Skip to main content

French Film Festival · 2019

French Film Festival 2019

Panorama

Programme

22 films · 7 reviews

Jump to a film

Blind Spot (L'Angle Mort)

A man who can turn invisible finds his super-power doesn't make his life any better.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Patrick-Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic; Writer: Patrick-Mario Bernard, Emmanuel Carrère, Pierre Trividic; Stars: Jean-Christophe Folly, Isabelle Carré, Golshifteh Farahani, Sami Ameziane, Claudia Tagbo, Tella Kpomahou, Elliot Jenicot, Peter Bonke, Hugues Jourdain, Yannis Bougeard, Jessica Leyemberger, Sébastien Floche, Aude Lachaise, João Fernando Amorim Cabral Filho, Martine Schambacher)

Le Brio

A professor is forced to mentor a student he targeted with a racist rant.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Yvan Attal; Writer: Victor Saint Macary, Yaël Langmann, Yvan Attal, Noé Debré, Yvan Attal, Yvan Attal, Noé Debré, Noé Debré, Bryan Marciano, Victor Saint Macary, Victor Saint Macary, Victor Saint Macary, Yaël Langmann, Yaël Langmann; Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Camélia Jordana, Yasin Houicha, Nozha Khouadra, Nicolas Vaude, Jean-Baptiste Lafarge, Virgil Leclaire, Zohra Benali, Damien Zanoly, Jean-Philippe Puymartin, Eddy Suiveng, Abderahmane Cherif, Fahmi Guerbaa, Ayman Rahoui, Guillaume Duhesme)

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.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Josiane Balasko, Frédéric Pierrot, Éric Caravaca, Hélène Vincent, Bernard Verley, François Marthouret, François Chattot, Aurélia Petit, John Sehil, Jules Gauzelin, Martine Erhel, Olivier Faliez)

Full review

Coincoin And The Extra-Humans (Coincoin et les z'inhumains)

Sequel to Lil' Quinquin sees ectoplasmic gunk falls from the sky and identical twins materialise without warning.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Bruno Dumont; Stars: Alane Delhaye, Bernard Pruvost, Philippe Jore, Lucy Caron)

Don't Look Down

Six people gather in an apartment for an evening of fun... and revenge.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau; Writer: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau; Stars: Manika Auxire, Geoffrey Couët, Simon Frenay, François Nambot, Lawrence Valin, Manika Auxire, Geoffrey Couët, Simon Frenay, François Nambot, Lawrence Valin)

Farewell To The Night

Muriel breeds horses and runs an almond plantation. Her beloved grandson Alex, whom she raised, pays her a visit before he travels to Canada. But Muriel finds out that he has another, far more dangerous goal.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: André Téchiné; Writer: Amer Alwan, Léa Mysius, Léa Mysius, André Téchiné, André Téchiné, André Téchiné; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein, Oulaya Amamra, Kamel Labroudi, Stéphane Bak, Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein, Oulaya Amamra, Kamel Labroudi, Stéphane Bak)

Happy Birthday (Fete de famille)

Family ructions break out during a matriarch's birthday celebrations.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Cédric Kahn; Writer: Cédric Kahn; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Emmanuelle Bercot, Vincent Macaigne, Cédric Kahn, Luàna Bajrami, Laetitia Colombani, Isabel Aimé González-Sola, Alain Artur, Joshua Rosinet, Milan Hatala, Solal Ferreira Dayan, Colin Bates, Satya Dusaugey, M. Vincent, Catherine Deneuve)

The Ideal Place

A postman who falls in love decides to build her a castle.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2018; Director: Nils Tavernier; Writer: Laurent Bertoni, Fanny Desmares, Nils Tavernier; Stars: Jacques Gamblin, Laetitia Casta, Florence Thomassin, Bernard Le Coq, Natacha Lindinger, Zelie Rixhon, Eric Savin, Louka Petit Taborelli, Aurélien Wiik, Julien Personnaz, Lilly Rose Debos, Delphine Lacheteau, Lise Tavernier, Milo Mazé, Barthélémy Baccara Fechner)

Invisibles

Drama about a daytime shelter for women that is scheduled to close.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Louis-Julien Petit; Writer: Marion Doussot, Claire Lajeunie, Claire Lajeunie, Louis-Julien Petit; Stars: Patricia Mouchon, Khoukha Boukherbache, Bérangère Toural, Patricia Guery, Marie-Christine Descheemaker, Laetitia Grigy, Fedoua Laafou, Stéphanie Brayer, Adolpha Van Meerhaeghe, Marie-Thérèse Boloke Kanda, Aïcha Bangoura, Dominique Manet, Assia Menmadala, Marianne Garcia, Audrey Lamy)

Jeannette: The Childhood Of Joan Of Arc (Jeannette L'Enfance De Jeanne D'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.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Bruno Dumont; Writer: Bruno Dumont, based on the play by Charles Péguy; Stars: Lise Leplat Prudhomme, Jeanne Voisin, Lucile Gauthier, Victoria Lefebvre, Aline Charles, Elise Charles, Anaïs Rivière, Gery De Poorter, Régine Delalin, Nicolas Leclaire)

Full review

Joan Of Arc (Jeanne)

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.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Bruno Dumont; Writer: Bruno Dumont, based on the plays by Charles Péguy; Stars: Lise Leplat Prudhomme, Jean-Francois Causeret, Daniel Dienne, Fabien Fenet, Robert Hanicotte, Yves Habert, Fabrice Luchini, Christophe)

Full review See: Joan of Arc director Bruno Dumont talks about comedy, tragedy and the soul of France

Keep Going (Continuer)

A mother and son take a horseback journey in Kyrgyzstan in a bid to improve their relationship.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2018; Director: Joachim Lafosse; Writer: Joachim Lafosse, Laurent Mauvignier; Stars: Virginie Efira, Kacey Mottet Klein, Diego Martín, Virginie Efira, Kacey Mottet Klein, Diego Martín)

The Mystery Of Henri Pick (Le Mystere Henri Pick)

A TV critic who loses his job over the discovery of a manuscript, turns detective to discover the truth about it.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Rémi Bezançon; Writer: Rémi Bezançon, David Foenkinos, Vanessa Portal; Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Camille Cottin, Alice Isaaz, Bastien Bouillon, Josiane Stoléru, Astrid Whettnall, Marc Fraize, Hanna Schygulla, Marie-Christine Orry, Vincent Winterhalter, Florence Muller, Philypa Phoenix, Lyès Salem, Tristan Carné, Annie Mercier)

Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière, Roubaix, A Light!)

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.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin, Léa Mysius; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Roschdy Zem, Sara Forestier, Antoine Reinartz)

Full review See: Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on reality, childhood, filming animals for Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière) and Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man , Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on editing and composer Grégoire Hetzel for Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière) and a Cries And Whispers scene

On A Magical Night (Chambre 212)

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.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Christophe Honoré; Writer: Christophe Honoré; Stars: Carole Bouquet, Chiara Mastroianni, Camille Cottin, Vincent Lacoste, Benjamin Biolay)

Full review

A Paris Education

A farmer’s desperately tries to save his cows from a deadly epidemic.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Jean-Paul Civeyrac; Writer: Jean-Paul Civeyrac; Stars: Swann Arlaud, Andranic Manet, Diane Rouxel, Jenna Thiam)

Persona Non Grata

Thriller sees a pair of friends who are minority partners in a construction firm make a dark decision to protect their interests.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Roschdy Zem; Writer: Marçal Aquino, Beto Brant, Renato Ciasca, Olivier Gorce, Roschdy Zem; Stars: Nicolas Duvauchelle, Raphaël Personnaz, Roschdy Zem, Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Anne Charrier, Sara Pasquier, Hafsia Herzi, Fred Ulysse, Frédéric Pierrot, Arsène Mosca, Matthieu Rozé, Gilles Cohen, Garance Richir, Alexandrina Turcan, Chloé Jamme)

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu)

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.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Céline Sciamma; Writer: Céline Sciamma; Stars: Valeria Golino, Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant, Luàna Bajrami, Cécile Morel)

Full review See: Interview with Noémie Merlant about Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Jumbo

Someone, Somewhere

Romantic comedy about two loners in Paris who might just find a connection.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Cédric Klapisch; Writer: Santiago Amigorena, Cédric Klapisch; Stars: François Civil, Ana Girardot, Camille Cottin, François Berléand, Simon Abkarian, Eye Haidara, Rebecca Marder, Pierre Niney, Zinedine Soualem, Virginie Hocq, Paul Hamy, Marie Bunel, Patrick d'Assumçao, Garance Clavel, Vincent Scalera)

Tanguy Is Back

A sequel to the 2001 boulevard hit comedy about a son who has difficulty leaving the family nest... now, aged 44, hie returns to his parents' home with his daughter after his wife leaves him.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Étienne Chatiliez; Writer: Étienne Chatiliez, Laurent Chouchan; Stars: Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Éric Berger, Emilie Yili Kang, Weiting Cao, Nicolas Tang, Frédérique Tirmont, Olivier Claverie, Domitille Bioret, Jean-Marie Fonbonne, Yohan Lévy, Annelise Hesme, Gaspard Proust, Nathalie Krebs, Laurence Decaux)

When Margaux Meets Margaux (La Belle Et La Belle)

A woman in two stages of her life - as she reaches adulthood and as she enters middle age.

(Country: France; Year: 2018; Director: Sophie Fillières; Writer: Sophie Fillières; Stars: Sandrine Kiberlain, Agathe Bonitzer, Melvil Poupaud, Lucie Desclozeaux, Laurent Bateau, Théo Cholbi, Anthony Paliotti, Florence Muller, Aurélie Dupont, Brigitte Roüan, François Deblock, Christophe Odent, Victor Assié, Smadi Wolfman, Raphaël Kahn)

Young Ahmed (Le Jeune 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.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Idir Ben Addi, Olivier Bonnaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen)

Full review See: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne in conversation on the objects and avoiding imagery for Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed) , Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne in conversation on Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed)