French Film Festival

I attended the French Film Festival only on Thursday the 21st because I knew I wouldn't be able to make it to any other films, although I wanted to.  I was anticipating seeing Un soir au club, Renoir, Main dans la main, and perhaps some of the short films.  However, I only got to see Un soir au club and Renoir, but they were fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

For some reason I was expecting the theatre to be completely packed for every film, but I guess I hadn't realized how large the Byrd theatre actually is.  I hadn't been to it before, and I was absolutely blown away by its beauty when I walked in.  Also, since it was the first night and not a weekend, that might have accounted for some of the attendance.  For Un soir au club, director Jean Achache and producer Charles Paviot were present for a discussion after the movie.  For me, Un soir au club was one of those movies that I hated because I hated the characters and I hated what happened, but really I enjoyed it.  I thought the acting was great, which meant the actors were portraying their characters well--whom I hated.  I guess it's a good movie if I'm so wrapped up or emotionally invested in the storyline.  After the movie was over, the director and producer got on the stage to answer questions from the audience.  Personally, I didn't have any questions, but some people asked questions about particular events in the story, or if the music in the movie was done live (some of it was).  It was a bittersweet film because it didn't resolve whatsoever, but it was still very well done (and the director and producer had great English).

After Un soir au club I stayed to see Renoir.  I had watched the un-subtitled trailer for Renoir and even though I had no idea what was going on, I still loved the trailer, so I was very excited to see it.  Renoir didn't get fantastic reviews everywhere (IMDb has it rated 6.5 out of 10) but after seeing it I can say it's probably one of my favorite movies I've ever seen.  By the end of the movie I was sitting on the edge of my seat.  I even cried during one part of it.  I found myself just so invested in what was happening in the film.  The soundtrack was incredible--and available nowhere online, which is quite frustrating--as was the cinematography, and the acting by all of the cast.  For me, this was definitely a movie where I couldn't just stop watching at any point...I couldn't not care about what was happening to the characters.  I only wish I could find the movie and the soundtrack to own for myself.  

From the little bit of the French Film Festival that I experienced, I loved it.  It was an atmosphere where everyone had a common interest in a particular medium of quality art.

(Also, sorry this blog post is so late.  Between trying to edit my photos, then my computer deleting my photos, and blogger locking me out of my account, it took me a while to finally get this posted)

Here are some photos I managed to recover.

 Byrd Theatre

Byrd Theatre 

Byrd Theatre 

 Jean Achache (left), Charles Paviot (middle)

  Jean Achache (left), Charles Paviot (middle)

 Jean Achache (left), Charles Paviot (middle) 

 Jean Achache (left), Charles Paviot (middle) 

 Jean Achache (left), Charles Paviot (middle)

A Weekend at the French Film Festival

I attended the French Film Festival Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, giving myself the chance to see multiple French films which I greatly enjoyed.  On Friday, a friend from class and I attended the showing of Assistance Mortelle at 7:00.  This documentary concerning the rebuilding efforts from various nations in response to the Haiti Earthquake.  It was very interesting, however not something I would view again.  It explained the pros and cons of many of the relief efforts before questioning if many of them actually helped the country in the long run.  It did however, provide a good look at the Hatians struggle in the aftermath of the quake.

On Saturday, I spent my entire day at the festival, from 11am to 8pm, viewing such films as Sport de Filles, Nos Plus Belles Vacances, as well as Mes Heroes.  I enjoyed Filles, which concerned an aspiring horse rider whose determination could set off her career.  It was slightly inspiring, but also very humorous.  The actor who portrayed German horse trainer Franz Mann turned in an especially exceptional performance, using his pessimistic nature to create a very enjoyable and ironic dry sense of humor throughout the film.  Nos Plus Belles Vacances was most definitely my favorite film screened at the festival.  It involves a group of families vacationing on a secluded island.  Over the course of this vacation drama occurs, summer love buds for the old and the young, friends are made, and the families become much closer.  The humor in this film is very enjoyable and light hearted, but serious turns are taken, keeping the film realistic on a personal level.  The acting was very good in this film as was the script.  The characters seem very realistic and relatable, much more so than American cinema.  Mes Heroes was also a light-hearted comedy with some serious undertones.  The plot concerns a woman, her husband, and their grown child who shelter and care for a young child whose mother is a fugitive.  They begin to become close to him and all spend time with him.  The film is laced with silly humor, especially from Josiane Balasko who captured the essence of the mother greatly with her performance.

On Sunday I only viewed Le Prenom, which was also one of my favorite films in the festival.  I did miss some of this film and plan to view it in its entirely online.  I managed to catch the ending however, and it kept me laughing.  Overall, the French Film Festval was a great experience for me, particularly because I love film and plan on majoring in French.

Bienvenue parmi nous

Perhaps waiting until the very last movie wasn't the best idea on the part of my group. Perhaps I should not have chosen to go with a group of friends as lazy as I am. Perhaps it worked out the best either way. As the snow started coming down on Sunday, we didn't actually think that it would start to stick, it had been 50 degrees the day prior. But, as the clock kept approaching seven, the snow kept accumulating and the two mile walk seemed less and less enjoyable. Surprisingly, the walk wasn't bad. I'm actually kind of glad it snowed, the little side streets of the fan seem completely different and showed another side to Richmond. This town is certainly interesting.

It's safe to say the movie was well worth the trek, though. I had read the summary before leaving, thinking it to be a typical movie of middle age angst. "Bienvenue parmi nous" (Or "Welcome Aboard") definitely blew away any expectation I had about it. The story starts with 60 year old painter Taillandier living his bland daily routine, and then leaving because he "couldn't take it." (It being his repetitive, seemingly mundane life in slump shown in the beginning.) From his darkest moment of being a twitch away from a suicide he couldn't bear himself to commit, he finds a teenager named Marylou who has her own share of problems to be faced. The movie focuses mainly on Taillandier though, showing Marylou through his interactions with her. At first, their partnership is shakey and confusing (the artists make light of the sight of a sixty year old man and a teenager going for hotel rooms), and growing into a father-daughter relationship. After settling on a beachside property, Taillandier finds an inspiration to draw again, rekindled with the help of his new acquaintance. At the same time, the writers do a great job of showing his health and mood gradually improve as he stays at the house. He even has enough energy to defend Marylou from a group of local guys with malicious intentions. The movie starts to conclude soon afterwards with news that Marylou's mother was severely injured by her abusive boyfriend, causing both Marylou and Taillandier to return from their retreats in better state than they left. While recovering, Marylou was able to stay with Taillandier and his wife in temporary custody, making him seem even more like a father figure. The movie ends with tears as they part, but generally there are good feelings involved.

The plot is not something I can do justice by this simple summary, however. The writers of this movie do an incredible job of character development as well as plot development, making the audience feel connected not only to the characters but as well as the story that they're living. It is quite possibly one of the best movies I have seen, and I would recommend it to anyone with the ability to sympathize or empathize. A view of this movie which I though especially interesting being a musician, is that the story is a sort of metaphor for the development of an artist as explained by Taillandier. He says that the aspiring artists first "mimics, steals, and takes" ideas that they find interesting until they find something that captivates them, a muse of sorts. The creative bursts that follows will help define them as artists, until they find another muse. In this story you have Taillandier, an artist in a 10 year strong slump of repeating the same paintings, who finds inspiration in his new companion. That is just my view however. I deeply encourage whoever is reading this to watch that movie and find out for themselves.

Therese Desqueyroux

Therese Desqueyroux was quite interesting for someone who wasn't familiar with such a type of show. Going into this, i was skeptical of whether or not i wanted to sit and watch this foreign, french movie. However, to my surprise, it turned out to be an entertaining display and i'm glad i could take part in it. Unfortunately for me, it wasn't until i got there that i realized i didn't have my phone with me and thus could not find a way to take pictures of anything. It also didn't help that I had nothing to do while waiting for the show to start due to the lateness of the show since it was the last day and they had been running late. Anyways, Therese Desqueyroux was a drama by Claude Miller that took place in France, in the 1920's. Therese marries a man named Bernard and is fascinated by his opinions and forceful personality. However, over time she becomes bored of his mediocrity and wishes for more such as Paris and tries to find ways to escape. Eventually, Bernard is almost poisoned accidentally which almost turns into an attempt at poisoning. Therese is then disgraced by her family and husband. The show was very well acted and displayed a great drama that completely blew me away. I was not expecting this as it is not something i do normally; however I enjoyed this show and being able to finally watch a show at the byrd theater. I will definitely be going back soon.

And... Therese Desqueyroux

Last day of the festival was definitely not the best day in terms of weather and the movie actually started very late! even though, it was for a good reason. In fact, I liked the short movie from Melies we got to watch with the music being played in front of us and story narrarated I found it interesting.
I chose Therese Desqueyroux because I loved Audrey Tautou in "Coco avant chanel" which was also a drama but also because I wanted to watch two different  genres. This movie was all that I expected, sad, a lot of understatements, complex characters, crudity everything that a good drama is expected to have . It was very well acted. The story was a sad but relatively true one because it is known that during that period of time arranged marriages were the preferred form of marriage in many societies and France was not an exception.It depicts strong, I would say, aristocratic family values and norms in so many ways. For example, the fact that the family’s honor and name should not compromised at all cost. I also liked how my hypotheses of the rest of the movie at some point were not true because I do not like knowing ahead of time what’s coming in a movie. The movie involved a bit of ‘ reading between the lines’ and “walking in the character shoes” especially when trying to understand her motive for wanting her husband dead. The last scene was a total ‘deja vue’ but it was my favorite scene because she was finally free to be her complicated, free spirited, mysterious self.  Overall, great great drama.

A Slice of France

This weekend was jam packed with homework, projects, and studying, but one of the few assignments I was actually looking forward to going to the French Film Festival.  I have heard friends and teachers rave about how lovely it is and how Cary Town truly changes into a little slice of France.  I am currently taking French and love different cultures, so I was already looking forward to seeing the foreign movies.  Unfortunately, I only had time on Sunday to go, and since none of my friends that live nearby were going I decided to bike to Cary Town.  One truly does not notice how badly paved the sidewalks are until you are forced to bike for such an extended period of time!  Regardless, I arrived half an hour before the film began.  I am currently taking French, and it was such a treat when I was able to automatically translate certain words or recognize common sayings.  There was a very large group of French students in one section and it was quite interesting overhearing them talk to one another or comment on the movie. 

The first film I watched is called Prénom, (literally translated means “first name” but the translation showed it as “what is in a name”), and I felt that it was a very accurate representation of a very well made French film.  It is a comedy about 5 family members and a close friend having dinner one night and what begins as a joke becomes a small family feud that leads to secrets being revealed and shocking surprises.  The entire movie takes place in the apartment where they have dinner but there is never a dull moment in the movie.  I did not expect to laugh so much or enjoy it as I did. I am usually picky about the movies I watch and rarely go out to see films, but I am say that I was very pleased with buying a ticket for this movie.

The second movie I saw is called Thérèse Desqueyroux.  I recently saw Audrey Tautou in Hors de Prix in my French class last week, so I was looking forward to this movie. Although it was not a bad movie, it was a much slower, patient, artistically sad, and elegantly beautiful film about life in the 1920’s through the perspective of a married woman in a wealthy family whose life is to be devoted to her husband and the family.  Although it was neat having a glimpse into the life of women back in those times, seeing how it was not all pretty dresses and big houses but many hardships, it went on for quite some time.  Regardless, it was still a good film and Audrey Tautou’s performance was noteworthy. 

I was quite happy to have been a part of the French Film Festival this year.  It snowed most of Sunday, making Cary Town a much quieter place than usual with far fewer people there.  I very much enjoyed going, even if I had to bike over two and a half miles back to my apartment in the snowy weather and three inches of slush!

My thoughts on Mes Heros

     

I got at the Bird theater almost an hour before the movie but the line was already long! But thankfully I got in and after at least half an hour of settling down and a presentation of the French delegation,  Film maker Eric Besnard and actress Josiane Balasko presented us 'Mes Heros'.

 I have to say that the movie was just awesome!! The story itself touched on sensitive subjects like immigration, corruption, infidelity, unconformity... but also on daily phenomenas such as family issues, forgiveness, pursuit of happiness and love. It was a mix of all that displayed in the most funny way possible. I was really impressed by the way he tried AND succeeded -in my opinion-at talking about all the sensitive topics without being offensive but again the comic genre of the movie played a big role in that. As of the 'Mise en scene', smooth is the right way to describe it. Mr. Besnard gave an example during the question series that reinforced my opinion which was about how at the beginning scenes " the young boy would not separate from his ski-mask at all and then when he finally saw his mother he was able to remove it completely because it was only a symbol of her presence". The actors were great, especially Josiane Balasko and Ibrahim the little boy. As a matter of fact I wonder how he learned the script because he was illiterate at the time. I didn't get a chance to ask although.

I expected to see "abstract" humor and to be easily bored when I went but I was nicely surprised. I also loved the theater, very beautiful.

I really wanted to add a link of a voice memo I have from the principal actress on her role but I can't... so she talks about the fact that "the character exist in real life and that she tries to resemble the lady in real life; she felt honored to play such a role".