French films are shit. Porquoi?

Got my oil changed

No talk of Francis Veber's greatness? Really?

Muriel was fantastic! Its actually one of the few ones where a DVD of it would actually be useful as there are little bits that assume a significance later. So much cutting, certain sections you have to just grit your teeth through it.

This and Le Point Courte (Varda's first film) can be a lot of work but there is plenty of hilarious lines - lots of fun!

Also I'm looking to see if there are any collections by Jean Cayrol available in English and I am not having much luck on first glance :-(

from what I've seen (frontieres, inside) le french horror is tres brutal and they are not for the squeamish

see, that's the problem. i watched 'in my skin' a while back at a festival.. well, i tried to watch it. i had to leave halfway through. i'm wayyy more squeamish than i was in my early 20s.

balancing missing out on some v interesting cinema vs. seeing things i can't un-see. it's easier watching it on the small screen at least. rich fourfour thought 'martyrs' was brilliant so i was curious.

catching as much of the MoMA retro of Julien Duvivier as I can:

http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/time-regained-20090504

French cinema went through its postmodernist phase before it went through its modernist phase.

Throroughly enjoyed the new OSS 117, but not sure how well it translates for a foreign audience

Marker's La Joli Mai was fantastic, and way better than 'Sans Soleil' -- although I should revisit that now.

What really comes across a lot of the French cinema of that time is the humour (the shot of the two blokes talking about freedom/the working week/dreams cut by shots of cats) and the engagement with what seems like everything. Its nasty politics one second, the twist in a club the next, etc.

And the cats should be mentioned again -- Marker loved them, so did Rivette! A crappy theory should be made about this...

Saw Rouch's Chronique d'un ete and Pyramide Humaine earlier in the week. Also v good. Not as much flair as Marker but I'll take it.

Assayas's Summer Hours is a good one, but I still prefer his Limoges china epic.

Ha, I saw that one in France so I only understood about half of it. What about the new Agnes V?

Predictably charming.

Just have to say that I just saw the 400 Blows for the first time and it was fucking great. Really gets into that headspace of being 13-14 and mildly mischievous leading to being labeled a bad kid. The Criterion Collection DVD (available from Netflix) has the short Antoine and Collette from the compilation film Love at 20, which stars the same character at 17. Also has clips from French TV w/ interviews with Truffaut and Leaud, who was really an incredibly believable and sympathetic actor even when he was 13.

This is prob old news to people reading this thread, but it makes me want to see all the films he starred in as Antoine.

I just watched Stolen Kisses last night! Its the continuation of the Antoine story, and it is so good. You should totally see it. I loved it, and Leaud is is charming as hell. Its a bit goofier than 400 Blows though.

Are there more Antoine films? I guess I'll go find out.

I am seeing the new Agnes V tonight, and she will be there!

there are more, brontosaur, but they go downhill after SK.

Costa Garvas dbl bill at the Lumiere tomorrow, btw

aargh, Costa-Gavras

finally saw the Class the other night. It was very good. I also recently caught up with Kings and Queen and A Christmas Tale. I <3 Mathieu Amalric. Got Summer Hours to watch later.

Costas's Z was fantastic! What an ending...lots of speed, humour, some great music - I should chase up the novel the film was based on.

When you go to the Lumiere do they play actual films or some kind of high quality DVDs or what? I watched some week-long Fantomas thing and it was bitty and gritty and obviously digital. I wasn't annoyed. I accepted it. I just wondered whether they had a normal projector.

I assume they do have a normal projector as they screen worn out prints of old films, most of which haven't even been issued on DVD. Z was like that (and dubbed, first time I saw anything at the Lumiere w/out subtitles).

fantomas would probably be a dvd projection. it's possible there's a modern-type print of it but i can't imagine from when.

amazed 'z' hasn't been on dvd!

Z is coming out on Criterion next month.

on dv-Z

I think 35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum) is as good as anything Claire Denis has made, at least since Nenette et Boni.

French Cinema Week here in Oporto, please tell me if any of these movies are good:

"Mia Et Le Migou", Jacques Rémy Girerd
"Pour Un Instant La Liberté", Arash T. Riahi
"Les Enfants De Timpelbach", Nicolas Bary
"Passe-Passe", Tonie Marshall
"Erreur De La Banque En Votre Faveur", Gérard Bitton & Michel Munz
"J'ai Toujours Revê D'Être Un Gangster", Samuel Benchetrit
"Le Plaisir De Chanter", Ilan Duran Cohen (great name btw)
"Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie", Rémi Benzançon
"L'Anée Suivante", Isabelle Czajka
"Le Bal Des Atrices", Maiwenn
"Coco Chanel Et Igor Stravinsky", Jan Kounen
"L'Armée Du Crime", Robert Guédiguian
"Éden À L'Ouest", Costa-Garvas (!)
"Ne Te Retourne Pas", Marina De Van

"Mia Et Le Migou", Jacques Rémy Girerd - don't know this film even though I know the name.
"Pour Un Instant La Liberté", Arash T. Riahi don't know
"Les Enfants De Timpelbach", Nicolas Bary - more of a kids movie, not good from all I've heard. Kind of a flop in France.
"Passe-Passe", Tonie Marshall - don't know
"Erreur De La Banque En Votre Faveur", Gérard Bitton & Michel Munz - from what I've heard, a not very good comedy.
"J'ai Toujours Revê D'Être Un Gangster", Samuel Benchetrit - never seen it, heard a few good things about it.
"Le Plaisir De Chanter", Ilan Duran Cohen (great name btw) - don't know
"Le Premier Jour Du Reste De Ta Vie", Rémi Benzançon - this was a huge success in France, most of the people I know who've seen it really liked and those that didn't usually despised it. From what I've heard it sounds a bit like indie movies of the Little Miss Sunshine/Juno/ Gardern State variety, but don't take my word for it.
"L'Anée Suivante", Isabelle Czajka - don't know
"Le Bal Des Atrices", Maiwenn - this one had a really nice poster up in the Paris métro, but apart from that don't know much about it
"Coco Chanel Et Igor Stravinsky", Jan Kounen - the better of the two movies about Coco Chanel, but apparently that's faint praise
"L'Armée Du Crime", Robert Guédiguian - don't know much about it
"Éden À L'Ouest", Costa-Garvas (!) - same
"Ne Te Retourne Pas", Marina De Van - haven't seen it either, but this one got quite a lot of press. It was booed in Cannes and I don't think the general consensus about it has improved much.

Basically, I haven't seen too many of these so take my words with caution as they are mostly friends' opinions repeated.

I'd see Garvas/Gavras, just cuz I really trust him now.

Anyone seen the Varda doc? Her hair looks amazing, btw

Yes, Varda is a charmer.

Loved loved Beaches of Agnes! Where else will we able to see contributions from Harrison Ford and Chris Marker in the same film?

Star Wars VII: The Empire without a Cat

on offer at this year's london film fest:

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions

I need to see this:
http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/408

god i hate this thread title

pork oi

New Bruno Dumont! Can't hang around till late tho' :-(

Daniel, I saw J'ai toujours reve d'etre un gangster yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It sagged a bit in the middle but there are lots of laughs to be had.

Lucky you being in Porto, by the way. I love that city.

The Barbican is doing a short Directorspective on Jacques Tati in Decemeber: http://www.barbican.org.uk/film/series.asp?ID=789

SHIT i will not be in town for playtime

SHIT

which town? NYC MoMA is showing it at year-end too:

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1023

I won't be in London for that one either :(

I'm gonna be in Bore-deaux so I will miss both of these ;_;

Unless the Cinema Jean Vigo is screening it! Playtime should be a Christmas tradition everywhere!

It's on in Glasgow this month as well.

Jean Eustache's shortish film The Pig on Sunday at the Lumiere. Go if I cannot.

aw :/
would love to see that

Is anyone with me that Port Of Shadows is >>>> Le Jour Se Leve??

Eustache's The Pig didn't make it to Glasgow, but tonight we had the New Yorker Films subtitled print of The Mother and the Whore, probably the very same print I last saw about ten years ago. In the intervening years I've watched an even mouldier print of Rivette's L'Amour Fou, and so this time round, I was struck by certain visual and thematic similarities between the two films - both are concerned with disintegrating love affairs, bad behaviour, jealousy, passion and all that messy stuff. The performances of Jean-Pierre Leaud, Francoise Lebrun and Bernadette Lafont - the three Ls! - are just devastating.

Tomorrow the GFT are showing Numero Uno, Eustache's first documentary feature, and then on Wednesday we get My Little Loves, the full colour fiction movie that Eustache made the year after The Mother and the Whore.

You gotta go on Wednesday.

What about Une Sale Histoire?

I'll be there!

Une Sale Histoire only played in Edinburgh, sadly.

These are all screening as part of a large French film festival that's touring the UK at the moment - the Eustache 'strand' consists of seven films in total (six of them UK premieres.) The other ones that didn't make it to Glasgow were Bad Company and Santa Claus has Blue Eyes.