Rendez-Vous with French
Cinema 2010


DONATIEN SONER AND CHIARA MASTROIANNI IN MAKING PLANS FOR LÉNA

RENDEZ-VOUS 2010 SUMMARY

Here are thumbnail reviews and my picks.

PICKS:
I was struck by the power of Rapt and In the Beginning, two films that show the French ability to take a genre film (both are crime thrillers of a sort), in both cases based on a little news item (fait divers) and turn it into something with considerable psychological depth, philosophical implications, and stylistic richness. Honoré, who has done stylish New-Wave-ish work in his Paris Trilogy, achieves a new level of complexity and maturity in Making Plans for Lena. Mademoiselle Chambon is a slight, but extremely delicate and sensitive film. Welcome (which like Mademoiselle Chambon stars the excellent Vincent Lindon) is an "issue" film of considerable warmth and authenticity. These are my top choices. Some of the others are worth seeing. See the details and ratings below. Note on the ratings: there's a big difference between an 8 and a 9; I don't give 10's to new films.

8 Times Up (Xabia Molia 2010) - 7/10
A sincere little first film about economic marginality focused on a man and woman. Fades somewhat in comparison with the recent Pierre Schöller film, Versailles, but shows some promise.

Army of Crime, The (Robert Guédiguian 2009) - 8/10
A very conventional but most interesting and well acted historical film about the foreigners in the early stages of the French resistance.

Farewell (Christian Carion 2009) - 5/10
A bland spy film. Important story (perhaps), but uninteresting details, mediocre film.

French Kissers, The (Riad Sattouf 2009) - 8/10
Lots of charm and detail in this comedy about French middle-school boys in search of love and sex, but for Americans, something is lost in translation.

Hedghog, The (Mona Achache 2009)--6/10
A very pat, slick little fable about three loveable "characters" with a message about originality and connecting. Art house pap.

I'm Glad That My Mother Is Alive (Claude and Nathan Miller 2009) - 7/10
Odd, slight, but momentarily strong story of a disturbed adopted boy who re-connects with his birth mother. Structural weaknesses; strong chemistry between young Vincent Rottiers and Sophie Cattani.

In the Beginning (Xavier Giannoli 2009) - 9/10
Stunning and suspenseful film about a con man whose swindle turns into doing good. Engrossing, with a strong cast. Tour de force performance by François Cluzet.

King of Escape, The (Alain Guiraudie 2009) - 4/10
Inexplicable meander, best forgotten.

Mademoiselle Chambon (Stéphane Brizé 2009) - 9/10
Delicate and very French study of two shy people who connect across a class/professional divide with superb acting.

Making Plans for Léna (Christophe Honoré 2009) - 9/10
Rich, unusually mature effort from the fertile hand of Honoré with a career-best performance by Chiara Mastroianni

OSS 117: Lost in Rio (Michel Hazanavicius 2009) - 8/10
The crew do their tongue-in-cheek French James Bond thing again with even more wit, cunning visuals, and provocative plot.

Rapt (Lucas Belvaux 2009) - 9/10
Like In the Beginning, this film turns a little news story into a film that transcends its genre (kidnap movie) and turns into something original and thought-provoking. Fine performance by Yvan Attal.

Regrets (Cédric Kahn 2009) - 8/10
A precipitous, over-the-top movie about crazy love, a renewed affair from decades earlier, for which Kahn deserves some credit for creating something rather original even if the result fades a bit in memory.

Refuge, Le (François Ozon 2010) - 7/10
Ozon in a serious vein, but the film, though elegant and visually beautiful, feels superficial and uninvolving in its working out.

Restless (Laurent Perreau 2009 - 8/10)
Delicate debut film about two isolated people and two stories of lost love with an interesting cast including Michel Piccoli.

Thorn in the Heart, The (Michel Gondry 2010) - 7/10
Detailed and interesting documentary about the director's aunt doesn't quite dig deep enough.

Welcome (Philippe Lioret 2009 - 9/10)
Touching story about the plight of illegal immigrants with excellent direction and fine acting. Lioret gets everything right on this one. Vincent Lindon again fine.

Wolberg Family, The (Axelle Ropert 2009) - 7/10
Odd, stylish study of a politician pater familias who's lost touch with his family; promising first film that doesn't quite hold together.

Links to the complete reviews on Filmleaf:

Army of Crime, The (Robert Guédiguian 2009)
Farewell (Christian Carion 2009)
French Kissers, The (Riad Sattouf 2009)
I'm Glad That My Mother Is Alive (Claude and Nathan Miller 2009)
In the Beginning (Xavier Giannoli 2009)
King of Escape, The (Alain Guiraudie 2009)
Mademoiselle Chambon (Stéphane Brizé 2009)
Making Plans for Léna (Christophe Honoré 2009)
OSS 117: Lost in Rio (Michel Hazanavicius 2009)
Rapt (Lucas Belvaux 2009)
Regrets (Cédric Kahn 2009)
Refuge, Le (François Ozon 2010)
Restless (Laurent Perreau 2009)
Thorn in the Heart, The (Michel Gondry 2010)
Welcome (Philippe Lioret 2009)
Wolberg Family, The (Axelle Ropert 2009)

(These reviews are also found here on my website; just scroll back from this post. FSLC listing of the filme is here.. The series also included some short films, which I did not see, and Jules Dassin's star-studded but pointless The Law or La legge.)

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©Chris Knipp. Blog: http://chrisknipp.blogspot.com/.