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French Film Festival · 2017

French Film Festival 2017

Panorama Horizons

A selection of films from established directors and the festival circuit.

Programme

24 films · 7 reviews

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150 Milligrams (La Fille De Brest)

Review preview for 150 Milligrams

Knudsen is magnetic as the film's relentlessly pounding heart and its easy to fall into step with her beat.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A lung specialist discovers a direct link between suspicious deaths and state-approved medicine. She fights single-handedly for the truth to come out.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Emmanuelle Bercot; Writer: Emmanuelle Bercot, Séverine Bosschem, Romain Compingt, Irène Frachon; Stars: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Benoît Magimel)

Full review

A Bag Of Marbles (Un sac de billes)

The adventures of two young Jewish boys living in France during the Second World War.

(Country: France, Canada, Czech Republic; Year: 2017; Director: Christian Duguay; Writer: Jonathan Allouche, Christian Duguay, Christian Duguay, Christian Duguay, Alexandra Geismar, Benoît Guichard, Benoît Guichard, Benoît Guichard, Joseph Joffo, Laurent Zeitoun; Stars: Dorian Le Clech, Batyste Fleurial, Patrick Bruel, Elsa Zylberstein, Bernard Campan, Kev Adams, Christian Clavier, César Domboy, Ilian Bergala, Emile Berling, Jocelyne Desverchère, Coline Leclère, Holger Daemgen, Fred Epaud, Michaël Erpelding)

Barbara

Review preview for Barbara

The best way to get the most out of the film is to succumb completely to the singer’s breathless voice, sultry eyes and her volatile genius.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Filmmaking and real life start to blur for a director making a biopic about female singer Barbara.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Mathieu Amalric; Writer: Mathieu Amalric; Stars: Mathieu Amalric, Jeanne Balibar, Lisa Ray-Jacobs)

Full review See: Mathieu Amalric and Jeanne Balibar in conversation on Barbara and Balibar's Merveilles À Montfermeil , Mathieu Amalric in conversation on Jeanne Balibar, Pierre Léon and the sounds and colours of Barbara , Jeanne Balibar on Barbara , Mathieu Amalric and Jeanne Balibar honour André S. Labarthe

Corniche Kennedy

Story of a group of teenagers in Marseille, who fall foul of the police.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Dominique Cabrera; Writer: Dominique Cabrera, Philippe Géoni, Pierre Linhart, based on the novel by Maylis De Kerangal; Stars: Aïssa Maïga, Lola Créton, Alain Demaria, Kamel Kadri, Moussa Maaskri, Linda Lassoued, Agnès Regolo, Cyril Brunet, Miguel Furtado, Franck Cavanna, Mama Bouras, Philippe Géoni, Julie Lavocat, Mélissa Guilbert, Hamza Baggour)

Dalida

Based on the true story of the pop icon.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Lisa Azuelos; Writer: Lisa Azuelos, Orlando, Jacques Pessis, Catherine Rihoit; Stars: Sveva Alviti, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jean-Paul Rouve, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Alessandro Borghi, Valentina Carli, Brenno Placido, Niels Schneider, Michaël Cohen, Davide Lorino, F. Haydee Borelli, Vincent Perez, Patrick Timsit, Ercole Alviti, Philippe Blondelle)

The Firemen (Les Hommes Du Feu)

Drama about fireman coping with an outbreak of fires during a summer heatwave.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Pierre Jolivet; Writer: Stéphane Guyot, Pierre Jolivet, Marcia Romano; Stars: Roschdy Zem, Émilie Dequenne, Michael Abiteboul, Michaël Abiteboul, Grégoire Isvarine, Guillaume Labbé, Guillaume Douat, Arthur Gloanec, Lise Lomi, Brian Messina, Yvonnick Muller, Antoine Raffalli, Wilfried Romoli)

Félicité

Review preview for Félicité

The film’s most gripping aspect is the delicacy with which it handles its extraordinary emotional depth

Evelin Toth · 3.5 out of 5
Story of a singer who finds herself in desperate circumstances after her son has an accident.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Alain Gomis; Writer: Alain Gomis, Olivier Loustau, Delphine Zingg; Stars: Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka, Nadine Ndebo, Elbas Manuana, Diplome Amekindra, Célestin Mokono, François Kasonga, Prince Mbasi, Ferdinand Minga, Aziza Kengumbe, José Lusala, Plaisir Mumbula, Nathan Mulumba, Claudine Lumbu)

Full review

Foreign Body

Samia and Imed are living in France illegally. Widow Madame Berteau is an immigrant too, but enjoys wealth and status. Making her acquaintance offers the chance of a residency permit and moving up in the world, resulting in a thorny ménage-à-trois .

(Country: France, Tunisia; Year: 2016; Director: Raja Amari; Writer: Raja Amari; Stars: Hiam Abbass, Sarra Hannachi, Salim Kechiouche, Marc Brunet, Majd Mastoura)

Golden Years (Nos années folles)

A deserter disguises himself as a woman to escape the fighting of the First World War.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: André Téchiné; Writer: Cédric Anger, Cédric Anger, Cédric Anger, André Téchiné, André Téchiné, André Téchiné, Fabrice Virgili, Danièle Voldman; Stars: Pierre Deladonchamps, Céline Sallette, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Michel Fau, Virginie Pradal, Mama Prassinos, Axelle Equinet, Peter Bonke, Tamara De Leener, Clotilde Le Roy, Clara Eon, Julia Chambon, Emily Cauwet, Dominique Vidal, Fanny Veran)

Ismael's Ghosts (Les Fantomes D'Ismael)

Review preview for Ismael's Ghosts

The writer-director takes great enjoyment in playing around with his various obsessions.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A filmmaker's life becomes complicated by the return of a former lover.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin, Léa Mysius, Julie Peyr; Stars: Marion Cotillard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Louis Garrel, Mathieu Amalric, Alba Rohrwacher, Samir Guesmi, Hippolyte Girardot, László Szabó)

Full review See: Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on Lacan, Rilke, Hitchcock, Philip Roth, and Ismael’s Ghosts: Director’s Cut (Les Fantômes D'Ismaël) , Arnaud Desplechin and Mathieu Amalric in conversation on Ismael’s Ghosts: Director’s Cut (Les Fantômes D'Ismaël) , Interview with Arnaud Desplechin about Ismael's Ghosts at Cannes 2017

Just To Be Sure (Ôtez-moi d'un doute)

A widowed father discovers that his own dad may not be his biological one, while learning that his budding love interest may actually be his sister.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Carine Tardieu; Writer: Baya Kasmi, Michel Leclerc, Raphaële Moussafir, Carine Tardieu; Stars: François Damiens, Cécile De France, Guy Marchand, André Wilms, Alice de Lencquesaing, Estéban, Lyès Salem, Sam Karmann, Brigitte Roüan, Julie Debazac, Loïc Baylacq, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Heiko Dethier, Hervé Pierre, Emmanuelle Michelet)

A Kid (Le Fils De Jean)

After being informed of the death of the father he never knew, a man travels from Paris to Montreal to meet his two half brothers, becoming a reluctant witness to sibling conflict and guilty secrets.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Philippe Lioret; Stars: Pierre Deladonchamps, Gabriel Arcand, Pierre-Yves Cardinal)

L'Amant Double (Double Lover)

Review preview for L'Amant Double

If there is rather more surface than substance and the ending is signposted, it is a surface full of intricacy and a signpost of admirable elegance.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A fragile young woman falls for her psychotherapist... and his twin.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Marine Vacth, Jérémie Renier)

Full review

Lost In Paris

Slapstick comedy sees a woman face a series of catastrophes after heading to Paris for the first time.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon; Writer: Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon; Stars: Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel, Emmanuelle Riva, Pierre Richard, Emmy Boissard Paumelle, Céline Laurentie, Charlotte Dubery, David Palatino, Frédéric Meert, Guillaume Delvingt, Philippe Martz, Olivier Parenty, Fabrice Milich, Jean Loison, Annabelle Cocollos)

Lover For A Day (L'Amant d'un jour)

After a woman's relationship breaks down she heads to her fathers house - only to discover he is dating a woman her age.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Philippe Garrel; Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière, Caroline Deruas-Garrel, Philippe Garrel, Arlette Langmann; Stars: Éric Caravaca, Esther Garrel, Louise Chevillotte, Paul Toucang, Félix Kysyl, Michel Charrel, Nicolas Bridet, Marie Sergeant, Raphaël Naasz, Justine Bachelet, Christian Bouillette, Laetitia Spigarelli, Manon Chircen, Maïa Foucault, Louise Guillaume)

Marie Curie: The Courage Of Knowledge

The story of the famous scientist's struggle for recognition.

(Country: Poland, Germany, France; Year: 2016; Director: Marie Noelle; Writer: Marie Noelle, Andrea Stoll; Stars: Karolina Gruszka, Arieh Worthalter, Charles Berling, Izabela Kuna, Malik Zidi, André Wilms, Daniel Olbrychski, Marie Denarnaud, Samuel Finzi, Piotr Glowacki, Jan Frycz, Sabin Tambrea, Sasha Crapanzano, Rose Montron, Adele Schmitt)

Problemos

When a pandemic strikes, a man and his family get stuck in a hippy community.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Eric Judor; Writer: Noé Debré, Blanche Gardin; Stars: Eric Judor, Blanche Gardin, Youssef Hajdi, Michel Nabokoff, Celia Rosich, Claire Chust, Arnaud Henriet, Bun-hay Mean, Dorothée Pousséo, Marc Fraize, Karine Valmer, Marie Helmer, Zakaria Benyahya, Blandine Ruiz, Thierry Perkins-Lyautey)

Redoubtable (Le Redoubtable)

Review preview for Redoubtable

Hazanavicius directs with flair for the style and mood of the Sixties.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Paris 1967. Jean-Luc Godard, the leading filmmaker of his generation, is shooting La Chinoise with the woman he loves, Anne Wiazemsky, 20 years his junior. They are happy, attractive, in love, they marry. But the film’s reception unleashes a profound self-examination in Jean-Luc.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Michel Hazanavicius; Writer: Michel Hazanavicius, based on the autobiography by Anne Wiazemsky; Stars: Stacy Martin, Bérénice Bejo, Louis Garrel, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Micha Lescot, Grégory Gadebois, Marc Brun Adryan', Lola Ingrid Le Roch, Tanya Lopert, Emmanuele Aita, Arthur Orcier, Eric Marcel, Eva Chico, Louise Legendre, Zina Esepciuc)

Full review

Rodin

Drama about the sculptor's romance with Camille Claudel.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Jacques Doillon; Writer: Jacques Doillon; Stars: Vincent Lindon, Izïa Higelin, Séverine Caneele, Edward Akrout, Zina Esepciuc, Magdalena Malina, Patricia Mazuy, Lea Jackson, Olivia Baes, Serge Bagdassarian, Régis Royer, Nathalie Bécue, Serge Nicolai, François Neycken, Edouard Duthuillé)

School Of Life (L'école buissonnière)

An orphan sent to live in the countryside befriends a local poacher.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Nicolas Vanier; Writer: Jérôme Tonnerre, Nicolas Vanier; Stars: François Cluzet, Jean Scandel, Eric Elmosnino, François Berléand, Valérie Karsenti, Thomas Durand, Ilona Cabrera, Frédéric Saurel, Urbain Cancelier, Murielle Huet des Aunay, Thierry Robard, Carolina Jurczak, Affif Ben Badra, Claudine Baschet, Christine Joly)

This Is Our Land (Chez Nous)

Political drama about a woman who becomes involved with the far right.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Lucas Belvaux; Writer: Lucas Belvaux, Jérôme Leroy; Stars: Émilie Dequenne, André Dussollier, Guillaume Gouix, Catherine Jacob, Anne Marivin, Patrick Descamps, Charlotte Talpaert, Mateo Debaets, Coline Marcourt, Corentin Lobet, Thibault Roux, Michel Ferracci, Stéphane Caillard, Cyril Descours, Julien Roy)

Tomorrow And Thereafter (Demain et tous les autres jours)

A fantastical tale of an eccentric mother, her precocious nine-year-old daughter and a pet owl.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Noémie Lvovsky; Writer: Annette Dutertre, Noémie Lvovsky, Florence Seyvos; Stars: Luce Rodriguez, Noémie Lvovsky, Mathieu Amalric, Micha Lescot, Anaïs Demoustier, Elsa Amiel, India Hair, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Francis Leplay, Lydie Ledoeuff, Camille Rousselet, Rym Hachmi, Maxence Tual, Roxane Lebel-Davion, Axelle Philippot)

A Woman's Life

The harsh realities of a woman's life in 19th century France.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Stéphane Brizé; Writer: Stéphane Brizé, Guy de Maupassant, Florence Vignon; Stars: Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Yolande Moreau, Swann Arlaud, Nina Meurisse, Olivier Perrier, Clotilde Hesme, Alain Beigel, Finnegan Oldfield, Lucette Beudin, Jérôme Lanne, Mélie Deneuve, Père François-Xavier Ledoux, Lise Lamétrie, Marc Olry)

The Workshop (L'Atelier)

Review preview for The Workshop

There's a potency to this film, largely thanks to a carefully judged performance by Marina Foïs as novelist and tutor Olivia, and a charismatic one by Matthieu Lucci as her most difficult student, Antoine.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An exploration of group dynamics in a young people’s writing workshop.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Laurent Cantet; Writer: Robin Campillo, Laurent Cantet; Stars: Marina Foïs, Matthieu Lucci)

Full review