France (2021) User Reviews

You get the idea

[darioz-99232 · 5/10 · 28 October 2021]

You get the idea what they wanted to do here. To put all different aspects of television (news, reality TV, etc.) in a movie and make a bit fun of it.

But it's just too long and everything keeps on repeating itself. If this movie would be one hour shorter, it would be much better in my opinion.

Also: Lea Seydoux cries more in this movie than me at home chopping onions!

Cinema Omnivore - France (2021) 7.0/10

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 1 May 2022]

"Such faux-naivety shows Dumont's tricksy proclivity to go against the grain for characterization, he distances France from a realistic, complex character, then magnifies her every banal emotion beat from her easily processed headspace to the extreme of absurdity. France has no tact in fending off life's caprices, her guilt (after injuring an immigrant delivery man), her rage (a romance with a fellow resident in an expensive sanitarium turning out to be a hoax), her grief (a road tragedy shot in disturbingly long and slo-mo details), never reach far to get audience's sympathy. France de Meurs might be read as a symbol of France the country, all glossy and haute-couture-y, but troubled by the immigrant crisis, deluded by the deceptive wooing parties and dreading disaster can be detonated at any minute and much more."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.

All over the place

[tinuviel_mrv · 5/10 · 8 March 2022]

No plot, attempts at a storyline. Completely all over the place. What a waste of hours! Neither the main plot nor the plot adds up to anything. Love affair seems cringy. Husband-wife and even the filial relationship seems so fake. One story moves onto another with no relation in between as if this were the attempt of a photographer to bring together a scrapbook of images. And to be honest, even the images are not that great. So, don't waste your time.

Scriptless meandering of the soul sans respite

[copykatparis · 12 January 2022]

Promising premise, terrible execution. It feels like there was never a script, just some nice locations where someone said "Hey! This would look good! Let's shoot here! We'll figure out where it fits later. Or not."

Unlike its trailer/loglines, this film widely misses the mark as a skewering of image-centered "journalists", infotainment and the like, areas so ripe for the satire which is so badly needed in today's media-centric world. What a missed opportunity!

Fortunately the actor Blanche Gardin can improv or at least deliver some lines well; otherwise.... Also, did they fire the editor? Loooooooooong shots that were really, really unnecessary, contributing nothing but boredom. In fact, it starts to be risible. The relentless pathway eventually seems so ludicrous, one can only start laughing at the incongruities.

I suggest watching with a shot of spirits; every time France cries, take a shot. You'll be drunk in about 10 minutes-- which is not even a good excuse for watching this -- and comatose by the end. And you'll be missing nothing. Shame because Lea Seydoux has been rather good in many good films; who knows what happened here: bad choice? Coercion?

Recap: No script or at least nothing to say, bad editing, scenes that are long and drawn-out for no reason, and even a couple of actors who have all the personaity and intrigue of a plastic spoon (i'll name no names). Make it a definite miss; catch The French Dispatch (or indeed, anything else) instead.

Good script, an excellent performance from Lea Seydoux and lovely music of Christophe

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 10 March 2022]

Bruno Dumont writes his own original scripts and directs the film. His best best work among those that I have watched so far was "L'humanite" (Humanity) (1999) that swept three top Cannes awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, and The Grand prize of the Jury. Mr Dumont has made an equally good film in "France," a top-notch tale on the downfall of a major TV news personality whose name is France. It is far superior to the Hollywood film, Sidney Lumet's "Network," also on another major TV news anchor. As the poster suggests, the main character looks back at her fascinating career and the incidents and people that led to her gradual erosion of faith in humanity as fate and people contribute to the downward spiral of her life. The last 15 minutes of the film nudges us to recall Dumont's earlier film "Humanity" with similar shots of the agricultural landscape as in that film.

The film is significant for a few extraordinary elements; 1. The well constructed script. 2. The superlative performance of Lea Seydoux ending with her looking at the camera and closing her eyes as a tear drop flows out from the closed eyelid. 3. The lovely music of of the composer Christophe, used by Tarantino in "Kill Bill vol. II." 4. The remarkable performance of Benjamin Biolay, as the husband, Fred.

Good idea and failed film, wasted potential of Lea Seydoux

[gphgrm01 · 3/10 · 7 April 2022]

I like Lea Seydoux, and there is certainly plenty of beautiful shots of her face in this movie. However, the movie is failure in general, although the idea is powerful. A celebrity TV reporter becomes affected by the stories she is making, and her life becomes a mess. In the end she accepts that she is what she is and she will never be happy or sad, wrong or right, it is just what she does: looking for and creating sensationalism. The idea is to make the main character, France, a tragic character, but somehow everything in this movie is unconvincing, pretentious and, in a word, a failed mixed of melodrama and arthouse movie. In the first place, the movie is too long, and there is a lot of pointless scenes, to be honest. There are some powerful points, hints, suggestions, etc, but in general, they don's hang well together in the movie, they are simply tiring. Pity, they wasted a good idea, and for sure, a top celebrity among French actresses, who somehow, in spite of the bad movie, was actually a perfect choice for the role. Still the movie is disappointment.

The moral crisis of a media star

[Ana_Banana · 7/10 · 17 November 2023]

After a second viewing, the qualities of this film became apparent. It was erroneously labelled a comedy, misleading some viewers towards escapist shallowness, but it's actually a tragedy, with satirical aspects aimed at the hypocrisy of present day media, politics and society in general.

The script is clever, the acting is excellent (especially by Léa Seydoux, of course), and even the long close-ups on her character, who is breaking the fourth wall by staring at the camera on those occasions, appear now as justified to highlight her introspection and loneliness. Therefore, such close-ups are not just for enjoying her beauty (which may be also a contrast with her inner drama). And the long takes are also like pauses to let the viewer digest what he has seen before.

France the character is facing perhaps the same problems as France the country (and the Western-type society in general). She is the center of the story and apparently her inner humaneness awakes after a minor accident she's caused, allowing her to really see the suffering in society and thus the lies she was being paid for.

One example among many others: her re-awakened soul makes her uncomfortable during the dinner with the rich globalists, who tried absurdly to justify their greed. In contrast, her one-sided, irresponsible and delusional personal assistant (Blanche Gardin) said in another scene a line betraying her utter lack of moral principles: 'The worst is the best'. Just like the witches in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth': 'Fair is foul, foul is fair'.

Seeing the manipulative essence of her job and the disaster of her family life, France de Meurs sinks in depression. She craves for real human contact, but in the fake society around her, even that is denied to her, and her short 'speech' towards the end of the film confirms her tragic resignation. Apparently, her evolution brought her back at the starting point, but now with a new understanding. And the final close-up on her face adds subtlety and complexity to this bitter and hard gained awareness.

Time wasting movie

[totti-henri · 1/10 · 25 October 2021]

Terrible movie, good actors and music but what an awful and non sense story ... I lost 2 hours of my time. Seriously, my 2 year old son would have written a better plot. While it has a great potential it's a pure collapse and does not bring any interesting scene on the table. 90% Lea Seydoux with the same acting kind over and over again ...

Sad and famous

[andreyrublev · 10/10 · 29 August 2021]

Dumont will, in this film, show us the underside of journalism, both on television sets and during the filming of documentaries / reports.

France is played by a Léa Seydoux playing the role of the narcissistic journalist spectacularly well, living only for her success to the detriment of people, with a certain contempt for them.

It's a real treat to see her play, going from a very chic world with sequined dresses to battlefield sequences, it's her best role in my opinion.

The plunge into the faking of the reports is very well orchestrated and absolutely embarrassing for on the one hand the people interviewed and on the other hand us, who attend the scenes knowing the psychology of France. It's funny, shocking, and right at the same time. Of course, special mention for the music of Christophe, coming to sublimate the film.

Without going into too much detail, the staging, the well-directed actors and the music transport us to this film, alongside France, who will experience the backdrop of the life of a star.

Between her complicated family life, the accident with the delivery man, the relentlessness of social networks destroying as quickly as they send to the top and the perversity of the media, France has no respite, the current system still catching up with her.

In conclusion, this film is a treat. A painting of current society making us cross all emotions. Not having really adhered to his last two feature films on Joan of Arc, France reconciles me with Dumont.

I can understand that the film is not unanimous. Nonetheless, I highly recommend it. He was in the official selection at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and, in my opinion, deserved awards.

Lea SEYDOUX as an obsessed TV Presenter

[ZeddaZogenau · 7/10 · 3 November 2023]

Not far from the Brandenburg Gate, I happened to be standing right next to the German TV presenter Johannes B. Kerner, who was already getting ready for a TV dress rehearsal of the New Year's Eve celebration broadcast on the ZDF television station. I was able to see up close how thick the make-up is on the faces of our TV noses. Lea SEYDOUX wears exactly this type of television make-up throughout the entire film. And then there are the strange clothes that are supposed to look good on the screen, but in reality look pretty grotesque.

It all starts with President Macron personally having to warn the popular TV presenter France De Meurs (SEYDOUX) to keep quiet at his press conference. Then we witness how current news television is staged. Bizarre, enlightening and very frightening! It's about appearance, staging and reality. And yes, Bruno DUMONT's films are always very special. Please only watch if you have a good dose of joy in cynicism!

The cast is great! Chansonnier Benjamin BIOLAY is there as the author husband of the busy TV reporter, Juliane KÖHLER (Silver Bear 1999 for AIMEE & JAGUAR) has a bizarre appearance as an over-the-top spa patient. And the comedienne Blanche GARDIN is really great as the manager of our television nose. I also really liked her in "Delete History". This actress is definitely one to keep an eye on! Seriously! And then an almost forgotten female former chancellor scurries across the screen...mon dieu!

The film has so far grossed $1.3 million in the box office worldwide. And yes, I have to admit it: I'm cynical enough to say that I really enjoyed the film. And evil as I am, the TV-obsessed France de Meurs often made me think of German talk show hosts like Sabine CHRISTIANSEN...well, enough of the nastiness for now!!! Oh yes, the film can be seen in the original version with subtitles in German cinemas, which is also very sensible. There's no other way, really!

French cinema in its essence!!!

[li0904426 · 3/10 · 16 March 2022]

Bruno Dumont is a true representative of the original French cinema, with staring face shots, melancholy, loose phrases in the air with a tremendous bucolic air of philosophy. The film "France" is a typical example of that, Drumont chooses to go to the philosophical side when discussing the stardom aspects of those who make TV news, how the news is manipulated, and also the influence of the media in our life. The entire movie is cold as ice.

Excellent caricature

[Aatchoum · 9/10 · 22 November 2021]

Excellent satire of a certain category of journalists who make news into a product to sell like a bar of soap using proven marketing techniques, in particular that of making consumers believe that if the packaging is good, the product is good quality. Hypocrisy dominates professional and even private relationships. And the actress who goes from laughing to crying with great ease and constantly has to dress to woo her audience is perfect for that. This is worrying because every day many people spend hours watching TV or reading the newspapers to get information and, in the end, it is the journalists who decide what is important and what is not. , and what is important here is the show: the star journalist has to engage and retain the viewer or the reader, to make an audience, probably mainly to attract the advertising budgets. Taken in the first degree, the film can obviously greatly displease but taken in the second degree it is remarkable.

See it and and then read the reviews

[adrianbuzarin · 7/10 · 12 November 2023]

Otherwise you'll loose the chance to see how great actress Lea Seydoux is and how old France is struggling with current societal collaps. The rest are just stage props.

The director must love Lea, as both the scenario and the way he set the stage leverage her acting performance in a way I couldn't see from the time of major Hollywood tales.

Quite disapointed by the people who rated 1 star. You spent 2 hours watching someone elses' work and decided it worth just one star. This should be discused in therapy, not here.

Nothing more to say, but needed to complete this minimum number of characters.

Utter Rubbish

[svader · 1/10 · 21 February 2022]

Awful film. The opening scene at the press conference was cringey.

Not funny, stupid story and childlike attempt at acting in a comedii roles with a script that's not funny.

Beautiful performance of Léa Seydoux

[norbert-plan-618-715813 · 6/10 · 31 October 2023]

Bruno Dumont tells the story of a television journalist and presenter. To show us what goes on behind the scenes, the way these journalists operate, their lack of humanity, the staging, their selfishness despite the showcase they present. But also the character of Léa Seydoux, who carries the film, whom Bruno Dumont paints with her contradictions, her complexities, her changing moods. This makes the character almost endearing, not at all monolithic, which we as viewers can't judge, given the number of contradictions in her character.

The mix of professional and amateur actors works perfectly, providing a real anchor that gives density to the subject.

We can only admit that the strings are thick: the film is devoid of subtlety. This is always the case with Bruno Dumont. But the trick with the laptop resting on the joystick that plays the commentary is really a screenwriter's trick, not believable for a second. This penalizes the film as a whole.

It's worth noting that all Léa Seydoux's scenes with her husband, Benjamin Biolay, are the best in the film, whether as a couple or in a group with other people.

All in all, Bruno Dumont gets his messages and criticisms across well, while inviting reflection in which not everything is black and white.

Time WASTED

[MikeyB1793 · 2/10 · 8 August 2022]

I have seen some bad films - but this is near the bottom of the barrel.

Was the camerman/director/producer in love with our main actress - she is constantly in view and in closeup throughout this prolonged two-hour film.

Its superficial. Its phony. The purported outdoor war scenes are laughable. It has unending scenes of angst from our main actress. None of the characters are likeable. A complete waste of time.

Satire, Perhaps - but Comedy?

[derek-duerden · 6/10 · 30 December 2022]

Some people appear to be comparing this (favourably) to Network, which is a bit puzzling. It's not a bad film by any means, but there's a reason that Network is remembered as a classic after 45 years - which I doubt will be the case here.

However, Seydoux is radiant here, and clearly having fun with her own (real life) fame and image in her portrayal of the "celebrity journalist" France. Her apartment is glorious as are (initially) most aspects of her life - which of course starts to fall apart shortly into the action.

Tonally, though, I was often confused by this... for example the opening scene seems to be being played for laughs but appears mainly just embarrassing. Later on, some *really* tragic things happen to her - but is this simply for dramatic effect rather than some kind of karma? I really wasn't sure. Certainly little seemed comedic in the normal sense, although those familiar with Dumont fare such as "Slack Bay" will probably be ready for "not normal" approaches. He seems much more restrained here.

Worth a look, but I doubt I'll be rewatching.

Are all french movies so annoying?

[sofievardanyan · 3/10 · 8 May 2022]

I really wanted to stop watching it 10min after the beginning, so annoying it was. The rating more than 5 is too high for the movie, I gave it only 3. The question is - why not 2?))

Another Love/Hate effort from Dumont with a great perfomance by Léa Seydoux.

[rsaraiva-29939 · 10/10 · 5 December 2021]

At the first impression after seeing the movie. This looked to be Bruno Dumont most mainstream movie, this very far from the truth. This another offbeat and indionsycratic effort from Dumont.

The basic story is about TV Superstar/Journalist France Le Meurs (a great perfomance by Léa Seydoux who here is more magnetic and looks more beautiful than never) who has her own TV show that is more entertainment than real journalism, she´s married and has a child but doesn´t seem to stay at home that long because she either too much busy with her war coverage reports in the middle east who are heavely directed and edited by her or busy by the success on the social media she aquires. The character is shallow and unlikable but seems more completely alianeted in her own world. Everything changes when she runs over a young immigrant in car accident, having then an existential crisis and precipitating a series of events.

This film is been seeing as satire or farce to the media especially a kind mainstream media but the film from my point of view is more than that is a fascinating character study with the film mixing comedic/grotesque and melodramatic momen (witheLéa Seydoux playing those scenes brilliantly 9about France not only as character but as symbol of the itself country and also seems to me that Dumont uses the film as sharp critique the french bourgeoise society that the lead character belongs.

Structurally the film seems to be all over the place, but what Dumont wanted was to enhance the artificial and alienation elements of France´s profession and personal life as also the confusing times we all are as society living on the present world.

Dumont said in a recent interview that this film was not to be liked by everyone wich is truth, but i personally thought the film was quite fascinating and very compelling.

too long

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 2 August 2022]

France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) is a famous TV news host and she's a celebrity. She skillfully stages her warzone interviews and always puts herself in the middle. She juggles her busy professional life with her family life. She's at fault in a minor car accident and she starts spiraling.

The movie meanders along too long. It's not only the over two hours running time. The story keeps going and going. When the accident happens, I figured the story would pivot around that. I even thought that the family would scam her and make it an even bigger media circus. It seems to be making Baptiste as the brooding teenager ready to make her life miserable. Then those characters fade away. The affair at the retreat is an extra thing that extends the story. At some point, I want the movie to end. It overstays its welcome and I get antsy in the seat. I do like her staging of her interviews. Her accident could be poetic justice if the accident was staged. That's why it's a better central issue.

Comédia?????

[crislisbon · 2/10 · 6 October 2021]

Not a comedy !!!!!!!

A big tragedy !

All the movie it's a tragedy I choose it because is written comedy Not true.

The crisis of France

[danybur · 9/10 · 19 December 2022]

Summary

Bruno Dumont, based on satire, achieves a remarkable and disconcerting mixture of tones and registers to recount the crisis of a diva of French television journalism. The proposal also works thanks to the empathy produced by Léa Seydoux who eats up the screen with her beauty and a formidable performance.

Review:

France de Meurs (sic) is a star journalist for French TV, who lives for her job. But a road accident unleashes an existential crisis in her.

France is a true diva. She is beautiful and charismatic, she is also daring: a celebrity who treats President Macron as equals, she moderates television political debates and acts as a war correspondent while bullets whistle past her.

On first reading, France (the film) may seem like a satire of current show journalism and its supposedly engaged divas and divas, where it shows with very effective humor the value of staging journalistic reports based on the narcissism of the journalist. It is also a foray into France's foreign policy agenda, where the roles of both France, the journalist, and the country overlap.

But suddenly, the satirical register of the story changes from the crisis that breaks out in France. It becomes rare with drama (with touches of nouvelle vague), melodrama and even tragedy and the grotesque without warning, to alternate again with a not-so-pure satirical register in a film that has been definitively redefined. The viewer then feels that something strange is beginning to happen with the narration (and the protagonist), is disconcerted and... realizes that he is watching a Bruno Dumont film, which causes confusion due to the mixture and alternation of tones, a trembling unpredictable to which one can joyfully abandon oneself. And all enhanced by a superb soundtrack by Christophe.

But such a narrative proposal cannot work if there is an unyielding empathy with its protagonist, even with her miseries. And the credit goes to Léa Seydoux, a beautiful and authentic diva playing a... diva, a celebrity for whom everything she did no longer makes sense. The actress is almost permanently on camera and eats up the screen displaying a formidable range of resources with which she composes an increasingly fragmented character. And here I allow myself a digression: I don't know if you noticed how similar she is to Diana Rigg when she played Emma Peel in The Avengers...

AWFUL!

[zdravi · 1/10 · 18 August 2022]

Avoid at any cost! Absolute waste of time! I'm big fan of french movies, but this one is unbearable.

This thing could continue endlessly and I have no words to describe the efforts to stand till the end. Bad story, bad music, bad, director work, bad movie.

This "movie" is a complete waste of time, so do yourself a favor and skip it. You will thank me later for saving 2h 13m of your life.

Lea Seydoux, not withstanding, it's a cruel movie.

[ballouvince · 1/10 · 12 February 2022]

Lea never disappoints. She is a great actress. But she can only work with what is given to her. The propensity for killing children onscreen has gotten way past old, before it started. Steven Spielberg started it in 'Hook'. 'Hunger Games' feasts on it. And?, unfortunately, still, it happened in this movie. The scene felt like it didn't fit the movie, so it was unnecessary. I'm not a fan of mainstream media so i wanted to see the movie. And while it does mock it, that is overshadowed by an attempt to make one appreciate having an affair. It felt like the men who made this movie (Let's not pretend this isn't the case, despite women's names behind the camera) were trying to make a hero out of the interloper. It doesn't learn the monstrosities, depicted in the film.

go

[hussainfollowerfromiran · 4/10 · 28 December 2021]

And what is important here is the show: the star journalist has to engage and retain the viewer or the reader, to make an audience, probably mainly to attract the advertising budgets. Taken in the first degree, the film can obviously greatly displease but taken in the second degree it is remarkable.