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(15)
Avril is a gentle, soft-spoken young nun who grew up in a
convent where she was found abandoned at birth. On the eve
of her vows, which will seal her lifetime commitment to the
church, she learns that she has a twin brother, also abandoned
at birth. Facing the outside world for the first time, Avril
leaves the convent in secrecy and embarks on an adventure
that will take her to the wild, deserted landscapes of Camargue,
where, with the help of a friendly, tattooed and handsome
stranger she finds her brother and his boyfriend. Seen through
the eyes of an innocent, this film is filled with the discovery
of new pleasures and emotions, the sensual beauty of life
on the beach and grilled fish by the campfire, the joy of
companionship and the exhilaration of youth and freedom. But
Avril's journeymust also lead her to a painful confrontation
with the past and a difficult re-evaluation of her life choices.
The vibrant young cast brings energy and authenticity to a
narrative that strives to look at the question of faith in
the modern world with honesty and fairness. Miou- Miou delivers
a powerful performance as one of the nuns at the convent with
a few secrets of her own. |
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Director Gérald Hustache-Mathieu
Cast Sophie Quinton,Miou-Miou, Clément Sibony,Nicolas
Duvauchelle, Richard Valls.
2005. 96mins
UK Distrib: Peccadillo Pictures |
Inverness Eden
Court
8 March 8.45pm
Glasgow GFT
10 March 3.45pm & 8.30pm
London Cineworld
13 March 1pm & 3pm & 7pm
Aberdeen The Belmont
15 March 1.15pm & 6.15pm |
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CHANGE
OF ADDRESS / CHANGEMENT
D’ADRESSE (15)
From and with filmmaker Emmanuel Mouret this is a real charmer
about an awkward French horn player recently relocated to Paris,
who falls in love with his young student. His female flat-mate
is not shy about anything except her budding relationshipwith
amanwho uses the photocopier at her shop. But things get complicated
when the roommates get up close and personal when they try to
encourage each other in their love quests. The comedy of errors
reaches its hilarious climax as fortunes change and love plays
musical chairs. And love can change its formas readily as its
participants can change addresses. Charming and funny, this
is a sparkling feel-good filmthat simply dances. Mouret finds
comparison to Woody Allen and François Truffaut to be
exaggerated but, he says, “they are certainly [the directors]
who made me want to make films, who inspired my characters’
fatalism, along with the great ‘fools’ created by
Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton”. It’s taken some
time for Mouret to establish himself as a credible director,
but with Changement d’adresse, his third full-length film,
it looks as if he has well and truly arrived. This film is an
absolute gem, a welcome return to the kind of sophisticated
yet highly enjoyable romantic comedies of the 1970s, such as
those made by New Wave directors Eric Rohmer and François
Truffaut, with a delicious touch of the burlesque. |
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| Director Emmanuel Mouret
Cast Fanny Valette, Frédérique Bel, Dany
Brillant, Emmanuel Mouret, Ariane Ascaride
2006. 85mins
UK Distrib: Cinefile |
London Cineworld
7 March 1pm & 3pm & 7pm
Cardiff Cineworld
8 March 1pm & 3pm & 7pm |
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HER
NAME IS SABINE / ELLE
S'APPELLE SABINE (12A)
Actress Sandrine Bonnaire makes a touching and educational directorial
debut with this thoughtful look at her younger sister, Sabine
whose autism-related difficultieswent undiagnosed for the better
part of three decades. The film tells her story through personal
footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years. After
a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found
a new lease on life – even if her problems remain altered.
She lives in a care home in the Charente region. The film exposes
the penury of specialised institutions and the dramatic consequences
they can lead to. This deeply human documentary consists of
the snippets fromBonnaire’s home movies, augmented by
footage filmed for this project at the special residence where
Sabine now lives. The film is a fine tool for discussing the
toll on loving families when a proper diagnosis and appropriate
treatments are withheld or unavailable. It was presented at
the Cannes International Film Festival 2007 where it received
a FIPRESCI Award fromthe international critics. |
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| Director Sandrine Bonnaire
Cast Sabine Bonnaire
2007. 85mins
UK Distrib: ICA
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London ICA
9 March 6.15pm
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INTIMATE
ENEMIES / L'ENNEMI INTIME
(15)
While American and British filmmakers grapple with the Iraq
war the French are laying their own ghosts to rest. This is
the latest in a flurry of films to deal with the Algerianwar
and the brutal legacy that this colonial conflict had on the
soldierswho served there. Handsome young Lieutenant Terrien
(Benoît Magimel) has been posted to Algeria to replace
an officer killed in a firefight. Assigned to the remotest section
of territory patrolled by his battalion, Terrien is soon introduced
to the ruthless barbarity – and ironies – of this
particular conflict. His enemy is a Second World War veteran
whose fight to secure the independence of his birthplace pits
him against the same French Army in which he once served. Shortly
after arriving, Terrien witnesses the lengths to which the fellaghas
(Algerian nationalist fighters) will go: villagers aremassacred
in retaliation for a visit fromthe French. He is determined
to remain a controlled professional despite the atrocities that
occur around him. This attitude quickly gains him the contempt
of Dougnac (Albert Dupontel), a conflict-hardened sergeant,
who has come to the conclusion that the kind of violence released
can only be met by equally brutal measures. The blooding of
the young lieutenant and the way in which he reacts to his newfound
knowledge provides the dramatic arc of L’Ennemi intime. |
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| Director Florent-Emilio
Siri
Cast Benoît Magimel, Albert Dupontel, Aurélien
Recoing, Marc Barbé, Eric Savin
2007. 105mins
UK Distributor Contender Films |
Edinburgh Filmhouse
11 March 6pm
London Ciné Lumière
13 March 8.30pm
Glasgow GFT
17 March 6pm
Dundee DCA
18 March 6pm |
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PRICELESS
/ HORS DE PRIX (15)
Audrey Tautou (Amélie) and Gad Elmaleh (The Valet) in
a crowd-pleasing riff on romance and money, set amidst the luxury
of five star hotels, caviar, bespoke wardrobes and dreamy scenery.
The beautiful, scheming adventuress Irène (Tautou)meets
Jean (Elmaleh), a shy waiter working in a grand hotel, and mistakes
him for a young millionaire. She skips out from her 60-something
sugar daddy Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff) to spend the night with
Jean. However, when she discovers his lowly status, Irène
beats a quick retreat. But love-struck Jean has no intention
of letting her escape, and pursues her to the French Riviera.
Quickly running out ofmoney, he finds himself a loaded widow
(Marie-Christine Adam) and takes up residence in amagnificent
luxury hotel.Will the seducer become the seduced? Employing
an acerbic humour to paint a landscape in which everything can
be bought or sold and authentic emotion is a professional impediment,
Priceless is just that – and Tautou and Elmalehmake awickedly
conniving but gorgeous pair. |
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| Director Pierre Salvadori
Cast Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Vernon Dobtcheff, Marie-Christine
Adam
2006. 103mins
UK Distributor Icon |
London Ciné
Lumière
4 March 7pm followed by Q&A with Pierre Salvadori
Edinburgh Filmhouse
13 March 8.45pm
Glasgow GFT
14 March 3.30pm & 6.15pm
Dundee DCA 19 March 6pm |
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A
SECRET / UN SECRET (15)
Based on Philippe Grimbert's fact-inspired novel, Un secret
is a fine drama that stands Claude Miller’s best in at
least a decade. Oft-travelled narrative terrain of a Jewish
family torn asunder during France’s Second World War occupation
is rendered fresh by a complex flashback structure that spans
half a century and maintains suspense over key developments
until the final reels. In a black-and-white 1985, Francois (Mathieu
Amalric) is an anxious-looking Parisian who's informed his elderly
father has gone missing. This triggers flashbacks to 1955, when
he was a shy, sickly kid (Valentin Vigourt), intimidated by
two conspicuously robust parents: erstwhile champion swimmer
Tania (Cecile de France) and gymnastically inclined Maxime (Patrick
Bruel). While both strain to exert patient understanding, it's
clear enough to François that he is a disappointment,
especially to dad... |
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| Director Claude Miller
Cast Cecile de France, Patrick Bruel, Ludivine Sagnier,
Julie Depardieu,
Mathieu Amalric,Nathalie Boutefeu, Yves Jacques, Yves
Verhoeven,
Sam Garbarski and Orlando Nicoletti.
2007. 105mins
UK Distributor Arrow |
Birmingham Cineworld
8 March 1pm & 3pm & 7pm
Didsbury Cineworld
12 March 1pm & 3pm & 7pm
London Ciné Lumière
16 March
7.45pm
Edinburgh Filmhouse
19 March 2.30pm & 8.30pm
Glasgow GFT
20 March 2.30pm & 8.30pm |
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SUBSTITUTE
(15)
Once a friendship had developed between musician and filmmaker
Fred Poulet and French soccer star Vikash Dhorasoo, they came
up with the idea to make a personal, cinematic portrait of
the soccer player during the buildup toward the 2006 World
Cup in Germany. Poulet gave Dhorasoo a Super 8 camera that
could be operated with only one button, while a DAT recorder
provided for sound.Meanwhile, Poulet filmed the event from
outside. The film begins hesitantly and remains somewhat hesitant,
but this is what endows it with its unique appearance. After
Zidane, a 21st Century Portrait, a cinematographic tour de
force about France’s most celebrated soccer player,
Subsitute at first looks like a rather noncommittal and amateurish
account. Little by little, Dhorasoo’s limited filmmaking
skills become a metaphor for his strictly directed life –
virtually cut off fromthe outsideworld, he spends his days
in hotel rooms.
Showing with:
SWIMMING AWAY / VOIE
D’EAU (12)
Sarah won’t answer the phone anymore. She lost her unborn
child. Lying next to the cradle, she is drifting, until she
puts her finger in a glass of water and discovers that she
can travel to some unknown underwater world. Even if no one
but her believes in this strange gift, she decides to explore
it.Moving, stunning, and beautifully shot, this filmputs the
boundaries of imagination to the test. Cast Nouritza Emmanuelian,
PhilippeNoiret
DirectorMatthieu-David Cournot. 2006. 11mins
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| Directors Vikash Dhorasoo,
Fred Poulet.
2007. 73mins
UK Distributor Fantasia Advertising |
Dundee DCA
15 March 8.30pm |
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[short]
Cast Nouritza Emmanuelian, Philippe Noiret
Director Matthieu-David Cournot.
2006. 11mins |
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