The 7 Lives of Léa
Alluring but Potentially Deadly
The 7 Lives of Léa, a difficult-to-categorize French TV series recently released on Netflix, deals uncompromisingly with racism, sexism, ageism, domestic violence, body-shaming and sexuality. The heroine, Léa, wakes up on seven consecutive mornings in the body of a different … Read More
En Corps
Step by Step
In spite of enthusiastic recommendations from friends and good reviews in the press, I was hesitant to see Cédric Klapisch’s new film, En Corps (Rise). I had loved his early film Chacun Cherche Son Chat (When the Cat’s Away) but … Read More
Retour à Reims
Book to Film, Left to Right, Key Element Omitted
Cinematic adaptations of books always carry with them multiple challenges. How faithful, for example, should one be to the written text? What should be omitted or added? And how does the film work purely on its own terms, without knowledge … Read More
Nous
Take the B Train
Good intentions do not a good movie make, as demonstrated by French director Alice Diop’s latest film, the documentary Nous (We). Diop is strongly committed to showing onscreen the lives of the “little people,” perhaps better described as ordinary humans, … Read More
Inventing Anna
Anna Delvey: The Prequel
Today, everybody knows about Anna Delvey, the “fake heiress” who was convicted in 2019 of swindling New York City financial players and others for over $200,000 and whose story is currently being told in the sensational Shonda Rimes series … Read More
Une Femme du Monde
She Works Hard for the Money
Those of you who know Laure Calamy from her role as Noémie, Mathias’s assistant in Call My Agent, will be delighted to see her movie acting career going from strength to strength. She won the 2021 César for Best Actress … Read More
Amants
Where’s the Heat?
Act 1 of Nicole Garcia’s new film, Amants: It opens, fittingly for a movie called Lovers, with a couple in bed, her naked body pasted on top of his. She is Lisa (Stacy Martin), he is Simon (Pierre Niney). A small-time … Read More
Les Olympiades
Another Side of Paris
Les Olympiades is a place few visitors to Paris have ever seen or would probably ever want to see. A “city within a city” in the 13th arrondissement, the 1970s development consists of bland highrise apartment buildings, shops and offices, … Read More
Lost Illusions
The Corruptions of Paris
Adapting the sprawling novels of Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) for the screen is never a simple process, and from all accounts director Xavier Giannoli has been working on the screenplay for Illusions Perdues (Lost Illusions) for a number of years. … Read More
Le Daim
French Davy Crockett Goes Berserk
When a French movie is described as a “comedy” and has a July release date in Paris, it almost invariably means that (1) it’s a generic film about a chaotic summer holiday with families/groups of mature male friends/bands of teens … Read More