The construction of the Grande Arche de la Défense is recreated in loving detail in Stéphane Demoustier’s crowdpleasing, yet underwhelming The Great Arch.
Le Brutaliste
Tag: Film
Kika’s Dominatrix Service
BDSM and domination is used as a metaphor for the human condition in Alexe Poukine’s Kika, a deeply heartfelt tale about overcoming grief.
Her Will Be Done is Feverish, Ugly and Hard to Shake
With echoes of Wake in Fright and Carrie, Julia Kowalski’s Her Will Be Done is a provocative, satisfying body horror that lingers long in the memory.
The Girl in The Snow Cleverly Belies Its Classical Aesthetic
Multiple layers of ambiguity characterise Louise Hémon’s debut feature, a fascinating turn-of-the-century tale about the snowy road to enlightenment.
Drifting Laurent. Mirth Behind the Melancholy.
French dramedy Drifting Laurent is a slow and seemingly aimless film that provides oodles of charm in its depiction of an mid-season alpine resort.
Death Does Not Exist Traipses Aimlessly Through the Forest
A fine animation style is wasted by a deadeningly boring script in Félix Dufour-Laperrière’s surrealist eco-thriller Death Does Not Exist.
L’Aventura Travels Free from the Anxiety of Influence
The very definition of a hangout movie, ACID opener L’Aventura explores the quotidian moments that most contemporary cinema often breezes by.
The Wedding Banquet. Boring Gay Asians.
The Wedding Banquet is a broad remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 work that drains the rich cultural specificity of the subject matter into boring slop.
Football Is Nothing Without Its Ultras
The highs and lows of die-hard football fan culture is lovingly surveyed in Ragnhild Ekner’s excellent documentary Ultras.
Sex, Spies and Satellite Tapes
A witty, low-key riff on the intersection between love and espionage, Black Bag is one of the best spy films to come out in recent years.