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THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN /
LE PÈRE DE MES ENFANTS
(15)
Director Mia Hansen-Løve |
Edinburgh
Filmhouse 14 November 8.30pm
Gala Durham 19 November 6.30pm
Dundee DCA 21 November 6.00pm
Glasgow Film Theatre 22 November 8.00pm
Aberdeen The Belmont 25 November 6.30pm
Cornerhouse Manchester 2 December
6.00pm |
| Film producer Grégoire
Canvel has everything a man could want. A wife he loves, three
delightful children and a stimulating job. His job involves
discovering talented filmmakers and developing films that fit
his conception of cinema – free and true to life. He devotes
almost all his time and energy to his work. Grégoire
commands admiration. He seems invincible. Yet his prestigious
production company, Moon Films, is on its last legs and the
storm clouds are gathering. One day he is obliged to face the
facts. In one word: failure. He is overwhelmed with fatigue
which soon, secretly, turns into despair. Mia Hansen-Love's
2007 debut, All Is Forgiven, movingly explored and ultimately
reconciled the gulf between a separated father and daughter
Here the writerdirector pushes this premise to less consoling
extremes, patiently observing the devastating consequences of
a father's act of desperation. Marked by moments of remarkable
stillness amid its emotional tumult, the film’s classy,
perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits
attention and it confirms Hansen-Love as a noteworthy new talent.
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Cast
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Casselli, Alice de Len
Director Mia Hansen-Løve
2009. 120 mins
UK Distributor Artificial Eye
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SÉRAPHINE
(PG)
Director Martin Provost |
London
Ciné Lumière 19 November 8.30pm
Edinburgh Filmhouse 20 November 8.35pm
Glasgow Film Theatre 21 November 8.15pm
Dundee DCA 22 November 6.00pm |
| In this magical and
moving odyssey, Yolande Moreau is startlingly emotive in the
almost nonverbal role of Séraphine de Senlis, a poor
housekeeper in a pre-First World War backwater. Martin Provost’s
beautiful biography of the rediscovered outsider artist, reveals
her, at first glance, to be an obsequious, seemingly stunted
employee. It is only after Provost takes us well into the narrative
that her secret talent is revealed, and her eccentric behaviour
is suddenly reinterpreted. Moreau’s victory as a performer
is that we never simply pity her even after she breaks our hearts
and succumbs to madness. Her vitality survives in the art she
leaves behind and in the vision Provost bequeaths to us of a
soul still capable of ecstasy. The movie has a painterly vision
of its own. The latter part is more straightforwardly biographical,
but just as absorbing, when the inspired painter is discovered
by Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur), the German champion of modern
and “primitive” artists. The film scooped no less
than seven awards at the 34th edition of the Césars (France’s
equivalent to the Oscars) including best picture. |
Cast
Yolande Moreau, Ulrich Tukur, Anne Bennent, Geneviève
Mnich, Nico Rogner, Adélaïde Leroux, Serge Larivière,
Françoise Lebrun, Sophie Raive, Corentin Lobet
Director Martin Provost
2008. 125 mins
UK Distributor Metrodome
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A
PROPHET / UN PROPHÈTE (15)
Director Jacques Audiard |
London
Ciné Lumière 11 November 8.30pm
Edinburgh Filmhouse 13 November 8.15pm
Glasgow Film Theatre 20 November 5.50pm
Cornerhouse Manchester 4 December
8.00pm |
| Made with Jacques Audiard’s
trademark emotional intensity and ability to elevate traditional
genre material to exceptional heights, A Prophet was the most
universally admired work at this year’s Cannes Film Festival
and won the grand prix. It will now go forward as France’s
foreign language Oscar contender. First-time actor Tahar Rahim
brilliantly embodies Malik El Djebena, a wayward Arab youth
who lands in prison at the tender age of 19, unable to read
or write. Upon arrival, he does not realise any of the dangers
and is at the mercy of all. The first half-hour of the film
depicts the ever-present violence, assorted humiliations and
constant struggle for survival that pervade prison. Forced under
threat of death by the Corsican gang that effectively runs the
prison to befriend and kill a fellow Arab, Malik is thenceforward
aligned with the Corsicans, whom he serves as a kind of slave
in exchange for their protection. As the years pass, however,
Malik educates himself in so many different ways, both legitimate
and illegitimate, that he ultimately manages to challenge the
prison's power structure and, by playing different groups off
each other in the outside world, begins to construct a little
empire of his own. |
Cast
Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb, Hichem
Yacoubi
Director Jacques Audiard
2009. 150 mins
UK Distributor Optimum
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WELCOME
(15)
Director Philippe Lioret |
Glasgow
Film Theatre from 6 November (various times)
Edinburgh Filmhouse from 6 November
(various times)
Warwick Arts Centre 20 November 6.30pm |
| Middle East and Europe to join his
girlfriend, freshly immigrated to England.
But his journey comes to an abrupt end when he is stopped on
the French side
of the Channel.
After an abortive attempt to stow away, he decides to swim across.
Bilal goes
to the local swimming pool to train where he meets Simon (Vincent
Lindon), a
swimming instructor in the midst of a divorce. To impress his
estranged wife
(Audrey Dana) and win back her heart, Simon decides to risk
everything by
taking Bilal under his wing, and give him shelter and swimming
lessons.
Although Simon and Bilal develop a sincere father-son relationship,
Simon
takes the risk of being arrested for helping an illegal immigrant.
An ode to the abandoned immigrants trapped on the shores of
Calais and the
good Samaritans who take risks to help them, the ironically
titled Welcome is
one of the best French films of this or any other year.
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Cast
Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, Audrey Dana, Derva Ayverdi, Thierry
Godard
Director Philippe Lioret
2009. 110 mins
UK Distributor CINEFILE
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