Category Archives: French Cinema

Aurore Broutin in Dumont’s “Hors Satan” [2011 France]

Bruno Dumont’s reflections on the esoteric continues with another beautifully crafted film, “Hors Satan” [DVD Eng. Title: Out Satan]. Storyline: A village loner, almost a vagabond, lives and sleeps in the marshes. The ranger wants him out of the land, … Continue reading

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Isabelle Huppert & co in Godard’s “Sauve qui Peut (la vie)” [1980 France]

After spending the best part of the 1970’s ‘in research’ as he puts it, Jean-Luc Godard returns to cinema emphatically with “Sauve qui Peut (la vie)” [Eng. Title: Slow Motion], an extraordinary dish nevertheless served with recognisable ingredients used in … Continue reading

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Reymonde Amsalem in “Lebanon” [2009 Israel, France, Germany]

Israeli director Samuel Moz used his personal experiences as soldier during the First Lebanon War to make the drama “Lebanon”, a Franco-German-Israeli co-production. For a feature-film debut, this wasn’t a bad effort at all, quite commendable as a matter of … Continue reading

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Emmanuelle Béart in “Les Égarés” [2003 France]

For all its originality and haunting imagery, the wartime drama “Les Égarés” [Eng. Title: Strayed] from André Téchiné remains one of his most underrated films. Much like a summer storm – it is idyllic one moment and nasty another, we … Continue reading

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Déborah François and others in “My Queen Karo” [2009 Belgium, Netherlands]

I believe coming-of-age must be a favourite subject for Dutch-Belgian director Dorothée Van Den Berghe – this is the second film of hers that I’ve seen delving into it. “My Queen Karo” is a delicate study of a young girl … Continue reading

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