The Five French Films to Watch on TV5MONDE in July
Celebrate the Cannes Film Festival by (re)discovering some of the most astonishing films presented in recent years on the Crosette.
Sofia
July 11 at 8:35pm/ET/5:35pm. In French with English subtitles.
Screenplay Prize | Cannes 2018
A shocking drama, free of taboos on the condition women in Morocco.
Sofia is about to give birth out of wedlock in Casablanca, but she must provide the father's identity papers within 24 hours or risk going to jail. Her two cousins set out on a frantic search to find him.
"There is a lot more than what meets the eye initially in Benm'Barek-Aloïsi's film, which slowly and delicately teases out the nuances in the relations between the classes." - CineVue
Director: Meryem Benm'Barek (France 2018)
Cast: Maha Alemi, Lubna Azabal, Sarah Perles
Genre: Drama
Une aussi longue absence
July 15 at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
Winner Palme d’Or | Cannes 1961
Former assistant to Charlie Chaplin, Henri Colpi won the Palme d'Or in 1961 for this beautiful romance, written by Marguerite Duras. A forgotten masterpiece.
Thérèse Langlois, who runs a small café in the suburbs of Paris, lives alone, awaiting her long lost husband. She believes her lost husband has returned one day, but the man suffers from amnesia.
"The film is distinguished by an extraordinary performance by Georges Wilson as the clochard and by the willingness of the director to let him have all the time he needed to develop the character with great delicacy and feeling." - Esquire Magazine
Director: Henri Colpi (France, 1961)
Cast: Alida Valli, Georges Wilson, Charles Blavette, Amédée
Genre: Drama
Yves
July 18 juillet at 8:35 pm ET/5:35 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
Directors' Fortnight | Cannes 2019
A slightly outrageous satire which stunned the Croisette with its sense of burlesque and spot on cast.
Jérem moves into his grandmother's house to compose his first rap record, which is where he meets the beautiful So, who persuades him to try out Yves: a revolutionary smart fridge that is supposed to make his life simpler.
"This is really a filmmaker who could care less about what we think, though his outré humor is never mean-spirited and actually somewhat convivial in the end, if also rather tiresome." - Hollywood Reporter
Director: Benoît Forgeard (France 2019)
Cast: William Lebghil, Doria Tillier, Philippe Katerine
Genre: Comedy
Michael Kohlhaas
July 22 at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
Nominee Palm d'Or| Cannes 2013
A powerful and dark period film with a fascinating, ominous atmosphere.
"With this period film set in the Cévennes in the 16th century, Arnaud des Pallières signs directs something remarkable." - La Croix
Director: Arnaud des Pallières (France 2013)
Cast: Mads Mikkelsen, Bruno Ganz, Swann Arlaud, Sergi Lopez, Amira Casar, Denis Lavant
Genre: Biopic, drama
Les héros ne meurent jamais
July 25 at 8:40 pm ET/5:40 pm PT. In French with English subtitles.
Nominee Golden Camera | Cannes 2019
An inventive faux documentary that flirts with the fantastic and takes the viewer along for an intriguing joy ride.
In Paris, Joachim is accosted by a stranger who believes he's a former brother-in-arms. But there's one worrying detail: the soldier concerned apparently died the very same day as Joachim was born. Convinced of being his reincarnation, Joachim decides to leave for Sarajevo on the trail of his previous life.
"... the spiritual heart of Heroes Don’t Die recalls something a bit more offbeat and enigmatic, like the Ellen Burstyn led Resurrection ." - ioncinema
Director: Aude Léa Rapin (France, Belgium 2019)
Cast: Adèle Haenel, Jonathan Couzinié, Antonia Buresi
Genre: Drama