The 31st Alliance Française French Film Festival kicks off shortly at Palace Barracks and Palace James Street and whilst we know you’d like to watch all 49 films, documentaries and TV series screening over the four-week festival, it’s probably a smidge unrealistic!
So, we have some ‘Top 5’ lists, including:
- FILMS TO GET YOUR HEART RACING
- FILMS TO MAKE YOU LOL
- SPOTLIGHT ON PARIS
- WEIRD AND WACKY
- FILMS FOR THE CULTURALLY AND POLITICALLY INQUISITIVE
- FILMS TO SET YOUR HEART AFLUTTER
- FILMS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
- FILMS YOU SHOULD SEE IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN A FRENCH FILM BEFORE AND ARE A TEENY BIT SCARED
Whether you are a French film aficionado or a first timer, there is something for everyone at the 2020 Alliance Française French Film Festival! And you are welcome!
FILMS TO GET YOUR HEART RACING
If you enjoy sliding down to the edge of your seat, biting your fingernails until they bleed and getting sweaty palms, then these films are for you!
Zombie Child
Haiti, 1962…A man is resurrected from the dead and trapped in a nightmare of slavery. Modern-day Paris…Haitian teen Mélissa, the new girl at an elite school, is invited to join a secret ‘literary sorority’. But the incendiary family secret she harbours becomes a source of fascination to others, who exploit her heritage with shocking results.
Only the Animals
Set in an isolated town in the lush, wintery mountains of southern France, the film opens with the departure of Evelyne, a local woman whose disappearance during a snowstorm soon reveals itself as murder. This act of violence gradually unveils the hidden agendas of several locals, setting the unexpected into motion.
The Perfect Nanny
When, despite her husband’s misgivings, mother of two Myriam decides to return to work as a lawyer, the decision is made to engage a nanny. Enter Louise. Almost instantly becoming one of the family, Louise seems too good to be true. As events unravel, that might just be the case…
Sibyl
Dissatisfied with her life, Sibyl, a psychiatrist, decides to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. Casting professional ethics aside, she secretly uses the private sessions of her actress patient, Margot, as inspiration for her novel, a decision that irreversibly impacts upon both their lives.
The Translators
Nine language experts, hired to translate the final book of a bestselling trilogy, are in lockdown within a luxurious bunker. But when the top-secret manuscript’s first ten pages appear online, their dream job implodes. The culprit has to amongst them and the publisher is ready to do whatever it takes to unmask who it is.
FILMS TO MAKE YOU LOL
Let’s face it, the real world can be a little stressful and daunting at times so it’s nice to take a few hours out of your everyday life to enjoy a few LOLs in the comfort of an air-conditioned cinema whilst sipping on a cool beverage, and chowing down on a choc-top. These films are guaranteed to make you forget your stresses, at least for a short while.
How to be a Good Wife
In 1968 amidst the lush regions of Alsace, the head of a housekeeping school that transforms teenage girls into ideal housewives, has her pristine life implode when she encounters her long-lost first love whilst simultaneously learning that her business is on the brink of financial ruin.
10 Days Without Mum
On the verge of a career-making promotion, Antoine is left to manage home and children when his wife announces she’s off on a 10-day break. Even though she leaves detailed instructions, he moves from one disaster to another. Can the family survive without their mother, even for just 10 days?
I’ll Go Where You Go
When their sick father asks Mina to travel with her estranged sister, Vali to a career-making singing audition, the two girls embark upon an emotionally uplifting road-trip that leads them on an unexpected adventure.
A Brother’s Love
In this moving and very funny portrait of life, family and being a woman, Sophia, a struggling academic, is forced to change her outlook when Karim, her dependable big brother, falls in love with her friend, Eloise, leaving her feeling more disoriented than ever,
A Friendly Tale
In this delicious tale of tested loyalties, the close friendship of two long-time couples is put at risk when one of the two wives unexpectedly becomes a best-selling author, upsetting the intricate balance of this formerly close-knit quartet.
FILMS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
If you’re looking for a movie other than a Disney animation to take the kids to see, here is a selection of movies that the younger members of your family will love as much as you do.
The Lost Prince
Djibi, a devoted single father, transforms into a heroic Prince in the nightly fairy-tales he tells his beloved 7-year-old daughter, Sofia. But as the years pass, Sofia is ready for her own stories with different heroes. But is the Prince ready to become just a memory of his daughter’s childhood?
Of Love and Lies
Desperate to halt his father’s self-destructive spiral, a young boy tests for a top soccer club, but is rejected for being too small. Not wishing to impose yet another disappointment on his father, he impulsively articulates a well-meaning fiction… one that quickly spirals and overtakes not just his life, but that of those around him.
Roxane
A Breton poultry farmer harbours a secret passion for the theatre, shared only with his hens, to whom he gives rousing performances of Cyrano de Bergerac. But when Brittany’s chicken farms face financial ruin, he takes to broadcasting his theatrics via YouTube, with his favourite hen, and star-in-the-making, Roxane.
Spread your wings
Christian, a visionary scientist, studies wild birds. For his son, a teenager obsessed with video games, the idea of spending a vacation with his father in the middle of nature is a nightmare. However, father and son soon bond over a daring project to save an endangered species, which takes them on an incredible journey.
SamSam
Based on the beloved comic book series comes the animated debut of the tiny red superhero; SamSam. Dreaming of having his first-ever superpower, SamSam is excited when Mega, the mysterious new kid at school, tells him she holds the key. But SamSam soon discovers that superpowers are not so easily acquired!
WEIRD AND WACKY
The French have a history of quirky films (remember that fascinating documentary about potatoes or the film where a severed hand goes on a journey to find the rest of its body?) and this year’s Festival has a plethora of bizarro films to whet your weirdo appetite.
The Bare Necessity
The members of close-knit family entrenched in a comfortable routine within their small Vosges village, find their lives turned upside down when Juliette, an enigmatic stranger, forces them to redefine their boundaries and begin to fully live.
Donkey skin
This newly restored version marks this classic’s 50th anniversary. A king promises his dying queen that he will only re-marry if he can find someone more beautiful than her. He narrows his list down to their daughter who, alarmed by the thought of an incestuous union, escapes to a nearby kingdom wearing a magical donkey skin.
Deerskin
With his life in disarray, Georges might not be able to control his circumstances, but he can control his wardrobe. Believing that the deerskin jacket of his dreams is the answer to all his problems, Georges’ delusions gradually increase each time he wears it, edging his obsession closer to a violent delirium.
Room 212
After Maria reveals a long history of affairs to her husband, she opts to spend the night at a hotel opposite their home. But this is a “magical night”, and it’s not long before time collapses upon itself opening a window into the past where young passions are revisited and the very concept of love, questioned.
My Days of Glory
Self-absorbed and unemployed, a promising career as a child actor has led wisecracking Adrien to virtually nothing since. But when the chance of a lead role in a big-budget biopic beckons, he must decide whether it’s worth casting aside the comforting familiarity of failure in order to finally stand on his own two feet.
FILMS FOR THE CULTURALLY AND POLITICALLY INQUISITIVE
Going to the movies isn’t just about having a LOL and eating your body weight in popcorn, sometimes it’s an opportunity to look beyond our own lives and learn about cultures and communities far removed from our own. These films may be confronting and often heart-breaking, but they are also enlightening and soul-restoring.
Les Misérables
Set in the troubled Parisian district of Montfermeil, this searing tale follows cop Stéphane who works on the fringes of both the city and society. With tensions at boiling point, it’s a trial by fire as he and his corrupt, often violent, colleagues, face off against the region’s clashing factions of angry teens.
Invisibles
In this soul-enriching comedy, an illegal women’s shelter earmarked for closure, decides to fight back by turning to unorthodox methods of survival, when bureaucrats ignore their pleas for assistance. From now on everything is allowed…!
In the Name of Land
Returning to France in the late 70s, Pierre marries his sweetheart and takes over his father’s farm. But twenty years onwards, Pierre is exhausted. With mounting debt, what was once satisfying begins to take an insidious toll on his family who risk being torn apart by the property that binds them, in this powerful tale of resilience.
Farewell to the Night
Muriel, a respected member of her idyllic local community, is horrified to discover that her visiting grandson, who claims to be heading to Canada for work, has in reality been radicalised by Islamist extremists. His plans to fight for ISIS in Syria expose this ordinary woman to a moral dilemma of heart-breaking proportions.
The Swallows of Kabul
Based on the cherished novel of the same name, the story follows two couples living in the Afghan capital during the 90s and the impact Taliban rule has on each relationship. Through their individual love stories, unforgettable characters emerge amid the devastating impact of armed combat.
FILMS TO SET YOUR HEART AFLUTTER
Perfect for a first date or much-needed date night with your long-time lover, these films will restore your faith in love in a way that only the French know how.
Love at Second Sight
After waking in a parallel universe, Raphaël finds his wife, Olivia, is nowhere to be seen and his professional achievements have vanished. Without Olivia, his life is empty, but winning her back proves harder than he could have imagined – especially when he realises she doesn’t even know who he is!
Someone Somewhere
Mélanie and Remy are two neighbours who have never met. She is a scientist, mourning a recent break-up, who sleeps too much, whilst he hates his job and finds sleep impossible. Amidst their urban isolation, will they ever look up long enough to see the romantic possibilities that lie right before them?!
La Belle Epoque
Disillusioned, his long-term marriage on the rocks, a man is given a second chance when he encounters a company offering a unique theatrical service that enables customers to revisit memories through carefully orchestrated re-enactments, thus allowing him to return to 1974 and the peak of his happiness.
The Bare Necessity
The members of close-knit family entrenched in a comfortable routine within their small Vosges village, find their lives turned upside down when Juliette, an enigmatic stranger, forces them to redefine their boundaries and begin to fully live.
My Dog Stupide
Henri, a writer in the depths of a mid-life crisis who hasn’t released a successful book in 25 years, strikes-up an unconventional friendship with a stray, bad-mannered dog who inspires him and his dysfunctional family to re-examine their lives and attitudes towards each other.
SPOTLIGHT ON PARIS
The City of Lights, the Fashion Capital of the World, The City of Love – whatever you call it, Paris evokes a sense of romance and culture that captures one’s imagination. These films shine a light on the compelling stories and people of Paris – the good, the bad and the ugly.
Edmond
Paris, 1897. Although not yet thirty and clearly gifted as a writer, Edmond Rostand already has two children, many anxieties, but scant literary success. When given three weeks to write a play for a mercurial star of the stage, all he has is the title, Cyrano de Bergerac. Can he accomplish the impossible?
Notre Dame
Maud, a single mother and struggling architect, wins a competition to redesign the Notre Dame esplanade. However, what should be a career-defining opportunity only brings more drama, heightened by romantic complications, when the project becomes a media scandal.
Les Misérables
Set in the troubled Parisian district of Montfermeil, this searing tale follows cop Stéphane who works on the fringes of both the city and society. With tensions at boiling point, it’s a trial by fire as he and his corrupt, often violent, colleagues, face off against the region’s clashing factions of angry teens.
Aznavour by Charles
Crooner, Charles Aznavour, beguiled his legions of fans with a dream of romance. But his life beyond music was even more extraordinary. An actor, political activist, diplomat and filmmaker, this enthralling documentary, with rare footage, reveals a complicated, multi-talented man who entertained for the greater part of a century.
Vernon Subutex (TV series)
When Vernon Subutex, an unemployed former owner of a once legendary record shop, is evicted from his flat, he’s helped by old friend rock star Alex Bleach. But Bleach’s sudden death makes Vernon a deadly target when it’s discovered that he’s in possession of 3 mysterious videotapes owned by Bleach.
FILMS YOU SHOULD SEE IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN A FRENCH FILM BEFORE AND ARE A TEENY BIT SCARED
We know that reading sub-titles for two hours can be a little daunting when all you want to do is watch Jason Statham crash cars into other cars driven by The Rock, but trust us, watching a foreign language film can actually be quite fun. The films in this list are easy to follow and enjoyable to watch – plus they all run for less than two hours! At the very least, you can tick it off your bucket list and who knows you might actually become a legit French film fan.
The Extraordinary
An informal shelter in Paris for autistic youth, abandoned by a system unable to care for them, is put at risk when authorities target it for investigation.
La Belle Epoque
Disillusioned, his long-term marriage on the rocks, a man is given a second chance when he encounters a company offering a unique theatrical service that enables customers to revisit memories through carefully orchestrated re-enactments, thus allowing him to return to 1974 and the peak of his happiness.
How to be a Good Wife
In 1968 amidst the lush regions of Alsace, the head of a housekeeping school that transforms teenage girls into ideal housewives, has her pristine life implode when she encounters her long-lost first love whilst simultaneously learning that her business is on the brink of financial ruin.
My Dog Stupide
Henri, a writer in the depths of a mid-life crisis who hasn’t released a successful book in 25 years, strikes-up an unconventional friendship with a stray, bad-mannered dog who inspires him and his dysfunctional family to re-examine their lives and attitudes towards each other.
The Mystery of Henri Pick
The late Henry Pick, in life an unassuming Breton pizza marker, is celebrated as a brilliant author when a lost manuscript, attributed to him, becomes a literary success. But one outspoken intellectual thinks the whole thing is a sham, and, after losing his wife, his job and his prominence due to his opinion, decides to uncover the truth.
31st Alliance Française French Film Festival
18 March-14 April
Palace Barracks & Palace James Street
www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
