french Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I had a ball describing Fear(s) of the Dark to my fellow movie freaks. After really enjoying the film at last January's Sundance Film Festival (and calling Fantastic Fest Master Chief Tim League to give him the scoop), I made sure to come up with an apt description for the film. "Hmm, what's it about?" my fellow fest-goers would ask, to which I'd reply "Oh, it's your typical French animated ... horror ... anthology. In black & white." The next response was either "Oooh, cool," (my friends) or "Meh, not my speed." (total strangers).

Created by a collection of gifted graphic artists that includes names like Charles Burns, Romain Slocombe, and Marie Caillou, Fear(s) of the Dark is not exactly a Creepshow-style omnibus, but for genre fans who can appreciate a little culture now and again, I'd call it a very cool little treat. And if you're a big fan of graphic arts or the craft of animation, then I suspect you'll devour this French delicacy with a very large spoon. Plus, best of all, it's creepy!

Fear(s) of the Dark opens on in New York City (and On Demand! Like in your living room!) on October 24 before rolling into other towns -- and yep, it's also screening a few times at Austin's Fantastic Fest -- but we're very proud to bring you the first official poster for the film. Trust me when I say the poster fits the movie quite well. Click below for the noir-ness!

Like many of his colleagues, André Téchiné reviewed films for Cahiers du cinema, championing the work of auteur filmmakers the world over, before becoming a director. But unlike his colleagues, he never really became an auteur himself. He has his supporters, and actresses love working with him, but he has yet to define his cinematic personality, or create a real, enduring masterpiece. Just a few months ago, Kino Video (under its Kimstim wing) released an older Téchiné film, Scene of the Crime (1986), starring Catherine Deneuve. I happened to see it just before watching Téchiné's new film, The Witnesses. There was no real stylistic connection between the films; the former played like a Claude Chabrol thriller and the latter was more like an Eric Rohmer character study. But the most notable difference is that Scene of the Crime was made in the 1980s, and The Witnesses is set in the 1980s, but they actually have no visual similarity. Téchiné's new film uses lots of handheld cinematography, whereas Scene of the Crime was far more patient and steady.

It might help to know who Téchiné is before attempting to decipher The Witnesses. The picture goes in as many different directions as its maker's filmography. It begins as a Rohmer-like comedy of errors, albeit a stiff and half-baked one, starring five characters. Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart, gorgeous, even with a ridiculous haircut) is a writer and new mom who finds that she doesn't like motherhood; ironic, given that she has published several children's books. Her husband, Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) is a cop who likes flying planes in his off hours. Sarah's best friend is Adrien (the extraordinary Michel Blanc), a gay, middle-aged doctor who goes cruising in the parks for sex. He picks up Manu (Johan Libereau), and lets the young, carefree fellow stay with him, although Manu isn't interested in sex with his benefactor. Manu's sister is Julie (Julie Depardieu), a rising opera star who lives in a sleazy hotel mainly populated by hookers. It also looks as if there might have been a sixth character; Sarah's editor is mentioned more than just in passing, but he is only seen once. (For some reason, French movies, such as Va Savoir and Private Fears in Public Places, prefer the number six.)

Since it looks like we are going to have to wait awhile for the animation avalanche to end any time soon; it's as good a time as any to bring back the animated musical. Movies like Happy Feet might already be on the way to a revival, but the genre hasn't had much interest since the Disney renaissance of the '90's. Pixar might have won the war when it came narrative versus musical animation, but The Weinstein Company isn't willing to walk away from the fight just yet.

The Hollywood Reporter announced that The Weinstein Company has purchased North American rights for the French animated property Piccolo, Saxo, and Company. The story follows a group of instruments that decide to form their own symphony orchestra. The story seems a little abstract for a kids movie, but maybe French kids are into abstraction. An obscure album by "Space-age pop" musician André Popp titled Les Aventures de Piccolo Saxo served as the inspiration for the film. Popp was known for his experimental recording techniques, and had a few hit songs during the 1960's.

The film goes into its European release next month, and The Weinstein Company is already planning the English language version with new actors. It looks like the Weinstein's are keeping their options open though, as they have yet to commit to a theatrical release and no casting decisions have been made.

Say what you want about Ocean's Twelve, but you have to admit that Vincent Cassel almost managed to "out-suave" Danny Ocean and the gang as the French thief Toulour in the 2004 film. Cassel is set to star in a two-part film based on the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrines. Jean-Francois Richet will direct the films, titled Death Instinct and Public Enemy No. 1. Variety reports that Pathe films has picked up both productions for French distribution and international sales.

Jacques Mesrines was one of the most infamous criminals in French history; Mesrines started with hotel robberies, but by the end of his criminal career he claimed to have murdered almost 40 people -- including a journalist that he felt had been writing slanderous articles about him. Mesrines became something of a cult hero in France; he eluded capture numerous times and even managed to escape from prison. Mesrines would grant interviews with newspapers to try to convince the public his crimes were politically motivated, but there was never any proof that Mesrines was interested in anything other than his own publicity. Even his death in a shoot-out with the French police sparked conspiracy theories that it was a political assassination.

Death Instinct and Public Enemy No. 1 will begin shooting on location in France this May. Crime has always been great source material for a movie -- we all love to watch the criminal do the things we shouldn't -- and it also doesn't hurt to throw in glamorous locales and a handsome leading man too.

[via ComingSoon.net]

Wanna see a black & white animated French sci-fi thriller starring Daniel Craig, Catherine McCormack and Ian Holm? Well, after watching this new trailer, I'm pretty sure I do!

Christian Volckman's Renaissance has been wowing audiences at international film festivals, which inspired someone at Miramax to pick the thing up for U.S. distribution. It's a slick-looking dystopian story in which all of 2054 Paris is governed by the evil Avalon company. You can probably fill in the blanks from there.

Miramax will release the nifty looking piece of noir-imation on September 22nd.

 

The premise of this film -- an aging woman hires a gorgeous, up-scale hooker to begin an affair with her philandering husband in order to re-learn what turns him on -- is so slight that it's reminiscent of Woody Allen's experiment in Melinda & Melinda. Comedy, drama, or thriller could be grown from this seed, depending on the director's whim. But the pleasant surprise of Anne Fontaine's Nathalie. . . is its unwillingness to fully commit to any one genre. Instead, a potential plot twist is dangled before our eyes in the opening scenes and then brushed back under the rug, leaving us with a kernel of suspense to go with an otherwise straightforward story about a woman's wounded pride and her increasing fascination with the way a beautiful, sexy woman can set a fire in her husband's mind in a way she never could.

The beautiful woman in question is Marlene, played by French star Emmanuelle Beart, who recently starred in Danis Tanovic's Hell, a not-uninteresting updating of Euripides' Medea. Even though the crossover bridge has been presumably lowered for Beart several times over the years, it's in French cinema that she's remained most prominent. To American audiences, she is still most recognizable as Claire, the foxy turncoat with the heavy French accent in Brian DePalma's Mission: Impossible.