FRENCH NEWAVE 2.0
On Saturday April 26, from 11:30 am to midnight, save your day for an exclusive program of 5 films putting the new French New Wave under the spotlights (TRUFFAUT Theater):
11:30 am
AGE OF PANIC (La Bataille de Solferino)
West Coast Premiere
On the night of the French presidential election, Laetitia, a TV journalist, leaves her children with the babysitter with instructions to prevent any visitation from their deadbeat dad, Vincent. But just as Laetitia goes live from François Hollande’s mobbed campaign offices, she learns Vincent has already wheedled his way into her apartment. The situation escalates when Vincent, in a standout performance by comedy darling Vincent Macaigne, stages their custody fight at the very moment Sarkozy supporters show up to confront the pro-Hollande crowd. By shooting scenes live at the Socialist Party headquarters on the actual night of the elections, filmmaker Justine Triet has subtly interwoven personal and public events, elevating a simple story of marital drama to a symbol for a divided, disillusioned generation.
1:30 pm
U.S. Premiere
(Followed by a discussion with Hélier Cisterne)
Like the stolen car he is driving in circles, Chérif’s life is going nowhere in a hurry. When he is arrested for the umpteenth time, Chérif’s exasperated mother strikes a last-chance deal with a judge to send the troubled juvenile to live quietly with his aunt and uncle in Strasbourg, and attend vocational school to learn a good trade, like masonry. Chérif’s earnest attempt to go straight is sending him directly to the doldrums, until he discovers that his even straighter-laced cousin Thomas is actually part of a local gang of taggers called ORK, who roam the Strasbourg night bombing walls and overpasses in the shadow of a mysterious tagger whose death-defying works have made him a legend. Non-professional Zinedine Benchenine turns in a remarkably composed performance as the wayward boy who comes of age in the world of graffiti art.
4:00 pm
West Coast Premiere
(Followed by a discussion with co-writer/director Katell Quillévéré)
Like the titular song by Leonard Cohen, Suzanne is ultimately about a state of mind, a study in finding a sliver of grace amongst the heaps of garbage life can throw at you. Suzanne is close to her family, but between her widower father and her quiet sister, she is the troublemaker of the bunch. Restless and quixotic, her forgiving family endlessly endures the consequences of her dreams, her whims, and her bad choices. Largely set in 1990s Marseilles, the story elliptically pogo-dances through 25 years of Suzanne’s turbulent life: childhood, early pregnancy, single parenting, and above all, her driving love for an aspiring bad boy. The episodic structure perfectly mirrors Suzanne’s mercurial temperament, and Sara Forestier’s touching, contained performance holds it all together.
7:45 pm
ABUSE OF WEAKNESS (Abus de Faiblesse)
West Coast Premiere
In this starkly unsentimental autobiographical story, filmmaker Catherine Breillat recounts the real-life events that led to her getting taken for nearly a million dollars by the notorious con man Christophe Rocancourt. Isabelle Huppert plays Maude, a noted filmmaker who suffers a sudden stroke. After a partial recovery restores limited use of the affected side of her body, the willful, domineering Maude throws herself into preparations for her next film. Chancing upon an interview with the crudely charismatic Vilko, an infamous ex-con who served time for bilking millions from a who’s who list of high-society marks, Maude knows he’s the perfect lead for her film. The opportunistic Vilko, played by rapper Kool Shen, not only wants the role, he wants to spend a lot of time getting to know the director. He even has a great book idea that he can get going if she’s willing to write him a check. Despite her obvious vulnerabilities, Maude somehow convinces herself that she is holding the reins of their relationship, even as the “loans” begin to mount.
10:20 pm
JACKY IN THE KINGDOM OF WOMEN (Jacky au royaume des filles)
North American Premiere
Imagine a world where women call the shots, a world where women fight the wars, run the government, have the illustrious careers, and hold all the important positions of power. Now imagine being a man in that world. That man is 20 year old Jacky, and that fabled world is the Republic of Bubunne, a totalitarian matriarchy where men, wearing chadors and bejeweled dog collars, are relegated to lives of domestic servitude. Like all members of Bubunne’s downtrodden sex, Jacky dreams of marrying up. All the way up. He’s got his sights set on the Colonel, daughter of the supreme leader. But if he is ever going to make beautiful daughters with her, he first has to finagle his way into the Presidential Ball. With a memorable cameo by The Artist filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius playing a prostitute/rebel commander, this brilliant, incisive political satire written and directed by Riad Sattouf, unspools like a fairytale gone cruelly and hilariously berserk.
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