First look: International trailer for French crime drama Mesrine: Killer Instinct

I heard about Jean-François Richet's Mesrine a while back, but promptly forgot about it. The film adaptation of Jacques Mesrine's autobiography, L'instinct de mort, stars Vincent Cassel, Gérard Depardieu, Mathieu Amalric, and Ludivine Sagnier. Cassel, who plays title character Mesrine, won the Best Actor Cesar earlier this year.

The film was released in two parts (à la Che) in France, and the first film, L'instinct de mort (English title Mesrine: Killer Instinct (Part 1)) opened on October 22, 2008, while the second part L'Ennemi Public Numéro Un (Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One (Part 2)) opened on November 19, 2008.



Jacques Mesrine was one of the most famous criminals in French history. His committed bank robberies, burglaries, jewelry store robberies, prison breaks, arms smuggling, and murders. In 1979 he became French public enemy number 1 when he kidnapped millionaire, Henri Lelièvre, and received a ransom of 6 million francs. His crime spree even went as far as the United States and Canada.



At this point there's only an English language trailer for part one, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, but The Playlist is cool enough to share both French posters, the two trailers, a bonus clip from Empire, and the synopsis for part one:

Mesrine: Killer Instinct introduces us to Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel), a loyal son and dedicated soldier back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Handsome and charming, he is soon seduced by the neon glamour of Sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido (Gerard Depardieu) Mesrine soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder, choosing the high risk life of a gangster of the honest life of the hard working family. After pulling off an audacious heist he and his lover Jeanne (Cecile de France), flee to Canada where the opportunity of one big payout lures him out of hiding and propels him towards international notoriety.

It looks like Mesrine: Killer Instinct will open on August 7 in the UK and then Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One will open on August 28. Annoyingly, there is no North American release date yet.

Coco Avant Chanel trailer

There's a trailer for Coco Avant Chanel that made it's way online about a week ago which The Playlist has pointed out for us. The film stars Audrey Tautou and focuses on the life of Coco Chanel before she became a famous fashion designer. It opened in France in April and will be released on July 31 in the UK and on September 25 in the US.

This is the first trailer I've seen that's meant for English speaking audiences, so there are subtitles in the trailer. Maybe Marion Cotillard's success with La Vie en Rose will be able to help Tautou with this particular biopic, and hopefully that, combined with all the praise for her will give her an extra push at the end of the year.

Audrey Tautou's Chanel ad

Audrey Tautou is now the face of Chanel No. 5 and In Contention points us to the commercial which is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and obviously designed to remind us that Tautou plays Chanel in Coco Avant Chanel (a North American release date hasn't been announced yet):

A 1986 movie retrospective

I was born in 1986, and I've been curious about the movies that made an impact that year. My mother isn't much help on 1980s films mostly because she spent a great deal of her time studying in France and then taking care of yours truly. I did a hell of a lot of digging and ironically I'm more familiar with the French films from 1986 than the English language ones.


Events
Turner Broadcasting starts colorizing black and white classics (of course this blasphemy would happen in my birth year)

Legendary stuntman Dar Robinson, is killed on the set of Million Dollar Mystery

Johnny Depp appears briefly in Platoon and the world swoons

Notable Births
Brittany Snow
Jamie Bell
Amanda Bynes
Robert Pattinson
Shia LaBeouf
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Lindsay Lohan
Emmy Rossum
Camilla Belle

Deaths
Cary Grant
Heather Angel



Top Grossing Films
1. Top Gun ($176,786,701)
2. Crocodile Dundee ($174,803,506)
3. Platoon ($138,530,565)
4. The Karate Kid Part II ($115,103,979)
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ($109,713,132)
6. Back to School ($91,258,000)
7. Aliens ($86,160,248)
8. The Golden Child ($79,817,937)
9. Ruthless People ($71,624,879)
10. Ferris Bueller's Day Off ($70,136,369)

Notable Films Released
9½ Weeks
About Last Night
Aliens
An American Tail
At Close Range
Back to School
Big Trouble in Little China
Blue Velvet
The Boy Who Could Fly
The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation
Castaway
Children of a Lesser God
Club Paradise
The Color of Money
Cobra
Crocodile Dundee
Le Déclin de l'empire américain, (The Decline of the American Empire)
The Delta Force
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
F/X
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
The Fly
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords
The Golden Child
Gung Ho!
Hannah and Her Sisters
Heathcliff: The Movie
Highlander
The Hitcher
Hoosiers
Howard the Duck
Invaders from Mars
Iron Eagle
Jean de Florette
Jumpin' Jack Flash
The Karate Kid, Part II
Labyrinth
Little Shop of Horrors
Manhunter
Manon des Sources
The Mosquito Coast
The Mission
Mona Lisa
The Money Pit
My Little Pony: The Movie
'night, Mother
The Name of the Rose
No Mercy
Peggy Sue Got Married
Pretty in Pink
River's Edge
Ruthless People
Shanghai Surprise
Sid and Nancy
Something Wild
Stand by Me
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
That's Life!
¡Three Amigos!
Top Gun
The Transformers: The Movie
Wildcats
X :The Unheard Music



Sundance Film Festival (17 January - 26 January)
Jury Members: Hector Babenco (dramatic), Molly Haskell (dramatic), Krzysztof Zanussi (dramatic), Martha Coolidge (dramatic), Bobby Roth dramatic), Julia Reichert (documentary), David Fanning (documentary), Ron Mann(documentary), Dennis O'Rourke (documentary)

Awards Grand Jury Prize:
Documentary: Private Conversations: On the Set of 'Death of a Salesman' (Christian Blackwood)
Dramatic: Smooth Talk (Joyce Chopra)

Berlin International Film Festival (14 February - 25 February)
Jury Members
Gina Lollobrigida (head of jury), Rudi Fehr (co-head of jury), Lindsay Anderson, August Coppola, Werner Grassmann, Otar Iosseliani, Norbert Kückelmann, Françoise Maupin, Rosaura Revueltas, Naoki Togawa, Jerzy Toeplitz

Awards Golden Berlin Bear: Stammheim - Die Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe vor Gericht (Reinhard Hauff)
Silver Berlin Bear: Caravaggio (Derek Jarman) and Yari no gonza (Masahiro Shinoda)
Best Actor: Tuncel Kurtiz (Hiuch HaGdi)
Best Actress: Marcelia Cartaxo (A Hora da Estrela) and Charlotte Valandrey (Rouge baiser)]
Best Director: Giorgi Shengelaya (Akhalgazrda kompozitoris mogzauroba)
Berlinale Camera: Gina Lollobrigida, Giulietta Masina, Sydney Pollack, Fred Zinnemann

Cannes Film Festival (8 May – 19 May)
Jury Members
Sydney Pollack (president), Charles Aznavour, Sonia Braga, Lino Brocka, Tonino Delli Colli, Philip French, Alexandre Mnouchkine, István Szabó, Danièle Thompson, Alexandre Trauner

Awards Palm d'Or: The Mission (Roland Joffé)
Special Jury Prize: The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky)
Jury Prize: Thérèse (Alain Cavalier)
Best Actor: Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa)and Michel Blanc (Tenue de soirée)
Best Actress: Barbara Sukowa (Die Geduld der Rosa Luxemburg) and Fernanda Torres (Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar/Speak to me of Love)
Direction: Martin Scorsese (After Hours)
Palm d'Or for Short Film: Peel (Jane Campion)

Venice Film Festival (30 August – 10 September)
Jury Members
Alain Robbe-Grillet (head of jury), Chantal Akerman, Jörn Donner, Pál Gábor, Román Gubern, Pontus Hulten, Alberto Lattuada, Nanni Moretti, Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Eldar Shengelaya, Fernando E. Solanas, Peter Ustinov, Bernhard Wicki, Catherine Wyler

Awards Golden Lion: Le rayon vert (Eric Rohmer)
Grand Special Jury Prize: Chuzhaya belaya i ryaboy (Sergei Solovyov) and Storia d'amore (Francesco Maselli)
Best Actor: Carlo Delle Piane (Regalo di Natale)
Best Actress: Valeria Golino (Storia d'amore)

Toronto International Film Festival (4 September – 13 September)
Awards People's Choice Award: Le déclin de l'empire américain (Denys Arcand)
Best Canadian Feature Film: Le déclin de l'empire américain (Denys Arcand)

Golden Globes



Best Film – Drama: Platoon
A Room with a View
Children of a Lesser God
Mona Lisa
Stand By Me
The Mission

Best Actor – Drama: Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa)
Harrison Ford (The Mosquito Coast)
Dexter Gordon (Round Midnight)
William Hurt (Children of a Lesser God)
Jeremy Irons (The Mission)
Paul Newman (The Color of Money)

Best Actress – Drama: Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God)
Julie Andrews (Duet for One)
Anne Bancroft ('night, Mother)
Farrah Fawcett (Extremities)
Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)

Best Film - Musical or Comedy: Hannah and Her Sisters Crimes of the Heart Crocodile Dundee Down and Out in Beverly Hills Peggy Sue Got Married Little Shop of Horrors

Best Actor - Musical or Comedy: Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Jeff Daniels (Something Wild)
Danny DeVito (Ruthless People)
Jack Lemmon (That's Life!)

Best Actress - Musical or Comedy: Sissy Spacek (Crimes of the Heart)
Julie Andrews (That's Life!)
Melanie Griffith (Something Wild)
Bette Midler (Down and Out in Beverly Hills)
Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married)

Best Supporting Actor: Tom Berenger (Platoon)
Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet)
Dennis Hopper (Hoosiers)
Ray Liotta (Something Wild)

Best Supporting Actress: Maggie Smith (A Room with a View)
Linda Kozlowski (Crocodile Dundee)
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (The Color of Money)
Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa)
Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters)

Best Director: Oliver Stone (Platoon)
Woody Allen (Hannah and Her Sisters)
James Ivory (A Room with a View)
Roland Joffé (The Mission)
Rob Reiner (Stand by Me)

BAFTAs



Best Film: A Room with a View
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Mission
Mona Lisa

Best Actor: Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa)
Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
Woody Allen (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters)

Best Actress: Maggie Smith (A Room with a View)
Mia Farrow (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Meryl Streep (Out of Africa)
Cathy Tyson (Mona Lisa)

Best Supporting Actor: Ray McAnally (The Mission)
Klaus Maria Brandauer (Out of Africa)
Simon Callow (A Room with a View)
Denholm Elliot (A Room with a View)

Best Supporting Actress: Judi Dench (A Room with a View)
Rosanna Arquette (After Hours)
Barbara Hershey (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Rosemary Leach (A Room with a View)

Best Direction: Woody Allen (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Roland Joffé (The Mission)
Neil Jordan (Mona Lisa)
James Ivory (A Room With A View)

Best Original Screenplay: Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
The Mission (Robert Bolt)
Mona Lisa (David Leland and Neil Jordan)
Crocodile Dundee (Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie and John Cornell)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Out of Africa (Kurt Luedtke)
The Color Purple (Menny Meyjes)
A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala)
Children of a Lesser God (Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff)
Ran (Akira Kurosawa, Hideo Oguni and Masato Ide)

César Awards
Best Film (Meilleur film): Thérèse
37°2 le matin
Jean de Florette
Mélo
Tenue de soirée

Most Promising Actor (Meilleur espoir masculin): Isaach De Bankolé (Black Mic Mac) – interesting sidenote: Isaach De Bankolé is the star of The Limits of Control (how 'bout that?)
Rémi Martin (Conseil de famille)
Jean-Philippe Écoffey (Gardien de la nuit)
Cris Campion (Pirates)

Most Promising Actress (Meilleur espoir féminin): Catherine Mouchet (Thérèse)
Dominique Blanc (La femme de ma vie)
Julie Delpy (Mauvais sang)
Marianne Basler (Rosa la rose, fille publique)

Best Actor (Meilleur acteur): Daniel Auteuil (Jean de Florette)
Jean-Hugues Anglade (37°2 le matin)
Christophe Malavoy (La femme de ma vie)
André Dussollier (Mélo)
Michel Blanc (Tenue de soirée)

Best Actress (Meilleure actrice): Sabine Azéma (Mélo)
Béatrice Dalle (37°2 le matin)
Jane Birkin (La femme de ma vie)
Juliette Binoche (Mauvais sang)
Miou-Miou (Tenue de soirée)

Best Supporting Actor (Meilleur second rôle masculin): Pierre Arditi (Mélo)
Gérard Darmon (37°2 le matin)
Jean-Louis Trintignant (La femme de ma vie)
Claude Piéplu (Le paltoquet)
Jean Carmet (Les fugitifs)

Best Supporting Actress (Meilleur second rôle féminin): Emmanuelle Béart (Manon des sources)
Clémentine Célarié (37°2 le matin)
Marie Dubois (Descente aux enfers)
Danielle Darrieux (Le lieu du crime)
Jeanne Moreau (Le paltoquet)

Best Director (Meilleur réalisateur): Alain Cavalier (Thérèse)
Jean-Jacques Beineix (37°2 le matin)
Claude Berri (Jean de Florette)
Alain Resnais (Mélo)
Bertrand Blier (Tenue de soirée)

Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger): Der Name der Rose
After Hours Hannah and Her Sisters Out of Africa The Mission

Razzies




Worst Picture: Howard the Duck and Under the Cherry Moon (This was the first time two films tied for Worst Picture)
Blue City
Cobra
Shanghai Surprise

Worst Actor: Prince (Under the Cherry Moon)
Emilio Estevez (Maximum Overdrive)
Judd Nelson (Blue City)
Sean Penn (Shanghai Surprise)
Sylvester Stallone (Cobra)

Worst Actress: Madonna (Shanghai Surprise)
Kim Basinger (9 1/2 Weeks)
Joan Chen (Tai Pan)
Brigitte Nielsen-Stallone (Cobra)
Ally Sheedy (Blue City)

Worst Supporting Actor: Jerome Benton (Under the Cherry Moon)
Peter O'Toole (Club Paradise)
Tim Robbins (Howard the Duck)
Brian Thompson (Cobra)
Scott Wilson (Blue City)

Worst Supporting Actress: Dom DeLuise (as Aunt Kate - Haunted Honeymoon)
Louise Fletcher (Invaders from Mars)
Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist II)
Beatrice Straight (Power)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Under the Cherry Moon)

Worst Director: Prince (Under the Cherry Moon)
Jim Goddard (Shanghai Surprise)
Willard Huyck (Howard the Duck)
Stephen King (Maximum Overdrive)
Michelle Manning (Blue City)

Worst Screenplay: Howard the Duck (Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz)
Cobra (Sylvester Stallone)
9½ Weeks (Patricia Knop & Zalman King and Sarah Kernochan)
Shanghai Surprise (John Kohn and Robert Bentley)
Under the Cherry Moon (Becky Johnston)

Worst New Star: The six guys and gals in the duck suit (Howard the Duck)
Joan Chen (Tai-Pan)
Mitch Gaylord (American Anthem)
Kristin Scott Thomas (Under the Cherry Moon)
Brian Thompson (Cobra)

Worst Original Song: "Love or Money" (Under the Cherry Moon)
"Howard the Duck" (Howard the Duck)
"I Do What I Do" (9½ Weeks)
"Life in a Looking Glass" (That's Life!)
"Shanghai Surprise" (Shanghai Surprise)

Worst Visual Effects: Howard the Duck Invaders from Mars King Kong Lives
Worst Career Achievement Award
Bruce the rubber shark from Jaws (1975), Jaws 2 (1978) and Jaws 3-D (1983)

Oscars



Best Picture: Platoon
Children of a Lesser God
Hannah and Her Sisters
The Mission
A Room with a View

Best Direction: Oliver Stone (Platoon)
David Lynch (Blue Velvet)
Woody Allen (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Roland Joffé (The Mission)
James Ivory (A Room with a View)

Best Actor: Paul Newman (The Color of Money)
Dexter Gordon (Round Midnight)
William Hurt (Children of a Lesser God)
Bob Hoskins (Mona Lisa)
James Woods (Salvador)

Best Actress: Marlee Matlin (Children of a Lesser God)
Sigourney Weaver (Aliens)
Sissy Spacek (Crimes of the Heart)
Jane Fonda (The Morning After)
Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married)

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Caine (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Dennis Hopper (Hoosiers)
Tom Berenger (Platoon)
Willem Dafoe (Platoon)
Denholm Elliot (A Room with a View)

Best Supporting Actress: Dianne Wiest (Hannah and Her Sisters)
Piper Laurie (Children of a Lesser God)
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (The Color of Money)
Tess Harper (Crimes of the Heart)
Maggie Smith (A Room with a View)

Best Original Screenplay: Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)
Crocodile Dundee (Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie and John Cornell)
My Beautiful Laundrette (Hanif Kureishi)
Platoon (Oliver Stone)
Salvador (Oliver Stone and Rick Boyle)

Best Adapted Screenplay: A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala)
Children of a Lesser God (Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff)
The Color of Money (Richard Price)
Crimes of the Heart (Beth Henley)
Stand by Me (Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans)

The best French language films - part 5: 'Jean de Florette' and 'Manon des Sources'

Be sure to check out part 1, part 2, and part 3, and part 4 of the series.



I would rather discuss these films without giving away too much, because part of the beauty of the films, particularly Manon des Sources, are the plot's twists and revealed secrets. I'm revisiting these French language films mostly as an introduction, though I don't mind a discussion in the comments section with spoilers.

I think it's impossible to watch Jean de Florette without immediately watching its sequel Manon des Sources (Manon of the Spring). In many ways I don't consider the storyline to be made up of two different films – rather, I see the events as part of an extended film with a brief intermission. Both were filmed over a duration of approximately 30 weeks, and were released within a few months of each other in 1986, much like another adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's work. Directed by Claude Berri, (who passed away in January) both films are based on famed French writer, Marcel Pagnol's two novels, which combined, are entitled L'Eau des Collines (The Water of the Hills). The historical dramas are set in Pagnol's beloved Provence, during the 1920s. Both films are painful and tragic, yet while Jean de Florette will break your heart, Manon des Sources - though no less heartbreaking, leaves the audience with an ending that is far more satisfying.



The first film, Jean de Florette, presents the audience with the story of César Soubeyran (Yves Montand) often referred to as 'Le Papet', or 'grandfather' among the locals. César, played brilliantly by Montand in one of his last roles, is a greedy and affluent farm owner of the French countryside. His nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil), a repulsive, dim-witted young man, is César's only remaining family member. Despite Ugolin's flaws, César guides him and attempts to steer Ugolin towards wealth, status, and a family in order to preserve the fading Soubeyran line. Ugolin presents a plan to his uncle to grow carnations, and César, realizing how lucrative the venture will be is satisfied with his nephew's plan. Unfortunately, carnations cannot grow in the dry climate of Provence. But, ever the schemer, César knows of a neighboring spring that can put an end to their troubles. To ensure that the owner of the spring will voluntarily sell the land, César and Ugolin obstruct the spring to render the land utterly useless. The new owner, a hunchback named Jean Cadoret (Gérard Depardieu), is the son of Florette (one of César's old lovers) who, along with his wife (Elisabeth Depardieu) and daughter Manon (Ernestine Mazurowna) wants to keep his inherited property and live off the land. In order to convince Jean to sell his land, Ugolin becomes his friend, but complying with his uncle César's wishes, never reveals the spring that could keep Jean's futile dream alive. What unfolds after these events is almost unbearable, with Jean desperately trying to find water to keep his farm alive during a drought. The betrayal is almost unimaginable.

Despite the dark subject matter, Jean de Florette is a rather cheerful, almost hopeful film. This is largely due to Jean – portrayed magnificently by an exuberant Depardieu – who believes that his goal will ultimately be fulfilled. It is his waning confidence during the drought that drives the story.


Manon des Sources begins some ten years later with Jean's beautiful daughter, Manon (Emmanuelle Béart ) living in near isolation as a shepherdess outside of town. Ugolin is till unwed, much to his uncle's disappointment, but soon, by chance, Ugolin falls in love with Manon. Disgusted, she refuses his advances and finds herself falling in love with Bernard Olivier (Hippolyte Girardot) who has just arrived in town. It's hard to discuss the rest of the plot in great detail without spoiling most of the ending, but the film's payoff is both shocking, and heartbreaking – it all plays out like a Greek tragedy.


Both films, Jean de Florette in particular, are near perfect films. This is mostly due to the cast's and Berri's ability to make each character – even the most villainous – into a human being. Even the most innocent character, Manon, does something cruel.

For anyone who is not used to foreign films and subtitles, the four hour run of these films will seem daunting. I first watched both films in my early teens, and I've always felt that my patience was worthwhile. You will never regret taking the time to see them. Both Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources are available on DVD, either separately or together in a box set.

The best French language films - part 4: 'Cyrano de Bergerac'

Be sure to check out part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 5 of the series.



I initially watched Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Oscar nominated adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) in middle school after reading the original play. It is, perhaps, the finest adaptation of Edmond Rostand's play, and since it's regarded as the one surviving version in the play's original language, it feels like the most authentic representation of Cyrano's melancholy life. As one of the most expensive French films in history, it's easy to understand why it's considered as the most sumptuous and detailed theatrical version of Rostand's play. The 1990 version is also noted as the first version of Cyrano de Bergerac in color, and it is, in my opinion, one of the greatest French films ever made.




The film stars renowned French actor, Gérard Depardieu as Cyrano de Bergerac and he gives one of his most exceptional performances. His performance is so stunning that not only was he the second actor nominated for an Oscar for playing Cyrano (José Ferrer actually won the Oscar for his 1950 incarnation), he is one of the few actors nominated for a French speaking role. By my count, no more than five actors were nominated for a French speaking role prior to Depardieu. All five of them were women.



The film tells the story of Cyrano de Bergerac - 17th century dramatist, poet, daredevil, sword fighter, romantic. At the start of the film, Cyrano disarms a nobleman for insulting his nose, and it remains one of my favorite scenes of the film. Certainly, the romance that unfolds is moving and tragic, but as a teenager it was Cyrano's bravado that delighted me. There is, quite frankly, something rather cool about him. He can disarm you with his words as brilliantly as he can with his sword.


Cyrano de Bergerac is a man who masks his deep shame of having a grotesquely large nose. He hides his humiliation behind a facade with bluster and wit, yet in his heart he yearns. He secretly loves the dazzling Roxane (Anne Brochet), but does not have the courage to reveal his love because of his looks. Tragically, Cyrano discovers that Roxane is besotted with Christian de Neuvillette (Vincent Perez), a handsome young soldier who is terrified of speaking in Roxane's presence. Cyrano decides to help young Christian win over Roxane, and when Christian realizes he possesses neither the wit nor the eloquence to gain her love, Cyrano becomes Christian's voice – he compiles love letters, poems, and even tells Christian what to say. Roxane falls in love with Christian, and Cyrano mourns his loss. Depardieu brings a great deal of sadness to a character often mistaken for being simply exuberant. The genius of his performance is his ability to balance the two sides of Cyrano's personality and he is all at once humorous, heartbreaking, and romantic.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a work that has been performed in France since 1897 and is still considered one of the greatest plays ever produced in France. This theatrical version, should be considered with no less regard than its original work. With its expensive 17th century sets, and gorgeous costumes – it's easy to see why it won the Oscar for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Art Direction. The screenplay adapted by Jean-Claude Carrière and director Jean-Paul Rappeneau allows the audience to hear the original French dialogue, and with linguist Anthony Burgess' translated English subtitles, the film preserves the iambic hexameter of the original play. All this gives the feeling of watching a poem acted out, like watching one of Cyrano's long romantic poems, rather than a play's adaptation. It's something I've grown to appreciate as I've gotten older – I suppose one year of college literature has something to do with it.



Cyrano de Bergerac is available on DVD and I really recommend purchasing it, because it's worth owning.

The best French language films - part 3: 'My Father's Glory' and 'My Mother's Castle'

Check out any parts of the series you may have missed - part 1, part 2, part 4, and part 5


It's difficult to decide which of the two films is better – 1990's My Father's Glory (La Gloire de mon père) or its sequel, My Mother's Castle (Le Château de ma mère). There is very little time lost between the two, with My Mother's Castle beginning at what seems to be mere moments after its prequel ends. They are the films that director Yves Robert is best remembered for.

Both are based on famed French novelist Marcel Pagnol's memoirs. Pagnol's work was also the inspiration for two other celebrated French films, Jean de Florette and Manon des source. In My Father's Glory, we are introduced to a young Marcel (Julien Ciamaca), who at the start of the 20th century spends his summer in France's southeast region of Provence. Marcel's boyhood days unfold before us, with an adult Marcel, narrating the film's events. It is here in Provence that Marcel watches a quarrel between his atheistic schoolteacher father, Joseph (Philippe Caubère) and his religious Catholic uncle, Jules (Didier Pain). It is here that Marcel learns the ways of Provence's hilly landscape from his new found friend Lili (Joris Molinas).





My Mother's Castle picks up where the first film left off, with Marcel and his family spending their weekends at a cottage in the country. It is a long, difficult journey on foot, and much of the film is devoted to the family's trips across country estates, simply to reach their cottage. In this film, Marcel encounters the lovely young Isabelle (Julie Timmerman) who beguiles him and lords over him.

As both films progress we see why Marcel longs for his days away from city life in Marseille. It is a setting in which we fall in love with Marcel's cicadas, his orchards, his wide night sky, his vineyards, his hills – oh, the hills. Provence becomes more than just his beloved countryside – it becomes another character, in some ways more real and engaging than most members of Marcel's family.


The one member who does rival Provence, is Marcel's father Joseph, played by actor Philippe Caubère. He plays Joseph beautifully and he is stunning as a good-natured, but distant and intellectual schoolteacher. It is in My Father's Glory that he truly shines. Marcel is both amazed by his father's intelligence, and yet also, disappointed with his father's difficulty in adapting to country life; Joseph's near disastrous hunting sessions with Uncle Jules are a source of dismay for young Marcel.

My Mother's Castle, like My Father's Glory is endearing, with childhood recollections seemingly too flawless to have even occurred. Marcel's mother is a simple home-loving woman, who organizes the family's weekly outings to the country. Marcel Pagnol's outlook on his childhood is picturesque – his boyhood in the country enthralling. There is no difficult situation that cannot be easily solved, the children are always near perfect – their clothes spotless, the family sits down to typical family celebrations with all the Mediterranean dishes of sunny Provence. With all its magic and wonder, an adult Marcel contemplates, “such is the life of man, moments of joy obliterated by unforgettable sorrow. There's no need to tell children that.” My Mother's Castle, unlike its prequel, presents passing moments of the deep agonizing pains children don't usually feel until they grow up - Marcel is getting farther and farther away from his childhood.





Both film's are sentimental, to be sure, but childhood's are often looked back on with rose-colored glasses. These films are meant to be the entrancing recollections of a young boy's summer life and weekends with his mother. They are the brief, narrow glances of youth before such fleeting joys are ultimately lost.

Yves Robert's tributes to Pagnol were beloved in France and despite some of the sentiment, it is easy to see why. Thankfully, both films are available separately on DVD.

The best French language films – part 2: Peppermint Soda

Check out any parts of the series you may have missed - part 1, part 3, part 4, and part 5

There are very few coming-of-age films quite as authentic as Diane Kurys' semi-autobiographical film, Peppermint Soda (Diabolo Menthe). The film is such a thorough examination of adolescence, it's hard to believe it is Kurys' directorial debut. Created in 1977, the humorous film was somewhat atypical for the times because it focused on a teenager's coming of age from a female point of view. The film presents themes found in many of Kurys' subsequent works that involve separation and divorce in a French-Jewish family. Her script is clever and when I first saw Peppermint Soda in my own adolescence I could find aspects of my own coming of age mirrored in the storyline. The film's best quality is its universal appeal. Granted, its historical events and characters are distinctly French, but if anyone in the audience has ever been a teenager - particularly a teenaged girl – somewhere that audience member will see themselves in one of the film's two central characters – thirteen year old Anne Weber (Eléonore Klarwein), and her fifteen year old sister, Frédérique (Odile Michel).

The events of Peppermint Soda unfold over an entire school year, and follows Anne, a sensitive but often sly French schoolgirl, who confronts the challenges of growing up in 1960s Paris. For Anne, life is an awkward misery. In her first year as a teenager her grades are terrible, she despises her divorced mother's boyfriend, she has no idea how to talk to boys her age, or how to relate to her pushy and extroverted older sister, Frédérique. Frédérique is the opposite of her younger sibling. She has a boyfriend, Martine (Valérie Stano) who sends her love letters – letters which unbeknownst to her are read by a curious, but jealous Anne. Frédérique also gets interested in politics, particularly the war in Algeria. Naturally the two sisters fight.

Eléonore Klarwein

The most impressive aspect of this delightful film is Kurys' memory of what it means to be young. She possesses a remarkable ability to make the more common-place and easily forgotten events of a young girl's life seem monumental – how if feels for a younger sibling to be pushed around by the older tyrant, a mother who refuses to allow stockings or rides on the school bus, uncomfortable holidays with a father in Deauville, a first period, and the first year at Lycée Jules Ferry (the same all-girls school Kurys' attended) with each teacher more loathsome than the next. Kury's can also show moments of seriousness and sometimes, pain. Frédérique's love for politics drives her best friend, Perrine (Coralie Clément) away, ending their childhood friendship, the Kennedy assasination is part of the historical backdrop, and Fédérique's political student group is attacked by neo-Nazis.

Though I first saw Peppermint Soda over ten years ago, I always remember it fondly. It was the first French film I ever saw. The film can be sporadic at times, with some events being crammed in here and there, it is still a wonderful film and I highly recommend it – especially to anyone who wants an introduction into French cinema. It seems impossible to get Peppermint Soda on DVD, and there aren't even any clips available to upload from youtube, but there are used copies available at Amazon to purchase.

Feeling overwhelmed with trailers?

Well, I'm about to bombard you with two more.

Nathaniel from Film Experience points us to the first trailer of Coco Avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) featuring gamine French starlet Audrey Tautou as Coco Chanel. There are no subtitles in the trailer, but the costumes are gorgeous:



The second is the international trailer for State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren, and Rachel McAdams. The film is based on a British mini-series of the same name that featured James McAvoy. But, I won't go into my James McAvoy obsession. Check out the trailer below: