Tag Archives: French cinema

the great Catherines (film: Sage femme – Martin Provost, 2017)

Posted on August 13, 2026 by admin

The 2017 ‘Sage femme‘ (the title of the English distribution was ‘The Midwife’) by Martin Provost was a pleasant surprise and it is not clear to me why the film was underappreciated at the time by part of the public … Continue reading →

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liaison dangereuse (film: Loulou – Maurice Pialat, 1980)

Posted on August 7, 2026 by admin

I had several good reasons for choosing to watch Maurice Pialat‘s 1980 film ‘Lolou‘. Maurice Pialat came late to film directing. He was 43 in 1968 when he made his first feature film. The peak of the French Nouvelle Vague … Continue reading →

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musketeers in love (film: Un éléphant ça trompe énormément – Yves Robert, 1976)

Posted on July 27, 2026 by admin

Exactly half a century after its release, the French comedy ‘Un éléphant ça trompe énormément‘, directed by Yves Robert (who also co-wrote the screenplay), was the perfect entertainment for a hot summer day. How can we explain the agelessness of … Continue reading →

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between Luis Buñuel and Wes Anderson (film: Le testament d’Orphée – Jean Cocteau, 1960)

Posted on July 10, 2026 by admin

Those who are, like me, admirers of the cinematic style practiced by Wes Anderson in the last decade, of fantasies with a surrealist touch, bringing together on screens formidable casts in stories where reality melts into legends and imagination, will … Continue reading →

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a quality film de papa (film: Les orgueilleux – Yves Allégret & Rafael E. Portas, 1953)

Posted on June 29, 2026 by admin

Yves Allégret, the director of the Franco-Mexican co-production ‘Les orgueilleux‘ (known in English distribution as ‘The Proud and the Beautiful’) was in the 1950s one of the preferred target of the critics of future French New Wave filmmakers. He directed … Continue reading →

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dr. Jodie Foster from Paris (film: Vie privée – Rebecca Zlotowski, 2025)

Posted on February 4, 2026 by admin

I have always had a healthy dose of distrust in the ‘psy-‘ experts, i.e. psychologists, psychoanalysts or psychiatrists. Call it skepticism or prejudice, the fact is that I have never resorted to their services. The film ‘Vie privée‘ (‘A Private … Continue reading →

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outstanding and controversial cinematic experience in the mid 1930s (film: Kermeze héroïque – Jacques Feyder, 1935)

Posted on January 20, 2026 by admin

‘La kermesse héroique‘ (‘Carnival in Flanders’ in the English distribution) was a completely unexpected discovery for me, especially since I knew almost nothing about any of the directors or actors who participated in the production with the exception of Louis … Continue reading →

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Truffaut settling down? (film: Domicile conjugal – François Truffaut, 1970)

Posted on January 7, 2026 by admin

‘Domicile conjugal‘ (‘Bed & Board‘ in the English distribution) was made by François Truffaut 11 years after ‘Les quatre cents coups’, one of the three films that launched the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ and changed the direction of French and world cinema. … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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