Sam’s Take: French Film Festival Reviews

Samuel Goodrich
Contributing Writer

Loin des hommes (Dir. David Oelhoffen)

Taking place in 1954 Algeria, during the war with France, “Loin des hommes” tells a compelling story about brotherhood, the absurdity of war, and the mixture of world cultures.

Daru is a teacher in the Algerian desert who is also trusted by the French army to pull some favors from time to time. One day, they call on him to bring Mohamed, a farmer accused of killing his cousin, across the Atlas mountains so he may be judged and sentenced. While initially standoffish, the two form a bond during their intense and and emotionally complex journey.

The impressive cinematography of the film is immediately apparent, showing the beautiful desolation and humbling vastness of the desert. It can be breathtaking at times and helps to emphasize the paranoia and tension of being unable to hide in this vast land.

The lead performances by a French speaking Viggo Mortensen and Reda Kateb are fantastic, with both men able to convey an large amount of emotion in simple looks or inflections. Mortensen is especially surprising seeing as he’s an American actor who is speaking fluent French, Arabic, and at times Spanish.

Dealing with many heavy themes, “Loin des hommes” also finds time for short scenes of comedy or calm, which did have a tendency to feel out of place. While only one or two of these scenes were slightly jarring, they overall were welcome tension relievers in an otherwise bleak film.

As a somewhat topical commentary on the misconceptions of culture and the age old theme of “war is hell”, “Loin des hommes” is not a revolutionary film, but it is an exciting and well made film that is able to overcome it’s somewhat cliched shortcomings.

Arête tom cinema! (dir. Diane Kurys)

“Arrete ton Cinema!” Is an outlandish comedy too silly to be tolerable and too boring to actually invoke any strong emotions beyond disdain.

The film follows famous actress Syillbe who is hoping to write a direct a personal film about her family’s troubles with their absent father. Two producers call to let her know that they are dying to make this movie. Initially thrilled at the opportunity, Syillbe soon discover that her producers are mentally unstable, obnoxious women who warp her script into a shell of its former self.

Herein lies the problem: there is no good reason why Syillbe would even consider working with these people. Even before she meets them, multiple friends tell her to run away, but she ignores their warnings.

This lack of believability makes her an unsympathetic character, there is no reason to feel anything for her except frustration. She’s not roped into this situation, enticed by charismatic investors as she is slowly turned into a greedy filmmaker; she gets herself into this bad situation simply because the script demands for it.

This goofy logic could have been forgiven somewhat if the forced set-up had lead to some funny jokes, but it never does. The humor is based on around the absurdity of the situation, but it feels too childish to ever capitalize. It’s too safe to be interesting, yet too vulgar to pass it off as a harmless comedy for your grandmother.

“Arette ton cinema” is not the worst comedy ever made, but it is an insult to the mind. Boring, contrived, and simply ugly, it is a film not even worth trying to watch on Netflix on a boring Sunday afternoon.

If you want a dumbed down “Sex and the City” set against the disaster productions of Edward D. Wood Jr.

Un temps de president (dir. Yves Jeuland)

Following French president François Hollande from the Summer of 2014 to the end of January 2015, “Un temps de president” shows an intimate and in-depth look into the inner workings of the French government.

While it is slow to start, the film truly takes off once it enters the autumn months, highlighting the different struggles of the government during this time frame. The best moments involve important events during that time frame, like the release of the last French captive and the Charlie Hebdo shooting. These scenes are truly powerful, showing the resilience and camaraderie of the entire French nation.

They also show what it’s like inside of the government, flaunting its normalcy and mundanity, which is ultimately engaging to watch. It’s fascinating to see how normal these politicians are behind the scenes, joking and struggling like everyday workers.

What is most striking about the film is how I, and many other people in the audience, kept saying that this could never be done in America. This level of vulnerability and freedom given to the director is kind of jarring to American audiences, we’re not used to seeing any government this way, much less our own. It makes for a compelling and endlessly fascinating watch.

For those who want a less dramatised “House of Cards”, mixed with European politics.