In Full Time, Julie (Laure Calamy) is a single mother who works as the head chambermaid in a prestigious five-star hotel in Paris. She lives in the outer suburbs and daily commutes to and from work. She juggles the demands of her job with raising two young children (Nolan Arizmendi and Sasha Lemaitre Cremaschi). She…
This star-studded French comedy, which was a hit at the recent Alliance Francaise French Film Festival, is largely set within a retirement village. The Villa (aka Maison de retraite in some markets) is another example of those increasingly popular “grey power” films along the lines of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its ilk which…
The French tend to make fine films about food, family and fashion. While Haute Couture is set against the backdrop of the high-end fashion industry it primarily deals with complex mother/daughter relationships and class issues in contemporary France. Ester (Cesar winning actress Nathalie Baye) is the head seamstress at Dior Avenue Montaigne workshop in Paris,…
The Kitchen Brigade is a modest but generally upbeat French comedy and underdog drama from filmmaker Louis Julien Petit, who has worked as a second unit director on a number of popular and successful Gallic comedies like Welcome To The Sticks. The film centres around Cathy Marie (Audrey Lamy), a sous chef who works in…
An intricate and cleverly woven tale of naïveté and deception, Xavier Giannoli’s period drama Lost Illusions reminded me of Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Lucien de Rubempre (Benjamin Voisin) is a budding poet working at a printing factory in provincial France in the 1820s. He is feted by noble woman and patroness Louise de Bargeton (Cecile de…
– Haute Couture – Only in cinemas from 30 June 2022 We have 10 double in-season passes thanks to Vendetta Films. *(Tickets valid in Australia only)* Watch the trailer HERE Esther is at the end of her career as Head Seamstress at Dior Avenue Montaigne workshop. One day, she gets her handbag stolen in the…
Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) is back with a breathtakingly beautiful film about childhood, loss and memory. Petite Maman (which translates to Little Mummy) focuses on an eight-year-old girl’s relationship with her mother. Nelly (Josephine Sanz) has just lost her grandmother. She and her mum Marion (Nina Meurisse) and father (Stéphanie Varupenne)…
The tense Holocaust drama Farewell, Mr Haffmann concerns a Jewish jeweller in France caught up in the maelstrom as the Nazis spread their tentacles. It is May 1941 and Joseph Haffmann (Daniel Auteuil) runs a small jewellery shop. He’s noted for his fine craftsmanship. Haffmann sees the situation in occupied Paris worsening and understands the…
In 1963, abortion was illegal in France. Happening is a harrowing tale about an intelligent student who unexpectedly falls pregnant but has to keep it a secret for fear of what could happen to her. Her name is Anne Duchesne (Anamaria Vartolomei) and she is 23. She hangs around with her gal pals, Brigitte (Louise…
How was the restaurant born? The French dramatic comedy Delicious (Délicieux) provides a fictional answer to that question. At the dawn of the French Revolution, Pierre Manceron (Gregory Gadebois) is a master chef in the employ of the arrogant Duke of Chamfort (Benjamin Lavernhe). The Duke loves the food Manceron and his chefs prepare in…
