This weekend attracted thousands to
the Byrd Theatre for the 16th annual
VCU French Film Festival. The largest of
its kind in the nation, the festival also is
regarded as the most important French
Film Festival in America by
France’s film industry.
‘La Vérité ou presque’
SYNOPSIS: Anne (Karin Viard), a neurotic businesswoman,
is a stranger to her own son and husband,
Thomas, played by Sam Karmann. Anne is tangled in
a web of marital affairs that show just how unhappy
everyone involved is. On the verge of losing her job as
a television host, she looks to a charming homosexual
biographer named Vincent to help save her career by
trying to unravel the life of famous, deceased jazz
singer Pauline Anderton. Anne and Thomas take a
trip to Lyons, Anderton’s hometown and are caught
in a fierce rainstorm. There, they are forced to look
inside themselves and discover why their lives are
transpiring how they are.
REVIEW: With strong actors leading the movie, “La
Vérité ou presque” takes the potentially cliché topic
of infidelity to humorous levels that leave the viewer
thinking and laughing about the ironies of life.
‘Ulzhan’
SYNOPSIS: Charles (Philippe Torreton), a mysterious
French man, seems to have no business in Kazakhstan.
Though he is just trying to be “alone,” he manages
to dabble in prostitution, to get arrested and to meet
interesting characters along the way. He sleeps in a
prison camp for a night and meets a quirky gypsy
merchant named Shakuni (reminiscent of famous
“Pairates of the Carribean” character Jack Sparrow)
and a beautiful schoolteacher named Ulzhan, who
refuses to leave Charles alone. The film guides us
to slowly figure out Charles’ real reason for being in
Kazakhstan.
REVIEW: Though it has beautiful scenery, the film’s
dialogue is much too slow, and the subtitles are
translated poorly. Endless shots of Charles’ somber
face might bore viewers more than intrigue them.
‘Michou d’Auber’
SYNOPSIS: In “Michou d’Auber” the plot focuses
on 9-year-old Messaoud in his painful battle to leave
his war torn home country, Algeria, to go to France.
Messaoud’s father puts him in foster care, because
the father has to take care of his dying mother. A
conservative French woman named Gis