My French Film Festival 2016 (Ongoing)

Every year around the country there are several film festivals dedicated to exhibiting a certain cinema from around the globe. They come in the likes of Italian, Japanese, Persian, German and more. But i'm here to talk about my favorite kind of cinema. French Cinema, always a major player in the world game, France has given us directors like Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Henri-George Clouzot, Robert Bresson, Luc Besson and more. That's right, if the title didn't give it away, i'm here to talk about

This year there are over 40 films playing but I can't watch them all so I chose a handful of films to watch. I chose the films from the 2015 Cannes Film Festival plus one that was in the top 10 movies of 2015 according to Cahiers Du Cinema (look them up). My choices were...

The Measure of a Man (Dir. Stéphane Brizé)

Dheepan (Dir. Jacques Audiard)

Mon Roi (Dir. Maïwenn)

Valley of Love (Dir. Guillaume Nicloux)

In the Shadow of Women (Dir. Philippe Garrel)

Before you read my thoughts on the movies i've seen the festival also had a talk between George Miller (director of the Mad Max movies) and David Stratton (critic from the ABC tv series At the Movies). They are both patrons of the festival.

After further reading I added Marguerite (Dir. Xavier Giannoli) to my 'to watch films' for the festival

Below you will find my basic thoughts on the films i've watched and where upcoming films will be placed.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN

Vincent London leads this movie so well as a Father and Husband who is looking for a job. The directing is subtle and stays in close up to emphasise the acting and the tight situation London's character is in. The shots shown are long and feature large movements which is great to let the actors act, especially London, and it's great to see a performance that wasn't made in the cutting room. The movie can be slow at points.

MILLER + STRATTON TALK

During the festival George Miller (director of the Mad Max and Happy Feet movies) did a talk with David Stratton (former host of ABC's At the Movies). I was hoping it was about french films and that they would talk about their favorites. However it was about the career of Miller and in particular Mad Max 1,2 and 4 along with a quick summary on his other works.

DHEEPAN

After winning the Palm d'Or at Cannes in 2015 I was sure I was in for a great movie (especially with recent winners like Amour and The Tree of Life) but the movie lacked direction, especially in the plot. The pacing was glacial and I didn't believe the acting and the characters portrayed. However i'm in the minority for this film as it's been praised everywhere else.

VALLEY OF LOVE

Where Dheepan lacked plot direction Valley of Love struggled to stick to a certain genre, some scenes almost like a horror one, others like a comedy and some incoherently blend two into one. However the performances here keep this movie from falling apart but like the movie as a whole never reach the highs the movie should have.

You can read more about the festival on it's website (http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/)

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