French Film Festival PreviewRSS

French Film Festival Preview

9th Feb 2010
By Ed, Flicks.co.nz

The fourth annual French Film Festival opens in Auckland this Thursday, then onto Wellington (starting February 17), then Christchurch (starting February 23).

2010 offers another intriguing line-up, so here's the low-down. For the full schedules and more info, visit www.frenchfilmfestival.co.nz.

COMEDY

The French Kissers
A massive hit in French cinemas and at Cannes, this is the debut film from comic-book writer Riad Sattouf. It follows ugly-duckling Herve as he attempts the impossible: get a girlfriend.

Please, Please Me!
A slapstick French comedy from writer/director/actor Emmanuel Muoret (Shall We Kiss?, Change of Address, Venus and Fleur).
Trailer here.

Ugly Melanie
The anti-Amelie, this comedy follows too-nice-for-her-own-good Melanie (Marilou Berry) who turns bad after being pushed around and being taken advantage of one too many times.
Trailer here.

First Snow
A dad, who habitually overpromises to keep his kids and wife happy, guarantees a family ski-trip. But this time he's been given an ultimatum: keep his promise or lose the family.
Trailer here (no subtitles).

KIDS & FAMILY

Trouble at Timpeltill
For some reason kids are so much sweeter when they’re speaking French, even if they are causing havoc on an entire town. The children of Timpeltill are rambunctious and have driven their parents to the end of their tether. So the grown-ups abort, leaving the kids to fend for themselves.

The True Story of Puss 'n' Boots
A computer-animated musical, billed as a new take on the classic fairytale. The set design is inspired by Spanish architect Gaudi.
Trailer here.  

THRILLER

Public Enemy Number 1: Part 1 and 2
Winning best actor (Vincent Cassel ) and best director (Jean-Francois Richet) at the Césars (French Oscars), this two-part biopic is what Flicks is most looking forward to. It follows Jacques Mesrine, declared public enemy number one in both France and Canada in the 1970s, a womanizing, bank robbing gangster. A cinema buff, he modelled his life after films, and "lived his own epic somewhere between the romantic and the cruel, the flamboyant and the tragic".
Trailer here.

Anything For Her
Legal thriller about a happily married couple whose idyll is shattered when one is falsely accused of murder. Stars Inglourious Basterds' Diane Kruger.

Legal Aid
A 40-year-old legal aid ditches charity cases for more interesting work: defending mobsters and criminals. While the financial rewards are great, he begins to realise his boss' interests are dodgy and he's at risk of being on the wrong side of the law himself.
Trailer here (no subtitles).

Bellamy
What kind of French film festival would it be without Gerard Depardieu? Here he plays a police superintendent with troubles a-plenty. This is based on a true story of an insurance rip-off.
Trailer here (no subtitles).

ROMANCE

Every Jack has a Jill
A sweet romantic comedy by debut-director Jennifer Devoldère, about Chloe, a young underwhelmed girl in Paris, who comes across a lost suitcase and falls in love with the unknown man whose contents it belongs to. Chloe's going to find her man. Stars Inglourious Basterds' Melaine Laurent.

Mademoiselle Chambon
Drama following the romance of general good guy and builder Jean (Vincent Lindon) and his son's teacher, violinist Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain).
Trailer here.

DRAMA

Eden is West
Veteran French director Costa Gavras creates an epic story of a Greek emigrant in search of good times in France. The tale is based on The Odyssey.

Korkoro
A Gypsy family travels the French roads during the World War 2, followed by a young boy seeking a new family after his parents "left and never returned". But the bohemians find themselves increasingly persecuted and no longer free to travel as the pressure from the Vichy police intensifies.

The Hedgehog
Based on the French best-seller The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, this is the story of an unexpected encounter between a suicidal 11-year-old girl, a Parisian concierge and the enigmatic Mr Karkura Ozu.
Trailer here (no subtitles).

Queen to Play
Sandrine Bonnaire plays a mother and housemaid who becomes obsessed with... chess.

Blame It On Mum
Charlotte Rampling stars in this portrait of a family full of nuts. The drama follows several recent French tales of family complexity, such as Summer Hours and I've Loved You So Long.
Trailer here (no subtitles).