La Nuit du 12
A Caring Copper
As crazy as it might seem to be going to the movies in the middle of a heatwave in Paris, over two hours spent in an air-conditioned cinema afforded a much-needed respite from temperatures that have been edging above 40 … Read More
Peter von Kant
Rages and Tears
What’s the point of remaking an old film? Not much that I can see in such cases as Gus Van Sant’s word-for-word and shot-for-shot 1998 copy of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. That is not a problem, however, in the stylish new … Read More
Ça Tourne à Saint Pierre & Miquelon
Whose Life Is It?
The film Ça Tourne à Saint Pierre & Miquelon (Fishy Business in Saint-Pierre et Miquelon), directed by Christian Monnier, starts out with some overplayed comic moments that are disquietingly close to the broad comedy of the kind that elicits groans … Read More
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