FInal Set (2020) Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2021

Aging tennis player decides to give it one more trip around the court by attempting to win an up coming tournament

Good but unremarkable drama is very well done on pretty much every level, except the one that injects excitement into the proceedings. While I admire the effort to try an keep the proceedings realistic and not to really pump up the tennis sequences, the unfortunate result of it is the matches are exceedingly dull with the final match ending up kind of boring. I'm certain that were I a tennis fan this might play better, but for me as a person with only a passing interest in the sport I lost interest relatively early and only hung in there because I wanted to know how it ended.

Not my cup of tea, but tennis fans may like it.

Mandibles (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

Two brain dead buddies are sent on a mission to deliver a suitcase for a friend they find their car vandalized so they steal a new one. Along the way they open the trunk and find a giant fly inside. Deciding not to deliver the suitcase they instead decide to train the fly...but things happen.

Quentin Dupieux's latest film MANDIBLES is almost a normal film. Almost entirely free of surreal touches, the film actually runs closer to a Farrelly Brothers film than his typical insanity such as a sentient tire out to kill people. Admittedly the film is centered around a giant fly found in the trunk of a car, but at the same time the fly falls away from things for long sections of the film and you'll almost forget about it.

I'm not certain what I think of MANDIBLES. In some ways this film is tighter than some of Dupieux's other films but at the same time without the madness of the out there situations he creates the film kind of falls flat. I think the problem for me is that without a loopy though line, even something as simple as gaslighting cops  in KEEP AN EYE OUT,  Dupieux's humor is unremarkable. To be certain I don't like all of his films but I will always try them because he is at least reaching for something. Here is a been there and done that lowbrow comedy that we've kind of seen before. Its not that Dupieux is repeating himself, he is repeating other people which is something he has never done before.

To be fair MANDIBLES is funny. It has laughs, many in very poor taste, and if that's all you want that's great but if you are a fan of Dupieux's madness you might find yourself slightly disappointed

Love Affairs (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

 

A woman on holiday is left to entertain her husband's cousin for several days after he is called away on an emergency. Over the course of the time the to become close as ty tell each other stories of their lives.

Small gem of a film highlights how we end up connecting to each other, through the stories we tell. The stories here are of loves and the result is a rich fabric of human experience. The tales told are an intriguing mix performed by a great cast.

I now this isn't much of a review but this is a story about stories and how they work and what they mean really depends upon how thy push up against each other. For me to start to relate all of the details that influence the film might result  in you getting a false impression or lessen the films impact.

For money money just buy a ticket and take a ride. You will be glad you did.

Available March 9 at noon ET to March 14 at noon ET at Rendez-Vous With French Cinema

Slalom (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

Lyz, a 15 year old young woman who shows great promise in pulled in several different directions by life and her coach who grows unnaturally close to her.

Slalom is the event in the film but it is also the way that Lyz, our heroine, gets through life. She swerves left and right depending on what is being thrown at her. Noee Abita is excellent at the young woman trying to make her way through life as all sorts of demands are being made upon her. It is a tale told in gorgeous widescreen images that will make you wish that you could see this on a big screen.

 

As much as I would love not to say that the film and it's thread of the coach taking advantage of Lyz is not a reflection of the way that some coaches treat their charges, the fact that there are constant waves of news stories breaking, makes it clear that the films depiction of a coach abusing and taking advantage of young woman seems to be on target. Its a sad indictment of the way some athletes are trained. I have to give writer-director Charlène Favier credit for not shying away in depicting what can happen.

As important as the film is in reflecting the seeming state of some sectors of sports, the film over all is not quite as compelling as it could be. Part of the problem is that some of the less meaty parts of the film seem to be by the numbers or to have been filmed with a certain amount of disinterest. Some the training sequences felt as if they were there as an after thought. Additionally the skiing sequences have to be among the least exciting  I've ever seen on screen, with Lyz seeming the slowest champion skier I have ever seen on screen.

While I like SLALOM, I'm not in love with it. Your mileage may vary.

Spring Blossoms (2020) Rendez- Vous With French Cinema 2021

A dance sequence begins

Suzanne Lindon writes, directs and stars in SPRING BLOSSOMS, the story of a smart 16 year old who purses a relationship with an actor roughly twice her age.

Okay, let me deal with the large elephant in the room, namely the age difference between the characters. Before you go nuts, the relationship is portrayed as pretty much platonic, Its not sensationalistic, and there is nothing really wrong with it. That said because we live in a society where we are constantly looking out for predators the film appears to raise some potentially uncomfortable questions. Having looked at the film twice I'm don't think there are darker shades are in this film, and anyone seeing them is bringing them in from the outside. To me the film is simply a coming of age film that raises questions based that, with the most basic being simply can young women and an older man be friends? I'll not speculate your reaction to it since I don't knw where your head space is , but to me there is nothing to react too..

Age difference aside this is a largely okay coming of age tale of a young woman trying to find her place in the world. It isn't particularly deep but it is pleasing in it's own way. This film kind of reflects how a  20 year old  filmmaker would would view the world looking back to when she was 16 (which is the actual situation here). Its well made and and well acted but it isn't weighty. 

In fairness the film shows great promise  in regard to Lindon since she as a filmmaker she manages to do so much right. She shows her promise best in the sequences when the film come to life with "dance" sequences which are used to convey emotion via nonverbal means. They are small gems and they can't help but put smiles on your face.

While far from next big thing, it does something than most alleged big things never do and that is entertain.

Worth a look.

Available March 8 at noon ET to March 13 at noon ET

MARGAUX HARTMANN (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

 

When her husband dies a woman goes to live with a relative while returning to college. There she begins to reshape her life thanks to the people she meets.

We've been here before, there have been many similar films over the years, but it doesn't really matter because the cast (Emmanuelle Béart​,Vincent Dedienne, and Tibo Vandenborre) is so good you get sucked along. Playing things much more seriously they give weight to what is typically played as something for laughs. For the first time watching a story like this I considered what having to start over again really  means.

While the film is perhaps a tad too insistent that it means something, it still manages to score points and win hearts with its measured and well thought out look at the changes that come into our lives.

One of my favorite films at this year's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema

Available March 6 at noon ET to March 11 at noon ET

Should the Wind Drop (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021

SHOULD THE WIND DROP is set in Nagorno Karabakh a tiny land locked country in Central Asia. Its over seen by Armenia but Azerbaijan is not happy about its existence and one report I read said it is actively trying to stop  this film from being released because it will let people know they country exists. The area has been scarred by war, occupation and genocide for the better par for the last century, and it’s only been within the last few decades that the country could has something like a peaceful existence. 

The film is set in the country’s international airport, which has never been used because the placement of it makes the in coming flights a potential target by some other country’s military. As the film opens Alain, a French engineer arrives in order to see if the airport can actually open. Along the way he falls in with the people who work at the airport and live in the area around it, including a young boy who gets clean water from the taps at the airport which he then sells. 

How you react to the film is going to depend on how you react to the glacial pacing. I completely understand that director Nora Martirosyan wants to put us on Nagorno Karabakh time but at the same time the film is very close to being inert. The film opens with an almost ten minute sequence as Alain rides in a cab to the airport. While I understand that it lets you know that the airport is in the middle of nowhere I’m not sure we need a sequence as long as that to set things up.  The rest of the film is part slice of life, part :can the airport open?" drama. While the stories are intriguing unfortunately the pacing keeps them from being fully compelling.

What bothers me is that at the heart of the film is an interesting story here. The film is very close to being a documentary about the airport and the troubled land it sits in. Its a great story that I would love to see told in a straight forward manner. While the film deals with the history and conflicts, it was a location of the Armenian genocide,  and it was ripped apart when the Soviet Union imploded, the film doesn't seem to keep it as front and center as it probably should. While the history shapes what is happening the film is lax in making sure that we are always feeling the weight of the past. Perhaps if there were more mentions of the past this might have felt more meaty and meaningful than the slow moving tale of people in the landscape. 

A miss

Faithful (2020) Rendez-Vous With French Film

This is the story of  Algerian dissident Fernand Iveton and his wife who struggles to keep him out of trouble as he fights the French forces in 1950s Algeria.

Well made and earnest historical drama and romance has  some killer performances  by leads Vicky Krieps and Vincent Lacoste that suck you in. Told in a alternating time shifts between Iveton's arrest back to beginning of the relationship the film really lets us know who these people were.

Unfortunately as good as the film is, there is perhaps a bit too much polish on it all. There is a fine sheen to it all and on some level it neve fully feels real but a historical romance with a tragic outcome. Don't get me wrong I really liked the film but I wanted to love it. Though to be honest I don't know if the lack of love for the film is due to the film itself or that in the last few weeks I've seen three other films of various types on the Algerian War.

My lack of made passion for the film aside, it is definitely worth a look especially if you like historical romances

Available March 6 at noon ET to March 11 at noon ET at Rendez-Vous With French Cinema

Red Soil (2020) Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2021

 

A young man leaves her job as an ER nurse to go and work for the mining company her father works for. The company has an excellent record for safety and waste removal but it soon becomes apparent that what is being portrayed to the public but is a front put up by the company, the politicians and the union since the waste is polluting the dumping sites and making the workers sick.

One of the very best films at this year's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema RED SOIL is a  beautifully done mix of social commentary and thriller. Not only are we on the edge of our seats about what our heroine will do, but we are also made aware of how big business, governments and other interested parties will do the wrong thing if it means they will get a couple of extra bucks.

The cast sells this tale beautifully. Normally you in films like this you don't get a sense of the characters outside of the moments on the screen  but director --- and writer doesn't do that. They give everyone small moments or odd lines that give us a sense of life off the screen. I love how  --- is  introduced by rushing a sic patient to the ER. It seems like a throw away to set things in motion, but the reality it also sets up her sense of right and wrong. She wants to keep people alive and do the right thing .

RED SOIL  moves us even as it forces us to think. 

Recommended

Available March 5 at noon ET to March 10 at noon ET at Rendez-Vous With French Cinema

Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2021's Curtain Raiser

Okay the title of this post is a misnomer, this is going to be less a curtain raiser and more a pointer. Things have happened and in order to get this piece up I have to change things up.

What isn't changed is the fact that Thursday night this years edition of RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA starts. This is the annual look at French cinema hosted by Film at Lincoln Center. Last year the series had to be cut short because of Covid and the theater closing. That really killed me because last year it produced some of the best films of the year, which is par for the course for the series.

This year the series is virtual which means the series can't be stopped.  What I love about this year's fest is the fact that the films are playing  for several days and you can watch them any time with in their proscribed time period. This means you don't have to rush to see all the good films.

And normally at this point I'd list all the great films you absolutely must see. The trouble is that just as I was starting to do this piece I was sent a stack of screeners so I while I've seen a few films I still have a good number of films yet to see. I will say that RED SOIL is really good and I am very curious how you will react to SPRING BLOSSOM which uses dance to express a deepening relationship.

 I have seen LIFELINES however I am not going to review it. It is nothing to do with quality, it is all to do with my not having anything to say other than its good after two passes by it.

That's about it for now. I'm ging back to the viewing room and watch some more films. I suggest that you go to the Rendez-Vous Website and pick out some movies