A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of films from France and French-language films from Belgium and Switzerland. At this stage, I’m not sure if there’ll be many French-language films from African and other countries coming within my orbit – probably I’ll create a separate category for them and call it French-language Films from outside Europe, or something hopefully more succinct and graceful!
French and French-language Films
Julie Bertuccelli, “Claire Darling / La derniere folie de Claire Darling” (2018) On the first day of summer in a small village somewhere in France, an…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Rupert Everett, “The Happy Prince” (2018) A labour of love, of much research over the years on the life and work of Irish-British writer Oscar Wilde,…
French and French-language Films, Multi-media Presentations
Jean-Luc Godard, “The Image Book / Le Livre d’Image” (2018) At 84 minutes, in no way is this a long film, yet it’s far more demanding…
French and French-language Films
Alain Resnais, “Last Year at Marienbad / L’Année dernière à Marienbad” (1961) At times hilarious, and at other times maddeningly boring and repetitive, this film is…
French and French-language Films
Gaspar Noe, “Climax” (2018) In the hands of Argentine-French director Gaspar Noe, a story about a group of young dancers hired to be part of a…
French and French-language Films
Philippe le Guay, “Normandy Nude / Normandy Nue” (2018) One of a distinctly French genre of comedy films – Cedric Klapisch’s “Back to Burgundy” is another…
French and French-language Films
Cedric Klapisch, “Back to Burgundy / Ce qui nous lie” (2017) An otherwise rather ho-hum family melodrama of sibling jealousies featuring some rather obvious narrative cliches…
French and French-language Films
Luis Bunuel, “Diary of a Chambermaid” (1964) Of the Spanish director’s late-autumn career in which he directed classics like “Belle de Jour”, “The Discreet Charm of…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Armando Iannucci, “The Death of Stalin” (2017) A British-made comedy satire about the death of Joseph Stalin and the struggle among his senior officials in the…
British Films, French and French-language Films
Stanley Tucci, “Final Portrait” (2017) Best seen as a character study and a superficial investigation into an artist’s creativity and what motivates him, “Final Portrait” is…