A harsh western set in North Ossetia, the new incarnation of Simenon’s detective and adaptation of a cult graphic novel. What to see this week? Discover the cinema selection of Figaro.
Maigret – To have
Detective film by Patrice Leconte, 1h28
Leconte adds a vagueness to Simenon, a Modiano-like trembling which he had adapted in a way that was a little too radiant Villa Sad. He films between the lines. Above all, Depardieu finds here by far his best role, as if he had only been waiting for that, slipping into the cast-off of this dozing beast in the great jungle of life, this cushy version of King Lear, haunted by human matter, full of loss and remorse. At one point, in a café, he sees his reflection in the mirror. The look he casts then seems to say: “What have I become?” At this second, we see his soul. There is not a detail, not a line to be taken away from this dive into troubled waters. This immense lassitude is of an exemplary photogeny, of a dull darkness. Listen. We hear a terrible noise of dead leaves. IN
Read alsoOur review of Maigret: a monument of melancholy
Unclenched Fists – To have
Drama by Kira Kovalenko, 1h36
At 32, this tall, flamboyant Russian redhead has energy to spare. Born in the Caucasus, in Naltchik, Kira Kovalenko nevertheless expresses herself calmly, without ever departing from a soothing calm. His second film, unclenched fists, presented at Cannes last summer, won the Un Certain Regard prize. Kovalenko recounts the upset destiny of Ada, a young woman who lives in North Ossetia, in a former mining town crossed by large crowded trucks raising tons of dust. With these deserted landscapes, the harshness of its climate, the harshness of the men who live there, having fun with rodeos of tired cars or swimming in frozen lakes, the film has something of a harsh western, but so endearing. OD
Read alsoOur review of Unclenched Fiststhe Russian western by Kira Kovalenko
Zai zai zai zai – To have
Comedy by François Desagnat, 1h22
It took seven years of reflection before a director dared to tackle the adaptation of Fabcaro’s cult graphic novel, Zai zai zai zai . This comic strip, which happily digs the furrow of “non-sensical” Monty Python-style humor, had the tenacious reputation of being unsuitable. And then here is François Desagnat (The Beuze, The 11 Commandments) takes over the project. At first glance, we fear the worst. We are wrong. With Jean-Paul Rouve, Julie Depardieu, Ramzy Bedia or Yolande Moreau, Desagnat sets off on an adventure “whistling up there on the hill”, as in the song by Joe Dassin, which gives its title to the work. The result is quite amazing. Funny, caustic, poetic, at times even surreal, Desagnat’s film surprises while remaining very faithful to the spirit of the original work. A little finesse never hurts. OD
Read alsoOur review of Zai zai zai zai: irresistible Fabcaro horse
Under the sky of Kutaisi – To have
Comedy drama by Alexander Koberidze, 2h30
This is a strange Russian film. Fanciful, funny, it features Lisa and Giorgi, who meet at the start of the film. In love, they arrange to meet the next day, but fate will decide otherwise… Using everyday poetry, a mocking voice-over, and football-loving dogs, this intriguing film plays truant on classic cinema and tag. OD
The Oak – To have
Documentary by Michel Seydoux and Laurent Charbonnier, 1h20
Meeting in unknown land. But there is no need to take a plane to survey its perimeter up and down: the place explored by Michel Seydoux and Laurent Charbonnier is… a 210-year-old oak tree. Which weighs nine tons and is 17 meters high. The spectator follows the little people of the tree over four seasons, their joys and their great miseries, telling “everything that revolves around the glans”explains Michel Seydoux, referring in passing to the frantic chase between a bird of prey and a sparrow that required fifteen days of work for 1 min 20 of film. “We wanted to make a tool of wonder”, he continues, to raise public awareness “without giving lessons”, and in particular children, to the prowess of nature and to biodiversity issues. The result is a real immersive show, with unsuspected secrets, which will seduce the whole family by arousing its wonder. PB
Read alsoThe Oakthe tree and the way
According to the police – You can see
Drama by Frédéric Videau, 1h51
According to the police is a cop movie. It belongs to a French tradition (Police, L.627, The Little Lieutenant), which has been vigorously brought up to date in recent months. An ensemble film, it follows five characters for a day and a night, in Toulouse and its suburbs. Five cops, five shades of blue on the public highway (the VP, in the jargon), who go into contact with the population or who see ordinary people coming to them by pushing the door of the police station. Frédéric Videau loads the boat a little too much, by wanting to tick all the boxes of police malaise (depression, blunder, suicide). Despite everything, he manages to go beyond the treatise on sociology. ES
Read alsoOur review of According to the police: the blues have the blues
a people – You can see
Documentary by Emmanuel Gras, 1h44
In the four corners of France, some drivers continue to ride for the “yellow vests”. The chasuble sits in the same place, behind the windshield, testifying to their dissatisfaction and their pride in having demonstrated. It also stays close at hand. The ups and downs of recent weekends show that the movement, which has fallen sharply since 2020, has not completely disappeared. A month and a half before the presidential election, a people, with its emphatic title, is its cinematic burst. Emmanuel Gras, crowned at Cannes with the Critics’ Week grand prize in 2017, films moments of solidarity as well as ego wars. Is it up or down, in the end, that things are not going well? A people offers an interesting vision of this complex movement, which was sometimes violent and excessive. BP
Read alsoOur review of a people: dusting off the yellow vests
To our children – To avoid
Romantic drama by Maria de Medeiros, 1h47
In Rio, the actress-director films the complicated chronicle of several Brazilian women of different ages. Too much pathos, too much melodrama, and useless twists, end up losing
the spectators in this woman’s film nevertheless carried by excellent actresses… OD
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