France

Synopsis
A glimpse at the life of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris through his successful song-writing years in the 1960s to his death in 1991 at the age of 62.Read More »

Thomas lives in a military base on colony of Madagascar. His parents and their circle, gradually becomes aware of politics both territorial and sexual while finding an outlet for his imagination in the exploits of crimebuster Fantômette.Read More »

Paris, at the time of the Great Depression. Bastien, a manual worker, persuades his timid friend, Ségard, to leave with him for Canada, to start a new life in a country where, according to the publicity films, everything is possible. The two men arrive in the port of Le Havre, ready to depart on the ocean liner Tenacity. They take lodgings at a boarding house where they both fall under the spell of the charming serving girl Thérèse. When the boat’s departure is delayed, Bastien takes advantage of the hiatus to court Thérèse. One evening, he gets her drunk and lures her into bed with him, without his friend knowing. The next day, Bastien has made up his mind to stay in France with Thérèse…Read More »

In this movie based upon Julian Green’s novel, we follow Paul’s downfall as he is torn between his love for Angele, a local prostitute, as he finds out too late, and Madame Grosgeorge’s love for him.Read More »

Paula Maxa is the Parisian Grand Guignol Theatre’s leading lady, famous for being murdered on stage every day. But is there a link between the theatre and a series of gruesome real-life murders?Read More »

PLOT: Ludivine, a lttle tomboy, takes on the too polite Delphin. Being caught, and punished, she wants him and his father to be dead. When the latter dies, she feels guilty and takes Delphin under her wing.Read More »

Histoires courtes, the France 2 short films program, gives carte blanche to Bertrand Mandico who brings together three of his short films.

“Rainer, A Vicious Dog in Skull Valley” (2023) 26 min.
Octavia Foss wants to stage a female version of Conan the Barbarian in the theater. She makes a pact with a dog-headed demon to achieve her goals.

“We Barbarians” (2023) 27 min.
On the set of a film in the making, four actresses take turns guiding us. They unknowingly drag us into their damnation.

“The Last Cartoon” (2022) 8 min.
A time, as much future as current, where “cinema will be will be all other and nothing else”. Where, “it will be the last appointment of the flesh”, where “the energy will be cannibal and the sun will reflect to say nothing”. Pessimistic or optimistic is this cinematic pamphlet on art ?Read More »

It is June 2021 and the end of the school year at the Hénin-Beaumont high school. Linda and Irina are best friends. Between TikTok videos and science classes, they confide in each other about their family, their future, and other teenage preoccupations. But Linda has to move house yet again, and will not be here next term. In spite of her mother’s advice, this time she has grown attached to a friend, and their separation will be a painful one. As the summer begins, her heart is sore.Read More »

After lecturing her sister on the evils of fake orgasms, Louise, a self-obsessed twenty-something, gets her come-uppance the next morning when she discovers that she has “lost her clitoris”, a misfortune she doesn’t hesitate to communicate, loudly and explicitly, to anyone who’ll listen.

It’s a shame that so many of the characters and situations in this movie, from the gay best-friend to the sex guru with his herbs to the celibate neighbour to the old ladies discussing orgasms, feel like a parade of comedy stereotypes. The falseness and banality of these sketch-like scenes conflict awkwardly with the pseudo-documentary discussions of female sexuality that the director inserts with great earnestness throughout the film.Read More »