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French Film Festival · 2023

French Film Festival 2023

Showcase

Programme

9 films · 6 reviews

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Anatomy Of A Fall (Anatomie D'une Chute)

Review preview for Anatomy Of A Fall

Hüller has always been an unfussy actress, who allows a character's flaws to shine out in interesting ways.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A woman is accused of her husband's murder.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Justine Triet; Writer: Arthur Harari, Justine Triet; Stars: Sandra Hüller, Samuel Theis, Swann Arlaud, Jehnny Beth, Milo Machado Graner, Antoine Reinartz)

Full review

Driving Madeleine (Une Belle Course)

Review preview for Driving Madeleine

The destination of the film might feel like a bit of a foregone conclusion but the graceful and sometimes unpredictable manner in which Carion arrives at it is impressive.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A taxi driver drives a passenger across Paris as she recalls her life.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Christian Carion; Writer: Christian Carion, Cyril Gely; Stars: Dany Boon, Alice Isaaz, Line Renaud)

Full review See: Christian Carion on taking viewers on a journey across Paris and into a woman's past

A Forgotten Man

Review preview for A Forgotten Man

Nègre's finely wrought film suggests that it is not that power corrupts, but rather that corrupt people can more easily bear the experience of power.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
May 1945: after the surrender of Nazi Germany, Heinrich Zwygart, Swiss ambassador in Berlin, is ordered back home. Soon he gets caught up in past decisions. He got through the war. Will he survive the peace?

(Country: Switzerland, UK; Year: 2022; Director: Laurent Nègre; Writer: Laurent Nègre; Stars: Michael Neuenschwander, Manuela Biedermann, Yann Philipona)

Full review

Four Daughters (Les Filles D'Olfa)

Review preview for Four Daughters

The exposure of the film’s underlying structures...invites audiences to think about the processes of storytelling and interpretation, which is important, because it’s a story which took the missing women away.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A creative documentary following ten years in the life of a fortysomething Tunisian mother, a cleaning lady from a poor environment, who sees her two teenage daughters become radicalised, run away and join the terrorist organisation Daesh in Libya.

(Country: Tunisia, France; Year: 2021; Director: Kaouther Ben Hania; Stars: Olfa Hamrouni, Eya Chikhaoui, Tayssir Chikhaoui, Nour Karoui, Ichrak Matar, Majd Mastoura, Hind Sabri)

Full review See: Kaouther Ben Hania in conversation on Tunisia’s Oscar shortlisted Four Daughters (Les Filles d'Olfa), three natural-born storytellers, loving clichés and colours , Kaouther Ben Hania in conversation on Tunisia’s Oscar submission Four Daughters (Les Filles d'Olfa)

Here

Stefan, a Romanian construction worker living in Brussels, is about to move back home. He cooks up a big pot of soup as a goodbye gift for friends and family. Just then, he meets a Belgian-Chinese doctoral student who specialises in mosses.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2023; Director: Bas Devos; Stars: Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong)

The Nature Of Love (Simple Comme Sylvain)

Sophia, a 40-year-old philosophy professor. Sylvain is a craftsman, renovating Sophia and her partner Xavier's new country house. When Sophia and Sylvain meet, Sophia’s world is turned upside down.

(Country: Canada, France; Year: 2023; Director: Monia Chokri; Writer: Monia Chokri; Stars: Magalie Lépine-Blondeau , Pierre-Yves Cardinal, François Létourneau , Monia Chokri)

Omen (Augure)

Review preview for Omen

The powerful forces of family and fable, old and new, intertwine and vie for supremacy in Belgian-Congolese director Baloji’s visually striking debut.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
When a man who was cast out as a child after being considered a sorceror returns home, he faces prejudice.

(Country: DRC; Year: 2023; Director: Baloji; Writer: Baloji, Thomas van Zuylen; Stars: Marc Zinga, Lucie Debay, Eliane Umuhire, Yves-Marina Gnahoua, Marcel Otete Kabeya)

Full review

The Origin Of Evil (L'Origine Du Mal)

Jealousy and bitterness lead a woman to invent a whole other life for herself in order to impress the rich men and women who surround her.

(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Sébastien Marnier; Writer: Sébastien Marnier; Stars: Laure Calamy, Suzanne Clément, Doria Tillier, Jacques Weber, Dominique Blanc)

The Taste Of Things (La Passion De Dodin Bouffant, The Pot-au-Feu)

Review preview for The Taste Of Things

While the end result is important, Hùng’s film is all about savouring the moment, something that becomes more urgent as it progresses - although talk of speed has little place in a film that unfolds with the pace and beauty of a flower.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
The story of Eugenie, an esteemed cook, and Dodin, the fine gourmet she has been working for over the last 20 years.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Trân Anh Hùng; Writer: Trần Anh Hùng; Stars: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel, Pierre Gagnaire)

Full review See: Director of The Taste of Things on Binoche, Magimel and the row around the Oscars , Juliette Binoche on being reunited with Benoît Magimel onscreen