It’s possible that the issue at the heart of “A Missing Part” will resolve itself in a few years. Japan, currently the only country in the G7 which doesn’t recognize the legal concept of joint child custody, is finally set to modernize in 2026, ending a situation where any contested divorce can result in one party legally blocked from seeing their children until they turn 18. This is the situation in which Frenchman Jay (Romain Duris) finds himself in Guillaume Senez’s third feature. Jay’s Japanese ex has fled to Tokyo with their daughter, who was three years old at the time of the break-up, and is now 12 when the story commences. Jay is working for a private car service when, by coincidence, he’s hired to drive his daughter to school.
Senez and Jean Denizot’s subtle screenplay doesn’t presume familiarity with the legal issues at play here,...
Senez and Jean Denizot’s subtle screenplay doesn’t presume familiarity with the legal issues at play here,...
- 9/13/2024
- by Catherine Bray
- Variety Film + TV
French pandemic drama “The Plague,” based on Albert Camus’ novel “La Peste,” has sold to multiple European territories, Variety has learned.
The show has sold to AMC Networks International Southern Europe where it will launch on SundanceTV in Spain and AMC in Portugal while Proximus has acquired the show for Belgium. It premiered in France on France 2 in March, immediately toping the ratings. It has also been selected at the French Drama Festival in Korea, where it will premiere on Sept. 9.
Helmed by “Call My Agent” director Antoine Garceau, the four-part series stars Frédéric Pierrot (“In Treatment”), Hugo Becker (“Gossip Girl”), Sofia Essaïdi (“Women at War”), Judith Chemla (“Of Money and Blood”) and Johan Heldenbergh (“Alabama Monroe”).
It follows a disparate group of people who find themselves grappling personally and professionally with a new virus threatening the planet. Among them is Dr Rieux (Pierrot), a rebel hero who risks his...
The show has sold to AMC Networks International Southern Europe where it will launch on SundanceTV in Spain and AMC in Portugal while Proximus has acquired the show for Belgium. It premiered in France on France 2 in March, immediately toping the ratings. It has also been selected at the French Drama Festival in Korea, where it will premiere on Sept. 9.
Helmed by “Call My Agent” director Antoine Garceau, the four-part series stars Frédéric Pierrot (“In Treatment”), Hugo Becker (“Gossip Girl”), Sofia Essaïdi (“Women at War”), Judith Chemla (“Of Money and Blood”) and Johan Heldenbergh (“Alabama Monroe”).
It follows a disparate group of people who find themselves grappling personally and professionally with a new virus threatening the planet. Among them is Dr Rieux (Pierrot), a rebel hero who risks his...
- 9/12/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
In his previous collaboration with Romain Duris, “Our Struggles” director Guillaume Senez cast the Parisian star as a workaholic forced to spend a lot more time with his kids when their mother abruptly left home one day. Six years on, the pair have reunited to tell the opposite story of a father doing everything in his power to reunite with his daughter who’s been snatched away in another country.
If that conjures up memories of Liam Neeson growling into a phone, have no fear. The handiwork of “fellow French director, “Taken” director Pierre Morel is nowhere to be found. Instead, Senez takes a far more naturalistic approach to the streets of Tokyo, where a man named Jay (Duris) works as a driver for a private car service while searching for the daughter his ex wife stopped him from seeing nine years prior. As a French immigrant, Romain’s protagonist...
If that conjures up memories of Liam Neeson growling into a phone, have no fear. The handiwork of “fellow French director, “Taken” director Pierre Morel is nowhere to be found. Instead, Senez takes a far more naturalistic approach to the streets of Tokyo, where a man named Jay (Duris) works as a driver for a private car service while searching for the daughter his ex wife stopped him from seeing nine years prior. As a French immigrant, Romain’s protagonist...
- 9/10/2024
- by David Opie
- Indiewire
It is an ongoing mystery why so many artists’ biopics, though undoubtedly coming from a place of deep admiration, choose to ignore the very thing that makes their subjects extraordinary — their art — in favor of outlining the less extraordinary (however torrid) circumstances of their private lives and loves. The latest example: the attractive but slight directorial debut of French actress Céline Sallette. Her feature “Niki” is a portrait of pioneering French-American painter, sculptor and illustrator Niki de Saint Phalle, in which the closest we ever get to any of her actual pieces is seeing the back of a canvas or two, as Niki (Charlotte Le Bon), bespeckled with paint splatter that highlights her delicate elf-princess beauty, frowns at her efforts in dissatisfaction. What exactly is she looking at? Unless you’re already intimately acquainted with every phase of her multivalent career and can navigate the film’s rather haphazard chronology,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Some 600 French art and entertainment world figures have signed a “counter-petition” decrying moves to defend iconic actor Gérard Depardieu in the face of multiple accusations of sexual assault and one of rape.
The petition described a recent open letter in support of Depardieu, signed by 56 cinema world celebrities, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s public defense of the actor on a talkshow before Christmas as a slap in the face for all victims of sexual violence.
“It is the sinister and perfect illustration of the world which refuses to let things change,” read the letter posted on the site of investigative news website Mediapart on Friday.
“It is the reversal of roles where the executioner places himself as a victim, with the help of his friends. As always in cases of gender-based and sexual violence against women, the ‘presumption...
The petition described a recent open letter in support of Depardieu, signed by 56 cinema world celebrities, and French President Emmanuel Macron’s public defense of the actor on a talkshow before Christmas as a slap in the face for all victims of sexual violence.
“It is the sinister and perfect illustration of the world which refuses to let things change,” read the letter posted on the site of investigative news website Mediapart on Friday.
“It is the reversal of roles where the executioner places himself as a victim, with the help of his friends. As always in cases of gender-based and sexual violence against women, the ‘presumption...
- 12/30/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
They teamed together on his 2018 Cannes Critics’ Week premiered Our Struggles (Nos Batailles), and now Belgian filmmaker Guillaume Senez it set to work with Roman Duris again for the Japan-set Une Part Manquante aka A Missing Part. Screen Daily <a href="“reports that production began today and will film in Tokyo, Sagami Bay and Yokohama until the beginning of December. Judith Chemla and Mei Cirne-Masuki also star.
This sees Jay (Duris) driving his cab every day through Tokyo in search of his daughter, Lily. Separated for nine years, he has never been able to get custody of her.…...
This sees Jay (Duris) driving his cab every day through Tokyo in search of his daughter, Lily. Separated for nine years, he has never been able to get custody of her.…...
- 10/16/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
International sales are handled by Brussels-based Be For Film.
Belgian director and screenwriter Guillaume Senez has started shooting A Missing Part starring Romain Duris in Japan today (October 16).
It will film in locations including Tokyo, Sagami Bay and Yokohama until December 3.
Duris stars as Jay, alongside Judith Chemla and Mei Cirne-Masuki. The film sees Jay driving his cab every day through Tokyo in search of his daughter, Lily. Separated for nine years, he has never been able to get custody of her. Just as he’s given up hope of seeing her again and is about to return to France,...
Belgian director and screenwriter Guillaume Senez has started shooting A Missing Part starring Romain Duris in Japan today (October 16).
It will film in locations including Tokyo, Sagami Bay and Yokohama until December 3.
Duris stars as Jay, alongside Judith Chemla and Mei Cirne-Masuki. The film sees Jay driving his cab every day through Tokyo in search of his daughter, Lily. Separated for nine years, he has never been able to get custody of her. Just as he’s given up hope of seeing her again and is about to return to France,...
- 10/16/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s strand in which, each fortnight, we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track. So we’re going to do the hard work for you.
This week we head to the Venice Film Festival to check out French director Xavier Giannoli’s international crime thriller Of Money and Blood, which world premiered in its official selection on August 31 to a buzzy reception.
Name: Of Money and Blood
Country: France
Network: Canal+
Distributor: Studiocanal
Where can I watch: Canal+ in France from October
For fans of: Michael Mann’s The Insider, Martin Scorsese’s Wall Street, Oliver Stone’s JFK, Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic
French writer-director Xavier...
This week we head to the Venice Film Festival to check out French director Xavier Giannoli’s international crime thriller Of Money and Blood, which world premiered in its official selection on August 31 to a buzzy reception.
Name: Of Money and Blood
Country: France
Network: Canal+
Distributor: Studiocanal
Where can I watch: Canal+ in France from October
For fans of: Michael Mann’s The Insider, Martin Scorsese’s Wall Street, Oliver Stone’s JFK, Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic
French writer-director Xavier...
- 9/6/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Xavier Giannoli is one of those rare French directors who has a stronger relationship with the Venice Film Festival than Cannes back home.
He has competed for Venice’s Golden Lion three times in the last decade with Superstar (2012), Marguerite (2015) and the sumptuous Honoré de Balzac adaptation Lost Illusions (2021).
The filmmaker is back for a fourth time this year playing Out of Competition with his first-ever drama series, the international thriller Of Money And Blood. All 12 episodes will world premiere in a marathon screening on Thursday, with further seances at the back end of the festival.
Liberally adapted from the eponymous book by investigative journalist Fabrice Arfi, the series delves into a real-life, carbon credit tax scam, which swindled the French state of at least $1.7 billion, in an operation that came to be known as the “fraud of the century” when it came to trial in 2018.
Related: Venice Film Festival...
He has competed for Venice’s Golden Lion three times in the last decade with Superstar (2012), Marguerite (2015) and the sumptuous Honoré de Balzac adaptation Lost Illusions (2021).
The filmmaker is back for a fourth time this year playing Out of Competition with his first-ever drama series, the international thriller Of Money And Blood. All 12 episodes will world premiere in a marathon screening on Thursday, with further seances at the back end of the festival.
Liberally adapted from the eponymous book by investigative journalist Fabrice Arfi, the series delves into a real-life, carbon credit tax scam, which swindled the French state of at least $1.7 billion, in an operation that came to be known as the “fraud of the century” when it came to trial in 2018.
Related: Venice Film Festival...
- 8/31/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
"Why are they after me like that?" "They can't stand what you represent." Goldwyn Films has released an official US trailer for Simone: Woman of the Century, a French biopic about a woman named Simone Veil. She passed away in 2017 at the age of 89, but during her time she was a French magistrate, Holocaust survivor, and politician who served as Health Minister, and President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office. "One of the prominent women in France in the 20th Century." The film explores her life, as a leading politician, human rights campaigner, and feminist -- through a series of non-chronological memories. Similar to the Bob Dylan film I'm Not There; this one is from the director of La Vie en Rose. "An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era." The French film stars Elsa Zylberstein as Simone Veil,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The 46th César Awards, France’s top film honors, have been handed out in Paris, with Dominik Moll’s crime thriller The Night of the 12th winning the best picture trophy.
Moll’s The Night of the 12th, which premiered in Cannes last year, scored 10 César noms coming into the awards show, just behind Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which picked up 11 nominations. Moll also won for best director, and Bouli Lanners earned the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in The Night of the 12th.
Cédric Klapisch’s Rise, about a ballet dancer (Marion Barbeau) who, after an injury, seeks a new future in contemporary dance, was up for 9 Césars, as was Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, a thriller featuring Benoît Magimel as a morally-challenged Haut-Commissaire on an island in French Polynesia.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s dramedy Forever Young, Cedric Jimenez’s terrorism drama November, Eric Gravel’s family...
Moll’s The Night of the 12th, which premiered in Cannes last year, scored 10 César noms coming into the awards show, just behind Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which picked up 11 nominations. Moll also won for best director, and Bouli Lanners earned the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in The Night of the 12th.
Cédric Klapisch’s Rise, about a ballet dancer (Marion Barbeau) who, after an injury, seeks a new future in contemporary dance, was up for 9 Césars, as was Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, a thriller featuring Benoît Magimel as a morally-challenged Haut-Commissaire on an island in French Polynesia.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s dramedy Forever Young, Cedric Jimenez’s terrorism drama November, Eric Gravel’s family...
- 2/24/2023
- by Scott Roxborough and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Update: Louis Garrel’s The Innocent has taken a surprise lead in the nominations for the 48th César Awards, which were announced on Wednesday ahead of the ceremony at Olympia concert hall in Paris on February 24.
The comedy-drama, which debuted in Cannes, was nominated in 11 categories followed by Dominik Moll’s detective drama The Night Of The 12th with 10 nominations.
Albert Serra’s Pacifiction and Cedric Klapisch’s Rise both snared nominations in nine categories, followed by Forever Young and November with seven each.
Garrel directs and co-stars in The Innocent as a man who tries to derail his mother’s relationship with a recently released convict, played by Roschdy Zem, in a campaign that will find him flirting with the wrong side of the law.
The film has received strong reviews and was a hit in France where it drew more than 700,000 spectators, but did not figure among the...
The comedy-drama, which debuted in Cannes, was nominated in 11 categories followed by Dominik Moll’s detective drama The Night Of The 12th with 10 nominations.
Albert Serra’s Pacifiction and Cedric Klapisch’s Rise both snared nominations in nine categories, followed by Forever Young and November with seven each.
Garrel directs and co-stars in The Innocent as a man who tries to derail his mother’s relationship with a recently released convict, played by Roschdy Zem, in a campaign that will find him flirting with the wrong side of the law.
The film has received strong reviews and was a hit in France where it drew more than 700,000 spectators, but did not figure among the...
- 1/25/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Louis Garrel’s “The Innocent” and Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th” are leading the race at the 48th Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars.
Nominated for 11 Cesar nominations, “The Innocent” is a heist romantic comedy starring Garrel, Roschdy Zem and Noemie Merlant, who previously starred in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and most recently in “Tár.” Produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint at Les Films des Tournelles, the crowdpleaser world premiered out of competition at Cannes for the 75th anniversary of the festival.
“The Night of the 12th,” meanwhile, is in the running for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as two cops trying to solve a gruesome murder. The movie, produced by Haut et Court (“The Class”), delves into issues of gender and violence.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Klapisch’s dance-filled “Rise,...
Nominated for 11 Cesar nominations, “The Innocent” is a heist romantic comedy starring Garrel, Roschdy Zem and Noemie Merlant, who previously starred in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and most recently in “Tár.” Produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint at Les Films des Tournelles, the crowdpleaser world premiered out of competition at Cannes for the 75th anniversary of the festival.
“The Night of the 12th,” meanwhile, is in the running for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as two cops trying to solve a gruesome murder. The movie, produced by Haut et Court (“The Class”), delves into issues of gender and violence.
Other top Cesar contenders include Cedric Klapisch’s dance-filled “Rise,...
- 1/25/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French actor Judith Chemla posted photos of her bruised face on her Instagram account on Sunday and said they were taken a year ago after she was allegedly assaulted by her then-boyfriend Yohan Manca, a filmmaker with whom she shares a daughter.
In her emotional post, Chemla said she was finally revealing these photos because she was still being harassed by Manca, a year after the alleged incident involving Manca throwing a cell phone at her. The alleged domestic abuse occurred on June 3 near the Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris. The next day, Chemla filed a police complaint and canceled her trip to Cannes where she was expected to present “Mes freres et moi,” a film directed by Manca in which she had a role.
Following the complaint, an investigation was launched and Manca was jailed for about 10 days and was banned from visiting the 10th district of Paris where Chemla resides,...
In her emotional post, Chemla said she was finally revealing these photos because she was still being harassed by Manca, a year after the alleged incident involving Manca throwing a cell phone at her. The alleged domestic abuse occurred on June 3 near the Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris. The next day, Chemla filed a police complaint and canceled her trip to Cannes where she was expected to present “Mes freres et moi,” a film directed by Manca in which she had a role.
Following the complaint, an investigation was launched and Manca was jailed for about 10 days and was banned from visiting the 10th district of Paris where Chemla resides,...
- 7/5/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French actress Judith Chemla took to her Instagram account late Sunday night to post photos of injuries she said she sustained a year ago from domestic abuse suffered at the hands of her daughter’s father whom she did not name.
This past May, according to FranceInfo, film director Yohan Manca, with whom Chemla was previously in a relationship, was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for domestic violence against the actress.
But in the lengthy Insta post, Chemla, a two-time César nominee, wrote, “I have so much evidence that he continues to try and harm me… What must it take for him to leave me alone?” She later added, “I can’t stand it anymore. I demand peace. Is it clearer like this?”
The post began, “A year ago my face was injured, blue, purple under my eye, I saw myself deformed. A year ago I looked at my...
This past May, according to FranceInfo, film director Yohan Manca, with whom Chemla was previously in a relationship, was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for domestic violence against the actress.
But in the lengthy Insta post, Chemla, a two-time César nominee, wrote, “I have so much evidence that he continues to try and harm me… What must it take for him to leave me alone?” She later added, “I can’t stand it anymore. I demand peace. Is it clearer like this?”
The post began, “A year ago my face was injured, blue, purple under my eye, I saw myself deformed. A year ago I looked at my...
- 7/4/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
French actor Judith Chemla, the 37 year-old French star of “Mes freres et moi,” will not attend the world premiere of the film at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard on July 12 after an alleged incident involving the director of her film throwing a cell phone at her, Variety has learned.
Chemla filed a complaint on July 4 against Yohan Manca, the director of “Mes freres et moi,” who is also her boyfriend. The alleged assault took place on July 3 in the street near Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris.
Chelma’s and Manca’s reps have not responded to Variety’s requests for comments.
According to a source close to Chemla, the actor is alleging Manca, with whom she has a daughter, of throwing a cell phone at her face. A source close to Manca and Chemla told Variety that the couple was having an argument and Manca became very violent. They’ve been dating for five years.
Chemla filed a complaint on July 4 against Yohan Manca, the director of “Mes freres et moi,” who is also her boyfriend. The alleged assault took place on July 3 in the street near Theatre du Rond-Point in Paris.
Chelma’s and Manca’s reps have not responded to Variety’s requests for comments.
According to a source close to Chemla, the actor is alleging Manca, with whom she has a daughter, of throwing a cell phone at her face. A source close to Manca and Chemla told Variety that the couple was having an argument and Manca became very violent. They’ve been dating for five years.
- 7/11/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Following up his love-it-or-hate-it Climax, director Gaspar Noé secretly shot a new film this past spring and it’s among the additions to the Cannes Film Festival lineup, which also includes new work by Ari Folman, a Bill Murray concert film, Noémie Merlant’s directorial debut, and more.
As for the Enter the Void director’s latest, he shot Vortex over twenty days between mid-March and April 2021, with a cast including Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun, and Alex Lutz, as well as a budget of 3.3 million euros, more than his last two features. Check out a roughly-translated synopsis below via his Le Temps de Trout Tout:
Gaspar Noé, son of the Argentinian painter Luis Felipe Noé, finished his film at the last minute because he shot it quickly and late. A quasi-documentary film about the last days of a loving old couple suffering from senility, played by Françoise Lebrun and Dario Argento.
As for the Enter the Void director’s latest, he shot Vortex over twenty days between mid-March and April 2021, with a cast including Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun, and Alex Lutz, as well as a budget of 3.3 million euros, more than his last two features. Check out a roughly-translated synopsis below via his Le Temps de Trout Tout:
Gaspar Noé, son of the Argentinian painter Luis Felipe Noé, finished his film at the last minute because he shot it quickly and late. A quasi-documentary film about the last days of a loving old couple suffering from senility, played by Françoise Lebrun and Dario Argento.
- 6/10/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Feature follows a 14-year-old boy growing up in difficult circumstances who develops a passion for opera.
Charades has boarded sales on French director Yohan Manca’s debut feature La Traviata, My Brothers And I, which was announced as an additional title in Cannes Un Certain Regard on Thursday.
It revolves around a 14-year-old boy growing up in a housing project in the South of France, the youngest of four brothers who take it in turns to care for their mother who is in a coma.
She was a huge Lucio Pavarotti so he plays her the late tenor’s music...
Charades has boarded sales on French director Yohan Manca’s debut feature La Traviata, My Brothers And I, which was announced as an additional title in Cannes Un Certain Regard on Thursday.
It revolves around a 14-year-old boy growing up in a housing project in the South of France, the youngest of four brothers who take it in turns to care for their mother who is in a coma.
She was a huge Lucio Pavarotti so he plays her the late tenor’s music...
- 6/10/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Maël Rouin-Berrandou, Judith Chemla, Dali Benssalah and Sofian Khammes star in the director’s feature debut, produced by Single Man Productions. Shot between 3 August and 28 September, Mes frères, et moi, the feature debut from Yohan Manca is now at the editing stage. The film’s cast includes the young Maël Rouin-Berrandou (currently in French cinemas in The ABCs of love), Judith Chemla, Dali Benssalah, Sofian Khammes (revealed in Chouf, in French cinemas on 4 November in The Swarm, on 23 December in The Big Hit and next year...
- 10/23/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
HBO Max has acquired StudioCanal’s psychological thriller series Possessions.
It will become available on the WarnerMedia streaming service in December as an international original.
The six-episode Possessions stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Reda Kateb (Django), Dominique Valadié, Ariane Ascaride, Judith Chemla, Noa Koler, Aloïse Sauvage, Tzahi Grad Roy Nik and Tchéky Karyo.
The show focuses on Natalie, a young French expatriate in Israel who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim, a French diplomat, slowly falls for Natalie, but cannot figure her out. “Obsessed with this case, Karim will dive into Natalie and her family’s mysterious past,”...
It will become available on the WarnerMedia streaming service in December as an international original.
The six-episode Possessions stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Reda Kateb (Django), Dominique Valadié, Ariane Ascaride, Judith Chemla, Noa Koler, Aloïse Sauvage, Tzahi Grad Roy Nik and Tchéky Karyo.
The show focuses on Natalie, a young French expatriate in Israel who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim, a French diplomat, slowly falls for Natalie, but cannot figure her out. “Obsessed with this case, Karim will dive into Natalie and her family’s mysterious past,”...
- 10/14/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
HBO Max has acquired StudioCanal’s psychological thriller series Possessions.
It will become available on the WarnerMedia streaming service in December as an international original.
The six-episode Possessions stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Reda Kateb (Django), Dominique Valadié, Ariane Ascaride, Judith Chemla, Noa Koler, Aloïse Sauvage, Tzahi Grad Roy Nik and Tchéky Karyo.
The show focuses on Natalie, a young French expatriate in Israel who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim, a French diplomat, slowly falls for Natalie, but cannot figure her out. “Obsessed with this case, Karim will dive into Natalie and her family’s mysterious past,”...
It will become available on the WarnerMedia streaming service in December as an international original.
The six-episode Possessions stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Reda Kateb (Django), Dominique Valadié, Ariane Ascaride, Judith Chemla, Noa Koler, Aloïse Sauvage, Tzahi Grad Roy Nik and Tchéky Karyo.
The show focuses on Natalie, a young French expatriate in Israel who is charged with the murder of her husband on their wedding night. Karim, a French diplomat, slowly falls for Natalie, but cannot figure her out. “Obsessed with this case, Karim will dive into Natalie and her family’s mysterious past,”...
- 10/14/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HBO Max, the streaming-video hub of WarnerMedia, has acquired anticipated Studiocanal title “Possessions,” a psychological thriller series created by Shachar Magen (“Sirens”) and directed by BAFTA-nominated Thomas Vincent (“Bodyguard”).
As an international Max Original, the series will be made available on the U.S. streaming platform in December.
Commissioned for Canal Plus’s Creation Original and Israel’s Yes TV, the series was shot in Israel in French, Hebrew and English. The show was produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Simon Arnal and Carole Scotta from the leading Paris-based production company Haut et Court TV, whose credits include “No Man’s Land” and “The Returned.” Eilon Ratzkovsky, Osnat Nishri and Keren Misgav Ristvedt from Israel’s Quiddity (“Sirens”) co-produced the series.
“The demand for non-English language content continues to grow throughout the world and I am delighted that this exceptional drama will be available for a wide, global audience via HBO Max...
As an international Max Original, the series will be made available on the U.S. streaming platform in December.
Commissioned for Canal Plus’s Creation Original and Israel’s Yes TV, the series was shot in Israel in French, Hebrew and English. The show was produced by Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Simon Arnal and Carole Scotta from the leading Paris-based production company Haut et Court TV, whose credits include “No Man’s Land” and “The Returned.” Eilon Ratzkovsky, Osnat Nishri and Keren Misgav Ristvedt from Israel’s Quiddity (“Sirens”) co-produced the series.
“The demand for non-English language content continues to grow throughout the world and I am delighted that this exceptional drama will be available for a wide, global audience via HBO Max...
- 10/14/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Stéphane Batut, director of Burning Ghost (Vif-Argent) starring Thimotée Robart and Judith Chemla: “I saw a lot of films on TV very late in the evening, a lot of American films, John Ford, Vincente Minnelli.” Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
On Tuesday afternoon, Film at Lincoln Center’s Florence Almozini made a surprise announcement that the Burning Ghost (Vif-Argent) director would be doing a brief Q&a following the Us première. This gave me the opportunity to comment to Stéphane Batut on the costumes designed by Dorothée Guiraud (Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire; Lucie Borleteau’s Perfect Nanny; Mathieu Amalric’s The Blue Room) for his début feature.
Stéphane Batut on Juste’s (Thimotée Robart) costume anchoring the love scene: “I needed for the jacket to be particularly striking.”
Known as a much-in-demand casting director (Serge Bozon’s Mrs. Hyde; Mathieu Amalric’s Barbara; Claire Denis’ Let The Sunshine In...
On Tuesday afternoon, Film at Lincoln Center’s Florence Almozini made a surprise announcement that the Burning Ghost (Vif-Argent) director would be doing a brief Q&a following the Us première. This gave me the opportunity to comment to Stéphane Batut on the costumes designed by Dorothée Guiraud (Céline Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire; Lucie Borleteau’s Perfect Nanny; Mathieu Amalric’s The Blue Room) for his début feature.
Stéphane Batut on Juste’s (Thimotée Robart) costume anchoring the love scene: “I needed for the jacket to be particularly striking.”
Known as a much-in-demand casting director (Serge Bozon’s Mrs. Hyde; Mathieu Amalric’s Barbara; Claire Denis’ Let The Sunshine In...
- 3/15/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Bruno Dumont’s “Joan of Arc (“Jeanne”), a semi-musical period drama that world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and won a special mention in the Un Certain Regard section, has received the Louis Delluc prize from French Critics.
The jury of the Louis Delluc prize is headed by Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dumont’s film follows the journey of the young Joan (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), who believes that God has chosen her and leads the king of France’s army in the 15th century as both France and England fight for the French throne. When she is captured, the church sends her for trial on charges of heresy.
“Joan of Arc,” which is a follow-up to Dumont’s 2017 film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” beat out Alain Cavalier’s “Living and Knowing You’re Alive,” Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,...
The jury of the Louis Delluc prize is headed by Gilles Jacob, the former president of the Cannes Film Festival.
Dumont’s film follows the journey of the young Joan (Lise Leplat Prudhomme), who believes that God has chosen her and leads the king of France’s army in the 15th century as both France and England fight for the French throne. When she is captured, the church sends her for trial on charges of heresy.
“Joan of Arc,” which is a follow-up to Dumont’s 2017 film “Jeannette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” beat out Alain Cavalier’s “Living and Knowing You’re Alive,” Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,...
- 12/9/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The second feature by Israeli director Keren Ben Rafael, starring Judith Chemla and Arieh Worthalter, bewitched the jury, chaired by Gérard Darmon. The 19th Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival wrapped this weekend with The End of Love, the second feature by Keren Ben Rafael, taking home the Grand Jury Prize. The jury, chaired by French thesp Gérard Darmon, and including Belgian filmmakers Géraldine Doignon and Frédéric Fonteyne, French author Hadrien Raccah and Belgian journalist Hadja Labib, underlined the intelligence of the directing and the high quality of the acting in the film, whose simple narrative is expressed in a very modern way. The movie homes in on the gradual disintegration of a couple. Julia and Yuval live in Paris and have just had a child together. When Yuval decides to go back to Israel to renew his visa, the couple structure their days around their Skype calls. But little by little,...
Elsa Zylberstein, Olivier Gourmet, Judith Chemla, Elodie Bouchez and Sylvie Testud star in the cast of this Simone Veil biopic steered by Marvelous Productions and sold by Other Angle. Having kicked off on 9 September, the 13 weeks of filming allotted to Olivier Dahan’s Simone, une femme du siècle have come to an end, following a few shots taken in France (namely in Paris and La Ciotat) and in Budapest. This will be the 9th feature film put forward by the director who has previously put his name to Déjà mort (1998), Ghost River (in competition in San Sebastian 2002), Crimson Rivers 2 – Angels of the Apocalypse (2004) and La Vie en Rose (rewarded with two Oscars in 2008; unveiled in the opening slot and in competition at the 2007 Berlinale), not to mention Grace of Monaco.Once again exploring the biopic genre...
Thomas Ngijol and Judith Chemla lead the cast of Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud’s first feature film, produced by Fluxus Films in league with Davis Films and set to be sold by Kinology. On 6 November, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud wrapped six weeks of filming on his first full-length film, Les Cobayes. An auteur comedy which revolves around the question of whether it’s possible to build a lasting, loving relationship in a society which tends towards immediacy and individualism, the filmmaker (highly acclaimed for his short films The Testicle in 2015 and Villa Graciosa in 2017) has in this instance united Thomas Ngijol and Judith Chemla...
- 11/21/2019
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Mia Hansen-Løve on Maya and Bergman Island: "You could eventually say that hauntedness is the one thing maybe the two films have in common." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In Margarethe von Trotta's Searching For Ingmar Bergman, Mia Hansen-Løve speaks about how Ingmar Bergman's house on Fårö is haunted. Mia's Maya tells the story of journalist Gabriel (Roman Kolinka) who was a hostage in Syria, together with his associate Frédéric (Alex Descas). Returning to France, he cannot cope. Gabriel tells the psychologist (François Loriquet): "The worst was feeling guilty." But he doesn't want therapy because he himself "works with words." It is "the kidnappers who need analysis." His former girlfriend Naomi (Judith Chemla) serenades him with Schubert "Liebchen, komm zu mir!" but not even the moonlight can make him reconnect.
Gabriel (Roman Kolinka) with Maya (Aarshi Banerjee)
Gabriel wants to go to India, to the overgrown house in Goa where he spent his childhood.
In Margarethe von Trotta's Searching For Ingmar Bergman, Mia Hansen-Løve speaks about how Ingmar Bergman's house on Fårö is haunted. Mia's Maya tells the story of journalist Gabriel (Roman Kolinka) who was a hostage in Syria, together with his associate Frédéric (Alex Descas). Returning to France, he cannot cope. Gabriel tells the psychologist (François Loriquet): "The worst was feeling guilty." But he doesn't want therapy because he himself "works with words." It is "the kidnappers who need analysis." His former girlfriend Naomi (Judith Chemla) serenades him with Schubert "Liebchen, komm zu mir!" but not even the moonlight can make him reconnect.
Gabriel (Roman Kolinka) with Maya (Aarshi Banerjee)
Gabriel wants to go to India, to the overgrown house in Goa where he spent his childhood.
- 4/12/2019
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Mia Hansen-Løve’s best films envelop the viewer so persuasively in their currents of feeling that it can take you a moment or two to notice how coolly and methodically constructed they are: the revealing agility of her camera placement, the sharp economy of her editing, the often rich irony of her musical selections, all subtly contributing to character portraits of granular depth. In “Maya,” her sixth and most internationally-minded feature, those virtues hit you straight away, only to reveal more grace and precision in the framing than in the rather hazily conceived characters themselves. A study of a European man’s healing Indian odyssey that gives in all too frequently to hoary colonial romanticism, this is the first stumble in Hansen-Løve’s hitherto impressive filmography — the kind of directorial misstep that at least makes it clear how deft her footwork usually is.
Coming off Hansen-Løve’s best and most...
Coming off Hansen-Løve’s best and most...
- 3/8/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
"What are you doing in Goa?" Les Films du Losange has revealed the first official trailer for the indie drama Maya, the latest film made by acclaimed French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve. This film is mostly in English, as it's about a French war journalist who makes it home after being held captive in Syria. He travels to Goa, India where he meets an intelligent young woman and spends time trying to recover. Roman Kolinka stars as the French man, and Aarshi Banerjee stars as Maya, with a small cast including Suzan Anbeh, Judith Chemla, Anjali Khurana, and Pathy Aiyar. I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival where it premiered (read my full review), and it's a bit low key, but still contains all the uplifting, honest emotions that make Mia Hansen-Løve's films so wonderful. See below. Here's the first official French trailer for Mia Hansen-Løve's Maya, direct from YouTube...
- 11/9/2018
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Following up Goodbye First Love, Things to Come, Eden, and more of the best films of the century thus far, Mia Hansen-Løve returned this year. Premiering on the fall festival circuit was her latest film, Maya, and while it’s still awaiting U.S. distribution, those in France are lucky enough to see it upon its release in December. Ahead of the theatrical release, the first trailer has arrived for the film that follows a French war reporter who was taken to hostage in Syria and then heads to India after months in captivity.
Josh Lewis said in his Tiff review, “Compounded by lush photography and carefully calibrated performances, Maya intimately renders the crushing and rehabilitative power of memory, taking hazy, elusive feelings and bringing them into the realm of the tangible.” See the trailer below for the film starring Roman Kolinka, Aarshi Banerjee, Alex Descas, Pathy Aiyar, Suzan Anbeh,...
Josh Lewis said in his Tiff review, “Compounded by lush photography and carefully calibrated performances, Maya intimately renders the crushing and rehabilitative power of memory, taking hazy, elusive feelings and bringing them into the realm of the tangible.” See the trailer below for the film starring Roman Kolinka, Aarshi Banerjee, Alex Descas, Pathy Aiyar, Suzan Anbeh,...
- 11/8/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Le Pacte has acquired international sales and French distribution rights to “Phil Tippett, Mad Dreams and Monsters,” a documentary directed by Gilles Penso and Alexandre Poncet, the pair behind the critically acclaimed documentary “The Frankenstein Complex.”
“Mad Dreams and Monsters” charts the sprawling career of Tippett, the animator and vfx artist who won two Oscars for his work on “The Return of the Jedi” and “Jurassic Park.” The documentary showcases exclusive archives from Tippett Studio and discusses his achievements through interviews with Tippett himself, as well as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Paul Verhoeven.
Le Pacte also handled “The Frankenstein Complex,” which shed light on the craft of movie creatures featured in blockbusters such as “King Kong,” “Avatar,” “Star Wars” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
“‘The Frankenstein Complex’ was a big hit for us — we sold it around the world,” said Camille Neel, head of international sales at Le Pacte,...
“Mad Dreams and Monsters” charts the sprawling career of Tippett, the animator and vfx artist who won two Oscars for his work on “The Return of the Jedi” and “Jurassic Park.” The documentary showcases exclusive archives from Tippett Studio and discusses his achievements through interviews with Tippett himself, as well as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Paul Verhoeven.
Le Pacte also handled “The Frankenstein Complex,” which shed light on the craft of movie creatures featured in blockbusters such as “King Kong,” “Avatar,” “Star Wars” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
“‘The Frankenstein Complex’ was a big hit for us — we sold it around the world,” said Camille Neel, head of international sales at Le Pacte,...
- 8/31/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
In “The Elephant and the Butterfly,” Antoine (Thomas Blanchard), mild and bearded, with a look of telegraphed regret, shows up at the home of his former partner, Camille (Judith Chemla), to ask how she’s doing. She laughs in his face, just about choking on her sarcastic chuckles. These two haven’t seen each other in five years, and she, for one, is fluent in the harsher dialect of post-divorce. Since they have a young daughter, Elsa (Lina Doillon), who lives with her mother, we’re curious to see how the hostility will play out.
An odd fact is then revealed. Elsa, who is five, has no idea who Antoine is. But her long stare follows him out the window, with a look that says, “There’s something about him…”
There are, of course, middle-class fathers who’ve never gotten to know their children — or, more accurately, have abandoned them.
An odd fact is then revealed. Elsa, who is five, has no idea who Antoine is. But her long stare follows him out the window, with a look that says, “There’s something about him…”
There are, of course, middle-class fathers who’ve never gotten to know their children — or, more accurately, have abandoned them.
- 4/28/2018
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
This is the Pure Movies review of A Woman's Life, directed by Stéphane Brizé and starring Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Yolande Moreau. Eschewing the overt staginess of many a period drama in favour of something looser and more earthy, Stéphane Brizé’s A Woman’s Life is a strikingly moody tone poem. Tethered to a nuanced and heartbreaking turn by Judith Chemla, the film documents the scant peaks and agonising troughs of Jeanne de Perthuis des Vauds’ life. It’s a bleak and rarely comfortable watch, but it taps into a level of emotional intimacy that one doesn’t immediately associate with its genre.
- 2/18/2018
- by admin
- Pure Movies
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne among producers on Belgian family drama.
Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up world sales rights to The Elephant And The Butterfly, on which Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer, and will commence sales at the Efm.
Belgian filmmaker Amélie Van Elmbt directed the French-language film produced by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and Delphine Tomson of Les Films de Fleuve.
Thomas Blanchard plays a young man who returns to his hometown and reunites with his former lover. Fate intervenes and leaves him alone in the care of the daughter he has never met. Judith Chemla and Lina Doillon also star.
Van Elmbt and Matthieu de Braconier wrote the screenplay. Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and Chad A. Verdi and Michelle Verdi of Verdi Productions served as executive producers alongside Scorsese.
Financing are the Federation Wallonie-Brussels, Rtbf, Be TV, Casa Kafka Pictures Movie Tax Shelter Empowered by Belfius, Screen Brussels, Eurimages and Why Not...
Blue Fox Entertainment has picked up world sales rights to The Elephant And The Butterfly, on which Martin Scorsese serves as executive producer, and will commence sales at the Efm.
Belgian filmmaker Amélie Van Elmbt directed the French-language film produced by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and Delphine Tomson of Les Films de Fleuve.
Thomas Blanchard plays a young man who returns to his hometown and reunites with his former lover. Fate intervenes and leaves him alone in the care of the daughter he has never met. Judith Chemla and Lina Doillon also star.
Van Elmbt and Matthieu de Braconier wrote the screenplay. Emma Tillinger Koskoff, and Chad A. Verdi and Michelle Verdi of Verdi Productions served as executive producers alongside Scorsese.
Financing are the Federation Wallonie-Brussels, Rtbf, Be TV, Casa Kafka Pictures Movie Tax Shelter Empowered by Belfius, Screen Brussels, Eurimages and Why Not...
- 2/12/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
This atmospheric film adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s novel explores the bleak lot of an heiress in 19th-century France
Based on a novel by Guy de Maupassant and sharing themes (male treachery, suffering) as well as a title with Mikio Naruse’s 1963 drama, Stéphane Brizé’s gorgeous period piece explores the bleak lot of an aristocratic heiress in 19th-century France. Shot in boxy 1.33:1 ratio, and kissed by flickering candlelight, this a world so persuasively realised that you can almost smell the damp that rises, along with the debt. We follow Jeanne (Judith Chemla) from the clear-eyed hopefulness of youth to late middle age; it’s a performance that is so compelling that we forgive the film its fairly dispiriting trajectory and portrayal of a woman who often seems little more than a helpless chattel.
Continue reading...
Based on a novel by Guy de Maupassant and sharing themes (male treachery, suffering) as well as a title with Mikio Naruse’s 1963 drama, Stéphane Brizé’s gorgeous period piece explores the bleak lot of an aristocratic heiress in 19th-century France. Shot in boxy 1.33:1 ratio, and kissed by flickering candlelight, this a world so persuasively realised that you can almost smell the damp that rises, along with the debt. We follow Jeanne (Judith Chemla) from the clear-eyed hopefulness of youth to late middle age; it’s a performance that is so compelling that we forgive the film its fairly dispiriting trajectory and portrayal of a woman who often seems little more than a helpless chattel.
Continue reading...
- 1/14/2018
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
Stéphane Brizé’s period drama trots along like a reliable chestnut mare, tugging steadily behind it the tale of a sensitive heiress who marries a rotter
Adapted from an 1883 novel by Guy de Maupassant, this period drama feels as if it was designed to delight the palates of Franco-cinephiles with a thing for gauzy frocks, polite literary feminism and boxy aspect ratios.
In the hands of director Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), the film trots along like a reliable chestnut mare, tugging behind it at steady if somewhat soporific pace the tale of a sensitive heiress, Jeanne (endearing Judith Chemla), who marries a rotter with a fancier title (Swann Arlaud). As the years pass, loved and less loved ones die, farms and estate holdings are sold off and children make bad investments that ruin fortunes, all heaping more unhappiness on our resilient heroine.
Continue reading...
Adapted from an 1883 novel by Guy de Maupassant, this period drama feels as if it was designed to delight the palates of Franco-cinephiles with a thing for gauzy frocks, polite literary feminism and boxy aspect ratios.
In the hands of director Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), the film trots along like a reliable chestnut mare, tugging behind it at steady if somewhat soporific pace the tale of a sensitive heiress, Jeanne (endearing Judith Chemla), who marries a rotter with a fancier title (Swann Arlaud). As the years pass, loved and less loved ones die, farms and estate holdings are sold off and children make bad investments that ruin fortunes, all heaping more unhappiness on our resilient heroine.
Continue reading...
- 1/12/2018
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
wide
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri [IMDb]
Frances McDormand stars in a black comedy about a woman seeking justice for her murdered daughter. (male writer and director)
Insidious: The Last Key [IMDb]
Lin Shaye returns as parapsychologist Elise Rainier, investigating hauntings past and present in the house she grew up in. (male writer and director)
limited
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars [IMDb]
Lili Fini Zanuck directs this documentary about the rock star. (male writers)
A Woman’s Life [IMDb]
French film, cowritten by Florence Vignon, about a woman in 19th century France, played by Judith Chemla. (male director)
Tempestad [IMDb] pictured
Documentary written and directed by Tatiana Huezo about two women, Miriam Carbajal and Adela Alvarado, impacted by violence and corruption in Mexico.
Please let me know if I’ve missed any movies directed by, written by, or about women.
Please help me continue this work with your financial support. A recurring contribution or a one-time donation,...
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri [IMDb]
Frances McDormand stars in a black comedy about a woman seeking justice for her murdered daughter. (male writer and director)
Insidious: The Last Key [IMDb]
Lin Shaye returns as parapsychologist Elise Rainier, investigating hauntings past and present in the house she grew up in. (male writer and director)
limited
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars [IMDb]
Lili Fini Zanuck directs this documentary about the rock star. (male writers)
A Woman’s Life [IMDb]
French film, cowritten by Florence Vignon, about a woman in 19th century France, played by Judith Chemla. (male director)
Tempestad [IMDb] pictured
Documentary written and directed by Tatiana Huezo about two women, Miriam Carbajal and Adela Alvarado, impacted by violence and corruption in Mexico.
Please let me know if I’ve missed any movies directed by, written by, or about women.
Please help me continue this work with your financial support. A recurring contribution or a one-time donation,...
- 1/11/2018
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Author: Linda Marric
Adapted by Stéphane Brizé (The Measure Of A Man, Not Here To Be Loved) from Guy de Maupassant’s seminal 1883 novel of the same name, Une Vie (A Woman’s Life) is a beautifully constructed costume drama, which despite being set in the 19th century, manages to be as fresh and as current as any social drama worth its salt. Staring Judith Chemla in the principal role, A Woman’s Life is able to break out of the rigidity of its time by offering a story which is as gut-wrenching in its storytelling as it is brilliantly relatable in its social realist aesthetic.
Chelma is Joanne, the daughter of wealthy landowners in rural France who until now has lived an idyllic countryside life with her parents, the Baron and Baroness Le Perthuis des Vauds. Not wishing to be separated from them, Joanne agrees to marry Julien de...
Adapted by Stéphane Brizé (The Measure Of A Man, Not Here To Be Loved) from Guy de Maupassant’s seminal 1883 novel of the same name, Une Vie (A Woman’s Life) is a beautifully constructed costume drama, which despite being set in the 19th century, manages to be as fresh and as current as any social drama worth its salt. Staring Judith Chemla in the principal role, A Woman’s Life is able to break out of the rigidity of its time by offering a story which is as gut-wrenching in its storytelling as it is brilliantly relatable in its social realist aesthetic.
Chelma is Joanne, the daughter of wealthy landowners in rural France who until now has lived an idyllic countryside life with her parents, the Baron and Baroness Le Perthuis des Vauds. Not wishing to be separated from them, Joanne agrees to marry Julien de...
- 1/11/2018
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Winning the Fipresci Prize at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, and snagging two Cesar nominations (for actress Judith Chemla and costume designer Madeline Fontaine), Stephane Brize’s A Woman’s Life sadly received an extremely limited theatrical release in early May of 2017 from Us distributor Kino Lorber.
Continue reading...
Continue reading...
- 9/26/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
I went into Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s latest film C’est la vie! knowing nothing about it. My assumption from their two previous works, Intouchables and Samba, was that it would prove a charmingly funny dramedy tinged with relevant politics and racial complexity. Well, I was wrong. Whereas the latter film honed in on the former’s politics, this one strips them away completely to focus solely on the comedy. The result is an uproariously contemporary riff on Robert Altman’s underrated classic A Wedding. While it doesn’t spread out quite so large a net—focusing almost exclusively on wedding planner Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and his eccentric crew—it still wonderfully distills the fiscal and logistical absurdity of such formally traditional celebrations with biting satire, broad pratfalls, and expertly rendered caricature to its essence.
They don’t ease us in either as the tone immediately reveals itself.
They don’t ease us in either as the tone immediately reveals itself.
- 9/9/2017
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The “literary costume drama” is one of cinema’s most tried and true genres in the broader film world. From seemingly the inception of the medium to today, the tactile world of grand costumes and baroque examinations of love in a bygone time have been the breeding ground for some of the most exciting and formally inventive films of all time. However, it’s also become an often stuffy and cliche-ridden genre that finds few ways to break new ground.
But then comes A Woman’s Life. The newest film from French director Stephane Brize, Life takes the stilted trappings of the literary costume drama, and grounds them in ways one rarely sees. An adaptation of the beloved Guy de Maupassant novel Une Vie, Brize’s picture introduces us to Jeanne, a young woman in rural, 19th-century Normandy who meets and marries a Viscount Julien de Lamare. However, almost instantaneously things begin to unravel,...
But then comes A Woman’s Life. The newest film from French director Stephane Brize, Life takes the stilted trappings of the literary costume drama, and grounds them in ways one rarely sees. An adaptation of the beloved Guy de Maupassant novel Une Vie, Brize’s picture introduces us to Jeanne, a young woman in rural, 19th-century Normandy who meets and marries a Viscount Julien de Lamare. However, almost instantaneously things begin to unravel,...
- 5/7/2017
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The rare period piece that feels observed rather than pretended, Stéphane Brizé’s “A Woman’s Life” finds the prolific French filmmaker applying his ruggedly naturalistic style — used to great effect in last year’s blue-collar drama, “The Measure of a Man” — to some very different source material. Adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s 1883 debut novel, Brizé’s latest is less a well-furnished historical saga than it is a selective simulation of life in the middle of the 19th Century; de Maupassant may have died before the invention of narrative cinema, but it’s easy enough to imagine him watching this doggedly matter-of-fact drama without the slightest bit of confusion. Merchant Ivory fans might find themselves feeling restless, but anyone who appreciated the quotidian rigor of Terence Davies’ “A Quiet Passion” will find a lot to love about this epic of asceticism.
Spanning decades with the speed of a pebble...
Spanning decades with the speed of a pebble...
- 5/6/2017
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
If you like your coming of age stories set in 19th century rural Normandy, Stéphane Brizé ‘s “A Woman’s Life” is just the film for your very specific tastes.
The drama, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s classic novel “Une Vie,” explores the troubles of a woman named Jeanne (Judith Chemla), who faces falling in love under the restrictive social and moral codes of the time. Brizé shot “A Woman’s Life” in the tight 4:3 Academy ratio, a very apt visual symbol of his heroine’s constricted life. All in all, it’s a stark departure from his last film, Cannes award-winner “The Measure of a Man.”
Read More: ‘Risk’ Takes On Julian Assange: The Dramatic Story Behind Laura Poitras’ Oscar Follow-Up
Brizé recently spoke to Film Comment about what drew him to the source material.
“I was fascinated by discovering the vision of the world...
The drama, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s classic novel “Une Vie,” explores the troubles of a woman named Jeanne (Judith Chemla), who faces falling in love under the restrictive social and moral codes of the time. Brizé shot “A Woman’s Life” in the tight 4:3 Academy ratio, a very apt visual symbol of his heroine’s constricted life. All in all, it’s a stark departure from his last film, Cannes award-winner “The Measure of a Man.”
Read More: ‘Risk’ Takes On Julian Assange: The Dramatic Story Behind Laura Poitras’ Oscar Follow-Up
Brizé recently spoke to Film Comment about what drew him to the source material.
“I was fascinated by discovering the vision of the world...
- 5/5/2017
- by Allison Picurro
- Indiewire
When a Potiche Ascends the Stairs: Brizé’s Winning, Textured de Maupassant Adaptation
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
- 5/5/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A Woman’S Life (Une vie) Kino Lorber Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: B+ Director: Stéphane Brizé Written by: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon Cast: Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Yolande Moreau, Swann Arlaud, Nina Meuriss Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 4/25/17 Opens: May 5, 2017 Life is not as good or bad as you think. This […]
The post A Woman’s Life Movie Review: Life is not as good or bad as you think appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post A Woman’s Life Movie Review: Life is not as good or bad as you think appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 4/26/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Following a fall festival premiere at Venice, a U.S. trailer has arrived for A Woman’s Life (Une Vie), the latest drama from Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), which Kino Lorber will release this May. Shot in the aesthetically-pleasing 4:3 aspect ratio (where are my Ida fans at?!), cinematographer Antoine Héberlé‘s intimate portraits are on full display amidst a delicate and ominous trailer that hints at the film’s crueler side.
We said in our review from Venice, “This is the kind of thing Lars Von Trier usual does very well. Take a complex, apparently fragile, and slightly naïve female lead; put her through the ringer; and let the audience mull over whether she’s a character who is inherently weak or strong. You sense Brizé is attempting something similar but his Jeanne is a blank canvas; a brick wall; a vaguely soggy piece of tarpaulin,...
We said in our review from Venice, “This is the kind of thing Lars Von Trier usual does very well. Take a complex, apparently fragile, and slightly naïve female lead; put her through the ringer; and let the audience mull over whether she’s a character who is inherently weak or strong. You sense Brizé is attempting something similar but his Jeanne is a blank canvas; a brick wall; a vaguely soggy piece of tarpaulin,...
- 3/29/2017
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Before Hollywood takes the spotlight this weekend, the film world turns its eyes to France for the annual Cesar Awards. Presented by the French Academy, this year’s nominees represent a distinct blend of international favorites, festival standouts and homegrown hits.
Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” led this year’s nominees, scoring 11 nominations for Verhoeven as Best Director, lead actress Isabelle Huppert, Best Adapted Screenplay and a trio of other acting awards.
Read More: ‘Elle,’ Isabelle Huppert, Xavier Dolan Nominated in France’s Cesar Awards
The evening’s winners at Paris’ Salle Pleyel featured a variety of upsets and sure things. Huppert, going into a busy weekend in the States, won her category. In a pair of surprises, Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel both won their respective categories for Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World.” Houda Benyamina’s debut feature “Divines” also won big, taking home prizes for Best First Film,...
Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” led this year’s nominees, scoring 11 nominations for Verhoeven as Best Director, lead actress Isabelle Huppert, Best Adapted Screenplay and a trio of other acting awards.
Read More: ‘Elle,’ Isabelle Huppert, Xavier Dolan Nominated in France’s Cesar Awards
The evening’s winners at Paris’ Salle Pleyel featured a variety of upsets and sure things. Huppert, going into a busy weekend in the States, won her category. In a pair of surprises, Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel both won their respective categories for Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World.” Houda Benyamina’s debut feature “Divines” also won big, taking home prizes for Best First Film,...
- 2/24/2017
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Damien Chazelle given Carte Blanche to present influential French film.
Colcoa and the Franco-American Cultural Fund also announced the Focus on a Filmmaker programme in addition to a line up of French classics consisting of predominantly digitally restored films.
The programme will take place at the DGA in Hollywood from April 24-May 2 as part of Colcoa’s 21st anniversary.
Oscar contender and La La Land director Damien Chazelle [pictured] has selected Leo Carax’s The Lovers On The Bridge (1991) starring Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant as an influential film.
This Carte Blanche screening will be presented in association with Rialto Pictures, with the support of the French Embassy in the Us and l’Institut Francais.
Colcoa will honour writer-director Stéphane Brizé on April 27, with a special presentation of Not Here To Be Loved (2005) starring Patrick Chesnais, Anne Consigny, and George Wilson.
The Festival will also host the West Coast premiere of Brizé’s new film A Woman’s Life...
Colcoa and the Franco-American Cultural Fund also announced the Focus on a Filmmaker programme in addition to a line up of French classics consisting of predominantly digitally restored films.
The programme will take place at the DGA in Hollywood from April 24-May 2 as part of Colcoa’s 21st anniversary.
Oscar contender and La La Land director Damien Chazelle [pictured] has selected Leo Carax’s The Lovers On The Bridge (1991) starring Juliette Binoche and Denis Lavant as an influential film.
This Carte Blanche screening will be presented in association with Rialto Pictures, with the support of the French Embassy in the Us and l’Institut Francais.
Colcoa will honour writer-director Stéphane Brizé on April 27, with a special presentation of Not Here To Be Loved (2005) starring Patrick Chesnais, Anne Consigny, and George Wilson.
The Festival will also host the West Coast premiere of Brizé’s new film A Woman’s Life...
- 2/23/2017
- ScreenDaily
France’s film community congratulated Isabelle Huppert on her Oscar nomination, adding yet another to her growing list of accolades for her performance in “Elle.” The French Academy announced its nominees for what Americans call the “French Oscars” on Wednesday morning. “Elle” received 11 nominations in total, including best film and best director for Paul Verhoeven.
Following in a close send was Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” which garnered 10 nominations, and Bruno Dumont’s “Slack Bay,” which received nine. Xavier Dolan received a best director nomination for “It’s Only the End of the World.” Actors Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, and Nathalie Baye were all nominated for their work in Dolan’s film as well.
Read More: Oscars 2017 Surprises and Snubs: Amy Adams and ‘Weiner’ Out, Mel Gibson and ‘Passengers’ In
The Cesars have little import on the Oscars, though there is often some crossover. The French Academy did recognize Kenneth Lonergan...
Following in a close send was Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” which garnered 10 nominations, and Bruno Dumont’s “Slack Bay,” which received nine. Xavier Dolan received a best director nomination for “It’s Only the End of the World.” Actors Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, and Nathalie Baye were all nominated for their work in Dolan’s film as well.
Read More: Oscars 2017 Surprises and Snubs: Amy Adams and ‘Weiner’ Out, Mel Gibson and ‘Passengers’ In
The Cesars have little import on the Oscars, though there is often some crossover. The French Academy did recognize Kenneth Lonergan...
- 1/25/2017
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
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