In the awards competition at the Cannes Film Festival, two films rejuvenated the often clunky genre of the biopic. Mike Leigh, whose films have won many honors here, offered something of a departure from his previous output. Mr. Turner, appropriately his most picturesque film yet, explores the later years of pre-Impressionistic, pre-rebel chic painter J.M.W. […]
Written and Directed by Woody Allen
Produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum and Edward Walson
Released by Sony Pictures Classics
USA/France. 98 min. Rated PG-13
With Eileen Atkins, Colin Firth, Marcia Gay Harden, Hamish Linklater, Simon McBurney, Emma Stone, Jacki Weaver and Catherine McCormack
The title of Woody Allen’s new comedy sounds like it was lifted from a swooning Tin […]
Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne were definitely overlooked, if not slighted, by the awards jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, coming away empty handed, perhaps because the directing team has previously won so many awards there and they don’t break thematic or narrative ground in the new Two Days, One Night. The long takes […]
The Directors’ Fortnights at the Cannes Film Festival was established in 1969 as an alternative to the official selection, as a way of opening the door to “free and adventurous cinema” (per its program guide) and promoting new directors. It has since become a showcase for the up-and-coming, spotlighting Martin Scorsese, Michael Haneke, Werner Herzog, […]
One of the top films at Cannes this year—and one of the most shocking and brutal—was The Tribe, from the Ukraine. It was also the most ambitious, dangerous, and accomplished by a debut filmmaker. No subtitles were necessary. It has no spoken dialogue and no translation of any kind; it’s all told through sign language. […]
Even though “international” doesn’t appear in the Tribeca Film Festival’s name, it has always included a wide variety of nationalities. Since its first year, the festival’s inclusive programming has showcased an array of genres from all over the world. Now in its 13th year, the broad-minded focus remains true, though there are not too many […]
Directed by Emmanuelle Bercot
Written by Bercot and Jérôme Tonnerre
Produced by Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier
Released by Cohen Media Group
French with English subtitles
France. 113 min. Not rated
With Catherine Deneuve, Nemo Schiffman, Gérard Garouste, Camille, Claude Gensac, Paul Hamy, Mylène Demongeot and Hafsia Herzi
Filmmakers like knocking Catherine Deneuve, now in her sixth decade as an above-the-title actor, […]
If you’re lucky enough to see only a handful of what the mini-festival Rendez-Vous with French Cinema has to offer, you’re likely to have a sense of déjà vu, or at least left wondering, strange, I’ve seen that face before. One of the resulting pleasure of this annual series—23 features this year—is that in a […]
Directed by Chiemi Karasawa
Produced by Karasawa & Elizabeth Hemmerdinger
Released by Sundance Selects
USA. 81 min. Not rated
In the twilight of her career, veteran actress Elaine Stritch has won both an Emmy and Grammy for her 2002 one-woman Broadway show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, her tell-all song and dish about this broad’s life on the boards. […]
