The man in the moon hitches a ride down to Earth in this delightful, old-school slice of storytelling
Stephan Schesch's kids' cartoon, based on the 1967 picture book by Tomi Ungerer, is a lo-fi delight, blending old-school storytelling with a whiff of head-shop trippiness.
Ungerer provides the voice of the lonesome man on the moon, who hitches a ride down to Earth on the tail of a comet and promptly decides that he would rather go home. So what if the plot feels a tad rudimentary? Moon Man has been crafted with love and painted with care. It's the equivalent of the handmade Christmas present, left under the tree, just waiting to be found.
Rating: 3/5
AnimationXan Brooks
theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
Stephan Schesch's kids' cartoon, based on the 1967 picture book by Tomi Ungerer, is a lo-fi delight, blending old-school storytelling with a whiff of head-shop trippiness.
Ungerer provides the voice of the lonesome man on the moon, who hitches a ride down to Earth on the tail of a comet and promptly decides that he would rather go home. So what if the plot feels a tad rudimentary? Moon Man has been crafted with love and painted with care. It's the equivalent of the handmade Christmas present, left under the tree, just waiting to be found.
Rating: 3/5
AnimationXan Brooks
theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 12/29/2013
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
Famed for his distinctive illustrative style and shrewd social satire, children’s author Tomi Ungerer penned Moon Man in 1966 – and it’s a tale that has now been brought to life on the big screen by first-time filmmakers Stephan Schesch and Sarah Clara Weber. Remaining faithful to Ungerer’s distinguishable approach, Moon Man combines a touching story with an enchanting aesthetic, to form a simply delightful animation.
Despite being a great source of inspiration to children amongst the world, the man who lives in the moon is bored and in need of some company. So he decides to hitch a ride down to Earth, though his arrival is not met with the warmest of welcomes by the world’s egotistical, bloodthirsty President, who fears an alien invasion. However despite being exposed to all of the world’s natural beauty, the Moon Man’s disappearance means that children around the world...
Despite being a great source of inspiration to children amongst the world, the man who lives in the moon is bored and in need of some company. So he decides to hitch a ride down to Earth, though his arrival is not met with the warmest of welcomes by the world’s egotistical, bloodthirsty President, who fears an alien invasion. However despite being exposed to all of the world’s natural beauty, the Moon Man’s disappearance means that children around the world...
- 12/24/2013
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
American Hustle | Anchorman 2 | The Harry Hill Movie | Walking With Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie | Moshi Monsters: The Movie | The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty | All Is Lost
American Hustle (15)
(David O Russell, 2013, Us) Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence. 138 mins
Big, brassy and outrageously coiffured, this crazed 70s crime epic leads you into a maze, then keeps you wondering if it knows the way out. Things starts out small, with Bale and Adams's petty con duo turned by Cooper's ambitious Fed, but stakes escalate, allegiances complicate, and deceptions multiply deliriously, carried along by lovably flawed characters and a manic energy.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (15)
(Adam McKay, 2013, Us) Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd. 119 mins
The hype is over, as Ferrell reunites his news team and drags them into New York, the 80s and the 24-hour era. But this sequel's absurdity, cameo-fuelled mayhem and mild...
American Hustle (15)
(David O Russell, 2013, Us) Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence. 138 mins
Big, brassy and outrageously coiffured, this crazed 70s crime epic leads you into a maze, then keeps you wondering if it knows the way out. Things starts out small, with Bale and Adams's petty con duo turned by Cooper's ambitious Fed, but stakes escalate, allegiances complicate, and deceptions multiply deliriously, carried along by lovably flawed characters and a manic energy.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (15)
(Adam McKay, 2013, Us) Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd. 119 mins
The hype is over, as Ferrell reunites his news team and drags them into New York, the 80s and the 24-hour era. But this sequel's absurdity, cameo-fuelled mayhem and mild...
- 12/21/2013
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Batul Mukhtiar won the Golden Elephant trophy for Best Live Action Director for Kaphal in the Competition International Live Action section at the International Children’s Film Festival of India.
Tamaash or The Puppet by Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh won the Golden Elephant trophy for Best Short, Children’s Jury. The film was competing in the International Shorts section.
Shilpa Ranade’s Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya was awarded the Jury Prize for Best Artwork and Arnab Chaudhuri’s Arjun won a Golden Elephant trophy for Best Animation Feature, Children’s Jury. Both films were competing in the International Animation competition section.
The 18th edition of the festival was held in Hyderabad from November 14 – 20, 2013.
Complete list of winners:
Competition Little Directors
Golden Elephant trophy for Best Little Director – Breaking The Silence by Siddhanth Joshi and Tamatar Chor by Pawanjot Singh.
Golden Plaque for Second Best Little Director – Ecole Mondiale World...
Tamaash or The Puppet by Satyanshu Singh and Devanshu Singh won the Golden Elephant trophy for Best Short, Children’s Jury. The film was competing in the International Shorts section.
Shilpa Ranade’s Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya was awarded the Jury Prize for Best Artwork and Arnab Chaudhuri’s Arjun won a Golden Elephant trophy for Best Animation Feature, Children’s Jury. Both films were competing in the International Animation competition section.
The 18th edition of the festival was held in Hyderabad from November 14 – 20, 2013.
Complete list of winners:
Competition Little Directors
Golden Elephant trophy for Best Little Director – Breaking The Silence by Siddhanth Joshi and Tamatar Chor by Pawanjot Singh.
Golden Plaque for Second Best Little Director – Ecole Mondiale World...
- 11/21/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The 18th International Children’s Film Festival of India has announced the competition lineup for 2013. Some of the well-known Indian films in competition are Nagraj Manjule’s Fandry [Read interview], Shilpa Ranade’s Goopi Gawaiya Bagha Bajaiya [Read interview] and Batul Mukhtiar’s Kaphal.
Organized by the Children’s Film Society of India, the biennial festival also known as The Golden Elephant will be held from November 14-20, 2013 in Hyderabad.
Competition Live Action
A Horse on the Balcony
Dir.: Hüseyin Tabak (Austria)
Tainá – an Amazon Legend
Dir.: Rosanne Svartman (Brazil)
Havanastation
Dir.: Ian Padrón (Cuba)
The Great Bird Chase
Dir.: Christian Dyekjær (Denmark)
Horizon Beautiful
Dir.: Stefan Jäger (Ethiopia, Switzerland)
Windstrom
Germany
Igor and the Cranes’ Journey
Dir.: Evgeny Ruman (Germany, Israel, Poland)
Fandry
Dir.: Nagraj Manjule (India)
Kaphal
Dir.: Batul Mukhtiar (India)
Good Fellows
Iran
7 Days of Himmawari and her Puppies
Dir.: Emiko Hiramatsu (Japan)
Mother,...
Organized by the Children’s Film Society of India, the biennial festival also known as The Golden Elephant will be held from November 14-20, 2013 in Hyderabad.
Competition Live Action
A Horse on the Balcony
Dir.: Hüseyin Tabak (Austria)
Tainá – an Amazon Legend
Dir.: Rosanne Svartman (Brazil)
Havanastation
Dir.: Ian Padrón (Cuba)
The Great Bird Chase
Dir.: Christian Dyekjær (Denmark)
Horizon Beautiful
Dir.: Stefan Jäger (Ethiopia, Switzerland)
Windstrom
Germany
Igor and the Cranes’ Journey
Dir.: Evgeny Ruman (Germany, Israel, Poland)
Fandry
Dir.: Nagraj Manjule (India)
Kaphal
Dir.: Batul Mukhtiar (India)
Good Fellows
Iran
7 Days of Himmawari and her Puppies
Dir.: Emiko Hiramatsu (Japan)
Mother,...
- 10/30/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Sliff/Kids opens tonight! I’m planning on attending tonight’s show and tomorrow night’s as well. This should be a great, Free, event and hopefully will turn into an annual fest.
Did we mention everything is free!!!
Cinema St. Louis introduces Sliff/Kids, the First Annual St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival, presented by Pnc Arts Alive. With a half-dozen presenting partners, Csl will offer film programs, camps, and a workshop as part of Sliff/Kids, which is held from July 26-Aug. 4, 2013. A total of 14 film programs will be screened on the fest’s two weekends (July 26-28 and Aug. 2-4) at Webster University, the St. Louis Public Library, the Missouri History Museum, Washington University, Lindenwood University, and the Wildey Theatre. With the participation of both Lindenwood and Webster universities, filmmaking camps on live action and animation will be held at the St. Louis Public Library’s...
Did we mention everything is free!!!
Cinema St. Louis introduces Sliff/Kids, the First Annual St. Louis International Children’s Film Festival, presented by Pnc Arts Alive. With a half-dozen presenting partners, Csl will offer film programs, camps, and a workshop as part of Sliff/Kids, which is held from July 26-Aug. 4, 2013. A total of 14 film programs will be screened on the fest’s two weekends (July 26-28 and Aug. 2-4) at Webster University, the St. Louis Public Library, the Missouri History Museum, Washington University, Lindenwood University, and the Wildey Theatre. With the participation of both Lindenwood and Webster universities, filmmaking camps on live action and animation will be held at the St. Louis Public Library’s...
- 7/26/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Col*Coa is winding down, but you can still catch a few stellar films and see the award winners for free Monday, April 22, 2013.
Award Screenings at 6:00 pm: The evening will start with the rerun of two awarded films in the Renoir and Truffaut Theaters at the DGA. Films will be announced on Sunday April 21 on the Col*Coa website, on Facebook, Twitter and on the Col•Coa info line (310) 289 5346. Free admission on a First comes First Served basis. No RSVP needed.
You can stay and also see the Closing Night Films at 8:30 pm at the DGA. Reservations needed. Those are both North American Premieres of two very anticipated French films. The thriller Moebus by Eric Rochant will show for free as will the comedy Like Brothers by Hugo Gélin.
Being among the French filmmakers (and I saw way too few of the films) gave me such a surprising sense of renewal - again because of this upcoming generation. After seeing City of Lights, the short by Pascal Tessaud which preceded the classic Jacques Demy film Bay of Angels starring a platinum blond gambling-addicted Jeanne Moreau in Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo in 1963, we spoke at length about what is called "The New Vibe". City of Lights stars a deeply quiet young man from "les banlieus", the notorious "suburbs" surrounding Paris where the international mix of young (and old) proletariat population is invisible to the rest of France except when the anger erupts into riots. This first generation has the French education but not the money or jobs and it hurts. They have picked up the cameras and with no money are creating films which express their lives in many ways like the new Latin American filmmakers or the new Eastern European filmmakers. Tessaud gave me an entire education in the hour we talked and I will share this in time. For now, aside from his wonderfuly trenchant film which played like a feature, which captured the Paris this young generation recognizes as The City of Lights - dancing, the kitchen of a very upscale restaurant, the dreary streets filled with construction, there is another example of The New Vibe, started by Rachid Djaïdani (a story in himself) the film Hold Back (Rengaine) leads the pack of the 20-some-odd new films of The New Vibe. It is produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint (Les Films des Tournelles) whose films are too numerous to name but include my favorite The Hedgehog which I wrote about at Col*Coa two years ago, Col*Coa's current Cycling with Moliere, 2002's Respiro and many many others. Hold Back took 9 years to make and most of the team was unpaid. The New Vibe makes films without the aid of the French system of funding; it is more guerilla-style, not New Wave, not Dogma but New Vibe. Hold Back took Cannes by storm when it showed last year in Directors Fortnight and went on to New Directors/ New Films in New York. The classic story of a Catholic and a Muslim who want to marry but whose family objects, this rendition the Juliet has a brother who marches throughout Paris to alert her 39 other brothers that she wants to marry outside her cultural and religious traditions. "This fresh debut mixes fable, plucky social commentary - particularly about France's Arab community - and inventive comic setpieces" (Col*Coa)
Hold Back (Rengaine) (Isa: Pathe) goes beyond the funny but "establishmant" film Intouchable which played here last year. It is the exact opposite of such films as Sister or even Aliyah (Isa: Rezo) which played here this year and also in Directors Fortnight last year. Aliyah is about a young French Jewish man who must make his last drug sale in order to escape his brother's destructive behavior. He escapes by immigrating to Israel. These films are made by filmmakers within the French establishment and describe a proletariat existence which exists in their bourgeois minds. They lack a certain "verite" which can only be captured by one who knows viscerally what such marginal existence is.
At the opposite end of the contemporary spectrum of films today, a real establishment film is You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Alain Renais (you have to be a Renais fan to love it who was so avant-garde in his day). Those old New Wave films one could see here stand out in beautiful contrast to today's New Vibe: Renais' Stavisky or the 1963 film The Fire Within (Le feu follet) by Louis Malle again starring the beautiful Jeanne Moreau. I missed them both to my regret. When I miss a film I always tell myself I can see it when it's released or on DVD or Mubi, but rarely do I get to see it. Instead I can only read about it as here written up by Beth Hanna on Indiewire blog ToH. The Fire Within was part of Wes Anderson's choices, one of the various showcases of Col*Coa. Says Hanna: "Anderson's taste is impeccable: He has selected Louis Malle's 1963 lyrical depression drama The Fire Within." It was made after the classic Elevator to the Gallows (1958) which Miles Davis scored and which also starred the young Jeanne Moreau. She also could be seen her in Col*Coa in the classic 1963 Jacques Demy-directed Bay of Angels.
Col*Coa really offered something for everyone this year. Another of my favorite film genres, the Jewish film, was represented by Aliyah and The Dandelions (Du Vent dans mes mollets) (Isa: Gaumont), Stavisky, and It Happened in St. Tropez (Isa: Pathe), a classic French comedy -- though a bit dark and yet still comedic, about romance, love and marriage switching between generations in a neurotic, comfortably wealthy Jewish family. The Dandelions was, according to my friend Debra Levine, a writer on culture including film and dance, (see her blog artsmeme), "darling, so touching, so well made, so creative ... i really liked it. Went into that rabbit hole of little girls together ... Barbie doll play. Crazy creative play. As looney as kids can be."
Ian Birnie's favorite film was Becoming Traviata. Greg Katchel's favorite originally was Rendez-vous à Kiruna by Anna Novion, but when I saw him later in the festival his favorite was Cycling with Moliere (Alceste a bicyclette) (Isa: Pathe), again produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint and directed by Philippe Le Guay who directed one of my favorites, The Women on the 6th Floor. Greg also liked Three Worlds though it was a bit "schematic" in depicting the clash of different cultures which were also shown in Hold Back.
Of the few films I was able to see, the most interesting was Augustine by Alice Winokur. It is the French response to David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and the British film Hysteria. All three were about the turn of the century concern of psychologists or doctors with female hysteria. This one concerned Jean-Martin Charcot and the neurologist's belief that hysteria was a neurological disease and he used hypnosis to get at its roots, whild in A Dangerous Method it was seen by Freud and Jung as a mental disorder and in Hysteria by Tanya Wexler (Tiff 2011) in which Dr. Mortimer Granville devises the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.
Take a look at Indiewire's own article here for more on Los Angeles's greatest French attraction, the second largest French film festival in the world.
Several American distributors will present their films at Col•Coa before their U.S. release: Kino Lorber – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, co-written and directed by Alain Resnais (Focus on a Filmmaker); Mpi Media – Thérèse, the last film of director/co-writer Claude Miller starring Audrey Tautou; Cohen Media Group – In the House, written and directed by François Ozon and The Attack, co-written and directed by Ziad Doueiri; Distrib Films for two documentaries: Becoming Traviata and The Invisibles; Film Movement for two thrillers: Aliyah and Three Worlds; The Weinstein Company - Populaire.
Below you can see the international sales agents for the current features showing.
11.6 / 11.6 (Isa: Wild Bunch)
Directed by: Philippe Godeau
Written by: Philippe Godeau, Agnès De Sacy
A Few Hours Of Spring / Quelques heures de printemps (Isa: Rezo)
Directed by: Stéphane Brizé ♀
Written by: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Hélène Vincent, Emmanuelle Seigner, Olivier Perrier
Aliyah/Alyah ✡ (Isa: Rezo, U.S.: Film Movement
Directed by: Élie Wajeman
Written by: Élie Wajeman, Gaëlle Macé
Armed Hands / Mains armées (Isa: Films Distribution)
Directed by: Pierre Jolivet
Written by: Pierre Jolivet, Simon Michaël
Augustine / Augustine (Isa: Kinology, U.S.: Music Box)
Directed by: Alice Winocour ♀
Written by: Alice Winocour
Aya Of Yop City / Aya de Yopougon (Isa: TF1)
Directed by: Clément Oubrerie, Marguerite Abouet ♀
Written by: Marguerite Abouet
Bay Of Angels / La Baie des anges (U.S.: Criterion)
Directed by: Jacques Demy
Written by: Jacques Demy
Becoming Traviata /Traviata et nous (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S. Distrib Films and Cinema Guild)
Directed by: Philippe Béziat
Written by: Philippe Béziat
Cycling With MOLIÈRE / Alceste à bicyclette (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Philippe Le Guay
Written by: Philippe Le Guay, based on an original idea by Fabrice Luchini and Philippe Le Guay
Fly Me To The Moon / Un plan parfait (Isa: Kinology)
Directed By: Pascal Chaumeil
Written By: Laurent Zeitoun, Yoann Gromb, Philippe Mechelen
Haute Cuisine / Les Saveurs du palais (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: The Weinstein Company)
Directed by: Christian Vincent
Written by: Etienne Comar & Christian Vincent, based on the life of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch
Hidden Beauties / Mille-Feuille (Isa: Other Angle Pictures)
Directed by: Nouri Bouzid
Written by: Nouri Bouzid, Joumène Limam
Hold Back / Rengaine (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Rachid Djaïdani
Written by: Rachid Djaïdani
In The House / Dans la maison (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
Directed by: François Ozon
Written by: François Ozon
It Happened In Saint-tropez / Des Gens qui s’embrassent (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Danièle Thompson ♀
Written by: Danièle Thompson, Christopher Thompson
Jappeloup/ Jappeloup (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Christian Duguay
Written by: Guillaume Canet
Le Grand Soir / Le grand soir (Isa: Funny Balloons)
Directed by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
Written by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
Little Lion / Comme un Lion (Isa: Pyramide)
Directed by: Samuel Collardey
Written by: Catherine Paillé, Nadège Trebal, Samuel Collardey
Moon Man / Jean de la lune (Isa: Le Pacte)
Directed By: Stephan Schesch
Written By: Stephan Schesch, Ralph Martin. Based on the book by: Tomi Ungerer
Populaire / Populaire (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: TWC)
Directed By: Régis Roinsard
Written By: Régis Roinsard, Daniel Presley, Romain Compingt
Rendezvous In Kiruna / Rendez-vous à Kiruna (Isa: Pyramide)
Directed by: Anne Novion ♀
Written by: Olivier Massart, Anne Novion, Pierre Novion
Sons Of The Wind / Les Fils du vent (Isa: Wide)
Directed by: Bruno Le Jean
Written by: Bruno Le Jean
Stavisky / Stavisky (1974) (Isa: StudioCanal)
Directed by: Alain Resnais
Written by: Jorge Semprún
The Attack / L’Attentat
France, Belgium, Lebanon, Qatar, 2013
Directed by: Ziad Doueiri (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
The BRONTË Sisters / Les Soeurs Brontë (Isa: Gaumont, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
Directed by: André Téchiné
Written by: André Téchiné, Jean Gruault, Pascal Bonitzer
The Dandelions / Du Vent dans mes mollets ✡
Directed By: Carine Tardieu ♀
Written By: Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir, Olivier Beer
The Fire Within / Le Feu Follet (1963) (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Janus Films)
Directed by: Louis Malle
Written by: Louis Malle
The Invisibles / Les Invisibles (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S. Distrib Films))
Directed By: Sébastien Lifshitz
The Man Who Laughs/ L’Homme qui rit (Isa: EuropaCorps)
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Améris
Written by: Jean-Pierre Améris , Guillaume Laurant
THÉRÈSE / Thérèse Desqueyroux (Isa: TF1, U.S.: Mpi)
Directed by: Claude Miller
Written by: Claude Miller, Natalie Carter
Three Worlds / Trois mondes (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Film Movement)
Directed by: Catherine Corsini ♀
Written by: Catherine Corsini, Benoît Graffin
To Our Loves / À nos amours (1983) (U.S. Janus)
Directed By: Maurice Pialat
Written By: Arlette Langmann, Maurice Pialat
True Friends / Amitiés sincères (Isa: Snd Groupe 6)
Directed By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie
Written By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie, Marie-Pierre Huster
Welcome To Argentina / Mariage à Mendoza (Isa: Kinology)
Directed By: Édouard Deluc
Written By: Anaïs Carpita, Édouard Deluc, Thomas Lilti, Philippe Rebbot
What’S In A Name / Le prénom (Isa: Pathe, U.S. Under The Milky Way)
Directed by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
Written by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
You Ain’T Seen Nothin’ Yet / Vous n’avez encore rien vu (Isa: StudioCanal, U.S.: Kino Lorber)
Directed By: Alain Resnais
Written By: Alain Resnais, Laurent Herbiet...
Award Screenings at 6:00 pm: The evening will start with the rerun of two awarded films in the Renoir and Truffaut Theaters at the DGA. Films will be announced on Sunday April 21 on the Col*Coa website, on Facebook, Twitter and on the Col•Coa info line (310) 289 5346. Free admission on a First comes First Served basis. No RSVP needed.
You can stay and also see the Closing Night Films at 8:30 pm at the DGA. Reservations needed. Those are both North American Premieres of two very anticipated French films. The thriller Moebus by Eric Rochant will show for free as will the comedy Like Brothers by Hugo Gélin.
Being among the French filmmakers (and I saw way too few of the films) gave me such a surprising sense of renewal - again because of this upcoming generation. After seeing City of Lights, the short by Pascal Tessaud which preceded the classic Jacques Demy film Bay of Angels starring a platinum blond gambling-addicted Jeanne Moreau in Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo in 1963, we spoke at length about what is called "The New Vibe". City of Lights stars a deeply quiet young man from "les banlieus", the notorious "suburbs" surrounding Paris where the international mix of young (and old) proletariat population is invisible to the rest of France except when the anger erupts into riots. This first generation has the French education but not the money or jobs and it hurts. They have picked up the cameras and with no money are creating films which express their lives in many ways like the new Latin American filmmakers or the new Eastern European filmmakers. Tessaud gave me an entire education in the hour we talked and I will share this in time. For now, aside from his wonderfuly trenchant film which played like a feature, which captured the Paris this young generation recognizes as The City of Lights - dancing, the kitchen of a very upscale restaurant, the dreary streets filled with construction, there is another example of The New Vibe, started by Rachid Djaïdani (a story in himself) the film Hold Back (Rengaine) leads the pack of the 20-some-odd new films of The New Vibe. It is produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint (Les Films des Tournelles) whose films are too numerous to name but include my favorite The Hedgehog which I wrote about at Col*Coa two years ago, Col*Coa's current Cycling with Moliere, 2002's Respiro and many many others. Hold Back took 9 years to make and most of the team was unpaid. The New Vibe makes films without the aid of the French system of funding; it is more guerilla-style, not New Wave, not Dogma but New Vibe. Hold Back took Cannes by storm when it showed last year in Directors Fortnight and went on to New Directors/ New Films in New York. The classic story of a Catholic and a Muslim who want to marry but whose family objects, this rendition the Juliet has a brother who marches throughout Paris to alert her 39 other brothers that she wants to marry outside her cultural and religious traditions. "This fresh debut mixes fable, plucky social commentary - particularly about France's Arab community - and inventive comic setpieces" (Col*Coa)
Hold Back (Rengaine) (Isa: Pathe) goes beyond the funny but "establishmant" film Intouchable which played here last year. It is the exact opposite of such films as Sister or even Aliyah (Isa: Rezo) which played here this year and also in Directors Fortnight last year. Aliyah is about a young French Jewish man who must make his last drug sale in order to escape his brother's destructive behavior. He escapes by immigrating to Israel. These films are made by filmmakers within the French establishment and describe a proletariat existence which exists in their bourgeois minds. They lack a certain "verite" which can only be captured by one who knows viscerally what such marginal existence is.
At the opposite end of the contemporary spectrum of films today, a real establishment film is You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Alain Renais (you have to be a Renais fan to love it who was so avant-garde in his day). Those old New Wave films one could see here stand out in beautiful contrast to today's New Vibe: Renais' Stavisky or the 1963 film The Fire Within (Le feu follet) by Louis Malle again starring the beautiful Jeanne Moreau. I missed them both to my regret. When I miss a film I always tell myself I can see it when it's released or on DVD or Mubi, but rarely do I get to see it. Instead I can only read about it as here written up by Beth Hanna on Indiewire blog ToH. The Fire Within was part of Wes Anderson's choices, one of the various showcases of Col*Coa. Says Hanna: "Anderson's taste is impeccable: He has selected Louis Malle's 1963 lyrical depression drama The Fire Within." It was made after the classic Elevator to the Gallows (1958) which Miles Davis scored and which also starred the young Jeanne Moreau. She also could be seen her in Col*Coa in the classic 1963 Jacques Demy-directed Bay of Angels.
Col*Coa really offered something for everyone this year. Another of my favorite film genres, the Jewish film, was represented by Aliyah and The Dandelions (Du Vent dans mes mollets) (Isa: Gaumont), Stavisky, and It Happened in St. Tropez (Isa: Pathe), a classic French comedy -- though a bit dark and yet still comedic, about romance, love and marriage switching between generations in a neurotic, comfortably wealthy Jewish family. The Dandelions was, according to my friend Debra Levine, a writer on culture including film and dance, (see her blog artsmeme), "darling, so touching, so well made, so creative ... i really liked it. Went into that rabbit hole of little girls together ... Barbie doll play. Crazy creative play. As looney as kids can be."
Ian Birnie's favorite film was Becoming Traviata. Greg Katchel's favorite originally was Rendez-vous à Kiruna by Anna Novion, but when I saw him later in the festival his favorite was Cycling with Moliere (Alceste a bicyclette) (Isa: Pathe), again produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint and directed by Philippe Le Guay who directed one of my favorites, The Women on the 6th Floor. Greg also liked Three Worlds though it was a bit "schematic" in depicting the clash of different cultures which were also shown in Hold Back.
Of the few films I was able to see, the most interesting was Augustine by Alice Winokur. It is the French response to David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and the British film Hysteria. All three were about the turn of the century concern of psychologists or doctors with female hysteria. This one concerned Jean-Martin Charcot and the neurologist's belief that hysteria was a neurological disease and he used hypnosis to get at its roots, whild in A Dangerous Method it was seen by Freud and Jung as a mental disorder and in Hysteria by Tanya Wexler (Tiff 2011) in which Dr. Mortimer Granville devises the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.
Take a look at Indiewire's own article here for more on Los Angeles's greatest French attraction, the second largest French film festival in the world.
Several American distributors will present their films at Col•Coa before their U.S. release: Kino Lorber – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, co-written and directed by Alain Resnais (Focus on a Filmmaker); Mpi Media – Thérèse, the last film of director/co-writer Claude Miller starring Audrey Tautou; Cohen Media Group – In the House, written and directed by François Ozon and The Attack, co-written and directed by Ziad Doueiri; Distrib Films for two documentaries: Becoming Traviata and The Invisibles; Film Movement for two thrillers: Aliyah and Three Worlds; The Weinstein Company - Populaire.
Below you can see the international sales agents for the current features showing.
11.6 / 11.6 (Isa: Wild Bunch)
Directed by: Philippe Godeau
Written by: Philippe Godeau, Agnès De Sacy
A Few Hours Of Spring / Quelques heures de printemps (Isa: Rezo)
Directed by: Stéphane Brizé ♀
Written by: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Hélène Vincent, Emmanuelle Seigner, Olivier Perrier
Aliyah/Alyah ✡ (Isa: Rezo, U.S.: Film Movement
Directed by: Élie Wajeman
Written by: Élie Wajeman, Gaëlle Macé
Armed Hands / Mains armées (Isa: Films Distribution)
Directed by: Pierre Jolivet
Written by: Pierre Jolivet, Simon Michaël
Augustine / Augustine (Isa: Kinology, U.S.: Music Box)
Directed by: Alice Winocour ♀
Written by: Alice Winocour
Aya Of Yop City / Aya de Yopougon (Isa: TF1)
Directed by: Clément Oubrerie, Marguerite Abouet ♀
Written by: Marguerite Abouet
Bay Of Angels / La Baie des anges (U.S.: Criterion)
Directed by: Jacques Demy
Written by: Jacques Demy
Becoming Traviata /Traviata et nous (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S. Distrib Films and Cinema Guild)
Directed by: Philippe Béziat
Written by: Philippe Béziat
Cycling With MOLIÈRE / Alceste à bicyclette (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Philippe Le Guay
Written by: Philippe Le Guay, based on an original idea by Fabrice Luchini and Philippe Le Guay
Fly Me To The Moon / Un plan parfait (Isa: Kinology)
Directed By: Pascal Chaumeil
Written By: Laurent Zeitoun, Yoann Gromb, Philippe Mechelen
Haute Cuisine / Les Saveurs du palais (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: The Weinstein Company)
Directed by: Christian Vincent
Written by: Etienne Comar & Christian Vincent, based on the life of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch
Hidden Beauties / Mille-Feuille (Isa: Other Angle Pictures)
Directed by: Nouri Bouzid
Written by: Nouri Bouzid, Joumène Limam
Hold Back / Rengaine (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Rachid Djaïdani
Written by: Rachid Djaïdani
In The House / Dans la maison (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
Directed by: François Ozon
Written by: François Ozon
It Happened In Saint-tropez / Des Gens qui s’embrassent (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Danièle Thompson ♀
Written by: Danièle Thompson, Christopher Thompson
Jappeloup/ Jappeloup (Isa: Pathe)
Directed by: Christian Duguay
Written by: Guillaume Canet
Le Grand Soir / Le grand soir (Isa: Funny Balloons)
Directed by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
Written by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern
Little Lion / Comme un Lion (Isa: Pyramide)
Directed by: Samuel Collardey
Written by: Catherine Paillé, Nadège Trebal, Samuel Collardey
Moon Man / Jean de la lune (Isa: Le Pacte)
Directed By: Stephan Schesch
Written By: Stephan Schesch, Ralph Martin. Based on the book by: Tomi Ungerer
Populaire / Populaire (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: TWC)
Directed By: Régis Roinsard
Written By: Régis Roinsard, Daniel Presley, Romain Compingt
Rendezvous In Kiruna / Rendez-vous à Kiruna (Isa: Pyramide)
Directed by: Anne Novion ♀
Written by: Olivier Massart, Anne Novion, Pierre Novion
Sons Of The Wind / Les Fils du vent (Isa: Wide)
Directed by: Bruno Le Jean
Written by: Bruno Le Jean
Stavisky / Stavisky (1974) (Isa: StudioCanal)
Directed by: Alain Resnais
Written by: Jorge Semprún
The Attack / L’Attentat
France, Belgium, Lebanon, Qatar, 2013
Directed by: Ziad Doueiri (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
The BRONTË Sisters / Les Soeurs Brontë (Isa: Gaumont, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)
Directed by: André Téchiné
Written by: André Téchiné, Jean Gruault, Pascal Bonitzer
The Dandelions / Du Vent dans mes mollets ✡
Directed By: Carine Tardieu ♀
Written By: Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir, Olivier Beer
The Fire Within / Le Feu Follet (1963) (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Janus Films)
Directed by: Louis Malle
Written by: Louis Malle
The Invisibles / Les Invisibles (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S. Distrib Films))
Directed By: Sébastien Lifshitz
The Man Who Laughs/ L’Homme qui rit (Isa: EuropaCorps)
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Améris
Written by: Jean-Pierre Améris , Guillaume Laurant
THÉRÈSE / Thérèse Desqueyroux (Isa: TF1, U.S.: Mpi)
Directed by: Claude Miller
Written by: Claude Miller, Natalie Carter
Three Worlds / Trois mondes (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Film Movement)
Directed by: Catherine Corsini ♀
Written by: Catherine Corsini, Benoît Graffin
To Our Loves / À nos amours (1983) (U.S. Janus)
Directed By: Maurice Pialat
Written By: Arlette Langmann, Maurice Pialat
True Friends / Amitiés sincères (Isa: Snd Groupe 6)
Directed By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie
Written By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie, Marie-Pierre Huster
Welcome To Argentina / Mariage à Mendoza (Isa: Kinology)
Directed By: Édouard Deluc
Written By: Anaïs Carpita, Édouard Deluc, Thomas Lilti, Philippe Rebbot
What’S In A Name / Le prénom (Isa: Pathe, U.S. Under The Milky Way)
Directed by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
Written by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
You Ain’T Seen Nothin’ Yet / Vous n’avez encore rien vu (Isa: StudioCanal, U.S.: Kino Lorber)
Directed By: Alain Resnais
Written By: Alain Resnais, Laurent Herbiet...
- 4/20/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
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