The movie industry's fall season calendar is marked by three major annual film festivals, in Venice, Toronto, and San Sebastián. In spite of modifications due to the exceptional circumstances of the global health crisis, these events remain true to tradition this year and offer international media a host of new highly anticipated French films.
The presence of French films at the Venice Biennale generated a large number of articles in the international press.
Mandibles, the new film by Quentin Dupieux, was unanimously hailed by the media. On TheFilmStage.com, it was described as the director's "most polished, expensive, and well-made film, and, not coincidentally, also his best."
https://thefilmstage.com/venice-review-quentin-dupieux-delivers-surreal-uproarious-comedy-in-mandibules/
In HeyUguys, we can read that "the only thing Mandibles is serious and earnest about is making a highly entertaining, politically incorrect comedy."
https://www.heyuguys.com/mandibules-review/
The Hollywood Reporter drew attention to "a trio of strong performances" that carried Nicole Garcia's latest film Lovers, which is in competition at Venice:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lovers-amants-film-review-venice-2020
In Variety, Garci states that her film evokes "the harmful bite of love":
https://variety.com/2020/film/global/venice-film-festival-lovers-nicole-garcia-1234759545/
At TIFF, an article in The Hollywood Reporter affirms that Nicolas Maury is "clearly a talent to watch who is capable of juggling extreme tonal shifts." My Best Part, Maury's directing debut, was presented in a world premiere at the festival.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/my-best-part-garcon-chiffon-film-review-tiff-2020
Simple Passion, the latest film by Danielle Arbid, was in competition at San Sebastian. Cinemania remarked on its "sensuality without artifice" and the "impressive Laetitia Dosch, who deserved an award."
https://cinemania.20minutos.es/noticias/san-sebastian-2020-passion-simple-por-que-lo-llaman-amor/
According to Fotogramas, the actress "delivers a faultless performance" and stood out as "a good choice for the jury":
https://www.fotogramas.es/festival-de-san-sebastian/a34102468/passion-simple-danielle-arbid-adaptacion-annie-ernaux/
International media outlets have also reported on new French film releases in early September.
Anne Fontaine's new film Night Shift opened in theaters in French-speaking Switzerland on September 2, with its release bolstered by wide coverage from the local media:
"A somber and masterful film about the power of doubt and the weight of duty," reports the daily French-language newspaper La Liberté:
https://www.laliberte.ch/news/culture/cine--tv/trois-flics-et-un-cas-de-conscience-575169
"This is the big movie event of the fall season," announced the Swiss public broadcaster RTS, which devoted a special cultural program to the film.
https://www.rts.ch/play/tv/12h45/video/rendez-vous-culture-anne-fontaine-cineaste-scenariste-et-actrice-?urn=urn:rts:video:11551501
Papicha Non conosci Papicha (You don't know Papicha) is the Italian title of Papicha, debut feature film by Mounia Meddour, which recently hit theaters in Italy. In Cinecitta News, it is described as a film "with a huge emotional impact that tackles openly feminist themes, free of all didacticism."
https://news.cinecitta.com/IT/it-it/news/55/83063/la-ribellione-di-papicha-nell-algeria-fondamentalista.aspx
For La Rivista del Cinematografo, "Papicha proposes an entirely feminine universe in which there is no place for pity or lamentation."
https://www.cinematografo.it/recensioni/non-conosci-papicha/
Also released in Italy, Whatever Happened to my Revolution attracted the attention of the communist daily Il Manifesto, which stated that director Judith Davis offers in her film "an acerbic, if timorous, reflection on the current state of crisis in the European left, which can no longer mobilize the masses to rally around any ideal at all."
https://ilmanifesto.it/cosa-resta-della-rivoluzione-il-sogno-infranto-del-sessantotto/
Summer of 85 arrived in movie theaters in the Netherlands early September and has already raked in 9,000 admissions. The Dutch daily De Volkskrant declared that "this warm-hearted and sincere drama is possibly the director's most personal film to date."
https://www.volkskrant.nl/cultuur-media/ete-85-is-juist-in-zijn-eenvoud-bijzonder-met-een-oprechte-toon-en-knap-doorvoelde-emoties~b72ca100/
On another tack, the monthly movie magazine De FilmKrant described it as "a nostalgic film for teenagers in which Ozon purposefully keeps a lightness of touch."
https://filmkrant.nl/recensies/ete-85/
The Russian media gave an enthusiastic reception to the new film by Dominik Moll, Only the Animals, which opened in theaters late August. According to Sobesednik, the director shines a light on "the frightening absurdity of human nature."
https://sobesednik.ru/kultura-i-tv/20200828-magiya-zverya-pugayushij-absur
For TimeOut, The Magic of Beasts (the film's Russian title) is "a brilliant, expressive, and original film."
https://www.timeout.ru/artwork/magiya-zverya/review
On Kinoart.ru, we can read that Dominik Moll is "one of France's most original filmmakers":
https://kinoart.ru/interviews/lyublyu-prizrakov-koldunov-dvoynikov-i-eto-nikak-ne-meshaet-sotsialnomu-pafosu
In Spain, three French films have opened in the fall season so far:
The fourth feature by Mohamed Hamidi, Queens of The Field, has been acclaimed by the press and audiences alike. Elpalomitron.com described it as "an intelligent modern film, a breath of fresh air."
https://elpalomitron.com/va-por-nosotras
Speaking about Arab Blues, Cinemanía stated that "roots and the call of the homeland are the soul of this debut film that explores the Arab cultural revolution, with a sense of humor and lightness."
https://cinemania.20minutos.es/criticas/un-divan-en-tunez/
Despite its low-key release, Just Don't Think I'll Scream by Frank Beauvais drew the attention of the Spanish press. Cinemanía characterized it as "a collage of 450 films to overcome (or to pass on) sorrow and anxiety."
https://cinemania.20minutos.es/criticas/no-creas-que-voy-a-gritar/
For OtroscinesEuropa, the film is "a dazzling video diary in which cinema becomes both a refuge and a prison."
http://www.otroscineseuropa.com/no-creas-que-voy-a-gritar-de-frank-beauvais/
In Canada, the fall season began with a number of French films, including Perfumes by Grégory Magne, which achieved its best performance outside France in Quebec. For LesArtsZe.com, it is "a charming film full of nuances and fragrances."
https://lesartsze.com/les-parfums-un-film-charmant-tout-en-nuance-et-en-fragrances-a-voir-au-cinema-le-clap/
In Le Devoir, we can read that "the discreet charm of the film functions well as a whole," with the newspaper recommending it "to audiences with a love of delicate cinephile fragrances."
https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/cinema/584904/les-parfums-le-charme-discret-de-la-subtilite
We will conclude this press roundup with Oceania, noting in particular the excellent reception given by the Australian press to The Translators by Régis Roinsard.
The Australian defined the film as "a mix of Agatha Christie and Hitchcock […] with an extravagant plot twist presented in an appealing way."
http://theaustralian.smedia.com.au/HTML5/PrintPages.aspx?doc=NCAUSRV/2020/09/12&from=13&to=13
In The Australian Financial Review, the country's leading daily business and finance newspaper, attention was drawn to Régis Roinsard's ability to "craft a compelling piece of cinema from highly unlikely materials."
We'll see you all next month for another international press roundup!
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