)

Full review

Family For Rent (Une famille à louer)

A shy 40something rents a woman's family in return for clearing her debts.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2015; Director: Jean-Pierre Améris; Writer: Jean-Pierre Améris, Murielle Magellan; Stars: Benoît Poelvoorde, Virginie Efira, François Morel, Philippe Rebbot, Pauline Serieys, Calixte Broisin-Doutaz, Edith Scob, Nancy Tate, Nathalie Gessier, Taïra, Rémy Roubakha, Xavier Mathieu, Gwendoline Hamon, Mathilde Wambergue, Bigg Shake)

In The Shadow Of Women (L'Ombre Des Femmes)

A documentary maker embarking on an affair with his assistant is surprised to discover his partner already has a lover.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Philippe Garrel; Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière, Caroline Deruas-Garrel; Stars: Clotilde Courau, Vimala Pons, Stanislas Merhar, Mounir Margoum)

The Lady In The Car With Glasses And A Gun

A lonely Parisian secretary takes her boss's car on a joyride.

(Country: France, US; Year: 1970; Director: Anatole Litvak; Writer: Sébastien Japrisot, Sébastien Japrisot, Anatole Litvak, Sébastien Japrisot, Anatole Litvak, Richard Harris, Eleanor Perry; Stars: Samantha Eggar, Oliver Reed, John McEnery, Stéphane Audran, Billie Dixon, Bernard Fresson, Marcel Bozzuffi, Philippe Nicaud, Martine Kelly, Jacques Fabbri, Jacques Legras, Lisa Jouvet, André Oumansky, Yves Pignot, Louise Rioton)

The Last Diamond (Le Dernier Diamant)

Review preview for The Last Diamond

Both Bejo and Attal offer strong charismatic performances which hold your attention even if sometimes you have to suspend your disbelief.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A thief on parole agrees to one last job.

(Country: France, Luxembourg, Belgium; Year: 2014; Director: Eric Barbier; Writer: Eric Barbier, Marie Eynard, Trân-Minh Nam; Stars: Yvan Attal, Bérénice Bejo, Jean-François Stévenin, Antoine Basler, Jacques Spiesser, Annie Cordy, Michel Israel, Charlie Dupont, Danièle Denie, Gene Bervoets, Daniel Hanssens, Cecilia Guichart, Isaka Sawadogo, Bernard Sens, Olivier Bony)

Full review See: The Last Diamond director Eric Barbier on love, diamonds and Berénice Bejo

Macadam Stories (Asphalte)

The lives and loneliness of residents on a council estate.

(Year: 2015; Director: Samuel Benchetrit; Stars: Michael Pitt, Isabelle Huppert, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Gustave Kervern)

The Measure Of A Man (La Loi Du marché, A Simple Man)

Review preview for The Measure Of A Man

Stephane Brizé is a master of films that appear to say very little but actually speak volumes.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A supermarket guard faces a moral quandry.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Stéphane Brizé; Writer: Stéphane Brizé, Olivier Gorce; Stars: Vincent Lindon, Karine de Mirbeck, Matthieu Schaller)

Full review See: Interview with Vincent Lindon about The Measure Of A Man , Interview with Vincent Lindon about his career

Memories (Les souvenirs)

A night watchman finds his family's life thrown off course by the death of his grandfather.

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Jean-Paul Rouve; Writer: David Foenkinos, Jean-Paul Rouve; Stars: Michel Blanc, Annie Cordy, Mathieu Spinosi, Chantal Lauby, William Lebghil, Flore Bonaventura, Audrey Lamy, Jean-Paul Rouve, Jacques Boudet, Xavier Briere, Yvan Garouel, Daniel Morin, Blanche Gardin, Laurent Cléry, Arthur Benzaquen)

Microbe And Gasoline

Two young friends embark on a road trip across France in a vehicle they built themselves.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Michel Gondry; Writer: Michel Gondry; Stars: Ange Dargent, Théophile Baquet, Diane Besnier, Audrey Tautou)

My Friend Victoria (Mon amie Victoria)

Review preview for My Friend Victoria

Only in France can a film of such delicate sensibility be made

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
The story of two young Parisiennes and their different destinies

(Country: France; Year: 2014; Director: Jean-Paul Civeyrac; Writer: Jean-Paul Civeyrac, based on the novel by Doris Lessing; Stars: Guslagie Malanga, Nadia Moussa, Keylia Achie Beguie, Keemyah Omolongo, Catherine Mouchet, Pascal Greggory, Pierre Andrau, Alexis Loret, Tony Harrisson, Moussa Sylla, Aurore Broutin)

Full review

My Golden Days (Trois Souvenirs De Ma Jeunesse, My Golden Years)

Review preview for My Golden Days

Desplechin, like no other, startles with his enigmatic perceptions on the gender divide.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Part prequel to My Sex Life. Paul remembers his youth and the consequences of true love.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin, Julie Peyr; Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, Quentin Dolmaire, Léonard Matton)

Full review See: Interview with Arnaud Desplechin about My Golden Days , Interview with Arnaud Desplechin about My Golden Days

My King (Mon Roi)

Review preview for My King

If you ever threw safety to the wind and sailed deeply into the love that could be your undoing, you will be able to identify with what Maïwenn and her brilliant actors are exploring.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
An injured woman in a rehabilitation centre recalls an all encompassing love.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Maïwenn; Writer: Etienne Comar, Maïwenn; Stars: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Bercot, Louis Garrel, Isild Le Besco, Chrystèle Saint Louis Augustin)

Full review See: Interview with Maïwenn and Louis Garrel about My King , Louis Garrel in conversation on Two Friends (Les Deux Amis) and My King (Mon Roi) , Interview with Maiwenn about Mon Roi

The Night Watchman (Jamais de la vie, The Night Watchmen)

A night watchman's life starts to unravel after he realises his colleagues are planning a heist.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2015; Director: Pierre Jolivet; Writer: Pierre Jolivet, Simon Michaël, Simon Moutairou; Stars: Olivier Gourmet, Valérie Bonneton, Marc Zinga, Thierry Hancisse, Jean-François Cayrey, Paco Boublard, Nader Boussandel, Vincent Debost, Yassine Douighi, Guerassim Dichliev, Soufiane Guerrab, Julie Ferrier, Bénabar, Clémence Aubry, Adama Bathily)

Santa Claus! (Le Pere Noel)

A child mistakes a cat burglar for Father Christmas.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2014; Director: Alexandre Coffre; Writer: Rachel Palmieri, Fabrice Carazzo, Alexandre Coffre, Laurent Zeitoun, Carol Noble, Yoann Gromb; Stars: Tahar Rahim, Victor Cabal, Annelise Hesme, Michaël Abiteboul, Philippe Rebbot, Amélie Glenn, Jean-François Cayrey, Djibril Gueye, Naoufel Aliju, Satya Dusaugey, Charlie Dupont, Lou Ballon, Charles Albiol, Steve Tran, Mathieu Lourdel)

Standing Tall (La Tête Haute)

Review preview for Standing Tall

With heart-rending emotion and considerable physical punch Emmanuelle Bercot immerses us in French young offenders’ procedures.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
The story of a young delinquent and the woman who sets out to try to change his destiny.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Emmanuelle Bercot; Writer: Emmanuelle Bercot, Marcia Romano; Stars: Rod Paradot, Catherine Deneuve, Sara Forestier)

Full review See: Interview with Emmanuelle Bercot about Standing Tall (La Tête Haute)

The Sweet Escape (Comme un avion)

A 50-year-old graphic designer decides to quit his urban life and go on an adventure.

(Country: France; Year: 2015; Director: Bruno Podalydès; Writer: Bruno Podalydès; Stars: Bruno Podalydès, Sandrine Kiberlain, Agnès Jaoui, Vimala Pons, Denis Podalydès, Michel Vuillermoz, Jean-Noël Brouté, Pierre Arditi, Noémie Lvovsky, Samir Guesmi, Mehdi Djaadi, Blutch, Benjamin Lavernhe, Leslie Menu, Nassime Nazari)

Wild Life (Vie sauvage)

Review preview for Wild Life

If you think you can come to an easy judgement, the film seems to say, think again.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
A father tries to raise his two sons away from civilisation.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2014; Director: Cédric Kahn; Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Céline Sallette, David Gastou, Sofiane Neveu, Tara-Jay Bangalter, Romain Depret, Jules Ritmanic)

Full review See: Cédric Kahn in conversation on Wild Life (Vie sauvage) part 2 , Cédric Kahn in conversation on Wild Life (Vie sauvage) part 1