Tag Archives: French cinema

the revenge of an ordinary man (film: Le vieux fusil – Robert Enrico, 1975)

‘Le vieux fusil‘, Robert Enrico‘s 1975 film has a glorious history, at least from the point of view of the Cesar awards that reward the best French films. It won the award for the best film of the year it … Continue reading

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another kind of love (film: Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud – Claude Sautet, 1995)

‘Nelly & Mr. Arnaud‘ released in 1995 is the last film directed by Claude Sautet. Reading about it I found it many times compared to his previous film, ‘Un Coeur en Hiver‘ from 1992 and the result of the comparison … Continue reading

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love and real estate (film: Mado – Claude Sautet, 1976)

The most memorable scene in ‘Mado‘, the 1976 film made by Claude Sautet stars Michel Piccoli and Romy Schneider. Piccoli is Simon Leotard, the main hero of the film, a real estate businessman past his early youth and after two … Continue reading

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not only for Romy and Jean-Louis (film: Le combat dans l’île – Alain Cavalier, 1962)

The long goodbye that we are taking from Jean-Louis Trintignant gave us the opportunity to see some of his most famous films but also a few lesser known ones. The latter category includes ‘Le Combat dans l’île‘, the feature film … Continue reading

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a back-to-the-roots vacation (film: Lune de miel – Élise Otzenberger, 2018)

‘Lune de miel‘ (distributed on the English language market as ‘My Polish Honeymoon‘), the 2018 film made by Élise Otzenberger (her only film as a director so far) addresses two interesting and significant themes. The first is well-known and has … Continue reading

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local politics (film: Les promesses – Thomas Kruithof, 2021)

Two main narrative threads combine in ‘Les Promesses‘ (‘Promises‘), the 2021 film by French director Thomas Kruithof. One of them, related to the precarious condition of the Paris suburbs, is centered around an urban project involving political parties (we are … Continue reading

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film noir and dark politics (film: Un condé – Yves Boisset, 1970)

Yves Boisset is not one of the famous French directors, which amplifies for me the (pleasant) surprise of watching his 1970 film ‘Un condé‘ (‘The Cop‘). The director, who had been Jean-Pierre Melville‘s assistant, among others, demonstrates here that he … Continue reading

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crime comedy with a French sauce (film: Cop au vin – Claude Chabrol, 1985)

‘Cop au vin‘ (an inspired translation of the original title ‘Poulet au vinaigre‘) is one of those films by Claude Chabrol which, when viewed, I have the impression that they were made with Alfred Hitchcock looking approvingly over the French … Continue reading

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history lesson (film: Le souper – Edouard Molinaro, 1992)

Who makes the history? How, when and where are made the great decisions that decide the fate of countries, nations, individuals? These questions, which historians and philosophers have asked and debated fiercely for centuries, are elegantly answered in ‘Le souper‘, … Continue reading

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an erotic thriller that aged badly (film: ‘Péril en la demeure’ – Michel Deville, 1985)

I decided to watch ‘Péril en la demeure‘ (English title is ‘Death in a French Garden‘) mainly for Michel Piccoli, an actor I really like. But his is a supporting role and he appears in only a few scenes. This … Continue reading

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