Monthly Archives: July 2015

Pauline à la Plage (Pauline at the Beach)

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Helen Van Kruyssen

Summertime fascination, Eric Rohmer-style, is a gentle flirtatious breeze, one that carries early-eighties sexuality and casual connections on the shore of a wild-Atlantic heart. Third in the ‘Comedies and Proverbes’ series, Pauline à la Plage follows fifteen-year old Pauline (Amanda … Continue reading →

Posted in Eric Rohmer, Holiday Films, Nouvelle Vague, The New Wave, Vacation Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Brothers acting as brothers: a conversation with Gregory and Mikael Fitoussi

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Helen Van Kruyssen

Love is complicated between those who find it difficult to communicate, and it can release a sad song. The deep love that exists between two brothers who can’t get along had remained a mystery in my mind, an undiscovered land. … Continue reading →

Posted in Fraternity, French Cinema, French Film, Interviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Les Choristes (The Chorus)

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Helen Van Kruyssen

Music, patience and compassion are a far cry from the discipline-maxim ‘Action-Reaction,’ barked by the headmaster of Fond de l’Etang (Rock Bottom), the boarding school for ‘difficult boys.’ It’s 1948, and punishment is administered with a steady, consistent hand: lashings … Continue reading →

Posted in French Cinema, French Film | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Merci Pour Le Chocolat

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Helen Van Kruyssen

‘I have a knack for doing wrong,’ confesses Swiss-Chocolate factory owner Mika Muller (Isabelle Huppert), the praline beauty in Claude Chabrol’s detective-style thriller. Chabrol wanted to make a film about ‘Evil’, chose Huppert as its purveyor, and from the opening … Continue reading →

Posted in Claude Chabrol, French Cinema, French Film, Merci Pour le Chocolat, Thriller | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment