Tag Archives: French cinema

Au coeur de la nuit (Film: La Rafle – Jean Reno, 2010)

The Jewish people faced many dark moments in its long and troubled history. What happened in the night of July 16, 1942 in Paris – the arrest of more than ten thousand Jews, men and women, young, old and children, … Continue reading

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terror thriller a la americaine (Film: Secret Defense – Philip Haim, 2008)

What is bluntly visible in this French film is the American look. Actually it is not only the look – the whole approach taken by the film starting with its story and I dare say with its ideology, going through … Continue reading

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the dawn of the French empire (Film: Indochine – Catherine Deneuve, 1992)

‘Indochine’ was released to the big screens in France by the time of my first visit in Paris in 1992, the city was then full of posters about it, I remember them even on the Champs Elysees. Going to the … Continue reading

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a French dream success story (Film: Ivo Livi dit Yves Montand, 2011)

If this story happened in the USA it would have been labelled as the American Dream story. An Italian immigrant comes to the new country with his three kids. A few years later he receives citizenship. The younger of the … Continue reading

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screen and stage (Film: Le prenom – 2012)

‘Le prenom’ translated in English in the Shakespearean ‘What’s in a Name’ is even more than an adaptation, it is almost filmed theater. Excepting the introduction which is funny but has little to do with the film and the final … Continue reading

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fragments of the endless performance of life (Film: Holy Motors – Leo Carax, 2012)

‘Holy Motors’ is a very unusual film and I am not surprised that some people had a hard time coping with its structure and apparent lack of story. It is much closer in some moments with a piece of video … Continue reading

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a straight backward film (Film: 5×2 – Francois Ozon, 2004)

Having liked the last film of Francois Ozon (‘Dans la maison‘) as well as some of his previous work I jumped on the opportunity of seeing one of his earlier works screened at the local cinematheque. ‘5×2’ is based on … Continue reading

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rust and bone, flesh and soul (Film: De rouille et d’os – Jacques Audiard, 2012)

This is the second film that I see directed by Jacques Audiard, a cinema personality who seems to have written many more scripts than movies that he had made. I am yet to see Un prophete which is considered his best, … Continue reading

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Love Story (Film: Amour – Michael Haneke, 2012)

Every age has it’s love films. A long time ago, during my late my teens I resonated together with the millions of young folks at my age in between the age of the hippies and the age of the yuppies … Continue reading

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Adieu, Monsieur Chabrol! (Film: Bellamy – Claude Chabrol, 2009)

Bellamy (or Inspector Bellamy) is the final film in the career that spreads over half a century of director Claude Chabrol, a career started within the cinematic revolution of the French Nouvelle Vague at the end of the 50s in which Chabrol … Continue reading

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