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French Film Festival — A–Z of films

2019

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  • Amanda
    Review preview for Amanda

    We cry with Amanda and David and when the sun comes through again, their smiles are like a gift.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A man assumes a new responsibility for his niece as a potential guardian.
  • By The Grace Of God
    Review preview for By The Grace Of God

    Ozon does not smooth over the rough edges and the icy roads stay icy.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
    When Alexandre learns that the priest who abused him as a boy is still working with children, he and other victims take action against the perpetrator.

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  • Dilili In Paris
    Review preview for Dilili In Paris

    Michel Ocelot's combination of live film, photo-realistic images and animation brings out the magic of Paris as if were being seen for the first time.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    With the help of her friend, a delivery boy, young Dilili from New Caledonia investigates a spate of mysterious kidnappings of young girls that is plaguing the Paris of the Belle Epoque.
  • A Faithful Man
    Review preview for A Faithful Man

    Garrel knows his film is a confection rather than a banquet, so keeps things moving along at a serious clip

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Rom-com love triangle with added kid.

  • I

  • I Lost My Body
    Review preview for I Lost My Body

    The fingerprints left behind by us an upon us as we go through life are considered by Jérémy Clapin's animated feature debut.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A cut-off hand escapes from a dissection lab with one crucial goal: to get back to its body. As it scrambles through the pitfalls of Paris, it remembers its life with the young man it was once attached to… until they met Gabrielle.
  • Jeannette: The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc
    Review preview for Jeannette: The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc

    Eternal greatness encounters sacrifice and the film dares to musically tackle questions of complicity in evil. Péguy's socialism, patriotism, and Catholicism mix well with the eager young actors. This is unlike any film you have ever seen.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    Musical about the French heroine.
  • Joan Of Arc
    Review preview for Joan Of Arc

    The whole film adheres to the director’s credo that simple story-telling does not mean a lack of depth or subtlety, or roughness around the edges.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A sequel to The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc.

  • M

  • Oh Mercy!
    Review preview for Oh Mercy!

    Based on Mosco Boucault’s documentary Roubaix, Commissariat Central, and using the actual interrogation transcripts, Desplechin shoots for a different tone.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
    A police chief in northern France tries to solve a case where an old woman was brutally murdered.
  • On A Magical Night
    Review preview for On A Magical Night

    Deliciously and deliberately theatrical

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    After 20 years of marriage, Maria decides to leave her husband. She moves into room 212 at the hotel across the street, with a bird’s-eye view of her apartment, her husband and the life she shared with him.
  • La Piscine
    Review preview for La Piscine

    Deray makes his characters sweat metaphorically as well as physically as his film morphs from erotic romance into psychological thriller.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    A couple's idyllic summer break is interrupted by the arrival of an old flame and his daughter.
  • Portrait Of A Lady On Fire
    Review preview for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

    What could have been a traditionally lavish costume drama has been pared down to highlight the erotic tension and sensuality

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    On an isolated island in Bretagne at the end of the 18th century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

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  • The Swallows Of Kabul
    Review preview for The Swallows Of Kabul

    Visually arresting and emotionally engaging.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    Summer 1998 - Kabul under Taliban rule. Zunaira and Mohsen are young and in love. Despite the daily violence and misery, they hope for a better future. One day, a foolish gesture causes life to take an irrevocable turn.

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  • Yao
    Review preview for Yao

    There are times when Godeau seems to lose the way and the pace at such moments lacks drive, but then he’s back on track before long.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A teenager in a Senegalese village will do anything to meet his hero.
  • Young Ahmed
    Review preview for Young Ahmed

    Their provision of few motivational details makes for an unsatisfactory narrative.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A teenager becomes radicalised.