‘The Stranger’ Review: François Ozon Plays by the Rules to Bring the French Absurdist Classic to the Silver Screen
Elegantly shot in crisp monochrome and starring Benjamin Voisin as the epochal antihero at the center of the novel, Ozon’s effort serves as a sensual adaptation that may surprise some of the director’s longtime fans with its willingness to play by the rules laid down by its source material.
‘The Balconettes’ Review: Female Friendship Sizzles and Shines in Noémie Merlant’s Genre-Bending Second Feature
Merlant once again re-teams with Céline Sciamma (the film’s co-writer) to serve up an exceptionally feminist genre mashup centered around a trio of longtime girlfriends who rise against the men fighting to control them amid a midsummer heatwave in the South of France.
‘The Empire’ Review: A Simultaneously Zany and Inert Reworking of the Sci-Fi Space Opera
French auteur Bruno Dumont’s Berlinale-winner The Empire is a genre-mashing comedy that is light on humor but heavy on impressive craftsmanship.
‘Endless Summer Syndrome’ Review: Family Vacation Leads to Ruination in a Thorny, Alluring French Thriller
The feature debut from Prague-based Iranian filmmaker Kaveh Daneshmand, Endless Summer Syndrome compellingly probes a seemingly normal upper-middle-class French family to explore the mistrust and deceit that lies just below the surface.
‘Daaaaaalí!’ Review: Quentin Dupieux Pays Homage to One of the 20th Century’s Kookiest Personalities
In a playful ode to his idols, Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel, Dupieux concocts one of the best films of his increasingly prolific career.
‘Red Island’ Review: Youth Blooms as Colonialism Wilts in 1970s Madagascar
In his follow-up to the critically lauded 2017 film BPM (Beats Per Minute), French writer-director Robin Campillo spectacularly excavates his own childhood experiences growing up in post-colonial Africa.