Tag Archives: French cinema

René Clair vs. Chaplin (film: À nous la liberté – René Clair, 1931)

Posted on December 11, 2025 by admin

‘À nous la liberté‘ – René Clair‘s 1931 film – is often mentioned in tandem with Chaplin’s ‘Modern Times’ from 1936. The central theme and anti-capitalist message are shared. In the perspective, the direct filiation is obvious. At the time, … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged À nous la liberté, author cinema, comedy, French cinema, Georges Auric, Georges Périnal, Henri Marchand, Lazare Meerson, musical movies, original script, Raymond Cordy, René Clair, social cinema, social satire | Leave a comment

laughs vs. anguish (film: Un monde merveilleux – Giulio Callegari, 2024)

Posted on December 7, 2025 by admin

We live in the midst of collective anxiety created by the dangers of robots and Artificial Intelligence. Jobs are disappearing or are under threat, AI applications and robots are increasingly present in our lives and not only do they threaten … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Blanche Gardin, comedy, French cinema, Giulio Callegari, original script, road movies, sci-fi comedy, Un monde merveilleux | Leave a comment

the Avignon Spirit (film: Avignon – Johann Dionnet, 2025)

Posted on December 3, 2025 by admin

‘Avignon‘ (2025) is one of those films that I can’t help but love despite some obvious shortcomings. Johann Dionnet, the film’s director and co-writer of the script, is probably known to you from other French films in which he played … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alison Wheeler, Avignon, Baptiste Lecaplain, comedy, Elisa Erka, French cinema, Johann Dionnet, original script, romantic comedy | Leave a comment

a fantasy movie in the 1900 Vienna (film: La Ronde – Max Ophüls, 1950)

Posted on October 8, 2025 by admin

The year was 1950 and film director Max Ophüls was returning to Europe. He had spent the decade of the 1940s in the United States, where between 1947 and 1949 he had made four films. He was returning to France, … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Anton Walbrook, Arthur Schnitzler, comedy, Daniel Gélin, Danielle Darrieux, fantasy movies, French cinema, Gérard Philippe, inspired by a theatre play, Jean-Louis Barrault, La Ronde, Max Ophüls, Serge Reggiani, SImone Signoret | Leave a comment

two men and one woman (film: Après l’amour – Diane Kurys, 1992)

Posted on October 6, 2025 by admin

Diane Kurys, the director and co-writer of the film ‘Après l’amour‘ (or ‘Love after Love‘ in the English distribution) is one of the few woman filmmakers who has managed to make a name for herself and build a career and … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Bernard Giraudeau, Diane Kurys, feminist cinema, French cinema, Hippolyte Girardot, Isabelle Huppert, Lio, men - women relations, original script, romantic drama, Yvan Attal | Leave a comment

a drama with music (film: Mélo – Alain Resnais, 1986)

Posted on September 25, 2025 by admin

Melodrama has not always had a negative or ironic connotation. In fact, in the 19th century this theatrical genre was closer to what the etymology of the word indicates, that is, a drama (usually set in a family environment) with … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Alain Resnais, André Dussollier, Fanny Ardant, French cinema, inspired by a theatre play, Mélo, Pierre Arditi, relationship drama, Sabine Azéma | Leave a comment

crime and passion (film: Les innocents aux mains sales – Claude Chabrol, 1975)

Posted on August 25, 2025 by admin

They say that to assess the skills of a director, it is good to see not only his best films, but also those that for one reason or another failed with the public or in the eyes of critics. ‘Les … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Claude Chabrol, crime film, French cinema, inspired by a novel, international movies production, Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean Rochefort, Les innocents aux mains sales, Rod Steiger, Sandrine Bonnaire | Leave a comment

extreme forms of the struggle of the classes (film: La cérémonie – Claude Chabrol, 1995)

Posted on August 24, 2025 by admin

Claude Chabrol‘s ‘La cérémonie‘, adapted from a novel by Ruth Rendell, ends about where Stanley Kubrick’s and Anthony Burgess’ ‘A Clockwork Orange’ begins. The ceremony in the title is a shocking act of violence, and I won’t say more to … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Claude Chabrol, film based on a novel, French cinema, Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, La cérémonie, psychological thriller, Ruth Rendell, Sandrine Bonnaire, Virginie Ledoyen | Leave a comment

the indiscrete wickedness of the bourgeoisie (film: La rupture – Claude Chabrol, 1970)

Posted on August 1, 2025 by admin

Some of the most scathing cinematic critiques of the bourgeoisie and the social order it dominated were created in the years after the student uprisings of 1968. They did not always take the form of explicitly political films, and one … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged Claude Chabrol, French cinema, inspired by a novel, Jean-Pierre Cassel, La rupture, Michel Bouquet, Pierre Jansen, political cinema, psychological thriller, Stephane Audran, The Breach | Leave a comment

adventures in Africa (film: L’africain – Philippe de Broca, 1983)

Posted on July 23, 2025 by admin

‘L’africain‘ is a film that had all the premises of a great success. It was released in 1983 as a kind of French cinema industry’s response to the trend of action films set in exotic locations generated by the enormous … Continue reading →

Posted in movies | Tagged action movie, Catherine Deneuve, Claude Berri, French cinema, Georges Delerue, Gérard Brach, Jean Penzer, L'africain, original script, Philippe de Broca, Philippe Noiret, romantic films | Leave a comment