The month of October was marked by a large number of movie industry events held around the world. Despite the current economic situation and prior to the renewed closure of theaters, French films were released in numerous markets. Here is our latest overview of the international press.
The Zurich Film Festival organized a tribute to French cinema this year with an on-site audience-friendly Focus on France section. Juliette Binoche is the first French actress to receive the festival's Golden Icon Award—an event that attracted considerable attention in the Swiss media.
Among media outlets, the German-language daily Tages-Anzeiger highlighted the statements made by the actress regarding her social awareness in an interview:
https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wir-muessen-aufhoeren-ueber-unsere-kleinen-leben-nachzudenken-640593257311
According to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Juliette Binoche "brings a little glamour to the festival":
https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/zurich-film-festival/juliette-binoche-am-zff-2020-kochende-maenner-sind-sexy-ld.1579151
In Portugal, the 21st edition of the Festa do Cinema Francês took place, also widely covered by the local media. Miss, by the Franco-Portuguese director Ruben Alves (whose film The Gilded Cage was a smash hit in Portugal in 2013), was screened as festival opener. The national daily Publico discussed the film and detailed the festival program.
https://www.publico.pt/2020/10/08/culturaipsilon/noticia/miss-ruben-alves-abre-quintafeira-lisboa-festa-cinema-frances-1934422
Reporting on the festival, the daily newspaper Diario de Noticias stated: "Watch out, pandemic! The Festa do Cinema Francês has arrived in force!"
https://www.dn.pt/edicao-do-dia/08-out-2020/ruben-alves-abre-festa-do-cinema-frances-com-programa-de-luxo-12889017.html?target=conteudo_fechado
Presented at the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia (Spain), Mandibles charmed not only the jury, who awarded the film two prizes, but also the Spanish press. Fotogramas wrote: "It's time to make the release of Quentin Dupieux's films a mainstream event in our country."
https://www.fotogramas.es/festival-de-sitges/a34329880/mandibulas-critica-pelicula-sitges/
Cinemania described the film as "a remedy for the soul," "the perfect opportunity to support the cinema," and "the director's most hilarious film yet."
https://cinemania.20minutos.es/noticias/sitges-2020-dos-tontos-muy-tontos-la-mosca-mandibulas/
Selected at the Rome Film Fest, Summer of 85 was reported on MyMovies.it: "Ozon goes beyond the genre, returning to the romantic matrix of his art and rediscovers the reasons behind his films."
https://www.mymovies.it/film/2020/ete-84/news/la-recensione/
The film was released in Spain early October, with the national daily El Mundo dedicating an extensive article to it: "Provocative, feminist, brilliant, and controversial: The 6 keys to the cinema of François Ozon"
https://www.elmundo.es/metropoli/cine/2020/10/13/5f7eef4afdddff2e598b459c.html
And the monthly film magazine Fotogramas also published a long interview with the director:
https://www.fotogramas.es/noticias-cine/a34321374/verano-del-85-francois-ozon-entrevista/
The other outstanding release in Spain was The Room by Christian Volckman, which broke into the box office Top 10. Cinemania portrayed the film as "a critique of technology, greed, and the abuse of power."
https://cinemania.20minutos.es/noticias/entrevista-christian-volckman-la-habitacion-the-room/
For decine21.com, the film offers "an interesting look at frustrated fatherhood and human ambition, and a successful mix between drama, thriller, and sci-fi."
https://decine21.com/peliculas/the-room-40713
The British media gave an enthusiastic welcome to the documentary Little Girl by Sébastien Lifshitz, which hit movie theaters in the UK late September. In Tilt Magazine, we can read that "Lifshitz has a way of making his documentaries gently flow like fiction features."
https://tiltmagazine.net/film/little-girl-is-a-gorgeous-work-of-cinematic-empathy/
And for Little White Lies, "Sébastien Lifshitz is a voice to be listened to on LGBT+ subjects."
https://lwlies.com/reviews/little-girl/
My Donkey, My Lover & I, recently released in the Netherlands, received mixed reviews in the press: "Have you ever heard a married woman say thank you to her husband's mistress?" asks, somewhat disconcertedly, the monthly film magazine De Filmkrant.
https://filmkrant.nl/recensies/antoinette-dans-les-cevennes/
The German press were more forgiving. Film-Dienst presented the film by Caroline Vignal as being "about self-discovery, with an excellent actress." Its German title translates as My Lover, the Donkey, and Me.
https://www.filmdienst.de/kino/laufende-woche
According to La Libre Belgique, the success of My Cousin, the latest film by Jan Kounen, is due in part to "the precision of the Belgian actor François Damiens." We can also read that this comedy "questions the traumas of childhood, the depth of feelings, and the choices that define our paths in life."
https://www.lalibre.be/culture/cinema/mon-cousin-francois-damiens-parfaitement-credible-dans-les-situations-les-plus-alambiquees-et-riche-d-une-belle-sensibilite-5f730ed6d8ad586219aa9858
And for Le Vif, the comedy brings to mind "the dynamics of popular French comedians from the 1970s and 1980s":
https://focus.levif.be/culture/cinema/critique-cine-mon-cousin-relativement-sympathique/article-review-1336041.html
Media outlets in Switzerland, where the film has also been released, have been somewhat harsher, with Cineman lamenting that "the result is sadly way below expectations."
https://www.cineman.ch/fr/movie/2020/MonCousin/review.html
We will end our international press roundup in Japan with The Wolf's Call. The Japanese cultural website Natalie.mu reminds readers in the following article that the film by Antonin Baudry won the César Award for Best Sound Design, and reveals some interesting production secrets:
https://natalie.mu/eiga/news/397334
Media Gallery
