Portfolio

25 JUNE 2017

The last day, on Sunday 25 June, of the French Film Festival in Yokohama in Tokyo, beneath dark skies, but in theaters that were almost always full. Like that, filled with morning filmgoers, who welcomed Trần Anh Hùng, who had come to present his saga Eternity, then that which celebrated the contemporary dance of Polina, in the presence of its directors Angelin Preljocaj and Valérie Müller.

After the post-film discussion and the ritual autograph signing session, Tran Anh Hung participated in the encounter, organized in the Apple Store in Ginza, with Japanese filmmaker Ryosuke Hashiguchi. One hour of intense sensitivity, during which theoretical questions about Hung's cinema were discussed, without ever neglecting emotions, which are shared, as he explained, through his use of music, but also through the magic of editing.

At the same time, Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj presented Polina to captive spectators, who asked many questions during the discussion, and whose precision and reactivity impressed the filmmakers, who were expecting a more timid response.

A 1977 film starring Alain Delon, Death of a Corrupt Man, recalled, at its 5pm session, the memory of French thrillers. It marks the classy start of a major retrospective, during a year, devoted to the French star by Star Channel. And the festival ended with chills and thrills with the screening of Raw, the last, full-house session of the twenty-fifth edition.

Almost all the films that have been shown during the past four days will release in the next few months in Japan. Soon, they'll have a new life in new theaters, with new audiences and new expectations, and always, for many Japanese francophiles and movie fans, renewed promises.

See you next year at the 26th edition!