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French Film Festival · 2024

French Film Festival 2024

Full line-up

Programme

36 films · 13 reviews

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All Your Faces

Drama about victims of violent crime and perpetrators, who meet up in a restorative justice.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Jeanne Herry; Writer: Jeanne Herry; Stars: Birane Ba, Leïla Bekhti, Anne Benoît, Dali Benssalah, Élodie Bouchez, Suliane Brahim, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Gilles Lellouche, Miou-Miou, Pascal Sangla, Fred Testot, Denis Podalydès, Raphaël Quenard, Sébastien Houbani)

Amal

Amal, a teacher in a Brussels school, encourages her pupils to cultivate a love of reading and freedom of expression, even if it means putting herself in danger.

(Country: Belgium, France; Year: 2023; Director: Jawad Rhalib; Writer: Jawad Rhalib, David Lambert, Chloé Leonil; Stars: Lubna Azabal, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Kenza Benbouchta, Ethelle Gonzalez-Lardued, Johan Heldenberg, Babetida Sadjo, Medhy Khachachi)

And The Party Goes On (Et la fête continue)

A middle-aged matriarch gets a new lease of life after meeting a man as she approaches retirement.

(Country: France, Italy; Year: 2023; Director: Robert Guédiguian; Writer: Robert Guédiguian, Serge Valletti; Stars: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Lola Naymark, Robinson Stévenin, Gérard Meylan, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Alice Da Luz, Pauline Caupenne, Jacques Boudet, Yann Trégouët, Adrien Jolivet, Xavier Mathieu, Miveck Packa, Julie Lucazeau, Cathy Darietto)

Animal Tales Of Christmas Magic

Animated tale.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Camille Alméras, Ceylan Beyoglu, Natalia Chernysheva, Haruna Kishi, Caroline Attia Larivière, Olesya Shchukina; Writer: Camille Alméras, Ceylan Beyoglu, Natalia Chernysheva, Haruna Kishi, Caroline Attia Larivière, Olesya Shchukina)

Being Maria (Maria)

Consideration of the life and career of Last Tango In Paris star Maria Schneider.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Jessica Palud; Writer: Jessica Palud, Laurette Polmanss, Vanessa Schneider; Stars: Hugo Becker, Marie Gillain, Yvan Attal, Anamaria Vartolomei, Giuseppe Maggio, Céleste Brunnquell, Stanislas Merhar, Aurélie Garault, Annaig Briand, Alexandre Ionescu, Patrice Tepasso, Swann Dupont, Jérémy Charvet)

Boléro

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2024; Director: Anne Fontaine; Writer: Anne Fontaine, Claire Barré, Pierre Trividic, Jacques Fieschi, Frere Jean-Pierre Longeat, Marcel Marnat; Stars: Raphaël Personnaz, Doria Tillier, Jeanne Balibar, Emmanuelle Devos, Vincent Perez, Sophie Guillemin, Alexandre Tharaud, Florence Ben Sadoun, Mélodie Adda, Katia Tchenko, Serge Riaboukine, Constance Verluca, Joniece Jamison, Jelle De Beule, Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc)

Coup De Chance

A perfect couple's idyll is threatened when the woman crosses paths with an old high school friend.

(Country: France, US, UK; Year: 2023; Director: Woody Allen; Writer: Woody Allen; Stars: Lou de Laâge, Valérie Lemercier, Melvil Poupaud, Niels Schneider, Grégory Gadebois, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Elsa Zylberstein, Anne Loiret, Sara Martins, Arnaud Viard, William Nadylam, Jeanne Bournaud, Yannick Choirat, Philippe Uchan, Benoît Forgeard)

The Crime Is Mine

Review preview for The Crime Is Mine

A sugary delight with a delightfully bitter aftertaste.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When a glamorous but talentless young actress is accused of murdering a sleazy producer, her aspiring lawyer friend spies a money-making opportunity.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo, based on the play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil; Stars: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Madeleine Verdier, Rebecca Marder, Pauline Mauléon, Isabelle Huppert, Danny Boon, Andre Dussollier)

Full review

César And Rosalie

Review preview for César And Rosalie

Sautet's film offers an interesting snapshot of shifting sands in the Seventies sexual revolution.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A love triangle between a woman and two very different men is explored in typically French fashion.

(Country: France, Italy, West Germany; Year: 1972; Director: Claude Sautet; Writer: Jean-Loup Dabadie, Claude Sautet, Claude Néron; Stars: Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, Sami Frey, Bernard Le Coq, Eva Maria Meineke, Henri-Jacques Huet, Isabelle Huppert, Gisela Hahn, Betty Beckers, Hervé Sand, Jacques Dhéry, Pippo Merisi, Carlo Nell, Carole Lixon, Dimitri Petricenko)

Full review

Day For Night (La Nuit américaine)

Problems occur among the cast and crew during the shooting of a film about a married woman who has a fling with the father of her French husband.

(Country: France, Italy; Year: 1973; Director: François Truffaut; Writer: François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard, Suzanne Schiffman; Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Dani, Alexandra Stewart, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jean Champion, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut, Nike Arrighi, Nathalie Baye, Maurice Seveno, David Markham, Bernard Menez, Gaston Joly, Zénaïde Rossi)

Dog On Trial (Le Proces Du Chien)

Review preview for Dog On Trial

Dosch uses the true story to make wider observations about the often fraught relationships between humans and animals.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A young lawyer tries to save a dog from capital punishment.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Laetitia Dosch; Writer: Anne-Sophie Bailly, Laetitia Dosch; Stars: Laetitia Dosch, Anabela Moreira, Anne Dorval, François Damiens, Pierre Deladonchamps, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Christian Dustour)

Full review

Elementary

Documentary about teachers' devotion to their students.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Claire Simon)

Emilia Perez

Review preview for Emilia Perez

Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A lawyer gets an offer to help a cartel boss start a new life.

(Country: US, Mexico; Year: 2024; Director: Jacques Audiard; Writer: Jacques Audiard; Stars: Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez, Edgar Ramírez, Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, James Gerard, Shiraz Tzarfati, Agathe Bokja, Marie-Elisabeth Robert, Stéphane Ly-Cuong, Eric Geynes, Anabel Lopez, Eduardo Aladro, Line Phé, Cyrus Khodaveisi)

Full review See: Jacques Audiard and Karla Sofia Gascón on changing identity, democracy and drug cartels in Emilia Perez

Emmanuelle

Review preview for Emmanuelle

The problem is that the new Emmanuelle is as completely unsexy, cold and sterile as the environment the titular protagonist inhabits.

Marko Stojiljkovic · 2 out of 5
Emmanuelle is in search of a lost pleasure. She flies alone to Hong Kong on a business trip. In this sensual global city, where she initiates numerous encounters, she meets Kei, a man who constantly eludes her.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Audrey Diwan; Writer: Emmanuelle Arsan, Audrey Diwan, Rebecca Zlotowski; Stars: Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower, Noémie Merlant, Will Sharpe, Isabella Wei, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Chacha Huang, Andrea Dolente, Adrienne Lau, Agathe Bokja, Adam Pak, Bianca Lau, Txomin Vergez, Carole Franck, Andrew Sit-Chun Tse)

Full review

Everybody Loves Touda

A singer plans to build a better future for her son.

(Country: Morocco; Year: 2024; Director: Nabil Ayouch; Writer: Nabil Ayouch, Maryam Touzani; Stars: Nisrin Erradi, Jalila Talemsi)

Faithful

1956. Algeria is a French colony. Fernand and Hélène are madly in love. Fernand is an activist, fighting for independence alongside the Algerians. Hélène is fighting for Fernand’s life.

(Country: France, Belgium, Algeria; Year: 2020; Director: Hélier Cisterne; Writer: Joseph Andras, Antoine Barraud, Hélier Cisterne, Katell Quillévéré; Stars: Vincent Lacoste, Vicky Krieps, Jules Langlade, Marc Brunet, Thomas Ducasse, Jeanne Carré, Raphaël Thiéry, Yoann Zimmer, Meriem Medjkane, Abdelah Besseghir, Eric Borgen, Jacques Mazeran, Malik Benchiha, Madi Belem, Bertrand Bossard)

Filmlovers! (Spectateurs)

A film enthusiast follows the footsteps of Paul Dédalus.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin; Stars: Milo Machado-Graner, Mathieu Amalric, Françoise Lebrun, Micha Lescot, Salif Cissé, Olga Milshtein)

Holy Cow! (Vingt Dieux!)

Review preview for Holy Cow!

The action is pacy but that doesn’t mean Courvoisier skims the surface.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After the sudden death of his father an 18-year-old finds himself looking after his sister... and changing his life.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Louise Courvoisier; Writer: Louise Courvoisier, Théo Abadie; Stars: Clément Faveau, Maïwène Barthelemy, Luna Garret, Mathis Bertrand, Dimitry Baudry) , Trailer

Full review

It's Raining Men (Iris et les hommes)

Review preview for It's Raining Men

Even if the result is not ultimately very surprising, it’s well handled, with a mature understanding and a depth of commitment to character.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Iris has an idyllic life but, as she nears 50 a stranger's suggestion that she 'take a lover' leads her to register for a dating app with unexpected consequences.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Caroline Vignal; Writer: Caroline Vignal, Noémie de Lapparent; Stars: Laure Calamy, Vincent Elbaz, Suzanne De Baecque, Sylvain Katan, Laurent Poitrenaux, Ismaël Sy Savané, Nicolas Godart, Alexandre Steiger, Zoé Richard, Daphné Crépieux, Pascal Rénéric, Myriem Akheddiou, Sarah Touffic Othman-Schmitt, César de Gouvello, Antoine Abinal)

Full review See: Q&A with Caroline Vignal about It's Raining Men (aka Iris Et Les Hommes)

Julie Keeps Quiet (Julie zwijgt)

Review preview for Julie Keeps Quiet

The director shows how it’s not just Julie’s tennis skills that have been groomed by the coach but large aspects of her life.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
As the star player at an elite tennis academy, Julie’s life revolves around the game she loves. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet…

(Country: Belgium, Sweden; Year: 2024; Director: Leonardo van Dijl; Writer: Ruth Becquart, Leonardo van Dijl; Stars: Tessa Van den Broeck, Grace Biot, Alyssa Lorette, Ruth Becquart, Koen De Bouw, Pierre Gervais, Claire Bodson, Laurent Caron)

Full review See: Leonardo van Dijl on the importance of silence Belgian Oscar nominee Julie Keeps Quiet

Last Tango In Paris (Ultimo tango a Parigi, Le Dernier Tango à Paris)

Review preview for Last Tango In Paris

Last Tango In Paris is perhaps Brando's last truly great film, and bringing him together as it does with Bertolucci, it's something which no lover of film can afford to miss.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Two strangers meet in a empty apartment and begin a passionate but anonymous affair.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 1972; Director: Bernardo Bertolucci; Writer: Bernardo Bertolucci; Stars: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Maria Michi)

Full review

A Man And A Woman (Un homme et une femme)

A widow and a widower find solace in friendship.

(Country: France; Year: 1966; Director: Claude Lelouch; Writer: Claude Lelouch, Pierre Uytterhoeven; Stars: Anouk Aimée, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Pierre Barouh, Valérie Lagrange, Antoine Sire, Souad Amidou, Henri Chemin, Yane Barry, Paul Le Person, Simone Paris, Gérard Sire)

Marcello Mio

Chiara Mastroianni plays a version of herself as she interrogates the legacy of her father Marcello Mastroianni.

(Year: 2024; Director: Christophe Honoré)

The Marching Band (En Fanfare)

Review preview for The Marching Band

The two siblings bond and the disparate threads of their relationship prove immensely touching as they ruminate on the lost years and chances.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A conductor discovers he was adopted and has a younger sibling.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Emmanuel Courcol; Writer: Emmanuel Courcol, Irène Muscari; Stars: Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Ludmila Mikaël, Jacques Bonnaffé, Sarah Suco, Nathalie Desrumaux)

Full review See: Pierre Lottin - a joker with a serious side

Maybe More

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Olivier Ducray, Wilfried Méance; Writer: Jean-Paul Bathany, Olivier Ducray, Wilfried Méance, Cesc Gay; Stars: Isabelle Carré, Bernard Campan, Julia Faure, Pablo Pauly, Florès Cardo, Jeanne Peltier Lanovsky, Léa Nauleau, Angel)

Mousey (Maoussi)

(Director: Charlotte Schioler)

One Fine Morning

Review preview for One Fine Morning

Seydoux is superb as she runs the emotional gamut with subtlety and empathy, demonstrating an extraordinary survival spirit in complicated circumstances.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A woman who is raising her daughter alone and looking after her dad, who has a degenerative disease, embarks on a passionate affair.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Mia Hansen-Løve; Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Melvil Poupaud, Nicole Garcia, Pascal Greggory, Kester Lovelace, Ema Zampa)

Full review See: One Fine Morning star Léa Seydoux and director Mia Hansen-Løve in conversation , Mia Hansen-Løve in conversation on One Fine Morning, Léa Seydoux, Pascal Greggory, Kafka, and ghosts

One Year, One Night

Céline and Ramón, a young couple who survived the Bataclan terrorist attack, struggle to regain a sense of normality.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2022; Director: Isaki Lacuesta; Writer: Fran Araújo, Isa Campo, Ramón González; Stars: Alba Guilera, Miko Jarry, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Natalia de Molina, Sophie Broustal, Enric Auquer, Bruno Todeschini, Mike F. Pamphile, José Javier Domínguez, Blanca Apilánez, C. Tangana, Jean-Louis Tilburg, Alex Moreu Garriga)

La Piscine (Swimming Pool)

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.

(Country: France; Year: 1969; Director: Jacques Deray; Writer: Jean-Claude Carrière, Jean-Emmanuel Conil, Jacques Deray; Stars: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin, Paul Crauchet, Steve Eckardt, Maddly Bamy, Suzie Jaspard, Thierry Chabert, Stéphanie Fugain)

Full review See: Alain Delon in Cannes to receive honorary Palme d'Or , Venice Film Festival report: A Bigger Splash, Heaven Can Wait and Anomalisa.

The President's Wife (Bernadette)

Comedy based on actual events that unfolded in the life of French president Jacques Chirac and his wife Bernadette.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Léa Domenach; Writer: Clémence Dargent, Léa Domenach; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Denis Podalydès, Michel Vuillermoz, Sara Giraudeau, Laurent Stocker, François Vincentelli, Lionel Abelanski, Artus, Scali Delpeyrat, Barbara Schulz, Vincent Primault, Olivier Balazuc, Maud Wyler, Jacky Nercessian, Olivier Breitman)

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)

Savages (Sauvages)

Stop-motion animation about a girl and an orangutan facing up to deforestation in Borneo.

(Country: Switzerland, France, Belgium; Year: 2024; Director: Claude Barras; Writer: Claude Barras, Nancy Huston, Morgan Navarro; Stars: Babette De Coster, Martin Verset, Laetitia Dosch, Benoît Poelvoorde, Pierre-Isaïe Duc, Michel Vuillermoz, Gaël Faye, Sailyvia Paysan)

Seeds Of Hope

Filmed over three years, this documentary takes us into the lives of Congolese women and children.

(Country: Democratic Republic of Congo, UK; Year: 2013; Director: Fiona Lloyd-Davies)

Souleymane's Story (L'Histoire de Souleymane, The Story of Souleymane)

Review preview for Souleymane's Story

There is a feeling of being in a constant movement, with cars and buildings whizzing by as Souleymane is rushing through the city, either riding his bike, or running from one type of public transport to the next.

Nikola Jovic · 3 out of 5
Two days in the life of a bike delivery guy who is trying to get asylum.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Boris Lojkine; Writer: Boris Lojkine, Delphine Agut; Stars: Abou Sangare, Nina Meurisse, Alpha Oumar Sow Emmanuel Yovanie, Younoussa Diallo)

Full review

Le Temps D'aimer

A hotel waitress, who has a young child, meets a rich student. The relationship between them quickly becomes intense, but over time it is evident that the student is trying to escape by entangling her destiny with his.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2023; Director: Katell Quillévéré; Writer: Katell Quillévéré, Gilles Taurand; Stars: Anaïs Demoustier, Vincent Lacoste, Christian Starr Lassen, Thibault Maunoury)

Toni

A former pop sensation and single mother of five must, along with her lively brood, must adapt to a moment of collective transformation.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Nathan Ambrosioni; Writer: Nathan Ambrosioni; Stars: Camille Cottin, Léa Lopez, Thomas Gioria, Louise Labèque, Oscar Pauleau, Juliane Lepoureau, Catherine Mouchet, Guillaume Gouix, Florence Muller, Saadia Bentaïeb, Benoît Giros, Caroline Espargilière, Louis-Aubry Longerais, Eric Fardeau, Cyrille De Gonzalgue)