Tag: french film
The Night of the 12th
Friday, October 14th, 2022 Film Reviews,Never has a whodunnit been less dependent on suspense than Dominik Moll’s The Night of the 12th. At the very beginning we are told the French Criminal Investigation Department opens 800 murder investigations every year. “Some are never resolved,” we read. “This film is about one of these.” Even though we know this is the […]
Full Time & Juniper
Saturday, August 6th, 2022 Film Reviews,If you’ve been to Paris and not experienced a demonstration or strike, you’ve missed one of the quintessentially French cultural experiences. Perhaps it’s a legacy of the Revolution, but Parisians have never been shy about taking their grievances to the streets. It’s tremendously stirring for those doing the marching and chanting, but a pain for […]
Lost Illusions
Friday, July 1st, 2022 Film Reviews,Everything is taxed, everything is sold, everything is manufactured, even success. […]
Maigret
Friday, May 27th, 2022 Film Reviews,Not for the first time I feel as if my reading habits might be working against my ability to enjoy a film-as-film. The great Belgian crime writer, Georges Simenon (1903-89), is a personal addiction. By any standards, Simenon is one of the most remarkable authors of all time. He is said to have written in […]
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann
Friday, April 8th, 2022 Film Reviews,Perhaps the only positive thing that can be said about the Nazi occupation of France, from 1940-44, was that it has inspired a lot of excellent movies. These years brought out the best and the worst of the French, from the heroism of the Resistance to the scandalous number of collaborators and informers that sought […]
De Gaulle
Friday, May 7th, 2021 Film Reviews,Charles De Gaulle was an imposing figure, both physically and morally. Standing at 196 cms, he was a man almost everyone looked up to. As leader-in-exile of the French Resistance, the head of the provisional post-war government, and the nation’s dominant political figure of the 20th century, De Gaulle enjoyed an unshakable power and prestige. […]
Alliance Française French Film Festival 2021
Saturday, March 13th, 2021 Film Reviews,Last year as the world went into lockdown the Alliance Française French Film Festival was nipped in the bud – or, as the French say, dans l’œuf – in the egg. It may have seemed a cruel blow to this ever-popular movie marathon but the egg had already hatched. For the rest of 2020 a […]
Only the Animals
Friday, January 29th, 2021 Film Reviews,Only the Animals sounds like half of a proposition that needs to be completed. After watching Domink Moll’s ingenious mystery I’d venture: “Only the animals understand that life is a matter of instinct and impulse.” Or perhaps: “Only the animals know how strange humans really are…” There are six main characters in a tale that […]
Jean-Pierre Melville
Thursday, October 15th, 2020 Film Reviews,With Hollywood saving its blockbusters for better days the cinemas are turning to classic and foreign films to fill the void. This is not a stopgap, but a great opportunity. If only a small percentage of regular cinema-goers take the chance to broaden their horizons it would be marvellous thing for film culture in this […]
La Belle Époque
Friday, August 21st, 2020 Film Reviews,When the Alliance Française French Film Festival was suspended earlier this year because of the pandemic it seemed as if Sydney would miss one of its favourite events. It turns out there was no need for concern, as the AFFF came roaring back for a return season towards the end of July, and has seen […]