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Many movies have dealt with the period of the French Revolution, since it was a pivotal era in history, full of compelling stories that can be told at any time. Those films usually focus on the harsh life of poverty and hunger endured by the French people under the rule of King Louis XVI, or on the lives of Enlightenment thinkers and revolutionary leaders. But the French film “Ridicule” (1996) is considered one of the most important movies that tried to make us understand why the Revolution happened in the first place, and why things took such a different turn—not by showing us the people’s suffering, but by focusing heavily on the noble society itself, especially on the idea of ridicule and the pranks they played on each other, which occupy the central space in their lives.

Director Patrice Leconte’s focus on that precise point reflects how trivial that class was,...

French industry to descend on La Rochelle to premiere high-end drama series to the world.

Disney+’s French original Irrésistible, Canal+ legal drama Conviction, TF1’s Behind Closed Doors from Coda producers’ Jerico TV and Swedish thriller Evil are among the French and European titles that will premiere at France’s Festival de la Fiction, taking place in La Rochelle from September 12-17.

The event, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023, has long been a popular ‘back-to-school’ festival for the French industry, with a strong focus on French series, Its international appeal is growing and it has become a significant launchpad for European content.

“Flo,” a biopic of popular French sailor Florence Arthaud slated to world premiere at Cannes’ Cinema de la Plage, has been boarded by Other Angle. The French sales company will introduce the film to buyers at Cannes.

Set to unspool on May 19, “Flo” charts Arthaud’s unique achievement in the male-dominated world of sailing, notably her victory of the Route du Rhum, a transatlantic sailing race, in 1990. The movie also portrays Arthaud as a fiercely independent woman who chose to live her dreams to the fullest rather than follow her pre-determined path.

The film is directed by Geraldine Danon and is produced by Manuel Munz, in association with Metropolitan which will release the film in French theaters on Nov. 25.

“Flo” stars Stephane Caillard, Alison Wheeler, Pierre Deladonchamps, Charles Berling, Alexis Michalik and Marlyne Canto.

”It’s a real pleasure to work with Metropolitan again after our collaboration on ‘The Best Years of a Life...

A glum arthouse market may be entering a gateway weekend into happier days after months of distributors — with rare exceptions — pulling out their hair at dismal per-screens averages. That’s because festival buzz is mounting for film after film – from Card Counter, Dune and Spencer, to King Richard and Cyrano.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Dear Evan Hansen open in theaters on Sept, 17 and Sept. 24 after Toronto premieres. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch from Cannes rolls out Oct. 22. Warner Bros’ Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark has an Oct. 1 release date. Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast has a Nov. 12 theatrical date after a world premiere in Toronto (and a glimpse at Telluride.)

It’s like the Marvel Cinematic Universe of arthouses, films set to give a bump to a specialty...

An acting showcase bursting out of a vaguely intriguing critique of technology and sexism, the erotic and suspenseful “Who You Think I Am” is proof that the great French actress Juliette Binoche should never be ignored. Which is also a way of hinting that “Fatal Attraction” is one of the cultural reference points in this story of a lovelorn middle-aged single mom adopting a fake online persona to burrow her way into the romantic consciousness of an unsuspecting younger man.

Binoche may not be the first name you’d think of for a catfishing scenario, unless it were the other way around, and the deceiver was, say, some unhygienic shut-in surrounded by pizza boxes. But in Safy Nebbou’s elegantly compelling adaptation of Camille Lauren’s novel, which he co-wrote with frequent Arnaud Desplechin collaborator Julie Peyr, it’s the radiant Binoche pulling the strings, and she sells this high-wire...

Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez) Cohen Media Group Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Safy Nebbou Writer: Camille Laurens, Safy Nebbou, from the novel by Camille Laurens Cast: Juliette Binoche, Nicole Garcia, François Civil, Marie-Ange Casta, Guillaume Gouix, Charles Berling, Jules Houplain Screened at: […]

The post Who You Think I Am Movie appeared first on Shockya.com.

Confused? You probably will be. Though not entirely in a bad way. White As Snow is – you guessed it – a modern-day retelling of Snow White.

Wicked stepmother Maud (Isabelle Huppert) is less than impressed when jaded middle-aged lover, Bernard (Charles Berling), takes a shine to his stepdaughter Claire (Lou de Laâge). What to do? Keep her on as wickedly exploited cheap labour? Or arrange to have her driven into the mountains for a little filial assassination? Cue misty mountain roads and wild woods, of the sort that Claire secretly fantasises about as she goes to sleep each night.

But the plan goes wrong – a small matter of a car accident – and Claire ends up in a small but otherwise perfect village location, sharing a house with twins Pierre and Francois (both played by Damien Bonnard) and cellist Vincent (Vincent Macaigne). Also, Vincent’s shaggy dog, Chernobyl!

These are the first.

"Two gorgeous apparitions in just a couple of days!" Cohen Media Group has released an official US trailer for a French comedy titled White as Snow, also known as Blanche Comme Neige in French. This already opened in France back in 2019, and is only now getting an official US opening in the summer. It's a sultry French spin on Snow White. Claire, a beautiful young woman works at her late father's hotel that is now managed by her evil stepmother Maud. Claire unwittingly sparks uncontrollable jealousy in Maud, whose young lover has fallen in love with Claire. Maud decides to get rid of Claire who finds shelter in a farm in a small village in the French mountains, where she's allowed to break free from her strict upbringing through encounters with seven "princes." Starring Lou de Laâge as Claire, and Isabelle Huppert as Maud, with Charles Berling, Damine Bonnard, Jonathan Cohen,...

"We float in the virtual." Cohen Media has released an official US trailer for a French romantic drama titled Who You Think I Am, made by filmmaker Safy Nebbou. This premiered back in 2019 at the Berlin Film Festival and played at a number of film festivals that year and it also opened in Europe that year. Now it's finally getting a US release after all this time. Adapted from a novel, Juliette Binoche stars as a 50-year-old divorced teacher who creates a fake online persona of a beautiful 24-year-old woman. But, of course, she becomes trapped by her deceit when she falls for a man who has become smitten with her profile. The cast includes Nicole Garcia, François Civil, Marie-Ange Casta, Guillaume Gouix, Charles Berling, and Jules Houplain. An intriguing idea for a love story, and certainly very French, questioning whether age really matters when it comes to romance. I...

Munich-based Beta Film, one of Europe’s biggest independent TV companies, has acquired worldwide distribution rights outside France to “The Island of Thirty Coffins,” a French series adaptation of a novel by “Lupin” author Maurice Leblanc.

An atmospheric crime thriller from Leblanc – whose Arsène Lupin character, created in 1905, inspired Netflix biggest foreign-language global hit “Lupin” – “The Island of Thirty Coffins” stars Virginie Ledoyen.

Directed by Frédéric Mermoud (“Les Revenants”) and written by Elsa Marpeau (“Capitaine Marleau”) and Florent Meyer (“Lupin”), its acquisition forms part of a planned far larger drive into French drama series by Beta Films.

“We shall try to acquire more and more French series in the upcoming months and years,” said Jérôme Vincendon, Beta Film exec VP international sales and acquisitions, French-speaking Europe. “We think it’s the right moment,” he added.

Once dominated in prime time by U.S. procedurals, France has seen its domestic TV...

Like so many Olivier Assayas films, Demonlover belongs to the ghosts. In this particular case they are enigmatic, ladder-climbing players in a high-stakes game of corporate espionage. Devoid of backstories or any motivation beyond power, influence, and desire, they are walking ellipses created for the sole purpose of inspiring visceral appeal and narrative misdirection.

Demonlover blends elements of the thriller, heist film, and porn with revolutionary verve, revealing the incredibly close proximity of high art and lowbrow kinks. But what makes this hallucinatory and nightmarish vision of early-online subterfuge so singular is how it fixates on analog textures within a crumbling post-modern world slowly being consumed by all things digital. Every grainy frame exudes the dying gasp of celluloid.

Nearly twenty years after its premiere at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Demonlover returns in a newly restored, unrated director’s cut that only magnifies its themes of disappearance and submersion. Cold...

"No one sees anything. Ever. They watch, but they don't understand." Janus Films has debuted a re-release trailer for the 2K restoration of acclaimed French filmmaker Olivier Assayas' early 00s film Demonlover, which first premiered at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. The film is about a French corporation that goes head-to-head with an American web media company for the rights to a 3D manga pornography studio in Japan, resulting in a power struggle that culminates in violence and espionage. Starring Gina Gershon, Chloë Sevigny, Connie Nielson, & Charles Berling. It's described as "hallucinatory, globe-spanning... neo-noir thriller and media critique in which nothing — not even the film itself — is what it appears to be." Reviews call the erotic film "a beautiful and disturbing contemporary filmic object." The new re-release is a 2K restoration of the unrated director's cut supervised by Olivier Assayas himself. Quite spicy - have a look. Here's the new restoration...

Oliver Assayas‘ 2002 thriller, “Demonlover” is dense, hypnotic, and out there, and out there. Starring Connie Nielson, Gina Gershon, Chloë Sevigny, and Charles Berling, the byzantine plot centers on a French corporation that goes head-to-head with an American web media company for the rights to a 3D manga pornography studio, resulting in a power struggle that culminates in bloody violence and espionage. But the film, while a thriller, is not a typical espionage film, much more surreal, and nightmarish.

Continue reading ‘Demonlover’ Restoration Trailer: Oliver Assayas’ Paranoid Post-Modern Thriller Returns In A Unrated Director’s Cut In February at The Playlist.

The equally eclectic and fantastic cinema of Olivier Assayas makes picking favorites a fool’s errand, but among many (yours truly included) there is a special place for his 2002 techno-spy-hentai thriller Demonlover, an apotheosis of his dual interests in genre cinema and globalization. Though I might’ve lost you at the hentai: it’s also hugely funny for centering its murderous espionage plot on anime porn, which Gina Gershon insists will allow them to “control 75% of the world market.”

Janus’ new restoration of his director’s cut will debut on February 12, ahead of which is a trailer that does well to encapsulate the mad frenzy of Assayas’ project. First, here’s the official synopis:

“No one sees anything. Ever. They watch, but they don’t understand.” So observes Connie Nielsen in Olivier Assayas’s hallucinatory, globe-spanning Demonlover, a postmodern neonoir thriller and media critique in which nothing—not even the...

MK2 has boarded Alex Helfrecht’s “A Winter’s Journey,” a feature blending live-action, CGI and hand-painted backgrounds made by the creative teams behind “Despicable Me” and “Loving Vincent.”

Adapted from Franz Schubert’s “Winterreise,” the film stars Gaspard Ulliel, John Malkovich, Martina Gedeck, Charles Berling and newcomer Gabriella Moran.

Set in 1812 Bavaria, the film tells the story of a lovelorn young poet who, banished from society, is forced to wander across mountains, ice and snow on a dangerous journey that will either lead him to death or to a new life.

“A Winter’s Journey’ is a passionate love story with epic visuals. It’s an animated film… putting performance at its core and speaking the international language of music and art,” said Helfrecht.

MK2 Films has acquired international sales rights and will begin pre-sales at the Efm. “Helfrecht’s unique vision for this adaptation of Franz Schubert’s...

Juliette Binoche: 'Claire is a fascinating character - a woman of a certain age who tries to recapture her youth' Photo: Unifrance

When director Safy Nebbou started reading the novel Who You Think I Am (Celle que vous croyez), by Camille Laurens, and thought about adapting it for the screen there was the name of only one actress whirling around in his head for the central role: Juliette Binoche.

Safy Nebbou on maintaining his edge: 'I would not like to be in a comfort zone because that is not a creative place to be' Photo: Unifrance It is easy now to see why. Her performance provides a remarkable showcase for her range as Claire, a university lecturer and mother of two teenage boys who is approaching middle-age with a lot of baggage, including betrayal by an ex-husband (Charles Berling). She has taken a new and younger lover Ludo (Guillaume Gouix...

Anne Fontaine’s present-day female-sexual-empowerment fable “White as Snow” is not a Snow White story per se, although it’s fun to think of Isabelle Huppert’s character — an aging health-spa diva who becomes diabolically envious of her stepdaughter — as the wicked queen. This, one might argue, was a campy role the icy French star was born to play, and Huppert sinks her teeth into it, much as her scheming villainess hopes the pale-skinned Claire (Lou de Laâge) might a poisoned apple. But the differences between Fontaine’s stunt and the actual Brothers Grimm fairy tale distractingly outweigh the film’s semi-forced similarities, ultimately leaving audiences to wonder how this coy provocation wound up getting confused with Snow White in the first place.

The answer: Fontaine began with a situation more than a story, wherein a “pure” young woman (so perceived by multiple characters) discovers the nubile effect her beauty has over men.

The film will compete in Tribeca’s International Narrative Competition section.

Cohen Media Group has acquired Us rights to Anne Fontaine’s racy new comedy-drama White As Snow, ahead of its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival (April 24-May 5) next month.

The film will compete in Tribeca’s International Narrative Competition section alongside films including Sharon Maymon and Flawless’s Flawless, Bora Kim’s House Of Hummingbird and Scott Graham’s Run.

A contemporary re-telling of the Snow White fairytale with a comedic and erotic edge, the feature co-stars Isabelle Huppert as evil stepmother Maud opposite Lou de Laâge as...

Isabelle Huppert stars opposite Lou de Laâge and Benoît Poelvoorde in Anne Fontaine's White As Snow (Blanche Comme Neige aka Blanche-Neige) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The feature film line-up for the 18th edition of the Tribeca Film Festival has been announced.

Films of note include the documentaries The Projectionist by Abel Ferrara, Jeanie Finlay's Seahorse, executive produced by Virunga director Orlando Von Einsiedel, and Frédéric Tcheng's Halston; the directorial débuts from Dolly Wells with Good Posture, starring Emily Mortimer, and Christoph Waltz's Georgetown with Annette Bening, Vanessa Redgrave, and Waltz; Roads with Fionn Whitehead, Stéphane Bak, and Moritz Bleibtreu, directed by Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann producer, Sebastian Schipper; the Oren Moverman and Trudie Styler produced Skin, directed by Guy Nattiv, Michela Occhipinti's Flesh Out, produced by Marta Donzelli, and Anne Fontaine's White As Snow with Lou de Laâge, Isabelle Huppert, Damien Bonnard, Vincent Macaigne, Charles Berling,...

Cohen Media Group has acquired U.S. rights to Safy Nebbou’s “Who You Think I Am,” the critically acclaimed film starring Juliette Binoche which world premiered in the Berlin Film Festival’s Special Gala section.

“Who You Think I Am” turned out to be a hot title among international distributors at the Efm and was sold throughout the world by the Paris-based company Playtime rolling off its world premiere.

Blending romantic comedy, heated melodrama and psychothriller, “Who You Think I Am” features Binoche on nearly every shot as she plays a woman struggling with identity, sexuality and the perils of online flirtation. The film earned upbeat reviews including in Variety which described it as “a surprise package that plays its trump cards with shrugging insouciance, yielding giggles and gasps in equal measure, sometimes at once.”

“Who You Think I Am,” adapted from a 2016 novel by Camille Laurens, follows Binoche as Claire Millaud,...

Recently impressing with her spiritually poignant drama The Innocents, director Anne Fontaine is back, this time having a bit more fun. Pure as Snow is an erotic comedy that provides a humorous take on the famous Brothers Grimm’s Snow White tale. Most notably starring Huppert as playing Maud, the evil stepmother, the first trailer has now arrived out of France, where it will hit theaters this spring.

The update on the story is set in a hotel. As Maud’s jealousy builds of Claire’s budding romance, she banishes Claire, who then happens upon seven princes. Also starring Lou de Laâge (who led Fontaine’s The Innocents), Benoît Poelvoorde, Vincent Macaigne, Charles Berling, Jonathan Cohen, Damien Bonnard, and Pablo Pauly, see the trailer below and we’ll update if English subtitles become available.

Pure As Snow opens on April 10 in France and is awaiting U.S. distribution.

For a film that hinges entirely on the deceptive nature of appearances, it’s appropriate that “Who You Think I Am” wears a few genre disguises itself en route to a double-edged conclusion. Leading Juliette Binoche’s unhappily divorced academic through the tricks and turns of online catfishing, the film’s premise seems poised at any minute to break into either a mature romantic comedy in the Nancy Meyers vein or a “Fatal Attraction”-style psychothriller. Rare is the film that would feel equally comfortable following either of those paths; rarer still is one that, somehow, winds up threading both needles, as writer-director Safy Nebbou tucks bittersweet human observations between unabashedly outlandish twists. With Binoche once more on beguiling form, in a role that feels like an unhinged sister to her romantically restless artist in “Let the Sunshine In,” this slinky entertainment can expect numerous distributors’ friend requests.

Premiering in...

Safy Nebbou’s “Who You Think I Am,” the romantic drama with Juliette Binoche that’s world premiering in the Berlin Film Festival’s Special Gala section, has been sold nearly worldwide by Playtime.

Binoche stars as 50-year-old Claire Millaud, who creates a fake profile as a younger woman, Clara, on social media to spy on her lover, Ludo. But as her younger avatar, Claire ends up falling in love with one of Ludo’s friends, Alex.

Playtime has sold “Who You Think I Am” to Canada (Axia), Spain (Wanda), Italy (I Wonder), Germany (Alamode), Australia (Palace), Switzerland (Agora), Benelux (Cineart), Greece (Rosebud), Austria (Thimfilm), Israel (Red Cape), South America (California Filmes), China (Huashi TV), Sweden (TriArt), Hungary (HungariCom), Baltics (BestFilm), Middle East (Italia Film), Portugal (Midas), Finland (Cinema Mondo), Taiwan (Sky Digi Entertainment) and Denmark (Camera Film).

Playtime’s Nicolas Brigaud-Robert said Binoche was a big draw for distributors...

Pyramide International handling sales on film produced by France’s Les Film Pelléas and Versus Productions.

Renowned Russian dancer and actor Sergei Polunin and French actress Laetitia Dosch have joined the cast of Danielle Arbid’s upcoming feature Passion Simple, which began shooting in and around Paris last week.

The film is being shot in 16mm and the shoot will also travel to Moscow and Florence in February.

Dosch co-stars as a French academic who embarks on a passionate affair with a dashing, married Russian diplomat, played by Polunin, knowing that the relationship will not last. The storyline revolves around...

Playtime, the Paris-based co-production and sales company which will be presenting Francois Ozon’s anticipated “By the Grace of God” in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, has acquired three offbeat French comedies: Geraldine Nakache’s “I’ll Go Where You Go,” “The Bare Necessity” with Fanny Ardant, and Valerie Donzelli’s “Our Lady of Paris.”

“Our Lady of Paris” marks Donzelli’s fifth feature film, following “Marguerite & Julien,” which competed at the Cannes Film Festival; “Hand in Hand”; “Declaration of War,” which played at Cannes’ Critics’ Week and earned six Cesar nominations; and “Queen of Hearts.”

Donzelli stars in the film as Maud Crayon, a failing architect and single mom of two who unexpectedly wins the contest to spearhead the renovation of the esplanade of Notre-Dame de Paris, and who has to deal with a pair of exes – both of whom she still has feelings for.

Written by...

In the enjoyably old-school caper flick A Clever Crook (Un beau voyou), a retiring detective and crafty burglar play cat and mouse through the streets, inside the apartments and across the rooftops of Paris. Though it hardly breaks new ground, this cunning debut from writer-director Lucas Bernard is a pleasant throwback to the whodunits of the 1960s and '70s, as well as a very Gallic homage to the art of the steal.

Charles Berling (Ridicule, L’Ennui) plays Commissaire Beffrois, an affable, extremely laid-back cop who prances around town in Hawaiian shirts and approaches his métier with the distanced curiosity ...

In the enjoyably old-school caper flick A Clever Crook (Un beau voyou), a retiring detective and crafty burglar play cat and mouse through the streets, inside the apartments and across the rooftops of Paris. Though it hardly breaks new ground, this cunning debut from writer-director Lucas Bernard is a pleasant throwback to the whodunits of the 1960s and '70s, as well as a very Gallic homage to the art of the steal.

Charles Berling (Ridicule, L’Ennui) plays Commissaire Beffrois, an affable, extremely laid-back cop who prances around town in Hawaiian shirts and approaches his métier with the distanced curiosity ...

Pure As Snow

Anne Fontaine re-teams with Isabelle Huppert for the third time in Pure As Snow, a modern, erotic comedy re-telling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White. Previously, the director/star worked on the 2011 comedy My Worst Nightmare and the 2017 Lgbtq drama Marvin, which saw Huppert playing an approximation of herself. Fontaine, who has kept a dizzying film schedule over the past decade, finds her project produced by Eric and Nicolas Altmayer’s Mandarin Cinema and Philippe Carcassonne’s Cine @. Alongside Huppert is Lou De Laage (of 2015’s The Wait) and also re-teams Huppert with her Nightmare co-star Benoît Poelvoorde, her Marvin co-star Vincent Macaigne, Jonathan Cohen, Damien Bonnard, Pablo Pauly, and Charles Berling.…...

Celle que vous croyez

For his sixth film, Celle que vous croyez, France’s Safy Nebbou assembles an all-star cast led by Juliette Binoche, Nicole Garcia, Charles Berling, Guillaume Gouix, Francois Civil, Marie-Ange Casta, Claude Perron and Jules Houplain. Produced by Michel Saint-Jean of Diaphana Films, the project is being co-produced through Scope Pictures and France 3 Cinema. Cinematographer Gilles Portes lensed the production. Nebbou is best known for his 2008 title Mark of Angel, a melodrama based on a true story starring Catherine Frot and Sandrine Bonnaire.…...

With 2018 quickly winding down, it’s time to visit a new batch of international directors and auteurs who have been missing in action for five years or more. From our 2017 batch, there have been a few recent updates on completed and projected projects. The most notable resurgence was from Lebanese director Nadine Labaki, who broke a seven-year absence in 2018 with her Cannes Jury Prize Winner Capernaum. Meanwhile, French auteur Bertrand Blier is set to break a nine-year absence with Convoi Exceptionnel in 2019, reuniting him with Gerard Depardieu. And Marina De Van, who hasn’t released a project since her 2013 Irish co-pro Dark Touch, recently revealed plans for a feature set to star Charles Berling, which could perhaps be ready for 2020.…...

Huppert’s cameo as herself adds some unearned gravitas to this contrived tale of an actor embracing his sexuality

No film featuring Isabelle Huppert can be entirely without interest. But this odd movie from Anne Fontaine is messily structured, self-conscious and preposterous, buried within its own inelegant framing device. The unhappy childhood of a young actor called Marvin is told through childhood flashbacks as the twentysomething adult comes to terms with his sexuality and finally has a staggering stroke of fortune with his career (the sheer flukiness of which is never acknowledged). Finnegan Oldfield plays the adult Marvin in Paris; Jules Porier is his delicate younger self growing up in the sticks, bullied at school and treated with casual cruelty by his unemployed father Dany (a good performance by Grégory Gadebois).

But a number of people turn his life around: kindly headteacher Mme Clément (Catherine Mouchet) encourages him to apply...

After giving a pair of performances among the best in her iconic career with Elle and Things to Come, Isabelle Huppert recently reteamed with Michael Haneke, Hong Sang-soo, Serge Bozon, and more. She’s now once again returning to Berlinale with Benoît Jacquot’s Eva, and while there, two more of the prolific actress’ projects have been announced.

First up, she’ll be leading the drama from Ira Sachs, who recently gave us the wonderful Love is Strange and Little Men. Titled A Family Vacation, it also stars Marisa Tomei, Greg Kinnear, Jérémie Renier and Andre Wilms, and it marks the director’s first time working outside the United States as he’ll be shooting it this fall in Portugal. Backed by Saïd Ben Saïd, it follows “three generations of a family grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in the historic town of Sintra, Portugal.

The longer I consider ‘Elle,’ the more I struggle with it. It’s a bit of a conundrum for me. At the heart of it is this great and daring performance by Isabelle Huppert, the one that finally garnered her an Oscar nomination that’s been long, long overdue; she doesn’t look it, but she’s 65 years old, and has looked like she’s been at her sexiest and sultriest at 42 for about 10 years now. Of course, she’s been playing roles like these far longer than that, which only makes me more befuddled as to why this was the one that enraptured the Academy. I guess it could’ve been it’s director, Paul Verhoeven, although that seems peculiar too, he’s never been an Academy favorite, and I’ve never cared for him either. This is his first French language film, but he’s actually Belgian and to his credit,...

Soapy biopic of the Nobel prize-winning chemist which focuses more on her spicy personal life than her groundbreaking work

Director Marie Noelle’s biopic about Marie Curie, the Polish-born chemist who was the first woman to win the Nobel prize, is something of a tacky treat. Roughly 35% science talk and 65% soap opera, it has adulterous shenanigans and a strong-willed heroine (Polish actor Karolina Gruszka) defying sexism, xenophobia and antisemitism (even though she isn’t Jewish) to make it in a male profession.

The first part unfolds in a non-toxic soft-focus haze, all sun dapples and smiles, as Marie and her beloved hubby Pierre (Charles Berling) bask in acclaim after their crucial research on radiation is recognised by the Nobel committee.

Continue reading...

Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling, Virginie Efira, Judith Magre, Christian Berkel, Jonas Bloquet, Alice Isaaz, Vimala Pons | Written by David Birke | Directed by Paul Verhoeven

When you hear the name Paul Verhoeven you can’t help but think of Showgirls. Then of course he has other, beloved (some would say classic) movies like Basic Instinct, RoboCop, and Total Recall. Elle is quite a jump from these movies, but the question that will be asked is, is it a Basic Instinct or a Showgirls? The answer is something very, very, different.

When Michèle Leblanc (Isabelle Huppert) is attacked in her own home, she surprisingly carries on like nothing has happened. The head of a successful video game company, she treats her life and relationships as ruthlessly as she does her business deals. When her attacker continues to goad her though it isn’t long before her obsession with him,...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

The Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amirpour)

Ana Lily Amirpour’s second feature shoots for Harmony Korine meets Mad Max and would have nearly almost hit the mark were it not for the gratingly aloof attitude and the swaths of directorial license being taken. The Bad Batch — an ambitious, expansive dystopian sci-fi western which features partying, drugs, and cannibals — might come as music to the ears of diehard fans of films like Spring Breakers and Gummo (a kid doesn’t quite eat spaghetti in a bathtub, but a kid does eat spaghetti after being in a bathtub). However, beneath its dazzlingly hip surface the script and characters leave much to be desired. It’s like taking a trip to Burning Man: a pseudo-spiritual, uniquely punky experience perhaps, but one that’s full of annoying rich kids and ultimately emotionally shallow. – Rory O. (full review)

Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes

Kong: Skull Island (Jordan Vogt-Roberts)

Though it may not feel fully inspired so much as competently pre-visualized, Kong: Skull Island fits snugly into the growing canon of reboots that exist within ever-expanding movie universes. That’s a first sentence to a positive review that perhaps reads a bit more cynically than intended. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and written by a bunch of dudes (Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly with a story credited to John Gatins), this umpteenth version of the King Kong story pulls from every available pop-culture source in building a fun creature feature. Much of the credit goes to the breathtaking effects and brisk pace, which distract from some lofty line readings and silly plot devices. – Dan M. (full review)

Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google

Le Trou (Jacques Becker)

One of the greatest prison escape dramas of all-time, Jacques Becker’s recently-restored Le Trou is a masterclass in tension. By putting us both in the physical and psychological headspace of our protagonists, it’s an enveloping experience as we see a number of close calls, leading up to one of the most unforgettable endings in cinema. – Jordan r.

Where to Stream: Mubi (free 30-day trial)

Moana (John Musker and Ron Clements)

It’s time for another Disney Princess movie, and you know how it goes. Disney knows too, and wants you to know that it knows. When the title character of Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) denies that she’s a princess, claiming that she’s merely the daughter of her island’s chief and the next chieftain, her adventuring partner Maui (Dwayne Johnson) asserts, “Same difference,” and that, “You wear a dress and have an animal sidekick. You’re a princess.” But Disney is doing its best to make the culture rethink cinematic fantasy princesses, countering the stereotypes of helpless femininity (which the studio largely put in place) with a new roster of highly capable action heroines. And Moana is, as they call it, a good role model. And the movie around her is fine. – Dan S. (full review)

Where to Stream: Netflix

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (Brian Knappenberger)

Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press uses a salacious story and website as the launching pad to discuss where we currently are, so much so that I imagine director Brian Knappenberger — who uses footage from President Trump’s infamous press conference only a few days before the film’s Sundance premiere — may wish to stay on the story. Gawker, a site spun out of Gizmodo, was founded to share the types of stories mainstream news outlets would often shy away from, including celebrity sex tapes, outings, drug use, and allegations that have swirled but not picked up traction. They’ve featured Rob Ford smoking crack, Bill Cosby’s multiple accusers, Hillary Clinton’s emails, Tom Cruise’s prominent role in Scientology, and the one that brought them down: the infamous Hulk Hogan sex tape recorded for private use by Hogan pal and infamous Tampa shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, best known nationally for his stint on Howard Stern’s satellite channel. Bubba’s antics will no doubt some day be the subject of a documentary of their own, from his role in both the Hogan affair to his odd appearance in the David Petraeus saga. – John F. (full review)

Where to Stream: Netflix

Paterson (Jim Jarmusch)

Jim Jarmusch proved he was back in a major way with Only Lovers Left Alive a few years ago, and the streak continues with Paterson, a calm, introspective drama with such positive views on marriage and creativity that I was left floored. In following the cyclical life of Adam Driver‘s Paterson, a bus driver in Paterson, New Jersey, who also has dreams of being a poet, Jarmusch superbly shows that one’s own life experience — however seemingly insubstantial — is the only requirement to produce something beautiful. Moreso than any other film in 2016, this is the kind of world I want to live in. – Jordan R.

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime

Star Trek Beyond (Justin Lin)

After the pleasant fluff of its kick-off installment and the frog march of unpleasantness that was Into Darkness, the rebooted Star Trek film series finally hits a fun median between big-budget bombast and classic Trek bigheartedness with Star Trek Beyond. Does the franchise’s full descent into action, with only the barest lip service paid to big ideas, cause Gene Roddenberry’s ashes to spin in their space capsule? Probably, but in the barren desert of summer 2016 blockbusters, this is a lovely oasis. – Dan S. (full review)

Where to Stream: Amazon Prime

Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas)

Perhaps a point of contention on New York Times’ top 25 films of the 21st century list, Olivier Assayas’ Summer Hours is a commendable top 10 pick. Led by Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jérémie Renier, and Kyle Eastwood, this drama follows a family reuniting following the death of their mother. Like the best of Assayas’ films, it’s an impeccably-crafted, subtly-moving experience, one that wades in the ideas of the value of what we hold on to and a graceful reflection on the passage of time. – Jordan R.

Where to Stream: FilmStruck

Wilson (Craig Johnson)

The world of Daniel Clowes is one without manners, glamour, and tact, but it is also one of uncomfortable truth, as scathing as it might be. One may have never verbally conveyed the discourteous musings of his characters to the extent to which it is their everyday vernacular, but we’ve all had similar thoughts when life isn’t going our way. The latest adaptation of his work comes with Wilson, directed by Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins), featuring a role Woody Harrelson is clearly having the time of his life with. Despite his commitment to a lack of civility, there’s a darker film lying in the cynical heart of Wilson, one that gets squandered by its mawkish aesthetic and lack of interest in exploring these characters beyond their crudeness. – Jordan R. (full review)

Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google

The Zookeeper’s Wife (Niki Caro)

The Zookeeper’s Wife begins with those five famous words that hold the power to either become a film’s dependency (and therefore downfall) or its empowering catalyst, laying the foundation to convey a poignant tale: “Based on a true story.” Fortunately, The Zookeeper’s Wife sticks with the latter, and the true tale being told is one for the ages. Niki Caro‘s drama follows a couple who hide Jews in their zoo and use it as a point of passage and escape during the Nazi takeover of Warsaw. The narrative is a simple one, allowing The Zookeeper’s Wife to shine in its performances, imagery, and storytelling, which it pristinely accomplishes. – Chelsey G. (full review)

Where to Stream: Amazon, iTunes, Google

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Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– The Orchard has acquired the North American rights to Jordan Ross’s directorial debut “Thumper,” starring “Orange is the New Black’s” Pablo Schreiber. The gritty crime thriller debuted at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and was written and directed by Ross. The movie also stars Eliza Taylor, Lena Headey, Ben Feldman, Grant Harvey and Daniel Webber. Set in a town of low-income and fractured families, “Thumper” is centered around a group of teens that are lured into working for a dangerous drug dealer. A new girl arrives into town hiding a dangerous secret that will impact everybody and change their lives forever.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Mubi Buys Philippe Garrel’s ‘Lover for a Day,’ FilmRise...

Elle

Blu-ray

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

2017 / Color / 2.40:1 widescreen / Street Date March 14, 2017

Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling.

Cinematography: Stéphane Fontaine

Film Editor: Job Ter Burg

Written by David Birke

Produced by Saïd Ben Saïd and Michel Merkt

Directed by Paul Verhoeven

Michèle Leblanc, glamorous entrepreneur of a successful video game company, is the calm at the center of many storms. Her son’s girlfriend has given birth to another man’s child, an employee is stalking her with anime porn and her botox-ridden mother is betrothed to a male prostitute.

In the face of all this outrageous fortune, Michèle remains cool, calm and collected, even in the aftermath of her own harrowing sexual assault.

Elle, the new film from the Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven, begins with that already infamous assault, our heroine struggling under the weight of her attacker while an unblinking cat perches nearby, watching.

“Shame isn’t a strong enough emotion to stop us from doing anything at all. Believe me.”

The Golden Globe winner for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language and Certified Fresh (89% on Rotten Tomatoes), Sony Pictures Classics’ Elle debuts on Blu-ray, DVD and digital March 14 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Acclaimed international actress Isabelle Huppert also won a Golden Globe (Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama) for her role in the film, one of the best of her career. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct), Elle is the compelling story of Michèle (Huppert), a woman who brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to her business. After an unknown assailant attacks her in her home, Michèle’s life changes forever. Consumed with the need for revenge, she hunts down her assailant drawing both into a curious and thrilling game that may, at any moment,...

This is the Pure Movies review of Elle, starring Isabelle Huppert, Michèle Leblanc, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling and Virginie Efira, and directed by Paul Verhoeven. Written by Joshua Glenn. For all of his exploitative tendencies, Verhoeven is not interested in mounting some pseudo-feminist wish-fulfilment ‘fantasy’ a la I Spit on Your Grave. Instead, he takes one of society’s sickest and most disturbing problems and uses it to explore how we construct and consume ideas of femininity, sexuality and victimhood. His approach is typically brash and confrontational, but there’s a beating conscience beneath the bravado that is, ultimately, transcendental. Audacious, challenging and deceptively affirming, Elle is absolutely essential cinema.

Witness Paul Verhoeven’s (Total Recall, Robocop, Starship Troopers) direction and writing, along with Isabelle Huppert’s Golden Globe-winning performance, for yourself in Elle, set to be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital on March 14th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Press Release: Culver City, Calif. (January 31, 2017) – The Golden Globe® winner for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language and Certified Fresh (89% on Rotten Tomatoes), Sony Pictures Classics’ Elle debuts on Blu-ray™, DVD and digital March 14 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Acclaimed international actress Isabelle Huppert also won a Golden Globe (Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama) for her role in the film, one of the best of her career. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Total Recall, Basic Instinct), Elle is the compelling story of Michèle (Huppert), a woman who brings the same ruthless attitude to her love life as to her business. After an unknown assailant attacks her in her home,...

Isabelle Huppert as Michèle, in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle.

Photo by Guy Ferrandis/ Sbs Productions, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics (c)

Revenge, cleverly achieved by a woman, is the theme of the twisty, sometimes disturbing, and often darkly humorous French thriller Elle. Audiences expecting art house fare may be surprised to find director Paul Verhoeven’s film so entertaining, particularly since it is about a woman avenging a rape. But many things are surprising about Elle – its complexity, its family drama, its compassion, and most of all, its complicated heroine Michele LeBlanc, played by Isabelle Huppert in an Oscar-worthy performance.

Elle opens with a shocking scene, of a rape, but what happens afterwards is shocking too. The scene is presented in a detached manner but we are surprised by the woman’s reaction after her assailant departs. She scolds her cat, who is the sole witness to the attack, for not protecting her,...

If you were alive in the ‘80s or ‘90s, it was impossible to avoid the ever-presence of Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven, whether it was science fiction hits Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers or his erotic thriller Basic Instinct. His 1995 film Showgirls has alternately been cited as a campy classic and one of the worst films ever made.

After 2000’s Hollow Man, Verhoeven turned his back on Hollywood, in a sense, by returning to Holland to make the World War II film Black Book with Carice Van Houten (Game of Thrones), but now Verhoeven is back with Elle, a French revenge thriller starring French femme fatale Isabelle Huppert as a woman raped in her home who decides to get revenge in a rather unconventional way.

Lrm sat down with the veteran filmmaker to talk about his new film—and there’s a mild Spoiler Warning here, since he does allude...

Title: Elle Director: Paul Verhoeven Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Christian Berkel, Anne Consigny, Virginie Efira, Laurent Lafitte, Charles Berling, Alice Isaaz, Judith Magre, Vimala Pons, Jonas Bloquet, Lucas Prisor and Raphaël Lenglet ‘Elle’ is a bizarre psychological thriller that stands on the formidable shoulders of the extraordinary French actress Isabelle Huppert. The movie directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by David Birke, based on the novel ‘Oh…’ by Philippe Djian, premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival where it received critical acclaim, and was subsequently selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language film at the 89th Academy Awards. The story is all [ Read More ]

The post Turin Film Festival 2016 Movie Review: Elle appeared first on Shockya.com.

Director Paul Verhoeven, that eternal Dutch wild child (even though he's 78), delivers a perverse kick whether his films are terrific (Spetters, Robocop, Black Book) or just terrific trash (Basic Instinct, Showgirls, Starship Troopers). His new surprise package, Elle, is a dark comedy about ... rape. Like I said, the dude is a button pusher.

"No American actress would ever take on such an amoral movie," Verhoeven has stated. So the great French actress Isabelle Huppert steps into the role of Michele Leblanc, the divorced CEO of a Paris-based video-game company that...

Elle Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed by: Harvey Karten, Shockya Grade: B+ Director: Paul Verhoeven Written by: David Birke from Philippe Djian’s novel “Oh…” Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling Screened at: Sony, NYC, 11/3/16 Opens: November 10, 2016 There’s a reason that stories with revenge themes are so popular no matter how many times they’re repeated on the page and on the screen. We all harbor memories of people we would like to hurt because they hurt us–today, last year, a few decades ago. When we see a hero getting violent revenge on the bad guys, we cheer, perhaps more readily than we would for any other [ Read More ]

The post Elle Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

We present our red carpet interviews from the premiere of Paul Verhoeven’s Elle from the 2016 London Film Festival (LFF2016) in the Embankment Gardens Cinema. The screening was attended by director Paul Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert. Huppert leads the film, which has a fine ensemble cast comprising Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling, Virginie Efira, […]

The post Lff Premiere Interviews: Paul Verhoeven & Isabelle Huppert for Elle appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Elle is a tale of dangerous passions, but not in the overwhelmingly sadistic way you might imagine. I mean, yes – vile, depraved sexual acts are carried out against Paul Verhoeven’s protagonist(?). Audiences may have trouble staying silent while Isabella Huppert continually relives her “enlightening” victimization, yet Verhoeven’s approach to pitch-black comedy somehow makes the film’s most serious moments unexpectedly comical. It’s humorous relief by way of death, insults and utter moral disregard. It may be strange that an erotic thriller’s most impressive moments come in the form of laughs, but it only shows the depth Verhoeven is able to create – no matter how telegraphed his story might be.

Huppert stars as Michèle Leblanc, a recent sexual assault victim hellbent on solving the puzzle of who forcibly penetrated her. Was it the seedy co-worker who takes every chance he gets to belittle her managerial skills (Lucas Prisor)? The clean-cut,...

John Waters, a big fan of Isabelle Huppert, star of Valley Of Love, Elle and Things To Come Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Cristian Mungiu's (Beyond The Hills and 4 Months, 3 Weeks And 2 Days)Graduation (Bacalaureat) with Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Lia Bugnar and Malina Manovici; Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake, starring Dave Johns and Hayley Squires; Isabelle Huppert in Paul Verhoeven's Elle and Mia Hansen-Løve's (Goodbye First Love and Eden) Things To Come (L’Avenir) are four early highlights of the 54th New York Film Festival.

In Elle, shot by Stéphane Fontaine (Jacques Audiard's A Prophet and Rust And Bone written by Thomas Bidegain), Anne Consigny, Laurent Lafitte, Judith Magre, and Charles Berling make up a smashing ensemble cast. Things to Come features Edith Scob, André Marcon, and Roman Kolinka with costumes by Rachèle Raoult (Jalil Lespert's Yves Saint Laurent and Léos Carax's Holy Motors) filmed...

"Nutjobs, I can handle. My specialty." Sony Classics has debuted an official Us trailer for Paul Verhoeven's latest film, a shocking but remarkable thriller called Elle, starring French actress Isabelle Huppert as the head of a video game company. The plot, and I'm not even exaggerating, involves her being raped in her own home by a masked intruder. She tries to figure out who it was and hunt him down, in return, and teach him a lesson. Also featuring Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Charles Berling, Virginie Efira, Judith Magre and Christian Berkel. I saw this film at the Cannes Film Festival when it first premiered and it's fantastic - dark and devious and kind of messed up, but actually really fun and funny. Huppert is totally amazing and kicks ass in this role. It's sure to spark some controversy, but it's also a damn fine film. Enjoy. Here's the...