Preview: What to See at Cinemania Film Festival
Here we are once again. Every year I am always happy when November comes around, because I know Cinémania Film Festival will open its doors at Le Cinéma Impérial. This festival has the francophonie at its heart and the programming is always amazing. Every year, incredible movies are chosen from Africa, France, or other places in the world where movies are made in French, and are presented in Montreal. For me it is always a chance to see movies from my birth country (France) with actors I love, or from directors I adore. Yes, Cinemania is, for me, a very special event. From November 5th to 15th, I suggest all of you to go check some movies out. These are my recommendations:
Dheepan, dir. Jacques Audiard:
Winner of the 2015 Palme d’Or at Cannes, this movie was chosen to open the 21st rdition of Cinémania. The story is one about life, new beginnings and immigration. Dheepan, a former Tamil Tiger fighter, decides to flee Sri Lanka where the war makes living hard. On his way, he meets a young woman and a child she found in a refugee camp. The idea is simple: fleeing together would be easier if they tried passing for a family. Our main character joins them, and together they steal the identity of another trio and their trip to Paris begins. After arriving in France, the battle for survival does not stop. How do you eat, find a room, and adapt to strange manners? How do you raise a child? How do you bear the pain of a hard life? The story leads us into the complexity of human relationships, and in the heart of a very real issue: the difficulties of immigration.
Screenings: November 5th (opening night) and November 15th (closing day).
10%, dir. Cedric Klapisch and Lola Doillon:
For the first time, a movie is centred on the life of artistic agents. After the death of the founder of their company, four agents have to fight to save the company’s reputation and integrity. While juggling with their personal lives and their clients’ desires, they have to find solutions to save the agency. Giving a realistic view of the crazy artistic world, this comedy is not to be missed. With stars like Françoise Fabian and Line Renaud, this comedy will make you laugh and discover what really is behind every artistic curtain.
Screening: November 8.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLpJpIDmPh8
Belles Familles, dir. Jean-Paul Rappeneau:
Being one of my favorite directors, I have to recommend this movie by JP Rappeneau. It made the opening of Le Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulème and has a five star cast with actors like André Dussolier, Marine Vacth, and Mathieu Amalric. The story is quite simple: Jerôme Varenne (Amalric) has been living and working in Shanghai for the past ten years. He is passing by Paris when he learns that the house he grew up in is now at the centre of a controversy. To ease the tensions between family members and to know more, he investigates. As if it was not complicated enough, a love affair will complicate things a little more. And what about this other woman who seems to also like him very much? This trip to the past will change his life forever. Knowing the beauty of JP Rappeneau’s cinematography, I am sure this movie centered on life and childhood memories will be an enchanting.
Screening: November 7.
Mon roi, dir. Maïwenn:
It is the second time that Maïwenn’s work is presented at Cinemania. «Polisse» received a warm welcome during a previous edition. Here, the movie follows Tony (Emmanuelle Bercot) a woman who is recovering from a serious ski accident. While she is in the clinic she relives the memories of her ten year marriage with Georgio (Vincent Cassel). Who was he really? How could she accept to stay in such a destructive relationship? Filming intimacy like no one else can, Maïwenn uses once again her talent to give us a fantastic movie about love and rehabilitation. A definite must-see.
Screenings: November 6 and 11.
Cinemania runs until November 15th at Cinéma Impérial.
