Dear friend,
this week I have ramped up my absorption of French films, in preparation for my move from a partially-French-speaking country to a fully-francophone one.
I didn’t expect so many French films from the 2000s’ to look like they were shot in the eighties. But I probably need to look beyond Netflix to find some very good ones.
Triangle, written and directed by Christopher Smith, Australia/United Kingdom, 2009 - ⭐⭐
This film’s reputation preceded it, but I was rather disappointed by what I felt was a messy assembly of different gimmicks and narrative ideas bookended by a ‘serious’ theme. It may be that the beginning and ending of the movie are the key to justify everything that happens, but I’ll need someone to expose a deeper analysis.
And then it’s maybe my problem, but (a) Melissa George’s acting kept pulling me off the film, and (b) when I saw a character walking around with a bag on their head, rather than Jason Vorhees I thought immediately of Los cronocrimenes.
Timecrimes/Los cronocrímenes, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, Spain, 2007 - ⭐⭐⭐
…and that’s why I quickly went for a rewatch of this Spanish film. This must have been the third time I watched Vigalondo’s debut film, and it was such a different experience: the first couple of times I focused on the plot mechanics, and one specific event (the road accident) didn’t feel consistent to me.
This time, I was struck by the story’s cruelty towards the younger woman (Bárbara Goenaga), whose goodwill and generosity are ‘rewarded’ by being abused, in increasingly disturbing ways, by every version of Hector (Karra Elejalde).
Every time I watch this movie I end up disappointed.
The Roses, directed by Jay Roach, written by Tony McNamara, based on Warren Adler’s novel The War of the Roses, United Kingdom/US, 2025 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
On the other hand, I wasn’t too excited about going to see the new version of The War of the Roses, but I had such a good time. I loved how it depicted the difficult relationship between two people that progressively grow distant until they believe they can’t stand each other, but deep down still care. And I think the script (by The Favourite and Poor Things! screenwriter) succeeds in not putting the blame on either of the protagonists.
Benedict Cumberbatch is great in a comedic role, and Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon bring some alternative energy to the leads’ British sensitivity, but I really can’t resist Olivia Colman’s charm: she could ask me to give her all my money (and add an expletive or two), and I would happily comply.
A Crime in Paradise/Un crime au Paradis, directed by Jean Becker, written by Sébastien Japrisot, based on Sacha Guitry’s film La Poison, France, 2001 - ⭐⭐⭐
By chance, the next film I watched after The Roses is another story about a couple who hate each other, so much so that, in this case, someone ends up dead.
Then the story becomes sort of a legal drama/comedy, the point of which I’m not too sure, due to the ambiguous way the accused character is portrayed.
Only Girls/Filles uniques, directed by Pierre Jolivet, co-written with Simon Michaël, France, 2003 - ⭐⭐⭐
A light, quietly enjoyable, story of a judge (Sandrine Kiberlain) and a young thief (Sylvie Testud) teaming up to solve a crime. Can you believe that they will influence each other’s way of living, and almost be the sister that they never had? Good, because there’s not much that’s believable in this film otherwise. Especially a third-act drama that comes out of nowhere.
Also, it’s a film about women written and directed by men, so keep that in mind.
In a small role, François Berléand, whom I have ‘met’ in Promenons-nous dans le bois, and has started haunting me even on French TV.
The Book of Solutions/Le livre des solutions, written and directed by Michel Gondry, France, 2023 - ⭐⭐⭐
Eternal Sunshine director Gondry had not shot a film since 2015’s Microbe and Gasoil (which I haven’t seen), and came back a couple of years ago with this movie. Honestly I was still disappointed by his previous (2013) Mood Indigo/L’écume des jours and I didn’t feel like spending time in a cinema watching this one.
Well, it seems that Gondry himself was burnt by his experience on that film, because this is the story of a director that tries to escape his producers by running away with the footage of his latest movie and his post-production team to complete the work without any external interference, but becomes increasingly erratic, rude, and megalomaniac.
And insufferable. Which apparently is the way Gondry ended up being while working on L’écume.
But, after depicting himself as a mentally unwell creative person, then the writer/director absolves and celebrates himself so spectacularly that I’m tempted to write him to ask for a recommendation of a very good therapist.
Svaha: The Sixth Finger/사바하, written and directed by Jang Jae-hyun, South Korea, 2019 - ⭐⭐⭐
The director of Exhuma, five years earlier, enrolled future Squid Game protagonist Lee Jung-jae for a horror-thriller about religion, cults and prophecies.
It would probably work better with a better knowledge of Korean religious background and traditions (I was not expecting so much Christianity in an Eastern country - actually, it is the dominant confession).
I really loved the cinematography in this film, but the story falls a bit apart in the end due, maybe, to an excessive willingness to surprise.