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French Gigs in London
Programme of the forthcoming French gigs in London until may 2008, supported by the French Music Bureau.
Showing in London
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A SecretClaude Miller (2006)As an adult, François (Amalric) puzzles over his boyhood self, a nervous child haunted by fantasies of a phantom brother. François comes to explore the history of a family struggling to survive during the Occupation, and forced to decide between declaring and concealing their Jewish identity. François's elegant mannequin mother is played by Cécile de France, but behind the image of an ideal French family is the story of another child, another mother (Sagnier) and a tragic tale of emotional rivalry. |
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Beauty and the BeastJean Cocteau (1946)Drama/ Fantasy A moment of pure magic. Once upon a time..." A half-ruined merchant lived in the country with his son Ludovic and his three daughters. Two of the daughters, Felicy and Adelaide, are really selfish, pretentious and evil and they exploit the third daughter, Belle, as a servant. One day, the merchant gets lost in the forest and enters a strange castle. He picks up a rose for Belle, the castle's owner appears. He is a monster, half-human, (body) and half-beast (paws, head), and he has magic powers. He sentenced the merchant to death, unless one of his daughters replaces him. Belle sacrifices herself for her father and goes to the castle. She will discover that the Beast is not so wild and inhuman as it looks. |
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Bienvenue chez les Ch'tisDany Boon (2007)Phlippe Abrams is manager of the post office in Salon-de-Provence. He is married to Julie, whose depressive nature makes his life impossible. To please her, Philippe tries to cheat the system in order to obtain a transfer to the Cote d'Azur. But he is uncovered so he is to be transferred to Bergues, a small town in the North. |
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Céline and Julie go BoatingJacques Rivette (1974)Drama/ Fantasy A cult movie and a masterpiece, a modern Alice in Wonderland. |
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Daft Punk's ElectromaThomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (2006)"Hero Robot No. 1" and "Hero Robot No. 2" are the robotic forms of Daft Punk. They drive a 1987 Ferrari 412 through the Southwestern US to a town in Inyo County, California. The town's population is also made up of robots. Robot No. 1 and Robot No. 2 go to a high-tech facility where liquid latex is poured over their heads. The latex is shaped into human-like faces with the aid of prosthetic appliances. When they leave the facility, the locals are shocked by their new appearance and they are chased out of town. Forced to wonder a deserted wilderness together the Robots begin to despair. Robot No. 1 gives up. With the help of his companion, he self-destructs. Left alone, Robot 2 looks for ways to follow suit. Eventually he self-immolates and we watch him, in slow motion, walk through the dark salt plains. |
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Her Name is SabineSandrine Bonnaire (2007)A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, the autistic sister of the french actress Sandrine Bonnaire. |
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PersepolisMarjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud (2005)Marjane, a rebellious, independent child is brought up by her intelligent, loving parents, with frequent visits from her wise, feisty grandmother. The family is hopefull that the end of the Shah's reign will bring new freedoms and prosperity, but the religious crack down and war with neighbouring Irak show they couldn't be more wrong. |
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Private PropertyJoachim Lafosse (2006)Pascale lives with her twins Thierry and François in the house she got from her ex-husband. The family is co-dependent, both intimate and aggressive. The brothers are adults, but they still have violent fights. Pascale tries to revamp her life introducing her boyfriend to her sons, and they dont hide their disdain. She assesses that her only chance to break free is to sell the house and kick them out. But this triggers all out war among the three, each fighting to get his way. |
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Son of RambowGarth Jennings (2007)The story takes place in 1980s Britain, where young Will Proudfoot is raised in isolation among the Brethren, a puritanical religious sect in which music and TV are strictly forbidden. Whilst in school he forms an unexpected friendship with school trouble-maker and outcast, Lee Carter over a mutual love of a pirated copy of Rambo: First Blood. After seeing the film, Will and Lee decide to set in motion their very own Rambo film. Their ultimate plan is to deliver a succession of home-made videos to their young classmates. The plan goes well and their popularlity increases until the arrival of French exchange student, Didier Revol, threatens their friendship and forces them to look a little closer at reality. |
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The ConformistBernardo Bertolucci (1970)Marcello is a weak-willed Italian man who conforms to the modern ideologies of the moment. During the nineteen thirties he begins to work for Mussollini. When he leaves for France on his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, he is assigned the dual mission of tracking down and murdering a political refugee who fled Italy when the fascists came to power. His target turns out to be none other than his former college professor. |
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The Diving Bell and the ButterflyJulian Schnabel (2007)The autobiographical story of French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a devastating stroke. His body was left paralysed, however his mind remained active. |
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The Last MistressCatherine Breillat (2006)The ever-provocative Catherine Breillat tackles a 19th-century literary classic, and decorum goes out of the window. Based on the 1850s novel by Barbey d'Aurevilly, The Last Mistress is a ferocious feminist revision of the myth of the femme fatale, incarnated by Spanish courtesan Vellini (Asia Argento), whose intemperate passions come between amoral fop Ryno (the androygnously pretty Aït Aattou) and his naive bride (Mesquida). |
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Water LiliesCéline Sciamma (2007)It's summer in the suburbs, and the town's swimming pool is the centre of attention. The local synchronised swimming team is doing well, and competition for places is fierce. Marie, Anne and Florian are 15, and this will be the summer they learn a lot about desire. Anne fancies a boy, François, but he only has eyes for Florian; Marie is similarly captivated by Florian, and neglects her friendship with Anne as a result. And as for Florian, she's so adept at using her physical charms to manipulate that her true desires are hard to fathom... |
