French composer, pianist and conductor Philippe Rombi will be the guest of honour at the 24th World Soundtrack Awards in Belgium on October 16, 2024.
Rombi is best known for his collaborations with François Ozon on films including Swimming Pool, Young And Beautiful, In The House, Potiche, Frantz and last year’s The Crime Is Mine.
The composer has been nominated for four Cesar awards and two Lumieres. His other credits include Oscar nominee Joyeux Noël from Christian Carion, Danny Boon’s Welcome To The Sticks and Christophe Barratier’s The Time Of Secrets.
Rombi will attend the awards at Film Fest Ghent in October,...
Rombi is best known for his collaborations with François Ozon on films including Swimming Pool, Young And Beautiful, In The House, Potiche, Frantz and last year’s The Crime Is Mine.
The composer has been nominated for four Cesar awards and two Lumieres. His other credits include Oscar nominee Joyeux Noël from Christian Carion, Danny Boon’s Welcome To The Sticks and Christophe Barratier’s The Time Of Secrets.
Rombi will attend the awards at Film Fest Ghent in October,...
- 3/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
AFM slate also includes a blend of local drama, comedy and thriller titles.
Orange Studio will kick off sales at AFM for Like A Prince, the debut feature from actor Ali Marhyar about a star boxer attempting a career comeback in a French chateau after a bar fight gone wrong.
Like A Prince stars Ahmed Sylla as the titular athlete who is sentenced to community service at the prestigious Château de Chambord following a bar fight that injures him and threatens his career. There, amidst horses, strange bosses and knight-inspired stunts, he meets a foster child with a knack for...
Orange Studio will kick off sales at AFM for Like A Prince, the debut feature from actor Ali Marhyar about a star boxer attempting a career comeback in a French chateau after a bar fight gone wrong.
Like A Prince stars Ahmed Sylla as the titular athlete who is sentenced to community service at the prestigious Château de Chambord following a bar fight that injures him and threatens his career. There, amidst horses, strange bosses and knight-inspired stunts, he meets a foster child with a knack for...
- 10/30/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Film stars Raphael Personnaz and Jeanne Balibar.
Paris-based Snd has boarded Anne Fontaine’s Boléro about the birth of the renowned orchestral work from Maurice Ravel, now shooting in France.
Set in the Roaring 1920s, the film stars Raphael Personnaz, known for Our Brothers, Julia(s) and The French Minister, as the composer. Jeanne Balibar, who has appeared in Lost Illusions, Cold War and Grace Of Monaco, plays the Russian dancer-choreographer Ida Rubinstein who commissioned the now legendary music.
Snd, the film arm of France’s M6 group, is on board as co-producer and French distributor and is launching international sales at Cannes.
Paris-based Snd has boarded Anne Fontaine’s Boléro about the birth of the renowned orchestral work from Maurice Ravel, now shooting in France.
Set in the Roaring 1920s, the film stars Raphael Personnaz, known for Our Brothers, Julia(s) and The French Minister, as the composer. Jeanne Balibar, who has appeared in Lost Illusions, Cold War and Grace Of Monaco, plays the Russian dancer-choreographer Ida Rubinstein who commissioned the now legendary music.
Snd, the film arm of France’s M6 group, is on board as co-producer and French distributor and is launching international sales at Cannes.
- 5/3/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Woody Allen’s ’Wasp 2022,’ ’Murder Mystery 2’ and Apple TV+’s Benjamin Franklin biopic among the prestige projects to shoot.
Paris enjoyed record levels of production in 2022, with 102 features and 68 series filmed in the city throughout the year.
The French capital saw 7,500 shooting days, up from 2021’s then-record 7,000 shooting days. In 2019, before the pandemic, Paris registered 5,000 days of shooting.
Feature film production dipped slightly from 110 films in 2021, but series were up from 64 the previous year.
Among the major international titles filming in Paris were Woody Allen’s Coup De Chance, rumoured to be the prolific director’s 50th and last film.
Paris enjoyed record levels of production in 2022, with 102 features and 68 series filmed in the city throughout the year.
The French capital saw 7,500 shooting days, up from 2021’s then-record 7,000 shooting days. In 2019, before the pandemic, Paris registered 5,000 days of shooting.
Feature film production dipped slightly from 110 films in 2021, but series were up from 64 the previous year.
Among the major international titles filming in Paris were Woody Allen’s Coup De Chance, rumoured to be the prolific director’s 50th and last film.
- 2/10/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
German festival held awards ceremony on Friday (October 7)
Slovak director Michal Blasko’s debut feature Victim has won the Hamburg Producers Prize for International Cinema Co-Productions at Filmfest Hamburg.
The €25,000 prize sponsored by Hamburg’s Senate for Culture and Media was presented to the film’s German co-producers, Michael Reuter and Yogev Saar of Berlin-based Electric Sheep.
Victim debuted in Horizons at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, going on to play in Contemporary World Cinema at Toronto.
The film follows a Ukrainian immigrant living with her son in a small Czech border town. She is devastated when he is...
Slovak director Michal Blasko’s debut feature Victim has won the Hamburg Producers Prize for International Cinema Co-Productions at Filmfest Hamburg.
The €25,000 prize sponsored by Hamburg’s Senate for Culture and Media was presented to the film’s German co-producers, Michael Reuter and Yogev Saar of Berlin-based Electric Sheep.
Victim debuted in Horizons at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, going on to play in Contemporary World Cinema at Toronto.
The film follows a Ukrainian immigrant living with her son in a small Czech border town. She is devastated when he is...
- 10/9/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
German festival held awards ceremony on Friday (October 7)
Slovak director Michal Blasko’s debut feature Victim has won the Hamburg Producers Prize for International Cinema Co-Productions at Filmfest Hamburg.
The €25,000 prize sponsored by Hamburg’s Senate for Culture and Media was presented to the film’s German co-producers, Michael Reuter and Yogev Saar of Berlin-based Electric Sheep.
Victim debuted in Horizons at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, going on to play in Contemporary World Cinema at Toronto.
The film follows a Ukrainian immigrant living with her son in a small Czech border town. She is devastated when he is...
Slovak director Michal Blasko’s debut feature Victim has won the Hamburg Producers Prize for International Cinema Co-Productions at Filmfest Hamburg.
The €25,000 prize sponsored by Hamburg’s Senate for Culture and Media was presented to the film’s German co-producers, Michael Reuter and Yogev Saar of Berlin-based Electric Sheep.
Victim debuted in Horizons at Venice Film Festival earlier this month, going on to play in Contemporary World Cinema at Toronto.
The film follows a Ukrainian immigrant living with her son in a small Czech border town. She is devastated when he is...
- 10/9/2022
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin to be posthumously honoured with special screenings.
The American French Film Festival (formerly Colcoa, will honour producer and CG Cinéma founder Charles Gillibert at its 2022 edition.
Gillibert, the former mk2 executive, who has worked with Olivier Assayas, Xavier Dolan and Abbas Kiarostami, is part of the festival’s Focus On The Producer strand.
He will travel to Los Angeles for the October 10-16 event and present a restored version of Jean Eustache’s 1973 classic The Mother And The Whore. Gillibert produced the 4K restored version, which will receive its Los Angeles premiere at the festival.
The Mother And The Whore...
The American French Film Festival (formerly Colcoa, will honour producer and CG Cinéma founder Charles Gillibert at its 2022 edition.
Gillibert, the former mk2 executive, who has worked with Olivier Assayas, Xavier Dolan and Abbas Kiarostami, is part of the festival’s Focus On The Producer strand.
He will travel to Los Angeles for the October 10-16 event and present a restored version of Jean Eustache’s 1973 classic The Mother And The Whore. Gillibert produced the 4K restored version, which will receive its Los Angeles premiere at the festival.
The Mother And The Whore...
- 9/8/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
The ‘Wolfwalkers’ composer will recieve lifetime achievement award.
French composer Bruno Coulais is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 World Soundtrack Awards, which are presented at Film Fest Ghent on October 22.
Coulais’ music for screen ranges from 2001 French hit The Crimson Rivers through to documentary epic Winged Migration and acclaimed animation Wolfwalkers.
His first score was for filmmaker François Reichenbach, who asked him to provide music for the 1979 short documentary México Mágico.
1996 was a turning point in his career after he created the score for nature documentary Microcosmos, winning Coulais his first of three César Awards
The song...
French composer Bruno Coulais is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the 2022 World Soundtrack Awards, which are presented at Film Fest Ghent on October 22.
Coulais’ music for screen ranges from 2001 French hit The Crimson Rivers through to documentary epic Winged Migration and acclaimed animation Wolfwalkers.
His first score was for filmmaker François Reichenbach, who asked him to provide music for the 1979 short documentary México Mágico.
1996 was a turning point in his career after he created the score for nature documentary Microcosmos, winning Coulais his first of three César Awards
The song...
- 7/5/2022
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
French actor, director and producer Jacques Perrin, a fixture for decades in both French and Italian cinema — where he was best known for his role in Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning “Cinema Paradiso” — has died. He was 80.
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
- 4/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
As many as 85 films and a record 55 market premieres will screen at the Rendez-Vous in Paris, a week-long event organized by French promotion org Unifrance.
The event will open on Monday with the world premiere of “Simone: A Journey of the Century,” a biopic of Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became health minister of France and championed the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France. Directed by Olivier Dahan (“La Vie en rose”), the movie is headlined by Elsa Zylberstein, who completely transformed for the role. Other Angle has sold it to Samuel Goldwyn for North America, along with a string of international deals.
The lineup of market premieres includes Cédric Klapisch’s music-filled movie “Rise”; Patrice Leconte’s detective film “Maigret” with Gérard Depardieu; Fred Cayavé’s World War II-set drama “Farewell Mr. Haffmann” with Daniel Auteuil; Louis-Julien Petit’s social comedy “The Kitchen Brigade”; Jérôme Bonnell’s romantic...
The event will open on Monday with the world premiere of “Simone: A Journey of the Century,” a biopic of Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became health minister of France and championed the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France. Directed by Olivier Dahan (“La Vie en rose”), the movie is headlined by Elsa Zylberstein, who completely transformed for the role. Other Angle has sold it to Samuel Goldwyn for North America, along with a string of international deals.
The lineup of market premieres includes Cédric Klapisch’s music-filled movie “Rise”; Patrice Leconte’s detective film “Maigret” with Gérard Depardieu; Fred Cayavé’s World War II-set drama “Farewell Mr. Haffmann” with Daniel Auteuil; Louis-Julien Petit’s social comedy “The Kitchen Brigade”; Jérôme Bonnell’s romantic...
- 1/7/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
France’s 2,045 cinema had been shut since last October due to a second wave of Covid-19.
More than 300,000 spectators hit French cinemas as they reopened on Wednesday (May 19) after six months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to preliminary figures from the country’s National Federation of French Cinemas (Fncf).
This is triple the average number of spectators seen on a usual Wednesday, which is the day new films open in France.
“We can confirm with certainty that the attendance was between 305,000 to 310,000 admissions,” Fncf president Richard Patry said in an interview with news channel Bfmtv.
All of France’s 2,045 cinemas,...
More than 300,000 spectators hit French cinemas as they reopened on Wednesday (May 19) after six months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to preliminary figures from the country’s National Federation of French Cinemas (Fncf).
This is triple the average number of spectators seen on a usual Wednesday, which is the day new films open in France.
“We can confirm with certainty that the attendance was between 305,000 to 310,000 admissions,” Fncf president Richard Patry said in an interview with news channel Bfmtv.
All of France’s 2,045 cinemas,...
- 5/20/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Moviegoing kicked off again in the UK and France this week, with the former reopening cinemas on Monday and the latter on Wednesday. And so far, signs are very positive after roughly seven months of darkened screens in each market. Advance sales are strong and exhibitors in both are encouraged at the early results.
In the UK, all films in play on Wednesday are estimated to have grossed around £760K ($1.07M). This was the biggest day this week, up about 41% versus Tuesday. That’s largely attributable to Cineworld resuming operations at about 120 sites yesterday after opting to sit out Monday and Tuesday. The Wednesday gross is also roughly 9% over Monday. Through three days of the reopening process (which limits capacity to 50%), UK cinemas have taken in about £2M ($2.83M).
Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is the runaway leader with an estimated $850K through Wednesday. There’s clear appetite...
In the UK, all films in play on Wednesday are estimated to have grossed around £760K ($1.07M). This was the biggest day this week, up about 41% versus Tuesday. That’s largely attributable to Cineworld resuming operations at about 120 sites yesterday after opting to sit out Monday and Tuesday. The Wednesday gross is also roughly 9% over Monday. Through three days of the reopening process (which limits capacity to 50%), UK cinemas have taken in about £2M ($2.83M).
Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is the runaway leader with an estimated $850K through Wednesday. There’s clear appetite...
- 5/20/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
This number will increase as Cannes, Venice and other summer festival titles are added to the mix alongside studio releases.
French cinemas reopen this Wednesday (May 19) after lying dark for six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the country’s 100-plus distributors rushing to set theatrical dates for an estimated backlog of 400 stalled films.
As a result, French cinemagoers will have access to the richest and most diverse offering of films in the world over the coming months, spanning festival titles, local mainstream comedies and dramas, world cinema and studio blockbuster fare, as the summer advances.
As of May...
French cinemas reopen this Wednesday (May 19) after lying dark for six months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the country’s 100-plus distributors rushing to set theatrical dates for an estimated backlog of 400 stalled films.
As a result, French cinemagoers will have access to the richest and most diverse offering of films in the world over the coming months, spanning festival titles, local mainstream comedies and dramas, world cinema and studio blockbuster fare, as the summer advances.
As of May...
- 5/17/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
UniFrance, the organization in charge of promoting French cinema worldwide, is set to showcase nearly 70 completed movies, including 30 market premieres, at the virtual 23rd edition of its Rendez-Vous With French Cinema (Jan. 13-15), a key market for the export of French movies.
The Rendez-Vous will kick off with Eric Besnard’s 18th-century-set drama “Delicieux” (pictured) from Snd, along with market premieres of other anticipated releases, notably Valerie Lemercier’s “Aline,” Gaumont’s film inspired by the life of Celine Dion; Christophe Barratier’s feel-good film “Fly Me Away” from Pathé; Clovis Cornillac’s “C’est magnifique” from Orange Studio; and Nicolas Cuche’s “Spoiled Brats” from Other Angle.
Other potential highlights set for market premieres include Kike Maíllo’s thriller “A Perfect Enemy” from Pulsar; Nine Antico’s sexy drama “Playlist” from Playtime; Naël Marandin’s “Beasts” from Kinology; Benoît Jacquot’s 1960s set romance drama “Suzanna Andler,” with Charlotte Gainsbourg,...
The Rendez-Vous will kick off with Eric Besnard’s 18th-century-set drama “Delicieux” (pictured) from Snd, along with market premieres of other anticipated releases, notably Valerie Lemercier’s “Aline,” Gaumont’s film inspired by the life of Celine Dion; Christophe Barratier’s feel-good film “Fly Me Away” from Pathé; Clovis Cornillac’s “C’est magnifique” from Orange Studio; and Nicolas Cuche’s “Spoiled Brats” from Other Angle.
Other potential highlights set for market premieres include Kike Maíllo’s thriller “A Perfect Enemy” from Pulsar; Nine Antico’s sexy drama “Playlist” from Playtime; Naël Marandin’s “Beasts” from Kinology; Benoît Jacquot’s 1960s set romance drama “Suzanna Andler,” with Charlotte Gainsbourg,...
- 1/11/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French sellers will market premiere a number of Cannes 2020 label titles.
MK2 Films is launching Carine Tardieu’s romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior, and Ratatouille screenwriter Jim Capobianco’s stop-motion animation feature The Inventor about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Stephen Fry and Daisy Ridley in the voice cast. It will also market premiere Cannes 2020 titles The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman’s father-and-son tale Here We Are.
Charades is running...
MK2 Films is launching Carine Tardieu’s romantic drama The Young Lovers, starring Fanny Ardant opposite Melvil Poupaud as a 70-year-old woman who embarks on an affair with a married doctor 25 years her junior, and Ratatouille screenwriter Jim Capobianco’s stop-motion animation feature The Inventor about the life of Leonardo da Vinci, featuring Stephen Fry and Daisy Ridley in the voice cast. It will also market premiere Cannes 2020 titles The Big Hit by Emmanuel Courcol and Israeli filmmaker Nir Bergman’s father-and-son tale Here We Are.
Charades is running...
- 6/21/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Actress Sara Forestier and director Hélène Angel on the set of Elementary Photo: Unifrance The French, without wishing to sound chauvinistic, hold their education system in high regard. Cinema has reflected that interest in films from Jean Vigo’s Zero de Conduite in 1933, through the gentle documentary about life in a country infant school Etre et Avoir (2002) by Nicolas Phlibert to Laurent Cantet’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner The Class (2008), set in a raw inner city school. And let’s not forget Abdellatif Kechiche’s L’Esquive (2003), Louis Malle’s 1987 Au Revoir Les Enfants, Julie Bertuccelli’s School of Babel (2013), and Christophe Barratier’s 2004 The Chorus.
Joining the throng is director Hélène Angel with Elementary (Primaire) in which Sara Forestier plays a primary school teacher who has no time for a personal life and lives in an apartment in the grounds with her ten-year-old son.
Angel says: “Education is...
Joining the throng is director Hélène Angel with Elementary (Primaire) in which Sara Forestier plays a primary school teacher who has no time for a personal life and lives in an apartment in the grounds with her ten-year-old son.
Angel says: “Education is...
- 8/22/2017
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Director worked on more than 80 pictures in prolific career.
Swiss-born cinematographer Carlo Varini, best known for The Chorus, The Big Blue and Subway, has died in a house fire.
The 67-year-old cinematographer, who shot more than 80 pictures throughout his career, started out as a calibrator at the Schwarz-Film laboratory in Berne.
After cinema studies at the Zurich University of Arts he became a news cameraman, moving into fiction as the assistant cameraman of celebrated Italian cinematographer Renato Berta.
He branched out on his own in the early 1980s to work with Luc Besson on his early features The Last Combat, Subway and The Big Blue. He was nominated for a Cesar for the latter two.
More recently, he gained recognition for his work on Christophe Barratier’s The Choir for which he was nominated for Camerimage’s Golden Frog alongside Dominique Gentil.
He was due to work on Canadian director Francesco Lucente’s upcoming feature Starbright.
According...
Swiss-born cinematographer Carlo Varini, best known for The Chorus, The Big Blue and Subway, has died in a house fire.
The 67-year-old cinematographer, who shot more than 80 pictures throughout his career, started out as a calibrator at the Schwarz-Film laboratory in Berne.
After cinema studies at the Zurich University of Arts he became a news cameraman, moving into fiction as the assistant cameraman of celebrated Italian cinematographer Renato Berta.
He branched out on his own in the early 1980s to work with Luc Besson on his early features The Last Combat, Subway and The Big Blue. He was nominated for a Cesar for the latter two.
More recently, he gained recognition for his work on Christophe Barratier’s The Choir for which he was nominated for Camerimage’s Golden Frog alongside Dominique Gentil.
He was due to work on Canadian director Francesco Lucente’s upcoming feature Starbright.
According...
- 5/22/2014
- ScreenDaily
DVD Release Date: Sept. 17, 2013
Price: DVD $24.98
Studio: Anchor Bay/The Weinstein Company
A battle royale is brewing in War of the Buttons.
Based on Louis Pergaud’s best-selling 1912 novel, La Guerre des boutons, the French family adventure film War of the Buttons stars actor/filmmaker Guillaume Canet (Love Me If You Dare), Laetitia Casta (Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life), Kad Merad (Welcome to the Sticks) and newcomers Jean Texler and Ilona Bachelier.
Set in France during World War II, War of the Buttons tells the tale of two rival groups of kids from neighboring villages. Pre-teen rebel Lebrac (Texier) leads a spirited group of kids in a pint-sized “war” where the victory comes from capturing the enemies’ buttons, belts, and laces – forcing them to return home ragged to face their mothers’ reprimand. When Violette (Bachelier), a young Jewish girl, comes to town to hide from the Nazis, Lebrac befriends her and...
Price: DVD $24.98
Studio: Anchor Bay/The Weinstein Company
A battle royale is brewing in War of the Buttons.
Based on Louis Pergaud’s best-selling 1912 novel, La Guerre des boutons, the French family adventure film War of the Buttons stars actor/filmmaker Guillaume Canet (Love Me If You Dare), Laetitia Casta (Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life), Kad Merad (Welcome to the Sticks) and newcomers Jean Texler and Ilona Bachelier.
Set in France during World War II, War of the Buttons tells the tale of two rival groups of kids from neighboring villages. Pre-teen rebel Lebrac (Texier) leads a spirited group of kids in a pint-sized “war” where the victory comes from capturing the enemies’ buttons, belts, and laces – forcing them to return home ragged to face their mothers’ reprimand. When Violette (Bachelier), a young Jewish girl, comes to town to hide from the Nazis, Lebrac befriends her and...
- 7/26/2013
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Chicago – World War II, also known as “The Good War,” had more than its share of darkness and sorrow. As the conflict winds down for a French town in the new film “War of the Buttons,” young love and rival town kid gangs create metaphors for the context of the war in its time and place.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
This is a sweet movie, more than a bit twee, but containing a sentiment that is life affirming, even up to its “The Sound of Music” type ending. The child and teen actors actually carry the film, which is the third remake of the novel “La Guerre des boutons” by anti-war French writer Louis Pergaud. This also contains metaphors for war and its futilities, as exemplified by the rival kid gangs in the French townships. It also throws in a youthful romance, between a tough kid leader and a Anne Frank-like Jewish girl hiding in the town.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
This is a sweet movie, more than a bit twee, but containing a sentiment that is life affirming, even up to its “The Sound of Music” type ending. The child and teen actors actually carry the film, which is the third remake of the novel “La Guerre des boutons” by anti-war French writer Louis Pergaud. This also contains metaphors for war and its futilities, as exemplified by the rival kid gangs in the French townships. It also throws in a youthful romance, between a tough kid leader and a Anne Frank-like Jewish girl hiding in the town.
- 10/22/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Transplanted to 1944 Nazi-occupied France, Louis Pergaud’s 1912 Lord of the Flies-esque novel about a play war between the boys of two neighboring villages takes on metaphoric significance in this adaptation helmed by The Chorus’ Christophe Barratier. Classically styled with a sweeping score, dramatic crane shots and golden hues, War of the Buttons is adorable but sentimental, an earnest whitewash of a painful period during World War II....
- 10/14/2012
- Pastemagazine.com
Life During Wartime: Barratier Schmaltifies Nazi Occupied France
France has made a considerable move to reclaim her literature, as not one but two French productions of Louis Pergaud’s 1912 novel, War of the Buttons, have been released this year. This brings the total number of filmed adaptations of the celebrated novel to five, with two original French versions (in 1937 and 1962), and the better known 1994 UK version from John Roberts previously standing as the definitive English speaking film version. However, thus far, the Us will only be privy to one of the new additions, that directed by Christophe Barratier, the man whose directorial debut, 2004’s The Chorus was nominated for Best Foreign film in Americaland (the other, from Yann Samuell, whose 2003 debut, the much celebrated Love Me If You Dare top lines Guillaume Canet, used in Barratier’s ensemble here, but has yet to receive distribution in the Us market...
France has made a considerable move to reclaim her literature, as not one but two French productions of Louis Pergaud’s 1912 novel, War of the Buttons, have been released this year. This brings the total number of filmed adaptations of the celebrated novel to five, with two original French versions (in 1937 and 1962), and the better known 1994 UK version from John Roberts previously standing as the definitive English speaking film version. However, thus far, the Us will only be privy to one of the new additions, that directed by Christophe Barratier, the man whose directorial debut, 2004’s The Chorus was nominated for Best Foreign film in Americaland (the other, from Yann Samuell, whose 2003 debut, the much celebrated Love Me If You Dare top lines Guillaume Canet, used in Barratier’s ensemble here, but has yet to receive distribution in the Us market...
- 10/12/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Title: War Of The Buttons (La nouvelle guerre des boutons) The Weinstein Company Director: Christophe Barratier Screenwriter: Christophe Barratier, Stephane Keller, Thomas Langmann, Philippe Lopes Curval, from Louis Pergaud’s novel Cast: Guillaume Canet, Laetitia Casta, Jean Texier, Ilona Bachelier Screened at: Dolby24, NYC, 10/8/12 Opens: October 12, 2012 When I was a kid during World War II we used to play a game called “Gestapo.” The complex rules were as follows: one six-year-old would take the title role while another of the same age would be his prisoner. The Gestapo would say, “Where were you when police headquarters got bombed?” The prisoner retorted: “I was at home listening to the [ Read More ]
The post War of the Buttons Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post War of the Buttons Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/11/2012
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Following the new trailer , ComingSoon.net has your exclusive first look at the poster for War of the Buttons , which The Weinstein Company will release in theaters on July 18. Set in occupied WWII France, the film tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the "war" he leads between two rival kid gangs from neighboring villages. Once Lebrac falls for Violette (Ilona Bachelier), a young Jewish girl who is new in town and in danger of being exposed by the Nazis, the children are faced with putting their own conflicts aside to protect her and confront the very real war happening around them. Directed by Academy Award nominee Christophe Barratier ( Les Chorus ), War of the Buttons features model/actress Laetitia Casta ( Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life...
- 6/15/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Some stories manage to live on to be told again another day, even if they live somewhat on the fringes. War of the Buttons is the fourth film based on the novel by Louis Pergaud, and this time we add some interesting pedigree, and 100% more Nazis over the last time we took a trip with the warring youths.
Directed by Christophe Barratier (of the brilliant Les Chorus), and starring Laetitia Casta and Guillaume Canet, the story that surrounds the “war” among children, and their penchant for trophy acquisition, has a much more serious focus if the trailer can be believed.
The film hits select theaters on July 18th, and this looks to be one that you want to try and catch if it makes its way to you.
Set in occupied WWII France, War of the Buttons tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the “war...
Directed by Christophe Barratier (of the brilliant Les Chorus), and starring Laetitia Casta and Guillaume Canet, the story that surrounds the “war” among children, and their penchant for trophy acquisition, has a much more serious focus if the trailer can be believed.
The film hits select theaters on July 18th, and this looks to be one that you want to try and catch if it makes its way to you.
Set in occupied WWII France, War of the Buttons tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the “war...
- 6/11/2012
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Check out the official trailer for The Weinstein Company’s War Of Buttons. Set in occupied WWII France, the film shares the moving story of two rival kid gangs from neighboring villages who are forced to put their own conflicts aside to confront the very real war happening around them.
War of the Buttons tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the “war” he leads between two rival kid gangs from neighboring villages. Once Lebrac falls for Violette (Ilona Bachelier), a young Jewish girl who is new in town and in danger of being exposed by the Nazis, the children are faced with putting their own conflicts aside to protect her and confront the very real war happening around them.
Directed by Academy Award® nominee Christophe Barratier (Les Chorus) War of the Buttons features model/actress Laetitia Casta (Gainsbourg: Heroic Life, Arbitrage), actor/filmmaker Guillaume Canet (Farewell,...
War of the Buttons tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the “war” he leads between two rival kid gangs from neighboring villages. Once Lebrac falls for Violette (Ilona Bachelier), a young Jewish girl who is new in town and in danger of being exposed by the Nazis, the children are faced with putting their own conflicts aside to protect her and confront the very real war happening around them.
Directed by Academy Award® nominee Christophe Barratier (Les Chorus) War of the Buttons features model/actress Laetitia Casta (Gainsbourg: Heroic Life, Arbitrage), actor/filmmaker Guillaume Canet (Farewell,...
- 6/11/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Laetitia Casta, Guillaume Canet ("Tell No One") and a group of young'uns face down the German army in the upcoming WWII drama "War of the Buttons." The Weinstein Company just released brand new trailer (above) for the film from Christophe Barratier, the director of the Oscar-nominated "The Chorus" (2004). In Nazi-occupied France, two rival gangs of kids from neighboring villages wage a pretend war on one another while their own country is torn asunder by a real war right outside their doorstep. It's based on a 1912 French novel by Louis Pergaud that has been adapted for the big screen several times...
- 6/9/2012
- by Dave Lewis
- Hitfix
"They would fight for each other... like never before." The Weinstein Company has unveiled an official Us trailer today for the French WWII drama War of the Buttons, kind of a family adventure about two rival gangs of kids in two French villages. The cast features a few names you may recognize, including Laetitia Casta, Guillaume Canet and Kad Merad, but is mostly made up of newcomers and young locals. That said, this looks quite fun, to be honest, some good French cinema. It almost reminds me of Son of Rambow, but the voiceover and music they chose hams it up and makes it play a little too uplifting. Watch anyway! Here's the official Us trailer for Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons, in high def from Apple: Set in occupied WWII France, War of the Buttons tells the tale of pre-teen rebel Lebrac (newcomer Jean Texier) and the...
- 6/8/2012
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Summarizing the weekly release date changes, let's start with the two biggest ones. First up, Disney and Marvel's "Thor 2" moved from November 15th, up by one week to November 8, 2013, under the helm of Alan Taylor. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the God of Thunder, as does Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and others including Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Ray Stevenson, Jamie Alexander, Josh Dallas and Tadanobu Asano. Also changing dates from Disney is Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Helena Bonham Carter starrer "The Lone Ranger" which now opens on July 3, 2013 as opposed to May 31st, a bummer for fans who will have to wait another month and a half for the Gore Verbinski film. Weinstein Co gives a first release date of July 18th this year in limited venues to their French film "War of the Buttons" *(a.k.a. " La nouvelle guerre des boutons...
- 6/7/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Summarizing the weekly release date changes, let's start with the two biggest ones. First up, Disney and Marvel's "Thor 2" moved from November 15th, up by one week to November 8, 2013, under the helm of Alan Taylor. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the God of Thunder, as does Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and others including Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Ray Stevenson, Jamie Alexander, Josh Dallas and Tadanobu Asano. Also changing dates from Disney is Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer and Helena Bonham Carter starrer "The Lone Ranger" which now opens on July 3, 2013 as opposed to May 31st, a bummer for fans who will have to wait another month and a half for the Gore Verbinski film. Weinstein Co gives a first release date of July 18th this year in limited venues to their French film "War of the Buttons" *(a.k.a. " La nouvelle guerre des boutons...
- 6/7/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.
- 4/27/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Penelope Ann Miller, The Artist As mentioned in my previous post, French president Nicolas Sarkozy has named Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company (TWC), a recipient of the 2012 Légion d'Honneur, or Legion of Honor. The honor is "in recognition of Weinstein’s contributions to cinema and his decades of work producing some of the most highly regarded films of our time," according to a TWC press release. Weinstein will be inducted with the rank of Chevalier. Although Sarkozy himself nominated Weinstein back in late July 2011, the nomination was made public only today, five days after the Weinstein Company-distributed The Artist, a French production directed by Michel Hazanavicius, won five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Jean Dujardin). As per the TWC press release, Weinstein had requested that the honor be kept private until now "to avoid any conflict of interest" with his company's Academy Award campaign for The Artist.
- 3/3/2012
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
Michel Hazanavicius, Thomas Langmann, Bérénice Bejo Accepting the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for The Artist is Thomas Langmann at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Standing behind Langmann are The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius and one of the film's stars, Hazanavicius' wife Bérénice Bejo. The Artist's competitors in the Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical category were Jonathan Levine's 50/50, with Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Paul Feig's Bridesmaids, with Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, and Melissa McCarthy; Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, with Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, and Marion Cotillard; and Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn, with Michelle Williams (as Marilyn Monroe), Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh (as Laurence Olivier), and Julia Ormond (as Vivien Leigh). Upon accepting the award Langmann remembered his father, filmmaker Claude Berri, who died in...
- 1/18/2012
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.
- 11/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.
- 11/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Christophe Barratier's War of the Buttons telling of two rival gangs of kids may go to Weinstein The Weinstein Company is apparently in negotiations to acquire the French film La nouvelle guerre des boutons, based on the1912 novel by Louis Pergaud, reports Variety. The French film War of the Buttons produced by La Petite Reine and Studio 37, focuses on two rival kid gangs from neighboring French villages who start a merciless play-war. Thomas Langmann, Stéphane Keller and Christophe Barratier wrote the script, with dialogue by Philippe Lopes-Curval. Starring in the adventure which runs around 100 minutes, are Jean Texier, Clément Godefroy, Théophile Baquet, Louis Dussol, Harold Werner and Nathan Parent.
- 11/22/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Strategic Marketing Group has released a soundtrack album for the new movie adaptation of War of the Buttons (La guerre des boutons). The album includes the original score by composer Klaus Badelt, which was recorded with the London Metropolitan Orchestra. The soundtrack is currently only available in France, but a domestic release is expected in the near future. To listen to audio clips from the score, check out the French Amazon site. La guerre des boutons is directed by Yann Samuell (Love Me if You Dare, My Sassy Girl) and produced by Matthew Gledhill. The movie tells the classic story of the battles waged by a band of kids from two rival villages in the southern French countryside. The film was released in France last month. No domestic release date has been announced so far.
Philippe Rombi has also recently scored another version of War of the Buttons entitled La nouvelle guerre des boutons.
Philippe Rombi has also recently scored another version of War of the Buttons entitled La nouvelle guerre des boutons.
- 10/3/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
We complete our look at the key players in the Cannes market with the sales agent that has the most number of highly anticipated film projects. Wild Bunch came to the fest with popular items such as Polisse, The Artist and The Kid With a Bike, and it looks like they might outfit Venice and Tiff with some premium titles with Wong Kar-wai's The Grandmasters being one of the most sought after titles this coming August/September. Here's their lengthy list of auteur film projects. Bye Bye Blondie by Virginie Despentes - Post-Production In Turmoil (Dans La Tourmente) by Christophe Ruggia - Post-Production That Summer (Un Ete Brulant) by Philippe Garrel - Post-Production Bollywood - Completed Declaration Of War by Valerie Donzelli - Completed Hideaways by Agnes Merlet - Completed Leila by Audrey Estrougo - Completed Michel Petrucciani/ Body And Soul by Michael Radford - Completed Polisse by Maïwenn...
- 5/31/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Les Choristes / The Chorus (2004) Direction: Christophe Barratier Cast: Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad, Marie Bunel, Jacques Perrin, Maxence Perrin, Didier Flamand, Grégory Gatignol, Thomas Blumenthal Screenplay: Christophe Barratier and Philippe Lopes-Curval; inspired by the 1945 motion picture La cage aux rossignols / A Cage of Nightingales, written by Georges Chaperot, Noël-Noël, and René Wheeler Oscar Movies Kad Merad, François Berléand, Gérard Jugnot, Les choristes / The Chorus A gigantic hit in France, Christophe Barratier's feature-film début, Les choristes / The Chorus, is the newest cinematic incarnation of that age-old theme: the teacher who, through firmness, kindness, and understanding — mostly kindness and understanding — tames the savage hearts of his/her pupils. In addition to those qualities, the boarding-school teacher in Les choristes, like the one played by Noël-Noël in La cage aux rossignols / A Cage of Nightingales back in 1945, also brings music into the lives [...]...
- 2/12/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
- - -
- - -
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
- - -
- - -
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
Films on the cutting edge. That's how I would describe the 50 movies on this list. While some moviegoers may find it an 'alien' experience to refer to sub-titles in understanding what's happening on the big screen, a good number of audiences are totally enjoying the different and often surprising take by many foreign filmmakers, nothwithstanding the language barrier.
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
- - -
- - -
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
Content-wise, the 50 movies feature stories about war and peace, love and romance, family affairs, coming-of-age tales, cultural and religious diversity, social issues (including prostitution and abortion) and personal - celebrating life or facing death with dignity. Coverage-wise, tMF list down many of the best foreign films from 2000 until last year from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and about 15 other countries in Europe, North and Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
- - -
- - -
André Téchiné, Catherine Breillat, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Christophe Barratier, Jacques Audiard, Cedric Clapisch, Francois Ozon... they are,...
- 9/2/2009
- The Movie Fanatic
DVD Playhouse—August 2009
By
Allen Gardner
Watchmen—Director’S Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...
By
Allen Gardner
Watchmen—Director’S Cut (Warner Bros.) Director Zack Snyder’s film of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel is as worthy an adaptation of a great book that has ever been filmed. In an alternative version of the year 1985, Richard Nixon is serving his third term as President and super heroes have been outlawed by a congressional act, in spite of the fact that two of the most high-profile “masks,” Dr. Manhattan (Billy Cruddup) and The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War. When The Comedian is found murdered, many former heroes become concerned that a conspiracy is afoot to assassinate retired costumed crime fighters. Former masks Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman) and still-operating Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley, in an Oscar-worthy turn) launch an investigation of their own, all while the Pentagon’s “Doomsday...
- 8/10/2009
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
French film Paris 36 by writer/director Christophe Barratier (The Chorus) is so many things: a musical trying to be a war film with a singer trying to be an actress with new songs sounding like old songs with a newcomer on the brink of stardom playing a newcomer who becomes a star. Paste caught up with Barratier and actress Nora Arnezeder about the film set in the pre-World War II suburbs of Paris.
- 5/20/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
Oh my goodness, I didn’t expect this: Paris 36 is The Muppet Show in, you know, Paris in 1936. I’m sure that wasn’t the intent of writer-director Christophe Barratier (The Chorus (Les Choristes); he was also a producer of Winged Migration), and I don’t necessarily mean it in a disparaging way, but... oh my goodness, that’s exactly what this charming mess of an overlong movie is. Look, we have Pigoil (Gérard Jugnot), the Kermit-esque theaterhand who helps his fellow greasepaint-monkeys occupy the Chansonia music hall. There’s Milou (Clovis Cornillac: A Very Long Engagement), the Gonzo-like lighting guy -- he’s a union agitator and fancies himself a communist, because that was like calling yourself a beat in the 1950s (it’s good for getting chicks as well as being a smack in the face to the establishment). There’s Jacky (Kad Merad), who is Fozzie,...
- 5/6/2009
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Director: Christophe Barratier
Writers: Christophe Barratier, Pierre Philippe, Julien Rappeneau
Cinematographer: Tom Stern
Starring: Gérard Jugnot, Nora Arnezeder, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad
Studio/Run time: Sony Pictures Classics, 120 mins.
As entertaining as it is sappy
With 2004’s well received The Chorus, Christophe Barratier established himself as a director sensitive to the impact of music upon the soul of a child. In Paris 36 he has extended that sensitivity to the soul of a 1936 Parisian community. The result is a gladsome success. Gérard Jugnot, who played the music teacher in The Chorus, teams with Barratier again—this time as the soft-hearted Pigoil, life-serving stage manager of Chansonia music hall in the Faubourg suburb of Paris. Jugnot’s world comes crashing down when his wife leaves him, taking his only son just as the theater closes its doors. If that’s not enough, fascist influences of Hitler and Mussolini are clashing with the country’s financially strapped citizens.
Writers: Christophe Barratier, Pierre Philippe, Julien Rappeneau
Cinematographer: Tom Stern
Starring: Gérard Jugnot, Nora Arnezeder, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad
Studio/Run time: Sony Pictures Classics, 120 mins.
As entertaining as it is sappy
With 2004’s well received The Chorus, Christophe Barratier established himself as a director sensitive to the impact of music upon the soul of a child. In Paris 36 he has extended that sensitivity to the soul of a 1936 Parisian community. The result is a gladsome success. Gérard Jugnot, who played the music teacher in The Chorus, teams with Barratier again—this time as the soft-hearted Pigoil, life-serving stage manager of Chansonia music hall in the Faubourg suburb of Paris. Jugnot’s world comes crashing down when his wife leaves him, taking his only son just as the theater closes its doors. If that’s not enough, fascist influences of Hitler and Mussolini are clashing with the country’s financially strapped citizens.
- 4/30/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
Paris 36
Directed by: Christophe Barratier
Cast: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad, Nora Arnezeder
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: PG-13
Plot: A craftily shot French drama about a fledgling theater in the heart of Paris that falls under hard times and must succumb to a tyrant of a landlord who attempts to bring it to its demise. However, once an astonishingly alluring young actress arrives on the scene, hope returns to The Chansonia. An uncanny mixture of dramatic scenes coupled with visually stunning musical numbers enhance the plot by giving audience members a chance to sing along to the twisted tale of love, deceit, and deception.
Who’s It For?: As with 2008’s The Class, this film requires a tremendous amount of reading as the French-language format requires the subtitles to come a-flowing. Those of you unfettered by this systematic requirement needn’t worry. Though the film takes a hop,...
Directed by: Christophe Barratier
Cast: Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad, Nora Arnezeder
Running Time: 2 hrs
Rating: PG-13
Plot: A craftily shot French drama about a fledgling theater in the heart of Paris that falls under hard times and must succumb to a tyrant of a landlord who attempts to bring it to its demise. However, once an astonishingly alluring young actress arrives on the scene, hope returns to The Chansonia. An uncanny mixture of dramatic scenes coupled with visually stunning musical numbers enhance the plot by giving audience members a chance to sing along to the twisted tale of love, deceit, and deception.
Who’s It For?: As with 2008’s The Class, this film requires a tremendous amount of reading as the French-language format requires the subtitles to come a-flowing. Those of you unfettered by this systematic requirement needn’t worry. Though the film takes a hop,...
- 4/10/2009
- by Chris De Salvo
- The Scorecard Review
- Friday was my birthday. Every year when my birthday roles around, there are two things I wonder about. The first is whether all the snow will be gone by that day and the second is what horrific mess Hollywood will unleash on my special day. You see, April is considered in the industry to be the biggest dumping ground for films after January and the first week of April is the worst of all. This year was no different and nothing was expected to fare well. Certainly no records were expected to be smashed. Hollywood will learn a new lesson though now. April should not be dismissed and Vin Diesel should never be underestimated. I’m sure no one at Universal saw this coming. They brought back the original cast of a waning franchise and instead of pulling in modest returns that would eventually justify its budget, Fast and
- 4/5/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
“Staking its success on a vibrant reproduction of 1930s Paris and a surfeit of nostalgic charm, Paris 36’‘s homage to a milieu and cinema of the past aims for let’s-put-on-a-show razzmatazz but disappointingly settles on being not much more than a pretty, pleasant diversion” writes Michael Joshua Rowin in his review for indieWIRE of French director Christophe Barratier’s follow up to 2004’s “The Chorus,” which opens this week to mixed reviews. …...
- 4/3/2009
- Indiewire
“Staking its success on a vibrant reproduction of 1930s Paris and a surfeit of nostalgic charm, Paris 36’‘s homage to a milieu and cinema of the past aims for let’s-put-on-a-show razzmatazz but disappointingly settles on being not much more than a pretty, pleasant diversion” writes Michael Joshua Rowin in his review for indieWIRE of French director Christophe Barratier’s follow up to 2004’s “The Chorus,” which opens this week to mixed reviews. …...
- 4/3/2009
- Indiewire
A shamelessly melodramatic series of romantic, financial and politi cal crises embroil a rundown music hall in "Paris 36," a gleaming hunk of French period schmaltz expertly rendered by director Christophe Barratier.
Will the heartbroken manager (Gerard Jugnot) attempting to reopen the theater finally reunite with the accordion-playing son whisked away by his ex-wife? Will the gorgeous young chanteuse (Nora Arnezeder) choose the leftist stagehand (Clovis Cornillac) or the venue's sleazy
middle-age owner (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) with criminal connections?
Will the bill-topping comedian (Kad Merad) regret embracing the landlord's anti-Semitic fascist pals?...
Will the heartbroken manager (Gerard Jugnot) attempting to reopen the theater finally reunite with the accordion-playing son whisked away by his ex-wife? Will the gorgeous young chanteuse (Nora Arnezeder) choose the leftist stagehand (Clovis Cornillac) or the venue's sleazy
middle-age owner (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) with criminal connections?
Will the bill-topping comedian (Kad Merad) regret embracing the landlord's anti-Semitic fascist pals?...
- 4/3/2009
- by By LOU LUMENICK
- NYPost.com
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