The Five French Films to Watch on TV5MONDE in January
TV5MONDE will give you a bit of faith in humanity this January with a beautiful program that shines a sense of pride on the discreet heroes of out time.
Camille
January 10 at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
A moving drama on the tragic fate of photojournalist Camille Lepage and a country in permanent civil war: the Central African Republic.
2013. Camille, photojournalist, age 26, leaves for the Central African Republic to cover the civil war. A committed humanist she develops a real passion for the country and the tragedy being played out to the total indifference of the international community. Today, this is where her destiny lies.
"...Lojkine foregrounds his strengths by presenting a nuanced picture of the usual white European do-gooder in Africa, opening the film up to ambiguity and complexity." - Variety
Director: Boris Lojkine (France 2018)
Cast: Nina Meurisse, Fiacre Bindala, Bruno Todeschini
Genre: Drama
Une vie
January 17 at 8:40 pm ET/5:40 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
Autobiographically inspired, this first film by Sarah Suco on cult communities is uniquely educational. A must-see.
Normandy, 1819. Jeanne Le Perthuis des Vauds leaves the convent where she had been studying, to marry Julien de Lamare. He quickly reveals himself to be miserly, brutal and unfaithful. She gradually loses her illusions and innocence and faces up to her hostile environment.
"The narrative is suffused with subtle yet piquant moral commentary." - Brooklyn Magazine
Director: Stéphane Brizé (Belgium, France 2016)
Cast: Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Yolande Moreau, Swann Arlaud
Genre: Drama
Sophia Antipolis
January 24 at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
In a quasi-documentary style, Virgil Vernier creates a feature film that's a bit outside the box, inspired by the compelling cinema of David Lynch.
Sophia-Antipolis is the name of a strange land between Mediterranean Sea, forest and mountains. Beneath its dazzling sunshine, its men and women are in search of meaning, social cohesion and a sense of community. They cross the path and destiny of a young girl who has disappeared: Sophia.
"A compelling exploration of a hidden and haunting part of France." - Hollywood Reporter
Director: Virgil Vernier (France 2018)
Cast: Dewi Kunetz, Hugues Njiba-Mukuna, Sandra Poitoux, Bruck, Lilith
Genre: Drama
Rendre la justice
January 28 at 8:30 pm ET/5.30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
A documentary that provides a sense of humanity when considering the difficult profession of a judge, offering a different perspective from that seen in police dramas.
Despite the heaviness, fatigue and distance imposed by the procedure, the human element not only remains but is increasingly present, starkly exposed in all its reality, behind the black and ermine of the robes.
''A lucid documentary on the fascinating profession of judging others." - Le Monde
Director: Robert Salis (France, 2017)
Genre: Documentary
Le grand bal
January 31 at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
A sensual, profound and almost anthropological film about bodies, traditions and human beings. The energy here is undeniable.
It's the story of a dance. A grand ball. Every year, since 1990, over two thousand people travel from all over Europe to this little corner of the French countryside. Dancing for seven days and eight nights, over and over, losing all notion of time, ignoring fatigue and their body.
"This is at once sprawling and intimate, a portrait of a very specific event and an exploration of dancing in both individual and more general terms." - Hollywood Reporter
Director: Laetitia Carton (France, 2018)
Genre: Documentary