Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Lincoln Center 2011

[Chris Knipp]

Press & Industry screenings will begin Feb. 14, I have learned. I'll set up a Festival Coverage Filmleaf thread shortly when the P&I schedule is announced. The following is from a FSLC press release.

March 3-13: Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2011 (public screenings) will be shown at the Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center, 65th St., IFC Center, Sixth Ave. at W. 3rd St., and BAMcinématek, in Brooklyn.


Links to the reviews:

Big Picture, The (Eric Lartigau 2010)
Deep in the Woods (Benoît Jacquot 2010)
Free Hands (Brigitte Sy 2010)
From one Film to Another (Claude Lelouch 2010)
Hands Up (Romain Goupil 2010)
Happy Few (Anthony Cordier 2010)
Leïla/Toi, moi et les autres (Audrey Estrougo 2011)
Living by Love Alone (Isabelle Czjaka 2010)
Long Falling, The (Martin Provost 2010)
Love Crime (Alain Corneau 2010)
Love Like Poison, A (Katell Quillévéré 2010)
Mozart's Sister (René Féret 2010)
Potiche (François Ozon 2010)
Princess of Monpensier, The (Bertraind Tavernier 2010)
Queen of Hearts, The (Valérie Donzelli 2010)
Service Entrance (Philippe Le Guay 2010)
Sleeping Beauty, The (Catherine Breillat 2010)
Think Global, Act Rural (Coline Serreau 2010)
Top Floor, Left Wing (Angelo Cianci 2010)
What Love May Bring (Claude Lelouch 2010)

RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2011
THE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER AND UNIFRANCE PRESENT THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FRENCH FILM, MARCH 3-13

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION
POTICHE
Director: François Ozon
Running time: 103m
Set in 1977 in a provincial French town, POTICHE is an adaptation of the 1970s eponymous hit play. Catherine Deneuve delivers a glorious, career-crowning performance as a submissive, housebound 'trophy housewife' (or "potiche,") who steps in to manage her wealthy and tyrannical husband's umbrella factory after the workers go on strike and take him hostage. Gérard Depardieu plays a former union leader and Suzanne's ex-beau who still holds a flame for her. POTICHE is a Music Box Films release.

THE BIG PICTURE (L'HOMME QUI VOULAIT VIVRE SA VIE)
Director: Eric Lartigau
Running time: 115m
A frustrated lawyer and family man (played by one of France's hottest young stars, Romain Duris) makes the most out of one moment of violence, which forces him to assume a new identity. Adapted from Douglas Kennedy's acclaimed novel, the film also stars Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve.

DEEP IN THE WOODS (AU FOND DES BOIS)
Director: Benoit Jacquot
Running time: 102m
Jacquot's jaw-dropping, feverish tale concerns a young villager (Isild Le Besco) who literally falls under the spell of a fierce, svengali-like vagabond (Nahuel Perez Biscayart).

FREE HANDS (LES MAINS LIBRES)
Director: Brigitte Sy
Running time: 100m
Barbara is a filmmaker who is in the process of making a film about prison life. Twice a week, she visits a prison in the suburbs of Paris to interview inmates who will both write and act in the film. It is through these meetings that Barbara meets Michel, one of the prisoners who will help her prepare the film. Their love for one another will lead them to break the law...

FROM ONE FILM TO ANOTHER (D'UN FILM Á L'AUTRE)
Director: Claude Lelouch
Running time: 104m
On the occasion of his 50th year in cinema, Oscar-winning A MAN AND A WOMAN director Claude Lelouch turns his famously swooping, pirouetting camera on himself for this uncommonly revealing auto-portrait.
Followed by:
A Conversation with Claude Lelouch
Where A MAN AND HIS FILMS leaves off, Lelouch will continue in person in this career-spanning dialogue with the Film Society's Scott Foundas, featuring clips and a Q&A.

HANDS UP (LES MAINS EN L'AIR)
Director: Romain Goupil
Running time: 90m
A tender, engaging and bracingly militant drama from director Romain Goupil: a story of youth, solidarity and contemporary France, with Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi and a terrific cast of children. A Chechan woman named Milana, recalls the story of her near-deportation from France at the age of ten and the plan her young classmates hatched to save her.

HAPPY FEW
Director: Antony Cordier
Running time: 103m
Two Parisian couples agree to swap partners in Cordier's psychologically sharp and slyly sexy take on changing the rules. The film stars Elodie Bouchez (THE DREAMLIFE OF ANGELS) and Marina Foïs.

LEILA (TOI, MOI, LES AUTRES)
Director: Audrey Estrougo
Running time: 87m
With clever, color-saturated numbers, this catchy musical love story about a pampered slacker and an ambitious Arab law student is a West Side Story for the 21st century set to the songs of the 60s and 70s in France and against the backdrop of the "sans papiers" protests that end with the occupation of Saint Bernard Church in Paris.

LIVING ON LOVE ALONE (D'AMOUR ET D'EAU FRAÎCHE)
Director: Isabelle Czajka
Running time: 89m
One of French cinema's vital new voices delivers an outlaw romance and social critique starring terrific newcomer, Anaïs Demoustier as a smart bored twentysomething who finds an alternative to lackey work and high rents-running off with a guy and a gun.

THE LONG FALLING (OÙ VA LA NUIT)
Director: Martin Provost
Running time: 105m
Martin Provost is re-teaming with SERAPHINE star Yolande Moreau for this heartfelt drama, based on Keith Ridgway's novel. The film follows the story of a long-suffering wife who takes revenge and bonds with her gay son in this suspenseful one-of-a-kind story of sin and salvation.

LOVE CRIME (CRIME D'AMOUR)
Director: Alain Corneau
Running time: 106m
Corneau's last film, LOVE CRIME is a delicious thriller of rivalry, seduction and humiliation set against office politics starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier as mentor and ingénue that results in murder. LOVE CRIME is a Sundance Selects release.

LOVE LIKE POISON (UN POISON VIOLENT)
Director: Katell Quillévéré
Running time: 92m
This award-winning debut from young French director, Katell Quillévéré, is a true discovery with a title taken from a Gainsbourg song. Fourteen-year-old Anna comes home from Catholic boarding school to family turmoil and becomes caught between her own religious belief and sexual stirrings, awakened by a precocious choirboy friend.

MOZART'S SISTER (LA SOEUR DE MOZART)
Director: René Féret
Running time: 120m
MOZART'S SISTER is a dynamic biopic centering on the other musical prodigy in the Mozart family.14-year-old Nannerl lives in the shadow of her famous younger brother as they travel throughout Europe performing for royalty. However, with the encouragement of the handsome French Dauphin, she finds her own ways of challenging the established sexual and social order. MOZART'S SISTER is a Music Box Films release.

THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER (LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER)
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Running time: 139m
Master director Bertrand Tavernier makes a grand return to large-scale period filmmaking with this sexy, powerful saga of unrequited love and diabolical intrigue in the French religious wars of the 16th century, based on a short story by Madame de La Fayette. PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER is an Sundance Selects release.

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS (LA REINE DES POMMES)
Director: Valérie Donzelli
Running time: 84m
Donzelli directs, writes and also stars in THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, a quintessentially French screwball romantic comedy about a freshly dumped hopeless romantic juggling three suitors (all played by Jérémie Elkaïm!). With Béatrice de Staël.

SÉRIE NOIRE (1979)
Director: Alain Corneau
Running time: 111m
SÉRIE NOIRE follows a slightly neurotic door-to-door salesman (extraordinary, wild-eyed Patrick Dewaere)in a sinister part of Paris' suburbs. He meets a teenager, who's been made a prostitute by her own aunt. Wanting to change his life and also save the girl from her aunt, he arrives at murder as the only solution.

SERVICE ENTRANCE (LES FEMMES DU SIXIÈME ÉTAGE)
Director: Philippe Le Guay
Running time: 104m
A stockbroker (marvelous Fabrice Luchini) lives a peaceful, boring existence in 1960s Paris with his socialite wife (Sandrine Kiberlain)-until some exuberant Spanish maids move in upstairs. With Carmen Maura and Lola Dueñas.

THE SLEEPING BEAUTY (LA BELLE ENDORMIE)
Director: Catherine Breillat
Running time: 82m
In Catherine Breillat's continually surprising take on the classic fairy tale where three scatterbrained fairies manage to alter a curse of death placed upon a little girl. Now fated to fall asleep for 100 years after the girl's hand is pierced in her sixteenth year, the fairies further bestow upon her the possibility of wandering far and wide in her dreams during those 100 years of sleep. THE SLEEPING BEAUTY is a Strand Releasing release.

THINK GLOBAL ACT RURAL (SOLUTIONS LOCALES POUR DÈSORDRE GLOBAL)
Director: Coline Serreau
Running time: 113m
In what's already been called a "radical and exhilarating" documentary manifesto, the unstoppable Serreau digs into the problem of industrialized agriculture, quizzing farmers and philosophers alike, across the globe.


TOP FLOOR, LEFT WING (DERNIER ÉTAGE, GAUCHE, GAUCHE)
Director: Angelo Clanci
Running time: 110m
A state persecutor (Hippolyte Girardot) gets sucked into a hostage crisis involving a Berber neighbor in this deft balance of the comedy of mistaken identity and the politics of terror.

WHAT LOVE MAY BRING (CES AMOURS-LÁ)
Director: Claude Lelouch
Running time: 120m
A woman reflects on her turbulent youth and all the men she has ever loved in her life in this inimitable romantic epic, which Lelouch calls "a remake of my 41 films," spans decades in the love life of a cinema usherette. With "cameos" from Belmondo et al.

[Chris Knipp]

In addition to those I will be attending screenings for New Directors/New Films and some of Film Comment Selects, as I did last year.

ND/NF lineup is here






Feb 18 – Mar 3: Film Comment Selects (public screenings). FSLC web page.

Mar 23 – Apr 3: New Directors / New Films (public screenings)

Press screening schedule of ND/NF not announced yet.

[Chris Knipp]

For reviews and other coverage go to the Festival Coverage threads HERE.



Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2011 at Lincoln Center: Press screening schedule

(WRT=Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center, IFC=IFC Center, Sixth Ave. @ 3rd St.)

Press screenings. They run from Feb. 14 through Mar. 4.

Monday, February 14th
9:00am - POTICHE, 103m - WRT
11:00am - THE QUEEN OF HEARTS (LA REINE DES POMMES), 84m - WRT

Tuesday, February 15th
9:00am - THE BIG PICTURE (L'HOMME QUI VOULAIT VIVRE SA VIE), 115m - IFC
11:10am - DEEP IN THE WOODS (AU FOND DES BOIS), 102m - IFC

Wednesday, February 16th
9:00am - MOZART'S SISTER (NANNERL, LA SOEUR DE MOZART), 120m - IFC
11:15am - SLEEPING BEAUTY (LA BELLE ENDORMIE), 82m - IFC

Thursday, February 17th
10:00am - THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER (LA PRINCESSE DE MONTPENSIER), 139m - IFC

Friday, February 18th
9:00am- THINK GLOBAL, ACT RURAL (SOLUTIONS LOCALES POUR UN DESORDRE GLOBAL) , 113m - WRT
11:15am - THE LONG FALLING (OÙ VA LA NUIT), 105m - WRT

Monday, February 21st
9:00am - FROM ONE FILM TO ANOTHER (D'UN FILM Á L'AUTRE), 104m - WRT
11:00am - WHAT LOVE MAY BRING (CES AMOURS-LÁ), 120m - WRT

Tuesday, February 22nd
9:00am - FREE HANDS (LES MAINS LIBRES), 100m - WRT
11:00am - HAPPY FEW, 103m - WRT

Wednesday, February 23rd
9:00am - TOP FLOOR, LEFT WING (DERNIER ÉTAGE, GAUCHE, GAUCHE), 110m - WRT
11:10am- SERVICE ENTRANCE (LES FEMMES DU SIXIÈME ÉTAGE), 104m - WRT

Thursday, February 24th
9:00am - HANDS UP (LES MAINS EN L'AIR), 90m - WRT
10:45am - LOVE LIKE POISON (UN POISON VIOLENT), 92m - WRT

Friday, February 25th
9:00am - LOVE CRIME (CRIME D'AMOUR), 106m - WRT
11:00am - LEILA (TOI, MOI, LES AUTRES), 90m - WRT

Friday, March 4th
10am - LIVING ON LOVE ALONE (D'AMOUR ET D'EAU FRAÎCHE), 90m - WRT

[Chris Knipp]

Catching up on some new films in theaters here in NYC before the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema series press screenings begin next week. I have seen and reviewed the provocative Greek film DOGTOOTH, not a new film but one I didn't see last year when I might have. Then I saw Gregg Araki's KABOUM and the understated but pleasing little indie film from Portland, a kind of "mumblecore" mystery, Aaon Katz's COLD WEATHER. I can say that KABOUM was rather a disappointment, though like Araki's early movies, for me a bit of a guilty pleasure, while COLD WEATHER was something of a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately I just missed a short run of Elia Suleiman's THE TIME THAT REMAINS. There is a chance to see the doc WASTE LAND, but the schedule is difficult with other things to do, and frankly it has been impossible to think of anything else today but the tumultuous events in Egypt leading up to Mubarak's resignation (see the Lounge section).

[oscar jubis]

Looking forward to your reviews, Chris. The Ozon and the Tavernier films will play at the upcoming Miami festival but I am not so keen on watching them at the fest because both have distribution.

[Chris Knipp]

Thanks, hope you enjoy them. Indeed Mademoiselle de Montpensier will be shown in Landmark theaters soon, but I am interested to have another look at it.

[Chris Knipp]

François Ozon: POTICHE (2010)

Feminist social comedy freely adapted from of a boulevard-theater play about a provincial French "trophy wife" (potiche) in 1977 who takes over the family umbrella factory when a strike occurs. Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, and Fabrice Lucchini star in this Music Box release (debuted last fall at Venice and Toronto) which is the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema's opening night film and will be released in the US theatrically March 18, 2011.

The Rendez-Vous with French Cinema runs in New York from March 3-13, 2011 at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center (W. 65th ST.), at the IFC Center at Sixth Ave. and W. 3rd St., and at BAMcinématek, in Brooklyn.

As with all these box intros, click on the title above for the Festival Coverage section review.

French trailer.

[Chris Knipp]

Valérie Donzelli: The Queen of Hearts(2009)

Spare, witty little first feature in the New Wave tradition about a thirty-something woman abandoned by her boyfriend who seeks distraction with other men, all played by the director/writer/star's own ex, Jérémie Elkaïm.

Released in France Feb. 24, 2010. Generally favorable reviews. Avoids conventional French rom-com clichés.

[Chris Knipp]

Eric Lartigau: The Big Picture (2010)

Called in French L'Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie, The Man Who Wanted to Live His Life, this is from an American thriller novel by Douglas Kennedy about a guy who changes his identity after killing a friend who's sleeping with his wife. Like a Patricia Highsmith Tom Ripiley plot, but without the suspense and chilly psychological analysis, this story strains plausibility and Romain Duris seems miscast as the protagonist. The movie fails despite the likes of Catherine Deneuve and Niels Arestrup in the cast.

Debuted in France in November 2010, also shown at the Toronto Festival. Part of the 2011 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance and shown at the Walter Reade Theater, the IFC Center, and BAMcinématek in New York. Public screenings run from March 3-13, 2011.

French trailer.

[Chris Knipp]

Bertrand Tavernier: The Princess of Montpensier (2010)

This adaptation of Madame de Lafayette's 1662 novel of love and war in seventeenth-century France marks a return by Tavernier to the grand historical film. It stars , among others, the young Mélanie Thierry as the beautiful Marie de Montpensier and Lambert Wilson, Grégire Leprince-Ringuet, Gaspard Ulliel, and Raphaël Personnaz as the men who fall under her spell. My review was previously published in connection with the SFFS New French Cinema Now series of Oct. 8-Nov. 3, 2010.

Trailer.

[Chris Knipp]

Coming today: screenings and reviews of René Féret's Mozart's Sister and Catherine Breilat's The Sleeping Beauty. See the Festival Coverage Section.

[Chris Knipp]

René Féret: Mozart's Sister (2010)

A fanciful version of the older sister's life. She was a girl, so she had to step aside when Wolfgang began to emulate her and become a famous prodigy. In this version, which is marked by gorgeous mise-en-scene and a few arresting scenes, she came close to becoming the lover of the future Louis XVI.

Part of the Rende-Vous with French Cinema presented by UniFrance and the Film Society of Lincoln Center March 3-13 in New York at three locations, the Walter Reade Theater uptown, the IFC Center downtown, and BAMcinématek in Brooklyn. See the FSLC website for schedule. Click on the title above for the review in the Festival Coverage section of Filmleaf.

[Chris Knipp]

Catherine Breillat: Sleeping Beauty (2010)

Another fairy tale re-imagined by feminist auteur Breillat, who did her version of Bluebeard not long ago and before that gave us a sexy costume drama called The Last Mistress that was a triumph for Asia Argetnto. This time the story meanders and is not Breillat's best work, but for students of French film fairy-tale telling, it will still be worth a look.

Shown as part of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema March 3-13 and presented by UniFrance and the Film Society of Lincoln Center at three locations, the Walter Reade Theater uptown, IFC Center downtown, and BAMcinétek in Brooklyn. See the respective websites for schedules.

For the Festival Coverage review click on the film title in this box, above.

[Chris Knipp]

Claude Lelouch: One Film After Another (2011)

The eclectic French director whose A Man and a Woman, with Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Tritignant, made him famous in Europe and America in 1966 provides a precipitous filmmaking autobiography that celebrates fifty years in the business. Americans may also know him for Les Misérables (1995) or Roman de Gare (2007)

[Chris Knipp]

Martin Provost: A Long Falling (2011)

Provost again works with the brilliant character actress Yolande Moreau, who helped him win a Best Picture award in France with Séraphine. The subject is a story that would have appealed to Patricia Highsmith, a woman who becomes trapped by a desperate act. Adapted, quite successfully, from a novel by Irish writer Keith Ridgway. This succeeds where Eric Lartigau's slick The Big Picture fails: turning an English-language page-turner into a French edge-of-your seat psychological thriller. Opens in France in May. No US release scheduled.