A divertimento is a light piece of music, written just to amuse. But it’s a slightly incongruous title for Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar’s portrait of the conductor and composer Zahia Ziouani, because the film tackles some pretty heavy themes. To use a current term, this is an “origin story”; telling how a teenage Ziouani went from the…
The Sitting Duck (La Syndicaliste) is a political thriller based in fact. Director Jean-Paul Salome and co-screenwriter Fadette Drouard craft their story around a trade union official and whistleblower who wasn’t believed after a violent personal attack. The central figure is Maureen Kearney (Isabelle Huppert). In 2012, she worked for a Areva, a French multinational…
In these days of endless sequels, prequels, re-boots and re-imaginings, it often feels odd to encounter something out of left field. But you can always trust French cinema to deliver something out of the ordinary – and director Bertrand Bonello delivers just that with The Beast. Bonello and his screenwriting partners Guillaume Bréaud and Benjamin…
Intrigue and subterfuge abound in the rich and engaging period action drama The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan. This is Part I in the sprawling adventure, to be followed by Part 2, Milady, in a few weeks. Based on Alexandre Dumas’ 1844 novel, the film opens in 1627 France. Spirited young swordsman Charles D’Artagnan (François Civil) is…
A sweeping period drama, Jeanne du Barry covers the rise and fall of the eponymous mistress to a former French king. The real Jeanne du Barry was born Jeanne Bécu in 1743; the illegitimate daughter of a monk and a cook, brought up by her mother. In the film, Jeanne’s (Maïwenn) road to the king’s…
– The Taste of Things – Only in cinemas from 2 May 2024 We have 5 double in-season passes thanks to Rialto Distribution. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Eugenie, an esteemed cook, has been working for over the last 20 years for Dodin, a fine gourmet. Growing fonder of one another,…
The Alliance Française French Film Festival feels like a cultural institution in Australia. But it might be somewhat surprising to learn this is the largest celebration of French cinema outside of France. And even more impressively, this year marks 35 years of the festival bringing the best in French film Down Under. The 2024 edition,…
Opposites attract, repel, and attract again in the French comedy Two Tickets to Greece. In 1989, brash teenager Magalie and conservative Blandine were besties at school. An argument over a boy saw an end to that and Magalie moved away. Now, three decades on and two years after her husband left her, radiology technician Blandine…
Although out of favour in the US, Woody Allen is still a revered filmmaker in France. So fittingly enough, his fiftieth film as a director is actually set and shot in France. And, surprisingly enough, the dialogue is in French, with subtitles. Coup de Chance (Stroke of Luck) also turns out to be one of…
– Paris Memories – Only in cinemas from 9 November 2023 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Vendetta Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Set in the aftermath of the horrific November 2015 terrorist attacks in the heart of Paris – Paris Memories follows survivors as they try to…
