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The perfect film to see at a midnight screening, Quentin Dupieux’s Deerskin is a wry and disturbing romp that never takes itself seriously. Continue reading
Deerskin (Le Daim) (2019)
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The Sisters Brothers (2018)
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Jacques Audriard (Personal Shopper) has created a serviceable yet unremarkable Western that seems to delight in perpetuating well-worn tropes. Continue reading
Climax (2018)
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Climax is a drug-infused, sweaty and self-indulgent nightmare. It immerses you in a single night with a bunch of unlikable dancers as bad things happen to them. Continue reading
Transit (2018)
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I wasn’t expecting to be charmed by Christian Petzold’s inventive rethinking of a well-worn World War II movie trope. To all intents and purposes, it is a period drama akin to Casablanca, complete with third-person narration, a mysterious dame and uniformed guards with dogs. However, the backdrop is inexplicably and unapologetically modern day France. Continue reading
Sofia (2018)
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It is the unflinchingly scrutiny of the doleful Sofia’s face that made this film for me. Behind that impassive mask, that became animated only at certain moments, I could see the naivete that had brought Sofia to this untenable point in her life. Continue reading
Sorry Angel (Plaire, Aimer et Courir Vite) (2018)
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This exquisite and heartbreaking film by Christophe Honoré felt like a more whimsical but no less real partner to last year’s BPM. The Anglicised title doesn’t do it justice, and I prefer the original that loosely translates as “pleasure, love and run fast.” Continue reading
Lost in Paris (Paris Pieds Nus) (2016)
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Jacques Tati lives on in this featherlight slapstick farce from duo Fiona Gordon and Dominic Abel. Continue reading
C’est La Vie! (Le sens de la fête) (2017)
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C’est La Vie! is a wry and heartwarming French comedy about love, napkin twirling and the frustrations you feel when nothing goes quite as planned. Continue reading
Bright Weakness (Maryline) (2017)
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Some films knock you sideways with unexpected brilliance and Maryline, retitled for the Alliance French Film Festival as Bright Weakness, is one of those. Heartfelt, subtle and unexpected, I could not look away from Adeline D’Hermy’s mesmerising performance. Continue reading
BPM (120 Battements par Minute) (2017)
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AIDS and activism in the 80s and 90s are inextricably entwined. Grassroots organisations like ACT UP were at the forefront of multifaceted agitation, lobbying, education and shock tactics to reduce the spread of the virus and increase research into treatment. Continue reading
