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French Film Festival · 2022

French Film Festival 2022

Panorama

Programme

27 films · 10 reviews

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The Accusation (Les choses humaines)

They are a power couple: he is a famous television presenter, she a writer known for her radical feminism. When their apparently perfect son, who is a student at a prestigious American university, is accused of raping a young Jewish woman while on vacation in Paris, the lives of the two families involved are torn apart.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Yvan Attal; Writer: Karine Tuil, Yaël Langmann, Yvan Attal; Stars: Ben Attal, Suzanne Jouannet, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mathieu Kassovitz, Pierre Arditi, Audrey Dana, Benjamin Lavernhe, Judith Chemla, Réjane Kerdaffrec, Gérard Watkins, Franz-Rudolf Lang, Camille Razat, Anne Bouvier, Sarah Chaumette, Marcel Gitard)

Angry Annie (Annie Colère)

Annie, a pregnant working mother in the mid-1970s, comes into contact with an organisation that performs illegal abortions in the public eye.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Blandine Lenoir; Writer: Blandine Lenoir, Axelle Ropert; Stars: Laure Calamy, Zita Hanrot, India Hair, Rosemary Standley, Damien Chapelle, Yannick Choirat, Florence Muller, Cédric Appietto, Lucia Sanchez, Pauline Serieys, Louise Labeque, Pascale Arbillot, Éric Caravaca, Christelle Cornil, Marie Cornillon)

Black Box (Boîte noire)

Review preview for Black Box

Director Yann Gozlan has done a great job here of taking us right up to the line.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
Mathieu is a young and talented black box analyst on a mission to solve the reason behind the deadly crash of a brand new aircraft.

(Year: 2021; Director: Yann Gozlan; Writer: Nicolas Bouvet-Levrard, Yann Gozlan, Jérémie Guez; Stars: Pierre Niney, Lou de Laâge, André Dussollier, Sébastien Pouderoux, Olivier Rabourdin, Guillaume Marquet, Mehdi Djaadi, Anne Azoulay, Aurélien Recoing, Grégori Derangère, André Marcon, Octave Bossuet, Marie Dompnier, Philippe Maymat, Boris Ravaine)

Full review

Brother And Sister (Frère et soeur)

Review preview for Brother And Sister

Desplechin fires off too many salvoes which hit wide of the mark

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
The death of a pair of siblings' parents forces them to cross paths after 20 years of avoiding one another.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin; Stars: Marion Cotillard, Golshifteh Farahani, Melvil Poupaud, Cosmina Stratan, Max Baissette de Malglaive, Benjamin Siksou, Saverio Maligno)

Full review See: Melvil Poupaud in conversation on Brother and Sister, Arnaud Desplechin, Mathieu Amalric, Eric Rohmer and Woody Allen , Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on composer Grégoire Hetzel and cinematographer Yorick Le Saux for Deception (Tromperie), Marion Cotillard and Frère Et Sœur

Champagne!

Fun and games on a stag party for a group of old friends.

(Year: 2022; Director: Nicolas Vanier; Writer: Nicolas Vanier; Stars: Stéphane De Groodt, Elsa Zylberstein, Sylvie Testud)

Country Cabaret (Les Folies Fermières)

Inspired by a true story. David, a young farmer from Cantal, has just had an idea: to save his farm from bankruptcy, he will set up a cabaret on the farm.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Jean-Pierre Améris; Writer: Jean-Pierre Améris, Jean-Luc Gaget, Murielle Magellan; Stars: Alban Ivanov, Sabrina Ouazani, Michèle Bernier, Bérengère Krief, Moussa Maaskri, Guy Marchand, Philippe Benhamou, Lise Laffont, Elsa Godard, Ariana Rivoire, Alain Rimoux, Ludovic Berthillot, Jean-Baptiste Heuet, Eddie Chignara, Eric Verdin)

Diary Of A Fleeting Affair (Chronique d'une liaison passagère)

A single mother and a married man meet at a party then go home together, a delightful love tangle.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Emmanuel Mouret; Writer: Pierre Giraud, Emmanuel Mouret; Stars: Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Macaigne, Georgia Scalliet)

Don Juan

An actor finds himself playing the legendary lothario opposite the woman who jilted him.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Serge Bozon; Writer: Serge Bozon, Axelle Ropert; Stars: Virginie Efira, Tahar Rahim, Alain Chamfort, Damien Chapelle, Jehnny Beth, Louise Ribiere, Colline Libon, Elsa Esnoult, Marie Desgranges, Jean Didion, Alain Raymond, Liviu Bora, Christian Rizzo, Syrus Shahidi, Guillaume Verdier)

Farewell, Mr Haffmann (Adieu Monsieur Haffmann)

Adaptation of the Moliere-winning play about a jeweller and his employee set against the backdrop of the German occupation.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Fred Cavayé; Writer: Fred Cavayé; Stars: Daniel Auteuil, Gilles Lellouche, Sara Giraudeau, Nikolai Kinski, Mathilde Bisson, Anne Coesens, Jérôme Cachon, Guillaume Marquet, Yoann Blanc, Pierre Forest, Claudette Walker, Pierre Reggiani, Philipp Weissert, Jean-Cyril Durieux, Pascal Lifschutz)

Goliath

Review preview for Goliath

A crisp, downbeat, clever exploration of the issues, combined with a whodunnit.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
In the aftermath of President Macron's U-turn on a glyphosate ban, the stories of lawyer Patrick, victim France and lobbyist Mathias intertwine when the wife of a farmer dead from cancer commits a terrible act of protest.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Frédéric Tellier; Writer: Gaëlle Bellan, Simon Moutaïrou, Frédéric Tellier; Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Pierre Niney, Emmanuelle Bercot)

Full review

The Green Perfume

Review preview for The Green Perfume

What, you might ask, is at the heart of the mystery? It's a good question and one that Pariser barely articulates.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
Crime caper sees an actor caught up in international intrigue after the death of a member of his troupe.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Nicolas Pariser; Writer: Nicolas Pariser; Stars: Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Lacoste, Léonie Simaga, Rüdiger Vogler, Jenna Thiam, Arieh Worthalter, Pascal Rénéric, Thomas Chabrol, Lucie Gallo, Olivier Broche, Vincent Brousseau, Claïna Clavaron, Simon Guélat, Isabelle Bats, Etienne Beurier)

Full review

The Green Shutters (Les Volets verts)

The portrait of a legendary stage actor who was at the peak of his career in the 1970s.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Jean Becker)

Incredible But True (Incroyable Mais Vrai)

Review preview for Incredible But True

What makes all this work is the very straightforward and matter-of-fact way in which Dupieux approaches the story.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A mysterious tunnel in the cellar of a new home turns lives upside down.

(Year: 2022; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel, Anaïs Demoustier)

Full review

The Kitchen Brigade (La Brigade)

Review preview for The Kitchen Brigade

Warm-hearted and humorous without losing sight of the manifold injustices many migrants face.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Explores the world of French gastronomy while also tackling issues of social justice and inclusion.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Louis-Julien Petit; Writer: Louis-Julien Petit, Liza Benguigui, Sophie Bensadoun; Stars: Audrey Lamy, François Cluzet, Chantal Neuwirth, Fatou Kaba, Yannick Kalombo, Amadou Bah, Mamadou Koita, Alpha Barry, Yadaf Awel, Demba Guiro, Boubacare Balde, Irakli Maisaia, Mohamat Hamit Moussa, Sayed Farid Hossini, Saikat Barua)

Full review

Kompromat

A French diplomat must escape an FSB plot in Siberia.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Jérôme Salle; Writer: Caryl Ferey, Jérôme Salle; Stars: Gilles Lellouche, Joanna Kulig, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Michael Gor, Aleksey Gorbunov, Elisa Lasowski, Daniil Vorobyov, Judith Henry, Igor Jijikine, Pierre Hancisse, Mikhail Safronov, Marius Repsys, Olivia Malahieude, Sasha Piltsin, Marius Cizauskas)

The Little Gang (La Petite Bande)

The adventures of a group of passionate and fearless young children.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Pierre Salvadori; Writer: Benoît Graffin, Benoît Graffin, Pierre Salvadori; Stars: Paul Belhoste, Mathys Clodion-Gines, Aymé Medeville, Colombe Schmidt, Redwan Sellam, Laurent Capelluto, Pio Marmaï, Antoine Cervoni, Mateo Tramini, Laetitia Spigarelli, Dounya Hdia, Toussaint Martinetti, Antoine Carboni, Frederic Poggi, Benjamin Garcia-Casinelli)

Lost Illusions

A poet finds his opinion of the world and himself challenged after he moves from the provinces to Paris.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Xavier Giannoli; Writer: Xavier Giannoli, based on the novel by Honoré de Balzac; Stars: Benjamin Voisin, Cécile de France, Vincent Lacoste, Xavier Dolan, Salomé Dewaels, Jeanne Balibar, Gérard Depardieu, André Marcon, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Jean-François Stévenin, Alexis Barbosa, Marie Cornillon, Saïd Amadis, Morgane de Vargas, Raphaël Magnabosco)

The Love Letter (Chère Léa)

After being rejected by his ex-girlfriend Léa, Jonas goes to the cafe downstairs to write her a final love letter.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Jérôme Bonnell; Writer: Jérôme Bonnell; Stars: Grégory Montel, Grégory Gadebois, Anaïs Demoustier, Léa Drucker, Nadège Beausson-Diagne, Pablo Pauly, Charlotte Clamens, Gaëtan Peau, Jean-François Sivadier, Solène Rigot, Stéphanie Aflalo, Nadir Legrand, Gabrielle Legrand, Océane Court-Mallaroni, Ismaël Sy Savané)

Maigret

Review preview for Maigret

The star himself commands an uncharacteristic stillness, dialling down his famous charisma, surrendering himself to the material.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In 1950s Paris, the body of a young woman is found dressed in an evening gown and holding no I.D. When nobody claims the body, Detective Jules Maigret is brought onto the case.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Patrice Leconte; Writer: Patrice Leconte, based on the books by Georges Simenon; Stars: Gérard Depardieu)

Full review

Mali Twist (Twist à Bamako, Dancing the Twist in Bamako)

In the 1960s, just after Mali gains its independence, a young socialist meets and falls in love with a woman trying to escape an arranged marriage.

(Country: France, Canada, Senegal, Italy, Mali; Year: 2021; Director: Robert Guédiguian; Writer: Robert Guédiguian, Gilles Taurand; Stars: Stéphane Bak, Alice Da Luz, Saabo Balde, Bakary Diombera, Ahmed Dramé, Diouc Koma, Miveck Packa, Issaka Sawadogo, Youssouf Djoara Mbadi, Abdoulaye Diakhaté, Roger Sallah, Gaëlle Hottmongo, Aïcha Dramé, Abou Alassane Niang, Alassane Gueye)

Nobody's Hero (Viens je t'emmène)

Christmas Eve is ruined by an act of terrorism. As the city of Clermont-Ferrand descend into panic, thirty something Mederic falls in love with older street worker Isadora.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Alain Guiraudie; Writer: Alain Guiraudie, Laurent Lunetta; Stars: Jean-Charles Clichet, Noémie Lvovsky, Ilies Kadri, Michel Masiero, Doria Tillier, Renaud Rutten, Philippe Fretun, Farida Rahouadj, Miveck Packa, Yves-Robert Viala, Patrick Ligardes, Sami Outalbali, Nabil Kechouhen, Mathéo Ahounou, Ramzan Akhmadov)

Our Brothers (Nos frangins)

Malik Oussekinean’s death is believed to be caused by an affair of police violence after several weeks of student protests.

(Country: France, Algeria; Year: 2022; Director: Rachid Bouchareb; Writer: Kaouther Adimi, Rachid Bouchareb; Stars: Adam Amara, Samir Guesmi, Reda Kateb, Lyna Khoudri, Raphaël Personnaz)

The Passengers Of The Night (Les passagers de la nuit)

Paris, 1981. The presidential election heralds the winds of change which find an echo in the life of Elisabeth, whose husband has just abandoned her.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Mikhaël Hers; Writer: Maud Ameline, Mikhaël Hers; Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Noée Abita, Ophélia Kolb, Thibault Vinçon, Laurent Poitrenaux, Didier Sandre, Quito Rayon Richter, Morgane Portejoie Pinsard)

Peter Von Kant

Review preview for Peter Von Kant

Martyrdom and bad wishing, casual cruelty and sweet despair reign in this realm.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
The life of famous film director Peter von Kant is turned upside down when he meets the handsome young Amir.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani, Khalil Ben Gharbia, Hanna Schygulla, Stefan Crepon, Aminthe Audiard)

Full review

Rise

Reeling in the wake of devastating physical and emotional injuries a ballerina Elise slowly rebuilds her life

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Cédric Klapisch; Writer: Cédric Klapisch; Stars: Marion Barbeau)

Simone: Woman Of The Century (Simone, Le Voyage Du Siècle, Simone Veil, A Woman Of The Century)

Review preview for Simone: Woman Of The Century

This challengingly structured moving picture connects past with present not in linear form but in fragments of story that come in waves.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Olivier Dahan; Writer: Olivier Dahan; Stars: Rebecca Marder, Elsa Zylberstein, Olivier Gourmet)

Full review See: Olivier Dahan in conversation on Simone: Woman Of The Century, Elsa Zylberstein, Rebecca Marder and Simone Veil , Elsa Zylberstein in conversation on Simone: Woman Of The Century, Simone Veil, Olivier Dahan and Claude Lelouch

Tori And Lokita

Review preview for Tori And Lokita

While exploitation is expertly outlined, the directors are never exploitative themselves in the way it is depicted.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In Belgium today, a young boy and an adolescent girl who have travelled alone from Africa pit their invincible friendship against the difficult conditions of their exile.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2022; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Marc Zinga, Claire Bodson, Baptiste Sornin, Schils Pablo, Mbundu Joely)

Full review