New French Films At Lincoln Center

[Chris Knipp]

THE RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 12TH ANNUAL SERIES

I'll be covering the series again, this time attending the press screenings. That apparently means no actors or directors on hand for Q&A's because the public screenings start a week after the press ones end.

The press screenings are from Feb. 8-21. The public ones are Feb. 28-March 11 at Lincoln Center and the IFC Center.

You will find some info about the current series and some images at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?t=534795, and eventually on www.filmlinc.com, the Film Society of Lincoln Center website. You will find info and summaries of critics' evaluations on the French website Allociné and often there are a couple of reviews of them in English from festivals on IMDb, especially by writers for Variety. My reviews will be at Filmleaf "Festival Coverage" above or here (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16873).

The films are as follows:

La Vie en Rose /La Môme *(Olivier Dahan, 2007 – Opening Night
The Valet /La doublure (Francis Veber, 2006)* – Closing Night

Alphabetically by the English title the other films in the series are:

Ambitious/Les ambitieux (Catherine Corsini, 2006)
Blame it on Fidel/La faute à Fidel (Julie Gavras, 2006)
Countdown/Il sera une fois (Sandrine Veysset, 2007)
Don’t Worry, I'm Fine/Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas (Philippe Lioret, 2006)
Flanders/Flandres* (Bruno Dumont, 2006)
I Do!/Prête-moi ta main (Eric Lartigau, 2006)
Inside Paris/Dans Paris* (Christophe Honoré, 2006)
The Man of My Life/L'Homme de sa vie* (Zabou Breitman, 2006)
Murderers/Meutrières (Patrick Grandperret, 2006)
One to Another/Chacun sa nuit* (Pascal Arnold & Jean-Marc Barr, 2006)
The Page-Turner/La tourneuse de pages* (Denis Dercourt, 2006)
The Singer/Quand j'étais chanteur (Xavier Giannoli, 2006)
Tell No One/Ne le dis a personne (Guillaume Canet, 2006)
The Untouchable/L'Intouchable* (Benoît Jacquot, 2006)
Humbert Balsan: Rebel Producer/Humbert Balsan, producteur revelle (Anne Andreu, 2006) – Tribute Program

*Has a US distributor.

___________________

Here's what I know so far. A lot of this is conventional mainstream stuff, but if you call it "mainstream," till it's a comedy remade in Hollywood (and a couple of them eventually could be), it's mainstream arthouse stuff, not mainstream cinemplex stuff. The comedies are The Valet and I Do!

I have seen four already, and it will be a big plus if any of the others turn out to be as good as three of them were. In Paris I saw Inside Paris/Dans Paris (Honoré), which is great, Dumont's Flanders/Flandres, also excellent, one of his best and perhaps his most accessible, though again that's by arthouse standards, and The Singer (at the London Film Festival), one of the best things Gérard Depardieu has done in years, about a fading cabaret singer -- Depardieu does all his own singing for it -- trying to sustain an affair with a young woman, and with the vibrant young Cécile de France as that women. Cécile de France had her César "best female hopeful" year and for good reason. She's a terrific actress and she has that glow, that sparkle, that they have sometimes. In Paris I also saw Tell No One/Ne le dis à personne, which is from an American crime novel (by Harlan Cohen) and doesn't seem very French to me, but it might make more sense with subtitles, because it was pretty complicated without them, for me, and it has good actors and is up for a pile of César awards this year, including best supporting for André Dussollier, so maybe I better give than one a more careful second look. The Page Turner is also well spoken of. Rumor has it that Jacquot's is a disappointment, though it's another appearance by his sexy bee-sting-lipped muse, Isild Le Besco. A couple have not opened in France yet, including the biopic one about Edith Piaf Le Vie en Rose/La Môme, which some fans of the classic French chanteuse-diva are sure to love whether it's artistically a success or historically accurate or not, and as surely if it's not some are sure to hate it. It opens in Paris on Valentine's Day.

And today I saw Don't Worry, I'm Fine/Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas, which manages to be fresh and thought-provoking without being particularly edgy or unconventional. The director, Philippe Lioret was not previously familiar to me and is not known in the US. Again, if this is "mainstream," that means something completely different in France -- maybe nothing, in US terms, and Christophe Honoré was much less mainstream, with much less success, in his prevous film, Ma mère, than he is in Inside Paris.

LINKS TO RENDEZ-VOUS 2007 REVIEWS:

AMBITIOUS/LES AMBITIEUX (CATHERINE CORSINI) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16918#post16918)

BLAME IT ON FIDEL/LA FAUTE À FIDEL (JULIE GAVRAS) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16916#post16916)

DON'T WORRY, I'M FINE/JE VAIS BIEN, NE T'EN FAIS PAS (PHILIPPE LIORET ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16873#post16873)

FLANDERS/FLANDRES (BRUNO DUMONT ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16917#post16917)

INSIDE PARIS/DANS PARIS (CHRISTOPHE HONORÉ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16878#post16878)

MURDERERS/MEURTRIÈRES (PATRICK GRANDPERRET ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16915#post16915)

ONE TO ANOTHER/CHACUN SA NUIT (PASCAL ARNOLD, JEAN-MARC BARR) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16930#post16930)

THE PAGE TURNER/LA TOURNEUSE DE PAGES (DENIS DERCOURT) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16919#post16919)

THE SINGER/QUAND J'ETAIS CHANTEUR (XAVIER GIANNOLI ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16920#post16920)

TELL NO ONE/NE LE DIS À PERSONNE (GUILLAUME CANET) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16927#post16927)

THE UNTOUCHABLE/L'INTOUCHABLE (BENOÎT JACQUOT) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16928#post16928)

THE VALET/LA DOUBLURE (FRANCIS VEBER ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16880#post16880)

LA VIE EN ROSE/LA MOME (OLIVIER DAHAN ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16914#post16914)

[oscar jubis]

Good stuff. Looking forward to your reviews. Among MIFF offerings, two from the Rendez-vous: The Page Turner and The Valet, both playing out of competition as films with US distribution deals do. Also playing, Angel A from Luc Besson, Si Le Vent Souleve Les Sables from Marion Hansel ( a MIFF "darling" since the 80s), and the US premiere of the award-winning Mon Fils A Moi from Martial Fougeron (the only one in competition for awards). Enjoy the series.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks. I think it's going to be pretty good. I don't think I know anything about Hensel and Fougeron.

[oscar jubis]

Fougeron is a young director, whose second film just took top prize at San Sebastian. The film opens in France next month. It stars Nathalie Baye. Press screening next week here.
Marion Hansel is a veteran filmmaker who does a bit of everything; for instance, she coproduced L'Enfer and co-wrote La Femme de Gilles (both of which you've seen). She's been poorly distributed in the States. She's French-born but lives in Belgium. Several of the films she's directed are set in Africa including the new one, which has already screened for the press here. Two of her films in English got some distribution in the States (mostly NYC if I remember correctly): Dust and The Quarry (starring John Lynch and the only one on dvd in the US). I watched her Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea in Toronto and the others at the local fest.

[Chris Knipp]

I see. So you'll see these?

[oscar jubis]

Yes, I watched Hansel's Si Le Vent Souleve Les Sables a few days ago and wrote a review to be posted soon. I watched The Page Turner this afternoon. The Valet and Mon Fils A Moi are pending. I posted my list of 2006 Documentaries already (Favorites section). Hope to post fiction lists in about a week if I find the time. The screening schedule for the fest is tight because of the huge number of films involved.

[Chris Knipp]

So you got accredited I gather.

P.s. If somehow The Lives of Others qualifies for 2006 best lists I'd have put it in mine, if I'd known about it or seen it in 2006.

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
So you got accredited I gather.
Yes, everything worked out. Pace of screenings is furious. So far I've been able to write reviews (400-500 words) within 12 hours of seeing them. Will post close to 60 reviews I bet. Should start posting two-a-day soon. I'm trying to keep the length and number posted per day within limits. Hope there's enough interest from our members and guests. Will post reviews under Festival Coverage (Peter thought I had access to it but I don't so we have to work that out) and open a thread in this section for informal comments and questions.

If somehow The Lives of Others qualifies for 2006 best lists I'd have put it in mine, if I'd known about it or seen it in 2006.
Picture opened in one theatre in LA on 12/1/06. Opened in NYC and other places this month. I don't know if I'll manage to watch it before I post my list. Perhaps, I'll simply list it as a 2007 release, assuming I like it enough to merit inclusion.

[Chris Knipp]

I figured Lives of Others opened in LA in '06. I'll have to move to LA I guess. I agree we have to list with this year's. It's a shame that the Academy will probably not all bother to watch it since it has not gotten publicity through being released more widely. It deserved better that way: a great movie. I don't know how you can watch all those movies, I assume you must live closer to the festival than I do even to the SF one. But I don't have the stamina, and writing about them takes too much time for me to be able to cover that many. Why not just do 100 or 200 words? Not that that's always so much easier.

[oscar jubis]

It's only a 10 minute drive to both locations where press screenings are held. During the fest, there's a venue I could walk to and another, downtown, that's only 10 minutes away. But the fest's headquarters and an important venue are in South Beach, which is about 20-25 minutes. People who live in the suburbs often can't afford to watch as many films because of the travel distance.
I'm writing some reviews now under 400 words in length, especially docs, so I can cover everything I watch.

[Chris Knipp]

It's only a 10 minute drive to both locations where press screenings are held. During the fest, there's a venue I could walk to and another, downtown, that's only 10 minutes away.

You have an ideal setup. I don't find it very comfortable to spend all day at Lincoln Center, or to have to write reviews of two or three films a day several days in a row. It's draining, not so much the watching but the writing. And home is 3,000 miles from here.

[Chris Knipp]

LINKS TO RENDEZ-VOUS 2007 REVIEWS:

AMBITIOUS/LES AMBITIEUX (CATHERINE CORSINI) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16918#post16918)

BLAME IT ON FIDEL/LA FAUTE À FIDEL (JULIE GAVRAS) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16916#post16916)

COUNTDOWN (VEYSSET) AND THE LEGACY OF HUMBERT BALSAN (ANDREU) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16932#post16932)

DON'T WORRY, I'M FINE/JE VAIS BIEN, NE T'EN FAIS PAS (PHILIPPE LIORET ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16873#post16873)

FLANDERS/FLANDRES (BRUNO DUMONT ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16917#post16917)

INSIDE PARIS/DANS PARIS (CHRISTOPHE HONORÉ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16878#post16878)

THE MAN OF MY LIFE/L'HOMME DE SA VIE (ZABOU BREITMAN) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16935#post16935)

MURDERERS/MEURTRIÈRES (PATRICK GRANDPERRET ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16915#post16915)

ONE TO ANOTHER/CHACUN SA NUIT (PASCAL ARNOLD, JEAN-MARC BARR) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16930#post16930)

THE PAGE TURNER/LA TOURNEUSE DE PAGES (DENIS DERCOURT) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16919#post16919)

THE SINGER/QUAND J'ETAIS CHANTEUR (XAVIER GIANNOLI ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16920#post16920)

TELL NO ONE/NE LE DIS À PERSONNE (GUILLAUME CANET) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16927#post16927)

THE UNTOUCHABLE/L'INTOUCHABLE (BENOÎT JACQUOT) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16928#post16928)

THE VALET/LA DOUBLURE (FRANCIS VEBER ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16880#post16880)

LA VIE EN ROSE/LA MOME (OLIVIER DAHAN ) (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16914#post16914)

[Chris Knipp]

BEST OF THE RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA, 2007: A ROUNDUP (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16936#post16936)

[Chris Knipp]

My Rendez-Vous "picks" piece also appears on the website Cinescene (http://www.cinescene.com/knipp/rendezvous.html)

[Chris Knipp]

Bulletin from Filmlinc, the Film Society of Lincoln Center:


FSLC ReelNews 3.1.07

Film Society of Lincoln Center | Walter Reade Theater

The Best in World Cinema


~~ RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA – Now – March 11
~~ OFFSIDE – Monday March 12 – 7pm
~~ WORKS BY MASTER FILMMAKER TIAN ZHUANGZHUANG – March 14 – 20
~~ NEW DIRECTORS / NEW FILMS – March 21 – April 1


RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA – Now – March 11

We’re thrilled to have many of the directors and actors in town for the series. Join us and welcome Catherine Corsini (AMBITIOUS), Sandrine Veysset (COUNTDOWN), Philippe Lioret (DON’T WORRY I’M FINE), Bruno Dumont (FLANDERS), Eric Lartigau (I DO!), Zabou Brietman (THE MAN OF MY LIFE), Patrick Grandperret (MURDERERS), Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr (ONE TO ANOTHER), Denis Dercourt (THE PAGE TURNER), Xavier Giannoli (THE SINGER), Guillaume Canet (TELL NO ONE), Isild Le Besco and Benoit Jacquot (THE UNTOUCHABLE) and Francis Veber (THE VALET).
http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/rendezvous07/program.html




All the cool people who weren't there for the press screenings! But of course some of the press were cool in themselves.....

[Chris Knipp]

The Rendez-Vous reviews now have stills (http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16872#post16872) to illustrate them which makes the whole affair more visual.

[oscar jubis]

I found The Valet significantly more contrived and less funny than previous Francis Veber comedies. You seem to agree, somewhat:

"This isn’t as ingenious as The Closet or The Dinner Game (and other earlier Veber comedies) and maybe that’s why we can see the wheels turning so clearly. It’s entertaining but lacks wit. There is a great French tradition here but it lies in shreds and tatters." (Chris Knipp)

[Chris Knipp]

Not "somewhat," totally. Of course the machinery is there for popular entertainment and the film gets some audiences going. But for me among the Rendez-Vous series that this year includes the likes of Flanders, Dans Paris, The Singer, and La Vie en Rose, this came pretty down the list of fifteen you see above.

[oscar jubis]

I'm a bit surprised no one has posted anything about La Vie en Rose since C.K.'s review. I haven't checked national box office numbers, but here in Miami La Vie en Rose is a huge success. I think it will continue to occupy its screens for at least another month.

My mother used to play Edith Piaf records when I was a kid in the 60s and I vaguely remember her telling me about Piaf's "vida tragica". The biopic privileges the legend (perhaps the tabloid-press subject) over the person and I think that's a mistake. Otherwise, La Vie en Rose is a handsomely produced, gripping and emotional story with a ripe, myth-making performance at its center.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks, Oscar, for the revival of interest and I hope some more people do see it and comment here. Again here is the link to my Rendez-Vous review from February, so it's on this page:

http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=16914#post16914

Here's my short review from a "best of" conclusion for the Rendez-Vous:

Oliver Dahan: La Vie en Rose/La Mome (2007)


This biopic about the tragic, tumultuous life of French singer icon Edith Piaf, "the kid sparrow," greeted ceremonially as a "film event" in France as befits an elaboration of the history of a national treasure, is crowned with a spectacular lead performance by Marion Costillard that's at once go-for-broke and precisely accurate down to the fingernails. Whatever you may conclude about this overwhelming, chaotic film--it really -- you're going to grant that Cotillard delivers one of the most remarkable star performances ever in a singer-biopic. "The narrative had to be impressionist, not linear," Dahan has commented. Certainly this isn't studied, analytical filmmaking but, as Dahan's remark suggests, the wildly impressionistic kind. The film shifts back and forth vertiginously between Piaf's last days-- she died at 47 -- and the many highlights and low points of her incredible earlier life. "This is a Kid who will make you blubber," wrote French critic Patrick Fabre after La Mpme's Valentine's Day opening in Paris, "like you've never blubbered at the movies before." And this film too is beautiful and full of fine actors. (US distributor: Picturehouse).