Auteuil stars as Jean Monier, a well-past his prime defence lawyer who – ever since discovering he was responsible for a killer being exonerated – now prefers to work as a prosecutor. But one evening Jean agrees to help his over-committed wife and fellow counsel Annie (Sidse Babett Knudsen) by meeting with Nicolas Milik (Grégory Gadebois), a shell-shocked father of five who has just been arrested for the murder of his troubled wife. Milik’s predicament inexplicably touches Jean; the more he pieces together the events of the night in question, the more he becomes convinced of Milik’s innocence. Soon Jean rediscovers his passion for his vocation, and becomes obsessed with exposing the killer.

Characterised by typically first-rate performances from its stellar cast, this pulled-from-the-headlines drama – based on true events and adapted from the memoirs of lawyer-turned-bestselling author Jean-Yves Moyart – is a gripping exploration of guilt, conceit and the slippery nature of justice. An Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival and major word of mouth hit at the French box office in 2024, THE THREAD packs a genuine punch, with a conclusion that lingers long after the credits have rolled.
www.palacefilms.com.au/the-thread

The premise of two criminal types escaping apprehension after a bout of robbery by stowing away on a bus headed to a summer camp has been done before quite a few times. The difference this time is the bus is filled with young adults with disabilities. To say that they have colourful personalities is to undersell how engaging they actually are. Their quirks and the love they show towards each other is transcendent.

The crooks, in this case, a father and son find themselves drawn to this vibrant mob for different reasons. As those differences play out you quickly look past the camp members’ disabilities and just see them for their unique and engaging personalities. Even the ones with quite annoying traits will eventually wear down your defences and win you over. This transformation is very life-affirming.

Waving your agenda in an audience’s face hardly ever yields the desired results but capture those people’s emotions first and the life lessons can be transformative. A Little Something Extra starts as a fairly straightforward dark comedy but soon transforms into something more and its power to take you along for that ride and win you over is impressive indeed.
Rob Hudson