Skip to main content

New York's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema · 2021

New York's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

Full line-up

Programme

18 films · 8 reviews

Jump to a film

The Big Hit

Review preview for The Big Hit

Less would be more, as Beckett knew all too well.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Drama about a prison theatre workshop, who are staging Waiting For Godot.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Emmanuel Courcol; Writer: Khaled Amara, Emmanuel Courcol, Thierry de Carbonnières; Stars: Kad Merad, David Ayala, Lamine Cissokho, Sofian Khammes, Pierre Lottin, Wabinlé Nabié, Aleksandr Medvedev, Saïd Benchnafa, Marina Hands, Laurent Stocker, Mathilde Courcol-Rozès, Catherine Lascault, Yvon Martin, Adama Bathily, Brigitte Froment)

Full review

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)

Final Set

A former tennis prodigy returns to the game at the age of 37.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Quentin Reynaud; Writer: Quentin Reynaud; Stars: Alex Lutz, Ana Girardot, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tariq Bettahar, Quentin Reynaud, Damien Gouy, Hervé Pauchon, Alexandre Blazy, Fabienne Galula, Sandra Rosinsky, Rosa Bursztein, Tom Neal)

Gagarine

Review preview for Gagarine

Bathily is superb, approaching his role with confidence but capturing the freshness and naivety essential to the character.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Youri fights to save his home - which is also named after Yuri Gagarin - from demolition.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh; Writer: Benjamin Charbit, Fanny Liatard; Stars: Alseni Bathily, Lyna Khoudri, Jamil McCraven, Farida Rahouadj)

Full review See: Gagarine directors Fanny Liotard and Jérémie Trouilh talk about their debut

Ibrahim

A youngster who gets on the wrong side of the law is determined to make it up to his father.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Samir Guesmi; Writer: Rosa Attab, Samir Guesmi, Camille Lugan, Sylvie Verheyde; Stars: Abdel Bendaher, Samir Guesmi, Rabah Nait Oufella, Luàna Bajrami, Philippe Rebbot, Marilyne Canto, Souad Arsane, Florence Loiret Caille, Djemel Barek, Jean-Charles Clichet, Riton Liebman, Farid Bouzenad, Abdelkrim Grini, Youssouf Gueye, David Loyola)

A l'abordage

After a man meets a woman in Paris, he decides to surprise her... taking his best friend along for the adventure.

(Year: 2020; Director: Guillaume Brac; Writer: Guillaume Brac, Catherine Paillé; Stars: Salif Cissé, Asma Messaoudene, Soundos Mosbah, Benjamin Natchouang, Édouard Sulpice)

Lifelines

Esther receives an anonymous diary, written 20 years ago by a young girl in hospital. The story resonates with her and she become obsessed with finding the author.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Fabienne Godet; Writer: Fabienne Godet, Claire Mercier, Franck Vassal; Stars: Ana Brandão, Lucie Debay, Julie Moulier, Matilde Serrão, Maxime Taffanel, Arnaud Valois, Angelina Woreth)

Little Girl (Petite Fille)

The portrait of eight-year-old Sasha, who questions her gender.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Sébastien Lifshitz; Writer: Sébastien Lifshitz)

Lovers (Amants)

Review preview for Lovers

Garcia... takes the socio-economic circumstances as the core and builds her elegant thriller around it.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
An inseparable couple are forced apart following a crime... and meet again by chance three years later.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Nicole Garcia; Writer: Jacques Fieschi, Nicole Garcia; Stars: Pierre Niney, Stacy Martin, Benoît Magimel, Roxane Duran, Mohamed Makhtoumi, Severino Negri, Mohamed Badissy, Magne-Håvard Brekke, Liberato Candiello, Jordano Ceresa, Jake Francois)

Full review

Love Affair(s) (The Things We Say, the Things We Do, Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait)

Review preview for Love Affair(s)

Too much and over the top, the film nevertheless finds its rhythm.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
François has to rush back to Paris to cover for a sick colleague, leaving his partner Daphné, three months pregnant, to welcome his cousin, Maxime. In the four days till Francois’ return Daphné and Maxime get to know each other, sharing increasingly intimate stories that bring them closer.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Emmanuel Mouret; Writer: Emmanuel Mouret; Stars: Camélia Jordana, Niels Schneider, Vincent Macaigne, Émilie Dequenne, Jenna Thiam, Guillaume Gouix, Julia Piaton, Jean-Baptiste Anoumon, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Claude Pommereau)

Full review

Mandibles

Review preview for Mandibles

This whole film isn't just about but on the fly, with Dupieux never letting the pace slip for so much as a few seconds of the short running time.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
When friends Jean-Gab and Manu find a giant fly trapped in the boot of a car, they decide to train it in the hope of making a ton of cash.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Writer: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Grégoire Ludig, David Marsais, Adèle Exarchopoulos, India Hair, Roméo Elvis, Coralie Russier, Bruno Lochet, Raphaël Quenard, Gaspard Augé, Thomas Blanchard, Philippe Dusseau, Olivier Blanc, Jean-Paul Solal, Jézabel Marques, Marie Narbonne)

Full review

Margaux Hartmann (L'Étreinte)

Review preview for Margaux Hartmann

Bergery crafts an intimate portrait of loneliness and rediscovery, and of particular insecurities pertaining to a certain age.

Dora Leu · 3.5 out of 5
Margaux, who just lost her older husband, starts a new life.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Ludovic Bergery; Writer: Ludovic Bergery, Julien Boivent; Stars: Emmanuelle Béart, Vincent Dedienne, Nelson Delapalme, Elisabeth Duda, Sandor Funtek, Eva Ionesco, Nico Rogner, Tibo Vandenborre, Arthur Verret, Marie Zabukovec)

Full review

My Donkey, My Lover & I (My Donkey, My Lover And I, Antoinette dans les Cévennes)

Antoinette, a school teacher, is looking forward to her long planned summer holidays with her secret lover Vladimir, the father of one of her pupils... but when she discovers he can't come, she decides to follow him.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2020; Director: Caroline Vignal; Writer: Caroline Vignal; Stars: Laure Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe, Olivia Côte, Marc Fraize, Jean-Pierre Martins, Louise Vidal, Lucia Sanchez, Maxence Tual, Marie Rivière, François Caron, Ludivine de Chastenet, Bertrand Combe, Pierre Laur, Denis Mpunga, Dorothée Tavernier)

Red Soil

Nour, a young nurse, has just been hired at her dad’s chemical factory. Taking care of the infirmary, she uncovers long hidden secrets...

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2020; Director: Farid Bentoumi; Writer: Farid Bentoumi, Samuel Doux, Audrey Fouché, Gaëlle Macé; Stars: Zita Hanrot, Sami Bouajila, Céline Sallette, Olivier Gourmet, Henri-Noël Tabary, Alka Balbir, Thierry Rousset, Laurent Crozet, Evelyne Cervera, Thierry Simon, Maxime Bodolec, Antonia Buresi, Matthieu Loos, Olivier Faraggi, Vanessa Desmaret)

Should The Wind Drop (Si le vent tombe)

An auditor tries to help an isolated territory to open up as he appraises its airport.

(Country: France, Belgium, Armenia; Year: 2020; Director: Nora Martirosyan; Writer: Guillaume André, Nora Martirosyan, Emmanuelle Pagano, Olivier Torres; Stars: Grégoire Colin, Hayk Bakhryan, Arman Navasardyan, David Hakobyan, Vartan Petrossian, Narine Grigoryan, Amalya Ohanjanyan, Marianna Vorskanyan, Artak Mkrtchyan, Marat Hakobyan, Hayk Papyan, Rimma Kocharyan, Alla Arutyunyan, Veronika Yakubyan, Grigoriy Gasparyan)

Slalom

Review preview for Slalom

Favier dials down the histrionics to concentrate on the manipulative way the coach plays around with the girl’s fragile emotions, reducing her to a despairing wreck.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Coming-of-age tale about a young skier who is drawn into an abusive relationship.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2020; Director: Charlène Favier; Writer: Charlène Favier; Stars: Noée Abita, Axel Auriant, Muriel Combeau, Marie Denarnaud, François Godart, Catherine Marchal, Jérémie Renier, Maïra Schmitt)

Full review See: Slalom director Charlène Favier on memories, mountains, #MeToo and social media

Spring Blossom (16 Printemps)

Review preview for Spring Blossom

Artfully confected and directed with a light touch, this is a layered yet knowingly insubstantial creation, un amour choux.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A bored teenager finds herself torn between the love of an older man and her adolescence.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Suzanne Lindon; Writer: Suzanne Lindon; Stars: Arnaud Valois, Frédéric Pierrot, Dominique Besnehard, Suzanne Lindon, Rebecca Marder, Philippe Uchan, Florence Viala, Françoise Widhoff, Raymond Aquaviva, Arthur Giusi)

Full review See: Writer/director/star Suzanne Lindon on her debut Spring Blossom

Summer Of 85

When 16-year-old Alexis capsizes off the coast of Normandy, 18-year-old David heroically saves him. Alexis has just met the friend of his dreams. But will the dream last for more than one summer?

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2020; Director: François Ozon; Writer: Aidan Chambers, François Ozon; Stars: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, Philippine Velge, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Melvil Poupaud, Isabelle Nanty, Laurent Fernandez, Aurore Broutin, Bruno Lochet, Yoann Zimmer, Antoine Simoni, Patrick Zimmermann, Samuel Brafman-Moutier)