All films as from October 12th

What films to watch as from October 12th

 

 

Your news as from October 12th

The White Lotus, season 2, Mike White, on October 30th

 

 

Tár,  with Cate Blanchett, by Todd Field, on February 22nd,  2023

 

 

Black Panther 2, by Ryan Coogler, on November 11th

 

The best movies since January 2022:

1. As Bestas, Rodrigo Sorogoyen (review below)
2. La nuit du 12, Dominik Moll (review below)
3. Holy Spider, Ali Abbasi (review below)
4. Les Cahiers Noirs, Schlomi Elkabetz (review here)
5. Loving Highsmith, Eva Vitija (review here)
6. Clara Sola, Nathalie Álvarez Mesén (review here)
7. Varsovie 83, Jan P. Matuszynski (review here)
8. Aristocrats, Yukiko Sode (review here)
9. Une jeune fille qui va bien, Sandine Kiberlain (review here)
10. Seule la terre est éternelle, François Busnel (review here)
11. Murina, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic (review here)
12. C’mon C’mon, Mike Mills (review here)

 

 

 

 

ALL YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT  FILMS & SERIES IN THEATERS & AT HOME

 

Simone Le Voyage du siècle, Olivier Dahan, today in your theaters

Synopsis

Simone Veil’s life, her childhood, her political battles, her tragedies. The epic and intimate portrait of a woman with an extraordinary career who shook up her era by defending a humanist message that is still very much alive today.

 

About the film

Olivier Dahan has filmed portraits of women, the one of Édith Piaf with Marion Cotillard and Grâce de Monaco, played by Nicole Kidman.

This time, at the request of Elsa Zylberstein, he filmed the portrait of Simone Veil, one of French favorite personality.

Two actresses play Simone Veil: Rebecca Marder, who we have seen shine in the very good “Une jeune fille qui va bien” by Sandrine Kiberlain in the role of young Simone Veil, then Elsa Zylberstein, with makeup but unfortunately sometimes too much, sometimes her face is deformed or still too recognizable. She plays Simone Veil in her forties until the end of her life

Nothing is forgotten of her fights, nor of her life: abortion, the fate of prisoners in France and that of women’s prisons, the Algerian prisoners repatriated to France, Europe, AIDS.

And we have also a quick passage in Israel in a kibbutz where she visits her son, a moment that one would think came out of “Hair” to recall her attachment to France.

Then, of course, there was her family: her mother, Yvonne, her father, André, her sisters, Denise, Madeleine (nicknamed Milou) and Jean. And the Shoah, and her friends Marceline Loridan-Ivens and Ginette Kolinka.

The director chose to alternate between past and present, with the voice of Elsa Zylberstein in voice-over, who, despite her courses to speak like Simone Veil, only succeeds when she shouts in her speeches. We can feel that the actress loves Simone Veil and wants to interpret her as best she can, but it doesn’t work, except for a few moments.

Filming the camps is not improvised and here the melodrama is pushed to the extreme, what one criticized Spielberg in Schindler’s List is a way too much. This part is probably the most unsuccessful of the film.

The music, very beautiful, is much too present, and the dialogues between Simone Veil, played by Elsa Zylberstein and her husband Antoine, played by Olivier Gourmet (who does not look at all like the young husband!) are too explicit and very didactic.

Rare strong moments are given by Rebecca Marder, and we don’t understand why she didn’t play Simone Veil throughout the film. The transition from one actress to the other doesn’t work. 

Simone Veil wrote her biography. You should read it. 

Perhaps it would have been necessary to have more perspective, because the film is flat even after two hours and twenty minutes.

Despite all the good will in the world and the sincerity of Elsa Zylberstein, too much exhaustiveness weighs on the history of Simone Veil, this brilliant woman, visionary, and whose fights, feminism, Europe, anti-racism, humanism are still relevant.

 

 

With Elsa Zylberstein, Rebecca Marder, Élodie Bouchez, Judith Chemla, Olivier Gourmet, Mathieu Spinosi.

And also Sylvie Testud & Philippe Torreton.

 

 

 

Trom – Torfinnur Jakupsson

 

Synopsis

Synopsis

On the Faroe Islands, an investigative journalist investigates the disappearance of an environmental activist. He will have to face a corrupt police and community. 

An island thriller mixing ecology and political pressure, the Scandinavian series “Trom, the cliffs, the wind and death” takes us into dark and jagged landscapes. 

 

The series

A total success.

Awarded  last June at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival and adapted from the novels of local author Jagvan Isaksen, “Trom” presents one of the local “specialties” as a backdrop: whaling…

Investigative journalism, ecological commitment, corruption, so many subjects are tackled in this series carried by a brilliant cast and which also asks us this question: what would we do to protect our child?

Currently on Arte.

 

 

 

The North Sea by John Andreas Andersen

 

Synopsis

 

Norway 1969, the world’s largest oil field, Ekofisk, is discovered in the North Sea. Years of drilling and financial gain have led to a mile-long crack in the ocean floor. 

When an earthquake causes one of the hundreds of platforms to disappear into the ocean, Sofia (Kristine Kujath Thorp), a submarine operator, is called in to search for survivors. 

 

The film

Thrilling! The North Sea tackles oil rigs and when accidents happen, their consequences on our environment.

But it’s not just about that. It is about personal and political commitment, courage and love.

This thrilling film will keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. Do not miss it under any circumstances!

Currently on Canal Plus.

 

 

FILMS TO WATCH IN YOUR MOVIE THEATERS AS FROM OCTOBER 12TH

 

This week:

L’Innocent, Louis Garrel

With Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant

When Abel learns that his mother Sylvie, in her sixties, is about to get married to a man in prison, he panics. Supported by Clémence, his best friend, he does everything he can to protect her. But the meeting with Michel, his new father-in-law, could well offer Abel new perspectives…

 

Butterfly Vision, Maksym Nakonechnyi

Lilia, an aerial reconnaissance specialist, returns to her family in Ukraine after several months in prison in the Donbass. The trauma of captivity torments her and resurfaces in the form of visions. But she refuses to see herself as a victim and fights to free herself.

 

Pénélope, mon amour, Claire Doyon

For 18 years I have been filming Penelope, a young adult with autism. One day I opened the closet that contained DV tapes and Super 8 reels. It almost made my eyes pop out. I had to gather all these images. Pénélope mon amour traces the journey of a mother and her daughter through the years.

 

 

Le Petit Nicolas – Qu’est-ce qu’on attend pour être heureux ? Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre

With Laurent Lafitte, Alain Chabat, Simon Faliu

Leaning over a large white sheet of paper, Sempé and Goscinny bring to life a laughing and mischievous little boy, Little Nicholas. As the story unfolds, the boy slips into the workshop of his creators, and challenges them with wit.

 

Les Harkis, Philippe Faucon

With Théo Cholbi, Mohamed El Amine Mouffok, Pierre Lottin

At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, the Algerian war is still going on. Salah, Kaddour and other young Algerians without resources join the French army as harkis. At their head, Lieutenant Pascal. The outcome of the conflict suggests that Algeria’s independence will soon be achieved.

 

Aya, Simon Coulibaly Gillard

With Marie-Josée Kokora, Patricia Egnabayou, Junior Asse

Lahou, Ivory Coast. Aya grows up carefree with her mother. Intimately linked to her island, the young girl sees her bearings collapse when she learns that her paradise is doomed to disappear under the waters. As the waves threaten her home, Aya makes a decision: Lahou is her island; she will not leave it.

 

Halloween Ends, David Gordon Green
With Jamie Lee Curtis, Will Patton, Kyle Richards

Four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie is now living with her granddaughter Allyson and finishing her memoirs. Michael Myers has not been around lately…

Trailer here

 

Movies to come (and we are looking forward to it):

Hallellujah, les mots de Leonard Cohen, Dan Geller & Dayna Goldfine on October 19th

 

 

The Last of Us, Craig Mazin & Neil Druckmann

 

Amsterdam, on November 1st, by David O. Russell

With Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington in first roles but also Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldana, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Taylor Swift, Rami Malek & Robert de Niro.

 

 

Armageddon Time, on November 9th, by James Gray

 

Swing rendez-vous, by Gérome Barry

 

 

The Idol 

Created by Abel “the Weeknd” Tesfaye, Reza Fahim, and Sam Levinson for HBO.

 

 

She said, Maria Schrader, with Carrey Mulligan, Zoe Kazan, on November 18th

 

 

Houria, Mounia Meddour

 

The patient official, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg

 

 

God’s creature, Saela Davis & Anna Rose Holmer , with Emily Watson, Paul Mescal, & Aisling Franciosi

 

 

 

 

The Son, Florion Zeller

 

 

WEEKLY TIPS & OPINIONS ABOUT MOVIES 

BY  MOVIE DIRECTORS,  WRITERS, SCREENWRITERS, DIRECTORS, COMPOSERS…

 

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Adopt a Different Writing Persona  by Scott Myers

What makes a movie a big budget and a small budget?  by Scott Myers 

 

TV PROGRAM AS FROM OCTOBER 12th

 

 

Mercredi – Wednesday

Arte : Un divan à Tunis

 

Jeudi – Thursday

Arte : Les Falaises, le vent et la mort

Canal Plus : The Staircase (série)

 

Friday – Vendredi

Arte : Ondine – Review here

France 5 : Big Fish

 

Sunday – Dimanche

Arte : Légendes d’automne

TF1 : Hors Normes : review here

TF1 Series : Seven

 

Monday – Lundi

Arte : Roubaix, une lumière

France 3 : Il était une fois dans l’Ouest

 

Tuesday – Mardi

Canal Plus : En Corps

LCP : documentaire sur le génocide des Ouïgour

 

Wednesday – Mercredi

TMC: Le dîner de cons

 

 

5. BEST DOCUMENTARIES, FILMS & SERIES AS FROM OCTOBER 12th ON ARTE

 

George Orwell, Aldous Huxley: “1984” or “Brave New World”? Philippe Calderon Caroline Benarrosh

Crossed history of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, the authors of two great novels of anticipation, “1984” and “Brave New World”. Written more than 70 years ago, these two novels find an extraordinary echo in our societies today: alternative facts, fake news, ultra-surveillance… Orwell and Huxley seem to have imagined all the drifts of our societies. 

Accused of sexually assaulting a minor, Rashi loses his footing as he watches his professional life and his relationship slip away… The first part of the “Love Trilogy” by Israeli director Yaron Shani, which also includes “Beloved” and “Stripped”, is a shockingly realistic film.

 

The Wild Goose Lake

A gangster in search of redemption, target of a manhunt, crosses the path of a prostitute with uncertain intentions… By Chinese director Diao Yinan (“Black Coal”), a sumptuous film noir with virtuoso direction, between homage to the classics, violence and contemplation.

 

Series as from October 12th

Trom – The Cliffs, the Wind and Death

Awarded last June at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, created by Torfinnur Jakupsson. With Maria Rich, Olaf Johannessen, Gunnva Zachariasen, and Sissal Drews Hjaltalin.

Based on the novels of local author Jagvan Isaksen, “Trom” is based on one of the local “specialties”: hunting whales….
On the Faroe Islands, an investigative journalist investigates the disappearance of an environmental activist. He will have to face a corrupt police and community. An island thriller mixing ecology and political pressure, the Scandinavian series “Trom, the cliffs, the wind and death” takes us into dark and torn landscapes. 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Netflix

 

The Watcher (series), on October 13th by Ryan Murphy et Ian Brennan

 

 

About Spotify : The Playlist, Per-Olav Sørensen  (Home for Christmas), on October 13th

 

 

 

And : The Wonder, on November 16th, by Sebastián Lelio, with Florence Pugh

 

 

 

You saison 4, Greg Berlanti, Sera Gamble.

 

 

Mathilda, the musical, Matthew Warchus

 

Wednesday Adams, Tim Burton

 

Cabinet of curiosity, Guillermo del Toro, on October 25

 

 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Prime Video

 

The Peripheral, on October 21st, by Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy.

 

My Policeman, Michael Grandage with Harry Styles, Emma Corrin (The Crown), on November 4th.

 

 

 

Orelsan, montre jamais ça à personne, partie 2, on October 13th

 

 

Run, sweetheart run, Shana Feste, on October 28th

 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Canal+

 

Un autre monde, Stéphane brisé, on October 11th

 

 

The Staircase, on October 13th, by Antonio Campos

 

En corps, by Cédric Klapish, on October 18th

 

The Batman, Matt Reeves, on October 14th

 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Apple TV

 

Shantaram, Steve Lightfoot,on October 14th

 

 

Causeway, Lila Neugebauer, with Jennifer Lawrence & Brian Tyree Henry, on November 4th.

 

 

Raymond & Ray, Charles Bradley, on October 21st

 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Disney Plus

 

The old man, Jonathan Stein & Robert Levine avec Jeff Bridges (Dan Chase), John Lithgow (Harold Harper), now.

 

 

Disenchanted 2, Adam Shankman, on November 24th.

 

 

 

The Mandalorian, saison 3 (2023)

 

 

Willow, Jonathan Kasdan & Wendy Mericle, on November 30th.

 

 

The Little Mermaid 2, Rob Marshall, forecast on May 2023.

 

 

Best series & films as from October 12th on Lionsgate

 

Dangerous Liaisons, Harriet Warner ;Alice Englert, Nicholas Denton, Lesley Manville , November 6th

 

 

The Serpent Queen, by Justin Haythe : now

An original historical drama that offers a contemporary twist on conventional storytelling to tell the story of Catherine de Medici’s (Samantha Morton) rise to power. In the beginning of the series, Catherine’s story unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and passes on the lessons she has learned to her new servant, Rahima.

This is an adaptation of the British novel Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda.