French Art House III
January: French Art House III, FLMTQ Releases 275-278
During the month of January Filmatique presents French Art House III, a collection of works by some of the finest filmmakers working in France.
Xavier Legrand's debut film Custody is a sophisticated chamber drama, in which a teenage boy becomes hopelessly entangled in his parents' divorce; Lucas Belvaux's Rapt delves into the media circus that ensues when a wealthy industrialist is kidnapped and held for ransom. Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's Let the Corpses Tan navigates tropes of pulp filmmaking as a band of robbers absconds to a cliff-top hideout, while The Trouble of You comically traces a widow's hapless conviction to make amends for her corrupt husband's legacy.
Themes of crime, punishment, and familial drama pervade the second edition of Filmatique's French Art House series, offering a window into the preoccupations of contemporary French society.
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Custody, Xavier Legrand (2017)
Custody, Xavier Legrand / France, 2017
Miriam and Antoine's nearly two decades of marriage have arrived at a bitter divorce. Sitting before a judge, Miriam seeks sole custody of their two children—Joséphine, nearly eighteen, and her younger brother Julien—but Antoine is ultimately given the benefit of the doubt. This family's already brittle relations are strained further by Antoine's mandated visits with his son, an unwilling hostage to the escalating conflict.
Filmed in a cinéma vérité style and steeped in the airless atmosphere of familial drama, Custody is an expertly-crafted inquiry into the cascading effects of toxic masculinity and domestic violence. Xavier Legrand's first film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won Best Director; San Sebastián, where it won the Audience Award; and São Paulo, where it won the Critics' Award. Custody was nominated for ten César Awards, winning Best Film, Best Editing, and Best Actress, and is a New York Times Critics' Pick.
Let the Corpses Tan, Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani (2017)
Let the Corpses Tan, Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani / France-Belgium, 2017
Luce is a conceptual artist who lives and paints in a remote village overlooking the sun-drenched Mediterranean. Alongside her motley crew of family and admirers, she also has guests are arriving this week, strangers meant to bring her inspiration—unbeknownst to her, they are violent criminals who have just stolen over 250kg of gold. Luce's commune seems like the perfect hideout, until two police officers arrive on motorcycle to investigate.
Based on a classic pulp novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette and featuring a score of vintage Ennio Morricone, Let the Corpses Tan is sensual, exhilarating cinematic fever dream. The third feature from cult filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears) premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival, Rotterdam, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, and IndieLisboa.
Rapt, Lucas Belvaux (2009)
Rapt, Lucas Belvaux / France-Belgium, 2009
It’s an ostensibly average day for Stanilas Graff. A wealthy industrialist, he jets from his stately home to a cascade of business meetings—until his chauffeured car is hijacked, and he finds himself in the custody of kidnappers. With the ransom set at fifty million euros, both Graff's family and the multi-national corporation he runs scramble to pull together the funds as increasingly unsavory details of his life trickle into the media.
A taut study of power and privilege in contemporary France, Rapt doubles as a social-political thriller and a rich character study of a man defined largely by his ever-shifting circumstances. Lucas Belvaux's seventh feature premiered at CPH:PIX, the São Paulo International Film Festival, and Rotterdam.
The Trouble With You, Pierre Salvadori (2018)