Our May selection on TV5MONDE Cinema on Demand
This month, rediscover the best of Cannes Film Festival on TV5MONDE Cinema On Demand with, among other things, the hilarious documentary Pauline s'arrache and the road movie set in Brittany, Western.
À genoux les gars (2017) Un certain regard | Cannes Film Festival 2018
In French with English subtitles. Available beginning May 1.
À genoux les gars discusses all the hot topics of youth today without holding back. Touching on politics, sex, friendship, and feminism, they bring up taboo subjects without falling into clichés.
Two teenaged sisters, Yasmina and Rim, must deal with the fallout after their boyfriends threaten to release a video they filmed of Yasmina in a compromising situation.
"[The film] has a sort of elastic sense of humor...what they say and do rings true in France." - France24
Director: Antoine Desrosières
With: Souad Arsane, Inas Chanti, Sidi Mejai
Genre: Comedy
Pauline s'arrache (2015) | Cannes Film Festival 2015
In French with English subtitles. Available beginning May 29.
Part observational documentary, part stylistic storytelling, Pauline s'arrache is an outrageous and hilarious film shot by director Émilie Brisavoine using her own family as the subject.
In a twist on modern day royalty, Princess Pauline lives in what appears to be a fairytale, but behind-the-scenes it’s a bit more complicated, especially now that a teenaged Pauline is starting to get rebellious.
"...a celebration of what a French modern family might look like today." - Hollywood Reporter
Director: Émilie Brisavoine
Cast: Pauline Lloret-Besson, Meaud Besson, Frédéric Lloret
Genre: Documentary
En ville (2011) Directors’ Fortnight | Cannes Film Festival 2011
In French with English subtitles. Available beginning May 8.
A film on bourgeois boredom, reminiscent of Eric Rohmer cinema.
Iris, 16, is living in a small provincial town when she meets Jean, a 40-year-old photographer from Paris. Their relationship evolves over the course of their meetings, and their lives will turn upside down.
"A reflection on age, love and reason." - Cineuropa
Director : Valérie Mréjen, Bertrand Schefe
Cast : Lola Créton, Stanislas Merhar, Adèle Haenel
Genre : Drama
Persécution (2009) Golen Lion Nominee | Venice Film Festival 2009
In French with English subtitles. Available beginning May 1.
A nerve-racking and captivating drama about the difficulty of love, carried by the masterful performances of Romain Duris and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
To his friends, Daniel has a great life and can get out of any situation unscathed, but when a suspicious man suddenly becomes obsessed with him, Daniel wonders how he will make it out of this newest predicament.
"Wearing the character’s rage and suffering on his face, Duris is remarkably good as the deeply unsympathetic Daniel while Gainsbourg... is his match as the noble Sonia." - Screen Daily
Director: Patrice Chéreau
Cast: Romain Duris, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean-Hugues Anglade
Genre: Drama
Western (1997) Winner Jury Prize | Cannes Film Festival 1997
In French with English subtitles. Available beginning May 15.
An attractive movie set along the country road side of Brittany. Watch simply for the chemistry between the two lead actors coupled with the magnificent landscapes.
Paco, a Spanish shoe salesman, picks up a Russian hitchhiker named Nino, and the two form a fast friendship. Together, they wander the idyllic French countryside in search of love.
"Poirier takes the metropolitan concerns of modern-day France and transplants them to the countryside, an effort which focuses the comic elements while freeing characters to dawdle about without appearing to be in stasis." - The Austin Chronicle
Director: Manuel Poirier
Cast: Sergi López, Sacha Bourdo, Elisabeth Vitali
Genre: Dramtic comedy