Now on eighth feature, in a year of few French filmmakers we are expecting another great performance from Stéphane Brizé’s muse in Vincent Lindon who grabbed the Best Actor award for La loi du marché (The Measure of a Man). His Le bleu des villes landed in the Directors’ Fortnight in 1999 and after gigs such as Not Here to Be Loved (2005), Entre adultes (2006), Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) and A Few Hours of Spring (2011), he returns to the comp once agin with At War (Un Autre Monde) – an tale of unemployment and personal, financial sacrifice. Brize was…...
- 5/16/2018
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
When a Potiche Ascends the Stairs: Brizé’s Winning, Textured de Maupassant Adaptation
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
Although cinematic adaptations of French writer Guy de Maupassant still occur with some regularity, few contemporary Gallic auteurs have successfully tackled the naturalist who was a protégé of Flaubert and a contemporary of Zola. Frequent adaptations of his famed short story “Boule de Suif” and Bel-Ami are resurrected regularly, and his stories have inspired auteurs like Robert Wise, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Ophüls, and Jean Renoir. However, de Maupassant’s seminal first novel, Une Vie (1883), has been adapted several times outside of France, while previously its most definitive mounting was the 1958 End of Desire headlined by Maria Schell.
For his seventh feature, Stephane Brizé persuasively reflects the subjugation of women’s agency with the fragmented A Woman’s Life, and is perhaps the most auspicious transformation of the author since the handsome productions of the 1950s with this astute period piece featuring an exquisite ensemble of character actors.
After returning from convent school, Jeanne (Judith Chemla) takes joy in assisting her father (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) in the garden and perambulating with her mother (Yolande Moreau), a woman who spends most of her free time scrolling through the contents of letters she received throughout her life. With only the young family maid Rosalie (Nina Meurisse) as a friend and confidante, Jeanne soon finds herself courted by the handsome Viscount Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud). Swept into what she’s made to believe is romance, the marriage soon sours when Rosalie is found to be with child after having been raped by Julien. Thus begins Jeanne’s initiation into a world more harrowing than she had anticipated as her ideals and dignity are slowly stripped away.
Judith Chemla, who has starred as a supporting player in a number of period productions for noted auteurs (Tavernier, Techine) comes to the fore as the passive, frustrated center of Brizé’s film. Oblivious to the tendencies and behaviors of those around her, A Woman’s Life gently ushers her from a frivolous young woman of privilege to an increasingly fraught wife forced to contend with a debauched husband.
Brizé’s film has all the potential of a tawdry soap opera, and yet is distilled into fragmented reflections of her escapist tendencies. As we rush through defining moments of her life, time slows as Jeanne disappears into the bright, sunshiny memories which brought her to such a brooding standstill. Chemla is tasked with revealing Jeanne’s persona through inscrutable moments, an object acted upon despite meager efforts to gain control of her life. When escape presents itself upon learning of her own pregnancy at the same time as her husband’s philandering with Rosalie, her own mother confirms her fate by forcing Jeanne to forgive rather than return home.
Yolande Moreau gives a subversively droll performance as a cold maternal figure who has several major secrets of her own. As her counterpart, Jean-Pierre Darroussin nearly disappears within the period garb as Jeanne’s mild mannered father, while a mousy Swann Arlaud is sufficiently unpalatable as her cheating husband. Clotilde Hesme surfaces in a brief subplot which yields shockingly violent results, while rising young actor Finnegan Oldfield (Nocturama; Les Cowboys) shows up in the third act as Jeanne’s selfish teenage son, the specter haunting her golden years and sending her into protracted anguish.
Much like Brizé’s last lauded feature, 2015’s The Measure of a Man, the narrative revolves around distilled, refracted moments informing its protagonist’s mind frame, a person once again trapped by economic necessity in an unfavorable role which whittles away at their resolve.
Collaborating once more with scribe Florence Vignon (who scripted his superb 2009 film Mademoiselle Chambon), they achieve a striking portrait of a woman of certain means as equally weighted down by her expectations and limited control. Brizé also taps Dp Antoine Heberle (who worked on Chambon and A Few Hours of Spring, as well as Ozon’s Under the Sand) who transforms the film into a constant visual juxtaposition of stark, contrasting palettes, ranging from the brooding grays of Jeanne’s present to the golden, sparkling vivaciousness of happy times she can never return to. With stunning finality, a drastic situation boils down to bittersweet reality— “Life is never as good or as bad as you think it is.”
★★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
The post A Woman’s Life | Review appeared first on Ioncinema.com.
- 5/5/2017
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
French actress starred in Cannes titles A Self-made Hero and Polisse.
French actress Sandrine Kiberlain has been named president of the Caméra d’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28).
Kiberlain and jury will award a prize to a director’s first work from the Official Selection, the Directors’ Fortnight or Critics’ Week .
Since 1978 the prize has gone to films including Stranger than Paradise by Jim Jarmusch (1984), Suzaku by Naomi Kawase (1997), The White Balloon by Jafar Panahi (1995), Hunger by Steve McQueen (2008) and Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin (2012).
Last year, Houda Benyamina won the Caméra d’or for her film Divines screened in the Directors’ Fortnight.
In a career spanning 25 years and boasting around 40 films, actress Kiberlain first shot to prominence in The Patriots by Éric Rochant (winner of the Romy-Schneider Prize) and En Avoir (Ou Pas) by Laetitia Masson, for which she won the César for most promising actress.
Subsequent turns have...
French actress Sandrine Kiberlain has been named president of the Caméra d’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28).
Kiberlain and jury will award a prize to a director’s first work from the Official Selection, the Directors’ Fortnight or Critics’ Week .
Since 1978 the prize has gone to films including Stranger than Paradise by Jim Jarmusch (1984), Suzaku by Naomi Kawase (1997), The White Balloon by Jafar Panahi (1995), Hunger by Steve McQueen (2008) and Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin (2012).
Last year, Houda Benyamina won the Caméra d’or for her film Divines screened in the Directors’ Fortnight.
In a career spanning 25 years and boasting around 40 films, actress Kiberlain first shot to prominence in The Patriots by Éric Rochant (winner of the Romy-Schneider Prize) and En Avoir (Ou Pas) by Laetitia Masson, for which she won the César for most promising actress.
Subsequent turns have...
- 4/11/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
This first feature of Kirsten Tan premiered in Sundance ‘17 World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Its provenance is Singapore but it takes place in Thailand. It continued onward to the Hivos Tiger Competition at Iffr (R’dam).
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
The thrill of interviewing here in Sundance is that you see a film; you have an impression and while it is still fresh you meet the filmmakers without having much time for any research or reflection. And then you get to see them again as “old friends” when you meet again in Rotterdam.
As Kirsten, her producer Weijie Lai and I sat down at the Sundance Co-op on Main Street here in Park City, I really had little idea of where the interview would take us, somewhat analogously to her film in which an architect, disenchanted with life in general, being put aside as “old” in his own highly successful architectural firm and in a stale relationship with his wife,...
- 2/7/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit the interwebs. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.
Blood Father (Jean-François Richet)
If this be the movie jail that Mel Gibson is destined to die in, it could be a whole lot worse. Blood Father, directed by Jean-François Richet (Mesrine, Assault on Precinct 13), works remarkably well as a grindhouse throwback, sporting a screenplay (from Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff, based on Craig’s novel) that’s better than it has any right to be.
Blood Father (Jean-François Richet)
If this be the movie jail that Mel Gibson is destined to die in, it could be a whole lot worse. Blood Father, directed by Jean-François Richet (Mesrine, Assault on Precinct 13), works remarkably well as a grindhouse throwback, sporting a screenplay (from Peter Craig and Andrea Berloff, based on Craig’s novel) that’s better than it has any right to be.
- 8/26/2016
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
The Best Actor winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival wasn’t a boisterous, awards-reel-ready turn from an international superstar, but a performance as modest and determined in emotional directness as the film it’s so amply supporting. It’s only fitting, then, that most talk about The Measure of a Man will center on Vincent Lindon, whose work makes for a perfect compliment to the Dardenne-esque drama crafted by writer-director (and frequent collaborator) Stéphane Brizé.
To mark the film’s U.S. release and celebrate Lindon’s other accomplishments, New York City’s Metrograph hosted a four-film retrospective — but, aside from introductions and Q & As, he wouldn’t have been seen too often. When speaking to the actor, he exhibited no ego when sharing a few blunt thoughts about viewing his own work while, in turn, complimenting the many people who help the films get onscreen. For more on that,...
To mark the film’s U.S. release and celebrate Lindon’s other accomplishments, New York City’s Metrograph hosted a four-film retrospective — but, aside from introductions and Q & As, he wouldn’t have been seen too often. When speaking to the actor, he exhibited no ego when sharing a few blunt thoughts about viewing his own work while, in turn, complimenting the many people who help the films get onscreen. For more on that,...
- 4/19/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Une Vie
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Writers: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon
Following his critically acclaimed The Measure of Man, which took home a Best Actor award for Vincent Lacoste at 2015, Stéphane Brizé has quickly moved onto his next project, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant with Une Vie (One Life). Once again, Brizé re-teams with co-writer Vignon (Mademoiselle Chambon, A Few Hours of Spring) to adapt a tale centered on a hypersensitive woman unaccustomed the world’ cruelty. In essence, this sounds quite similar to Measure, but from a feminine perspective. Brizé often fleshes out characters and scenarios set within the confines of the working class, often to very eloquent effect. While Lacoste (who has starred in his last three features) is not returning this time, Brizé casts notables such as Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Jalil Lespert.
Cast: Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Jalil Lespert
Production Co./Producers:Ts Productions’ Milena Poylo and Gilles Sacuto,...
Director: Stéphane Brizé
Writers: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon
Following his critically acclaimed The Measure of Man, which took home a Best Actor award for Vincent Lacoste at 2015, Stéphane Brizé has quickly moved onto his next project, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant with Une Vie (One Life). Once again, Brizé re-teams with co-writer Vignon (Mademoiselle Chambon, A Few Hours of Spring) to adapt a tale centered on a hypersensitive woman unaccustomed the world’ cruelty. In essence, this sounds quite similar to Measure, but from a feminine perspective. Brizé often fleshes out characters and scenarios set within the confines of the working class, often to very eloquent effect. While Lacoste (who has starred in his last three features) is not returning this time, Brizé casts notables such as Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Darroussin and Jalil Lespert.
Cast: Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Jalil Lespert
Production Co./Producers:Ts Productions’ Milena Poylo and Gilles Sacuto,...
- 1/12/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Vincent Lindon: "“I will only work if the script is good. I receive propositions every week but I don’t do them.” Photo: Richard Mowe
Vincent Lindon, 55, who was named Cannes Best Actor for his role as a jobless security guard in Stephane Brizé’s Competition entry The Measure Of A Man / La Loi Du Marché has found his niche with a series of characters on the edge and a resolute commitment to causes.
He may not seem the most obvious candidate to portray characters in hard-hitting social dramas. Lindon’s father was a rich industrialist, and he has never had to struggle to keep body, soul and family together.
His work with Stephane Brizé has brought him his most consistent recognition and accolades, starting with Mademoiselle Chambon in which he played a small town artisan falling in love with his son’s primary teacher, continuing through the rigours...
Vincent Lindon, 55, who was named Cannes Best Actor for his role as a jobless security guard in Stephane Brizé’s Competition entry The Measure Of A Man / La Loi Du Marché has found his niche with a series of characters on the edge and a resolute commitment to causes.
He may not seem the most obvious candidate to portray characters in hard-hitting social dramas. Lindon’s father was a rich industrialist, and he has never had to struggle to keep body, soul and family together.
His work with Stephane Brizé has brought him his most consistent recognition and accolades, starting with Mademoiselle Chambon in which he played a small town artisan falling in love with his son’s primary teacher, continuing through the rigours...
- 6/4/2015
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The distributor has acquired Us and Canadian rights to Stephane Brizé’s recent Cannes Competition selection starring the festival’s freshly minted best actor Vincent Lindon.
Brizé co-wrote the screenplay with Olivier Gorce to The Measure Of A Man, about a working-class supermarket security guard who faces a tough moral choice.
The film also stars Yves Ory, Karine de Mirbeck, Matthieu Schaller, Xavier Mathieu and Catherine Saint-Bonnet.
Kino Lorber plans an autumn theatrical release following a festival run. The film will roll out on home entertainment and digital platforms in 2016.
Kino Lorber, which enjoyed box office success with Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in the Us, negotiated the deal for The Measure Of A Man with MK2.
Brizé co-wrote the screenplay with Olivier Gorce to The Measure Of A Man, about a working-class supermarket security guard who faces a tough moral choice.
The film also stars Yves Ory, Karine de Mirbeck, Matthieu Schaller, Xavier Mathieu and Catherine Saint-Bonnet.
Kino Lorber plans an autumn theatrical release following a festival run. The film will roll out on home entertainment and digital platforms in 2016.
Kino Lorber, which enjoyed box office success with Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon in the Us, negotiated the deal for The Measure Of A Man with MK2.
- 5/26/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The distributor scooped up all U.S. and Canadian rights to Stephane Brize's sixth feature, "The Measure of a Man," which took home the Best Actor prize for star Vincent Lindon. The movie is a sensitive portrayal of a working-class man struggling to stay employed and care for his family, as well as keep his values in a tough world. The film was directed by Brizé ("Mademoiselle Chambon," starring Lindon) and co-written by Brizé and Olivier Gorce. Brizé supports his lead with a cast of non-pros playing dramatized versions of themselves. Art-house distributor Kino Lorber, which released "Mademoiselle Chambon" in the United States (grossing over $530,000 in theaters alone), is planning to release the film in theaters in the fall of 2015, after booking North American festivals. Home media and digital releases will follow in 2016. "With 'The Measure of a Man'’s hugely deserved Best Actor honor," said Richard...
- 5/26/2015
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Kino Lorber has acquired all Us and Canadian rights to Stephane Brizé’s (Mademoiselle Chambon) The Measure Of A Man, starring Vincent Lindon (Mademoiselle Chambon, Bastards, Friday Night, La Moustache), winner of the Best Actor award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. The film was directed by Mr. Brizé and co-written by Brizé and Olivier Gorce. This is Stephane Brizé’s sixth feature film.
Featuring “an all-consuming lead performance from Lindon” (Jordan Mintzer, THR.com) as a working-class man struggling with unemployment and then, facing a difficult moral choice as a security guard in a supermarket, Brizé supports his lead with a brilliantly directed cast of non-professional performers playing dramatized versions of themselves.
The film has been dubbed by critics as “an impressive foray into social drama” (Jordan Mintzer) and “French social critique at its finest” (Benjamin Dodman, The Atlantic), and continues an already-trailblazing partnership between Mr. Brizé and Mr. Lindon,...
Featuring “an all-consuming lead performance from Lindon” (Jordan Mintzer, THR.com) as a working-class man struggling with unemployment and then, facing a difficult moral choice as a security guard in a supermarket, Brizé supports his lead with a brilliantly directed cast of non-professional performers playing dramatized versions of themselves.
The film has been dubbed by critics as “an impressive foray into social drama” (Jordan Mintzer) and “French social critique at its finest” (Benjamin Dodman, The Atlantic), and continues an already-trailblazing partnership between Mr. Brizé and Mr. Lindon,...
- 5/26/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Read More: Kino Lorber Acquires 'Father of African Cinema' Doc 'Sembene!' Kino Lorber has acquired all U.S. rights to Stephane Brizé's new film "The Measure of a Man." The film, which follows an aging, unemployed man as he starts a new job, premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival and marks Brizé's sixthfeature film and third collaboration with actor Vincent Lindon (following "Mademoiselle Chambon" and "A Few Hours of Spring"). Brizé ("Mademoiselle Chambon," "Bastards," "Friday Night," "La Moustache") directed and co-wrote the film with Olivier Gorce. Lindon, who stars as the unemployed Theirry, won the Best Actor award at Cannes for the film. Here's the official synopsis: "At the age of 51 and after 20 months on unemployment, Theirry starts a new job that soon brings him face to face with a moral dilemma. How much is he willing to accept to keep his job?" "The...
- 5/26/2015
- by Becca Nadler
- Indiewire
Star Vincent Lindon hotly tipped for Best Actor Palme d’Or for lead performance.
French sales company MK2 has announced a raft of deals on Stéphane Brizé’s Palme d’Or contender The Measure of a Man starring Vincent Lindon as a laid-off factory worker trying to find work.
The film has sold to more than 20 territories including Benelux (Remain in Light), Portugal (Alambique), Italy (Academy Two), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Switzerland (Xenix Film Distribution), Greece (Ama Films), Turkey (Fabula Films), Hungary (Cirko Films), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Middle East (Moving turtles), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Denmark (Ost for Paradis) and Tunisia (Hakka Distribution).
MK2 is also in discussion for Us, Spain, China and Brazil.
Diaphana has just released the film in France.
Lindon, who previously worked with Brizé on the much-praised A Few Hours of Spring and Mademoiselle Chambon, has racked up rave reviews in Cannes for his performance as a man who takes a job as a supermarket security...
French sales company MK2 has announced a raft of deals on Stéphane Brizé’s Palme d’Or contender The Measure of a Man starring Vincent Lindon as a laid-off factory worker trying to find work.
The film has sold to more than 20 territories including Benelux (Remain in Light), Portugal (Alambique), Italy (Academy Two), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery), Switzerland (Xenix Film Distribution), Greece (Ama Films), Turkey (Fabula Films), Hungary (Cirko Films), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), Middle East (Moving turtles), Sweden (Folkets Bio), Denmark (Ost for Paradis) and Tunisia (Hakka Distribution).
MK2 is also in discussion for Us, Spain, China and Brazil.
Diaphana has just released the film in France.
Lindon, who previously worked with Brizé on the much-praised A Few Hours of Spring and Mademoiselle Chambon, has racked up rave reviews in Cannes for his performance as a man who takes a job as a supermarket security...
- 5/21/2015
- ScreenDaily
La Loi du Marché (The Measure of a Man)
Directed by Stéphane Brizé
Written by Stéphane Brizé, Olivier Gorce
France 2015
The second of no less than five French competition entries, La Loi du Marché is so far the most stringently cinéma-vérité film competing for the Palme d’Or. It is a fine piece of social drama in the French tradition of cinéma engagé (socially conscious cinema) with prominent touches of Dogme 95-style naturalism. I had seen and loved two of Stéphane Brizé’s previous works, Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé (Not Here to Be Loved, 2005) and Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) but never realised they were directed by the author of La Loi du Marché so I went in slightly irritated with the French press already lionising director Brizé’s favourite lead Vincent Lindon’s performance as “on track for the best actor prize” as I already had my firm...
Directed by Stéphane Brizé
Written by Stéphane Brizé, Olivier Gorce
France 2015
The second of no less than five French competition entries, La Loi du Marché is so far the most stringently cinéma-vérité film competing for the Palme d’Or. It is a fine piece of social drama in the French tradition of cinéma engagé (socially conscious cinema) with prominent touches of Dogme 95-style naturalism. I had seen and loved two of Stéphane Brizé’s previous works, Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé (Not Here to Be Loved, 2005) and Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) but never realised they were directed by the author of La Loi du Marché so I went in slightly irritated with the French press already lionising director Brizé’s favourite lead Vincent Lindon’s performance as “on track for the best actor prize” as I already had my firm...
- 5/20/2015
- by Zornitsa
- SoundOnSight
"In Stéphane Brizé's The Measure of a Man, Vincent Lindon "plays Thierry, an unemployed husband and father struggling to find a new career after being laid off from his longtime factory job," writes Mike D'Angelo, dispatching to the Dissolve. And he's not the only one to note that La loi du marché, literally, The Law of the Market, could well serve as a companion piece to Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's Two Days, One Night. "Brizé (Mademoiselle Chambon) spends the first half of the film detailing just how screwed Thierry is, with each scene constituting a protracted argument that goes in maddening circles. Then, abruptly, in a single nondescript cut, Thierry has a job, working as a security guard for a huge department store." We've got more reviews and the trailer. » - David Hudson...
- 5/19/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
"In Stéphane Brizé's The Measure of a Man, Vincent Lindon "plays Thierry, an unemployed husband and father struggling to find a new career after being laid off from his longtime factory job," writes Mike D'Angelo, dispatching to the Dissolve. And he's not the only one to note that La loi du marché, literally, The Law of the Market, could well serve as a companion piece to Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne's Two Days, One Night. "Brizé (Mademoiselle Chambon) spends the first half of the film detailing just how screwed Thierry is, with each scene constituting a protracted argument that goes in maddening circles. Then, abruptly, in a single nondescript cut, Thierry has a job, working as a security guard for a huge department store." We've got more reviews and the trailer. » - David Hudson...
- 5/19/2015
- Keyframe
Six features in, French filmmaker Stéphane Brizé hasn’t had a long history with the Cannes Film Festival. In fact, the one time Camera d’Or juror saw his debut 1999 film, Le bleu des villes land in the Directors’ Fortnight and after gigs such as Not Here to Be Loved (2005), Entre adultes (2006), César Award winning Mademoiselle Chambon (2009) and A Few Hours of Spring (2011), Murphy’s Law certainly did not have its place with a film on market laws. Nabbing his first Main Comp slot presence with Le Loi du marche (known to international auds as The Measure of a Man) this is the filmmakers third straight collaboration with actor Vincent Lindon. With Variety calling this “a companion piece to the Dardenne brothers’ “Two Days, One Night,” early press screenings that took place this morning pleased the small number of critics from our panel who did shore up to this tough...
- 5/18/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
A Simple Man
Director: Stephane Brize // Writer: Stephane Brize
This will be the sixth film from director Stephane Brize, perhaps best known for his Cesar award winning 2009 film, Mademoiselle Chambon. Known for working class character studies, though his last feature, 2012’s Locarno premiered A Few Hours of Spring (see pic above) never received Us distribution. His latest, which will reunite Brize for the third time with Vincent Lindon, looks to be in a similar vein. While Brize’s profile has been slow to rise in the Us, he should be a name of note, recalling early works of Laurent Cantet or the Dardenne Bros. In A Simple Man, Lindon (pic above) plays Laurent, a man who starts a new job as a security guard and is asked to spy on his colleagues.
Cast: Vincent Lindon
Producers: Nord-Ouest Productions’ Christophe Rossugnon and Philip Boeffard (Les combattants)
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Director: Stephane Brize // Writer: Stephane Brize
This will be the sixth film from director Stephane Brize, perhaps best known for his Cesar award winning 2009 film, Mademoiselle Chambon. Known for working class character studies, though his last feature, 2012’s Locarno premiered A Few Hours of Spring (see pic above) never received Us distribution. His latest, which will reunite Brize for the third time with Vincent Lindon, looks to be in a similar vein. While Brize’s profile has been slow to rise in the Us, he should be a name of note, recalling early works of Laurent Cantet or the Dardenne Bros. In A Simple Man, Lindon (pic above) plays Laurent, a man who starts a new job as a security guard and is asked to spy on his colleagues.
Cast: Vincent Lindon
Producers: Nord-Ouest Productions’ Christophe Rossugnon and Philip Boeffard (Les combattants)
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Atiq Rahimi’s Nocturne Afghan (working title) and Stéphane Brizé’s A Simple Man to both shoot this winter.
MK2 has announced that new films from Atiq Rahimi and Stéphane Brizé will shoot this winter.
Nocturne Afghan (working title) is the third feature from Rahimi, following The Patience Stone and Earth and Ashes. It will begin shooting in January 2015 in Paris and is produced by Marin, Elisha and Nathanaël Karmitz for Mk Productions. MK2 handles all rights.
The film follows a young Afghan who, after his friend leaves for London without a trace, finds himself rushing around Paris to find the money needed to pay the smuggler who is bringing his younger brother into the city.
Having won the César for Best Screenplay for Mademoiselle Chambon, Stéphane Brizé will shoot his sixth feature A Simple Man in the outskirts of Paris this month.
Starring Vincent Lindon, the film is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boeffard for Nord-Ouest...
MK2 has announced that new films from Atiq Rahimi and Stéphane Brizé will shoot this winter.
Nocturne Afghan (working title) is the third feature from Rahimi, following The Patience Stone and Earth and Ashes. It will begin shooting in January 2015 in Paris and is produced by Marin, Elisha and Nathanaël Karmitz for Mk Productions. MK2 handles all rights.
The film follows a young Afghan who, after his friend leaves for London without a trace, finds himself rushing around Paris to find the money needed to pay the smuggler who is bringing his younger brother into the city.
Having won the César for Best Screenplay for Mademoiselle Chambon, Stéphane Brizé will shoot his sixth feature A Simple Man in the outskirts of Paris this month.
Starring Vincent Lindon, the film is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boeffard for Nord-Ouest...
- 11/4/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
French cinema aficianados will be happy to know that Kino Lorber has just acquired all rights to "Tip Top," Serge Bozon's entry into the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Director's Fortnight. The film will now be making its way stateside with an upcoming New York premiere at Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, an annual film festival focused on the best of new French cinema organized by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance. "Tip Top" combines screwball comedy, film noir and social commentary in the way that only French cinema could. The film stars national treasure Isabelle Huppert ("The Piano Teacher") and Sandrine Kiberlain ("Mademoiselle Chambon") as two Cagney & Lacey-style detectives investigating the death of a former Algerian cop working as a police informant in the town of Villeneuve. "This film just knocks your socks off with its unpredictably smart and zany narrative turns - and the zinging chemistry between Huppert...
- 2/7/2014
- by Ziyad Saadi
- Indiewire
The latest Essential Cinema series from Austin Film Society is titled, "La fin de l'été: Recent French Cinema." The idea of an end to summer -- and summer heat -- is certainly compelling around here. Starting tonight, Afs brings us five fine French films from the past five years, one of which I've seen already and can recommend.
The movies screen on Tuesday nights at 7 pm from September 4 to October 2 -- all but one at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. You'll have to go to Alamo Village for the Sept. 25 selection, since Lamar will be overrun by Fantastic Fest. Tickets are $8 general admission ... and either free or $5 for Afs members, depending on your membership level. Afs has just rolled out a new membership program with easy-to-remember levels (Make, Watch, Love, and then premiere levels) and Essential Cinema selections are free if you're in the Love or higher levels.
The descriptions...
The movies screen on Tuesday nights at 7 pm from September 4 to October 2 -- all but one at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. You'll have to go to Alamo Village for the Sept. 25 selection, since Lamar will be overrun by Fantastic Fest. Tickets are $8 general admission ... and either free or $5 for Afs members, depending on your membership level. Afs has just rolled out a new membership program with easy-to-remember levels (Make, Watch, Love, and then premiere levels) and Essential Cinema selections are free if you're in the Love or higher levels.
The descriptions...
- 9/4/2012
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Mademoiselle Chambon; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2; The Hangover Part II; Captain America: The First Avenger; We Were Here
Comparing any movie with Brief Encounter is always going to end in tears; what film could possibly hold its own against the understated majesty of Lean's timeless depiction of love found and lost? Yet director Stéphane Brizé's quietly tremendous Mademoiselle Chambon (2009, Axiom, 12) does a pretty good job of reminding us that, in terms of tragic romantic clout, less is often more.
Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain are perfectly cast as the married man and single schoolteacher who discover an unexpected bond that causes them both to question their position in life. While their backgrounds may be incongruous and their social circles incompatible, each recognises in the other something that fills a hitherto unacknowledged absence. As their relationship develops from professional attachment through furtive friendship to something altogether more dangerous,...
Comparing any movie with Brief Encounter is always going to end in tears; what film could possibly hold its own against the understated majesty of Lean's timeless depiction of love found and lost? Yet director Stéphane Brizé's quietly tremendous Mademoiselle Chambon (2009, Axiom, 12) does a pretty good job of reminding us that, in terms of tragic romantic clout, less is often more.
Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain are perfectly cast as the married man and single schoolteacher who discover an unexpected bond that causes them both to question their position in life. While their backgrounds may be incongruous and their social circles incompatible, each recognises in the other something that fills a hitherto unacknowledged absence. As their relationship develops from professional attachment through furtive friendship to something altogether more dangerous,...
- 12/4/2011
- by Mark Kermode
- The Guardian - Film News
The Bird (L’Oiseau)
Written by Yves Caumon
Directed by Yves Caumon
2011, France
A decade ago Sandrine Kiberlain starred in Claude Miller’s thriller Alias Betty, as the bereaved mother at the centre of a bizarre kidnap plot. Her character in Yves Caumon’s The Bird has also lost a child, but this is a very different kind of story – a character study that puts the focus squarely on Kiberlain’s superlative performance.
The Bird does take its time revealing the backstory of Anne (Kiberlain), an attractive but rather aloof blonde who works as a kitchen hand in Bordeaux. Fending off the attentions of handsome chef Raphaël (Clément Sibony), she returns to an empty apartment, a sink full of dirty dishes and unexplained noises that keep her awake.
Caumon’s screenplay prefers the slow accumulation of details about Anne’s daily routine, rather than much in the way of dialogue.
Written by Yves Caumon
Directed by Yves Caumon
2011, France
A decade ago Sandrine Kiberlain starred in Claude Miller’s thriller Alias Betty, as the bereaved mother at the centre of a bizarre kidnap plot. Her character in Yves Caumon’s The Bird has also lost a child, but this is a very different kind of story – a character study that puts the focus squarely on Kiberlain’s superlative performance.
The Bird does take its time revealing the backstory of Anne (Kiberlain), an attractive but rather aloof blonde who works as a kitchen hand in Bordeaux. Fending off the attentions of handsome chef Raphaël (Clément Sibony), she returns to an empty apartment, a sink full of dirty dishes and unexplained noises that keep her awake.
Caumon’s screenplay prefers the slow accumulation of details about Anne’s daily routine, rather than much in the way of dialogue.
- 10/11/2011
- by Susannah
- SoundOnSight
Warrior (12A)
(Gavin O'Connor, 2011, Us) Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison. 140 mins
After a summer of CGI robots and superheroes duking it out, here's proof again that nothing beats human-on-human violence. The basic ingredients of this sports drama look very familiar, but there's novelty in the fighting style (mixed martial arts), and the fact that our opponents are two sympathetic brothers – hard-up teacher Edgerton v Afghanistan vet Hardy. For once, the outcome is uncertain.
Drive (18)
(Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011, Us) Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks. 100 mins
A vintage American muscle car with an efficient European engine, this sleek crime thriller handles the genre road superbly, as cool getaway ace Gosling loses his grip over one last job.
Crazy Stupid Love (12A)
(Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, 2011, Us) Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone. 118 mins
Male relationship woes are sympathetically mocked in this multi-stranded romcom, centring on Carell's...
(Gavin O'Connor, 2011, Us) Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison. 140 mins
After a summer of CGI robots and superheroes duking it out, here's proof again that nothing beats human-on-human violence. The basic ingredients of this sports drama look very familiar, but there's novelty in the fighting style (mixed martial arts), and the fact that our opponents are two sympathetic brothers – hard-up teacher Edgerton v Afghanistan vet Hardy. For once, the outcome is uncertain.
Drive (18)
(Nicolas Winding Refn, 2011, Us) Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks. 100 mins
A vintage American muscle car with an efficient European engine, this sleek crime thriller handles the genre road superbly, as cool getaway ace Gosling loses his grip over one last job.
Crazy Stupid Love (12A)
(Glenn Ficarra, John Requa, 2011, Us) Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone. 118 mins
Male relationship woes are sympathetically mocked in this multi-stranded romcom, centring on Carell's...
- 9/23/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Mademoiselle Chambon
Directed by Stéphane Brizé
Screenplay by Florence Vignon & Stéphane Brizé
2011, France
Movie femmes fatales are ten a penny, but never underestimate the danger posed by a woman toting a violin case. Like Daniel Auteuil in Un Coeur en Hiver, the hero of Stéphane Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon finds the twin attractions of beautiful music and a lovely face just too hard to resist.
For a film in which music plays a such central role, Mademoiselle Chambon begins in deliberately unharmonious fashion as builder Jean (Vincent Lindon) gets busy with his power tools. He’s a middle-aged family man with an attractive wife, a young son and an elderly father (played by Jean-Marc Thibault) who’s in failing health. Jean, we sense, is a man who’s much more at home operating a drill than expressing his feelings. But when he’s invited to give a talk at the...
Directed by Stéphane Brizé
Screenplay by Florence Vignon & Stéphane Brizé
2011, France
Movie femmes fatales are ten a penny, but never underestimate the danger posed by a woman toting a violin case. Like Daniel Auteuil in Un Coeur en Hiver, the hero of Stéphane Brizé’s Mademoiselle Chambon finds the twin attractions of beautiful music and a lovely face just too hard to resist.
For a film in which music plays a such central role, Mademoiselle Chambon begins in deliberately unharmonious fashion as builder Jean (Vincent Lindon) gets busy with his power tools. He’s a middle-aged family man with an attractive wife, a young son and an elderly father (played by Jean-Marc Thibault) who’s in failing health. Jean, we sense, is a man who’s much more at home operating a drill than expressing his feelings. But when he’s invited to give a talk at the...
- 9/23/2011
- by Susannah
- SoundOnSight
30 Minutes Or Less (15)
(Ruben Fleischer, 2011, Us) Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride. 83 mins
After the heights of The Social Network, Eisenberg is demoted to a lowly pizza delivery boy for this casual caper movie. He's driven to rob banks at the behest of McBride's criminal non-mastermind, with buddy Ansari roped in for comic effect. In fact, comic effect seems to be all this is after. Like a dodgy pizza, it's enjoyable at the time but nutritionally dubious, a bit thin, and just about gone cold by the time it's finished.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (15)
(Thomas Alfredson, 2011, UK/Fra/Ger) Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch. 127 mins
A very British spy thriller that dispenses with all that hasty pacing and coarse action in favour of well-tailored men talking in rooms. A complex, classy cold war mole-hunt that demands attention, but rewards it richly.
I Don't Know How She Does It (12A)
(Douglas McGrath,...
(Ruben Fleischer, 2011, Us) Jesse Eisenberg, Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride. 83 mins
After the heights of The Social Network, Eisenberg is demoted to a lowly pizza delivery boy for this casual caper movie. He's driven to rob banks at the behest of McBride's criminal non-mastermind, with buddy Ansari roped in for comic effect. In fact, comic effect seems to be all this is after. Like a dodgy pizza, it's enjoyable at the time but nutritionally dubious, a bit thin, and just about gone cold by the time it's finished.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (15)
(Thomas Alfredson, 2011, UK/Fra/Ger) Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch. 127 mins
A very British spy thriller that dispenses with all that hasty pacing and coarse action in favour of well-tailored men talking in rooms. A complex, classy cold war mole-hunt that demands attention, but rewards it richly.
I Don't Know How She Does It (12A)
(Douglas McGrath,...
- 9/16/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Preferred Ventures and Might Entertainment have acquired the ancillary rights to the Kino Lorber film library. The fund will exploit the rights of more than 700 past titles plus another 36 titles over the next three years on cable VOD, Iptv, Satellite and broadband outlets that will include iTunes, Xbox and Playstation. Preferred Ventures, a newly established digital investment fund formed by Kevin Iwashina and Ross Dinerstein’s Preferred Content, Freecreditreport.com founder Ed Ojdana and ex-Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly, paid in the six figures for those ancillary rights. Kino Lorber has separate deals with digital vendors that include Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Hulu, Fandor and Epix. Preferred Ventures’ Iwashina made the deal with Might Entertainment president Andy Bohn and Kino Lorber CEO Richard Lorber. Might and Kino Lorber partnered on the VOD releases Winnebago Man and Mademoiselle Chambon, and they have six films scheduled for release over the next few months.
- 9/7/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to the worthwhile titles currently available on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we look at alternatives to Fright Night, One Day and Spy Kids 4D.
Remakes, and sequels and adaptations – oh my! This week in theaters another horror remake aims to make you scream, while a novel love story hopes to make you swoon and a family film strives to literally stink up the place. If you crave more retro-fitted horror, romantic dramas and rambunctious kid flicks – we’ve got you covered with a panoply of movies now available online.
Colin Farrell plays the neighbor from hell in this creepy remake about a teen boy (Anton Yelchin) who knows something wicked is lurching next-door. Craig Gillespie directs.
There’s been a ton of horror remakes of late, and some of the more curious cases are currently...
Remakes, and sequels and adaptations – oh my! This week in theaters another horror remake aims to make you scream, while a novel love story hopes to make you swoon and a family film strives to literally stink up the place. If you crave more retro-fitted horror, romantic dramas and rambunctious kid flicks – we’ve got you covered with a panoply of movies now available online.
Colin Farrell plays the neighbor from hell in this creepy remake about a teen boy (Anton Yelchin) who knows something wicked is lurching next-door. Craig Gillespie directs.
There’s been a ton of horror remakes of late, and some of the more curious cases are currently...
- 8/18/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The French Sales Agent, Theatrical Distribution and Production company based out of Paris comes to the fest with a pair of items (Cristian Jimenez's Bonsai and Liza Johnson's Return) but Rezo also got a pair of must sees in Julie Delpy's 2 Days in New York (which we could technically find at Tiff and will once again back a Stéphane Brize project -- his A Few Hours of Spring is currently in pre-production. Khodorkovsky by Cyril Tuschi - Completed Le Tableau by Jean-François Laguionie - Post-Production Resistance by Amit Gupta - Post-Production Return by Liza Johnson - Completed 2 Days In New York by Julie Delpy - Post-Production A Few Hours Of Spring by Stéphane BRIZÉ - Pre-Production BONSÁI by Cristian Jimenez - Completed Magic Valley by Jaffe Zinn - Completed Neon Flesh (Carne De Neon) by Paco Cabezas - Completed Prey (Proie) by Antoine Blossier - Completed Amigo by John Sayles...
- 5/31/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Ballet drama "Black Swan" triumphed at the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards and won for Best Feature, Best Director for Darren Aronofsky, Best Female Lead for Natalie Portman, and Best Cinematography for Matthew Libatique.
Oscar nominee Natalie Portman added this victory to her impressive collection of awards she took home this season, including a Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actress. Best Supporting Female went to Dale Dickey for "Winter's Bone."
15 Facts about Natalie Portman!
Oscar nominee Natalie Portman added this victory to her impressive collection of awards she took home this season, including a Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG Award for Best Actress. Best Supporting Female went to Dale Dickey for "Winter's Bone."
15 Facts about Natalie Portman!
- 2/27/2011
- Extra
With all the "Black Swan" hoopla, am I the only one who thinks that the film, while well-made, is not deserving of all these hyper-crazed adulations? Portman was good, but I prefer Annette Bening's understated performance in "The Kids Are All Right." Or heck, Jennifer Lawrence's "Winter's Bone" performance could easily outdance Portman's delusional ballerina portrayal any day.
And "Winter's Bone," celebrating its true independent spirit, was virtually snubbed at last night's Independent Spirit Awards. Sure, the excellent supporting cast was honored with Dale Dickey winning Best Supporting Female and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Male, but the engaging and deeply haunting Debra Granik movie (with the most nominations totaling to seven nods) lost out to...you guessed it, Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." (Check out my "Winter's Bone" movie review right here)
And yes, I do admire Aronofsky, I thought "The Wrestler" was one of his personal...
And "Winter's Bone," celebrating its true independent spirit, was virtually snubbed at last night's Independent Spirit Awards. Sure, the excellent supporting cast was honored with Dale Dickey winning Best Supporting Female and John Hawkes for Best Supporting Male, but the engaging and deeply haunting Debra Granik movie (with the most nominations totaling to seven nods) lost out to...you guessed it, Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan." (Check out my "Winter's Bone" movie review right here)
And yes, I do admire Aronofsky, I thought "The Wrestler" was one of his personal...
- 2/27/2011
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Well, every year the Independent Spirit Awards are handed out the night before the Oscars, and every year, it seems that they are honouring a completely different set of films, despite having a number of overlapping nominees. At this point, it almost seems like you don't want to win a Spirit Award because if you do, it means you won't end up winning the Oscar. Assuming history repeats itself, James Franco's chances of winning Best Actor for 127 Hours just got a little worse (not that he really had a shot in the first place), and Natalie Portman might not be the lock that everyone thinks she is. Black Swan also ended up taking home Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, while John Hawkes and Dale Dickey took home Supporting Actor and Actress awards for Winter's Bone. The Kids Are All Right ended up getting Best Screenplay, while Exit Through the Gift Shop...
- 2/27/2011
- by Sean
- FilmJunk
While the Oscars can often times take the air out of the bag with overproduced pieces, cut off speeches and the Academy’s general inability to laugh at itself, the IFC’s Independent Spirit Awards are a contrasting gas. Slightly more casual and more daring fashion risks are welcome–so are jeans–as are uncensored acceptance speeches, the Spirit Awards honor those films embodying independence and original filmmaking. Joel McHale hosted the event, which was a cold night in Los Angeles (for southern California anyway) with many men wrapped in scarves, while the women wore raincoats over their dresses.
Black Swan was the big winner taking home honors for Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Feature. John Hawkes and Dale Dickey each won for their Supporting roles in Winter’s Bone and graffiti artist Banksy won for his documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop. The King’s Speech...
Black Swan was the big winner taking home honors for Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Feature. John Hawkes and Dale Dickey each won for their Supporting roles in Winter’s Bone and graffiti artist Banksy won for his documentary, Exit Through The Gift Shop. The King’s Speech...
- 2/27/2011
- by Ernie Estrella
- BuzzFocus.com
The debate rages on as to whether the doomed Nina really did dance a "perfect" performance of "Swan Lake" in "Black Swan."
But the Independent Spirit Awards have certainly acknowledged that the movie itself came pretty close to perfection.
"Black Swan" swept the Spirit Awards with wins for Best Feature, Best Female Lead, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Darren Aronofsky's operatic tale of fear, loathing and madness at the New York City Ballet won in every category for which it was nominated.
While Natalie Portman may have beaten Jennifer Lawrence in the Best Female Lead category, "Winter's Bone" did take home awards for the performances of two of its supporting players, Dale Dickey and Jack Hawkes.
Meanwhile, the co-host of this year's Oscars, James Franco, won for his lead performance in "127 Hours." The newly PG-13-rated "The King's Speech" won Best Foreign Film and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won Best Documentary,...
But the Independent Spirit Awards have certainly acknowledged that the movie itself came pretty close to perfection.
"Black Swan" swept the Spirit Awards with wins for Best Feature, Best Female Lead, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Darren Aronofsky's operatic tale of fear, loathing and madness at the New York City Ballet won in every category for which it was nominated.
While Natalie Portman may have beaten Jennifer Lawrence in the Best Female Lead category, "Winter's Bone" did take home awards for the performances of two of its supporting players, Dale Dickey and Jack Hawkes.
Meanwhile, the co-host of this year's Oscars, James Franco, won for his lead performance in "127 Hours." The newly PG-13-rated "The King's Speech" won Best Foreign Film and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" won Best Documentary,...
- 2/27/2011
- by Bryan Enk
- NextMovie
I went 10/13 with my predictions of the Indie Spirits today -- my misfires came in the Best Picture and Best Actress categories thinking that Winter's Bone had the edge over Black Swan. Not that Winter's Bone didn't have a good night (it won in the Best Supporting categories - I thought that Bill Murray had the edge over John Hawkes is where I flubbed as well) but it was indeed a Black Swan event -- with additional wins for Directing (Darren Aronofsky) and Cinematography (Matthew Libatique). You can find the winners in bold below. Best Feature 127 Hours Black Swan Greenberg The Kids Are All Right Winter's Bone Best Director Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan Danny Boyle, 127 Hours Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right Debra Granik, Winter's Bone John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole Best Screenplay Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone Nicole Holofcener,...
- 2/27/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
The 2011 Independent Spirit Awards were handed out a few hours ago and Black Swan won in all four categories it was nominated in including Best Picture, Best Director (Darren Aronofsky), Best Actress (Natalie Portman) and Best Cinematography (Matthew Libatique). Winter's Bone earned the most nominations at seven and dominated the supporting categories with wins for both Dale Dickey and John Hawkes, of the two only Hawkes earned an Oscar nomination, but he'll be facing off against both Christian Bale and Geoffrey Rush tomorrow night so I'm not counting on two awards in two days, though his performance in that film is one to remember.
Elsewhere, James Franco won Best Actor for 127 Hours, though he wasn't facing the stiffest of competition when it comes to most talked about performances of the year as he is the only one of the five nominees to also be nominated for an Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop...
Elsewhere, James Franco won Best Actor for 127 Hours, though he wasn't facing the stiffest of competition when it comes to most talked about performances of the year as he is the only one of the five nominees to also be nominated for an Oscar. Exit Through the Gift Shop...
- 2/27/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: The day before the annual Academy Awards ceremony belongs to the Spirit Awards, when Hollywood’s independent film community – which currently reflects the Oscar community thanks to double-dipping films like “Black Swan,” “Winter’s Bone” and “The Kids Are All Right” – takes to the sands in Santa Monica for what host Joel McHale calls “the coolest awards show, because it’s casual, in a tent on a beach, and people are drinking, and vomiting.”
Let’s hope there isn’t as much throw up as McHale predicts. We wouldn’t want 2011 Spirit Awards nominees Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Ben Stiller or John C. Reilly slipping in someone else’s vomit on the way to the stage.
All kidding aside, the Spirit Awards are a laid-back affair, a lighter appetizer to the glamorous Oscars. The ceremony will be televised in IFC beginning at 10 p.
Hollywoodnews.com: The day before the annual Academy Awards ceremony belongs to the Spirit Awards, when Hollywood’s independent film community – which currently reflects the Oscar community thanks to double-dipping films like “Black Swan,” “Winter’s Bone” and “The Kids Are All Right” – takes to the sands in Santa Monica for what host Joel McHale calls “the coolest awards show, because it’s casual, in a tent on a beach, and people are drinking, and vomiting.”
Let’s hope there isn’t as much throw up as McHale predicts. We wouldn’t want 2011 Spirit Awards nominees Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Ben Stiller or John C. Reilly slipping in someone else’s vomit on the way to the stage.
All kidding aside, the Spirit Awards are a laid-back affair, a lighter appetizer to the glamorous Oscars. The ceremony will be televised in IFC beginning at 10 p.
- 2/26/2011
- by Sean O'Connell
- Hollywoodnews.com
We're just about a day away from the Spirit Awards (airing on some channel whose name escapes me at 10 pm eastern and pacific). If you're watching the show and want to hear more about the individual nominees and the year and indie film in general, you should surf over to IFC.com's 2011 Spirit Awards Watch & Chat which I'll be hosting with my friend and film critic supreme James Rocchi. James and I will be debating this year's crop of Spirit Award nominees, who got overlooked and overpraised, and commenting on the show as well. Plus, we'll fighting to see who can predict more of the winners, a fight I am almost sure to lose because I am legendarily terrible at this sort of thing. Our chat runs the same time as the Spirit Awards 10pm - 1am eastern (no pacific, sorry, otherwise we'd have to talk for 6 hours straight).
Speaking of those predictions,...
Speaking of those predictions,...
- 2/25/2011
- by Matt Singer
- ifc.com
Last week I completed my quest to see all 35 of the independent films nominated for this year’s Spirit Awards. This meant weeks upon weeks of trekking to Tribeca through snow drifts, slick ice and high winds, and sitting through some heartbreaking moments, some grotesque sequences, and some deeply pretentious drivel. But I also saw a lot of truly daring and enthralling cinema – much of it on its way to theaters near you this year!
So now that I’ve done the legwork it’s time to vote. Below I break down my thoughts on who will win, and who should win.
—–
Best Foreign Film
The King’s Speech, Mademoiselle Chambon, Kisses, Of Gods and Men, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Unlike the Oscars, the Spirit Award’s foreign film eligibility is defined by place of origin — not language. So, English-language pictures are not disqualified from this category.
So now that I’ve done the legwork it’s time to vote. Below I break down my thoughts on who will win, and who should win.
—–
Best Foreign Film
The King’s Speech, Mademoiselle Chambon, Kisses, Of Gods and Men, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Unlike the Oscars, the Spirit Award’s foreign film eligibility is defined by place of origin — not language. So, English-language pictures are not disqualified from this category.
- 2/21/2011
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
Best Documentary "Exit Through the Gift Shop" It's hard to know whether street artist Banksy's feature documentary is what it claims to be—a doc about an obsessive man who falls in love with the world of street art (where artists place their work in public, risking arrest for vandalism), fashioning himself as the most financially successful street artist in history—or is Banksy's best prank to date. The film follows the life of buffoonish French expatriate Thierry Guetta, a happy-go-lucky proprietor of an overpriced hipster-wear store in West Hollywood with the curious habit of videotaping everything that happens to him. Guetta persuades his cousin, a street artist known as Space Invader, to become the subject of a "documentary," which leads Guetta to other street artists like Obama icon-maker Shepard Fairey and ultimately to the white whale of street artists: the ultra-secretive Banksy (interviewed in silhouette, of course...
- 1/20/2011
- backstage.com
Who doesn't like an underdog? They're not asking to win the Oscar for Best Picture, but these under-rated, underdog or misunderstood films deserve to be seen by wider audiences than their box office numbers, critics or lack of awards talk would suggest. After the jump is a sampling of the worthy films singled out by The New York Times, The Atlantic, Moviefone, The Playlist and Associated Content. Our adds to your bucket list of films to watch when awards season is over (or now, if you're caught up) are: Mother and Child - for the performances of triad Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington in this emotional yet rewarding melodramatic estrogen fest. Mademoiselle Chambon - because it takes its time and lets its actors ...
- 1/4/2011
- Thompson on Hollywood
After some NYC set indies, bittersweet docs and dramas, I continued soldiering through my Netflix Queue and trekking to theaters for matinee shows, taking in some tales of love and desperation.
Mademoiselle Chambon ~ Directed by Stéphane Brizé
A leisurely paced and subtlety told tale of star-crossed lovers, Mademoiselle Chambon centers on Jean, a construction worker who finds himself entranced by his son’s teacher. To be honest, because it is a French film that’s garnering notice, I expected something more daring or shocking than Brizé’s drama provides; his is a gently revealed story of romance simply told without surreal dramatics or grand gestures. It was bare but charming.
Nominations: Best Foreign Film
Snubbed? Mais Non.
The Exploding Girl ~ Directed by Bradley Rust Gray
Another leisurely paced and unconventional romance, The Exploding Girl stars Zoe Kazan as an epileptic girl in a winding search for love during spring break in Brooklyn.
Mademoiselle Chambon ~ Directed by Stéphane Brizé
A leisurely paced and subtlety told tale of star-crossed lovers, Mademoiselle Chambon centers on Jean, a construction worker who finds himself entranced by his son’s teacher. To be honest, because it is a French film that’s garnering notice, I expected something more daring or shocking than Brizé’s drama provides; his is a gently revealed story of romance simply told without surreal dramatics or grand gestures. It was bare but charming.
Nominations: Best Foreign Film
Snubbed? Mais Non.
The Exploding Girl ~ Directed by Bradley Rust Gray
Another leisurely paced and unconventional romance, The Exploding Girl stars Zoe Kazan as an epileptic girl in a winding search for love during spring break in Brooklyn.
- 1/3/2011
- by Kristy Puchko
- The Film Stage
As we walk down towards the Super Bowl of the movie awards season aka the Academy Awards, all the various critics associations and guilds release their own kudofest. It can get confusing and beguiling, so I created a nifty package for you -- I compiled all the nominees, winners of various award-giving bodies so you can make informed decision when it comes to predicting the Oscars.
And here we go:
AFI Honorees
African-American Film Critics
Annie Awards
Boston Film Critics
Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics Choice)
Chicago Film Critics Association
Detroit Film Critics
European Film Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Gotham Awards
Houston Area Film Critics
International Documentary Association Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
Indiana Film Journalists. Association
La Film Critics Association Awards
London Critics' Circle Awards
National Board of Review Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
New York Film Critics Online Awards
Producers Guild Documentary Awards
San Diego Film Critics...
And here we go:
AFI Honorees
African-American Film Critics
Annie Awards
Boston Film Critics
Broadcast Film Critics Association (Critics Choice)
Chicago Film Critics Association
Detroit Film Critics
European Film Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Gotham Awards
Houston Area Film Critics
International Documentary Association Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
Indiana Film Journalists. Association
La Film Critics Association Awards
London Critics' Circle Awards
National Board of Review Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
New York Film Critics Online Awards
Producers Guild Documentary Awards
San Diego Film Critics...
- 12/15/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****
The exquisite French film Mademoiselle Chambon has been co-adapted (with Florence Vignon, from the novel by Eric Holder) and directed by Stéphane Brizé, who a few years ago, gave us the quietly entrancing Not Here to Be Loved [sadly not yet on DVD in the Us]. Brizé now offers an ever better, though just as quietly entrancing, film -- this time using two of France's best actors at the very top of their form: Vincent Lindon (Friday Night) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Apres Vous). A film with minimal dialog, but never obviously so, it relies on the in-the-moment response of the two actors, who are simply marvelous at expressing their inner selves while appearing to camouflage their feelings.
Rating (out of 5): ****
The exquisite French film Mademoiselle Chambon has been co-adapted (with Florence Vignon, from the novel by Eric Holder) and directed by Stéphane Brizé, who a few years ago, gave us the quietly entrancing Not Here to Be Loved [sadly not yet on DVD in the Us]. Brizé now offers an ever better, though just as quietly entrancing, film -- this time using two of France's best actors at the very top of their form: Vincent Lindon (Friday Night) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Apres Vous). A film with minimal dialog, but never obviously so, it relies on the in-the-moment response of the two actors, who are simply marvelous at expressing their inner selves while appearing to camouflage their feelings.
- 12/13/2010
- by underdog
- GreenCine
Shrek Forever After: "So, the story introduces Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn), who offers Shrek a one-day pass, during which he shall be free from domesticity. In exchange, Stiltz only asks for a mere day of the ogre's childhood. Naturally, Shrek jumps at the chance, but Stiltz antes up by claming the day Shrek was born, effectively erasing the titular ogre from existence and leaving him with a mere 24 hours to put things back where they should be, or he shall be erased completely. Now, Shrek is recognized by none of his former comrades, including his best friend, Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas), who has transformed into a fattie. Stiltz now runs the kingdom of Far Far Away (this is rationalized through a flashback, which presumes that Stilz lost a power struggle towards the beginning of the franchise and has yearned for revenge against Shrek all along...
- 12/7/2010
- by Intern Rusty
A look at what's new on DVD today:
"Cronos" (1993)
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Released by Criterion Collection
After years of being out of print, Guillermo del Toro's feature debut is getting the Criterion treatment and del Toro has gone all out to make it one of the best discs ever with new interviews, his 1987 short "Geometria," two audio commentaries, a video tour of his home office, and more.
"300 Killers" (2010)
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Released by Midnight Releasing
A police chief (Johnny Andrews) who sees his city falling under the thumb of a ruthless drug dealer and sends out his best detective (Anthony Tomei) to put a stop to it in Matt Jaissle's action film.
"Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright" (2010)
Directed by R. Ellis Frazier
Released by Maya Home Entertainment
Aidan Quinn stars as a billionaire who flees to Tijuana after he's on the run...
"Cronos" (1993)
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Released by Criterion Collection
After years of being out of print, Guillermo del Toro's feature debut is getting the Criterion treatment and del Toro has gone all out to make it one of the best discs ever with new interviews, his 1987 short "Geometria," two audio commentaries, a video tour of his home office, and more.
"300 Killers" (2010)
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Released by Midnight Releasing
A police chief (Johnny Andrews) who sees his city falling under the thumb of a ruthless drug dealer and sends out his best detective (Anthony Tomei) to put a stop to it in Matt Jaissle's action film.
"Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright" (2010)
Directed by R. Ellis Frazier
Released by Maya Home Entertainment
Aidan Quinn stars as a billionaire who flees to Tijuana after he's on the run...
- 12/5/2010
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
Every year, the Spirit Awards celebrate the best in independent film.
The nominees were announced for the 26th Annual Spirits, to be handed out on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 10pm Et/Pt, live on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).
After winning the top prize at the Gotham Awards, Winter’s Bone leads with seven nominations.
Winter’s Bone was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography.
The Best Film nominees also include 127 Hours, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan.
The Kids Are All Right had five nominations while Black Swan, Greenberg and Rabbit Hole each landed four.
127 Hours, Jack Goes Boating and Tiny Furniture found three each.
Rabbit Hole received nominations for its performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart playing grieving parents, as well as a director’s nod for John Cameron Mitchell, best known...
The nominees were announced for the 26th Annual Spirits, to be handed out on Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 10pm Et/Pt, live on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).
After winning the top prize at the Gotham Awards, Winter’s Bone leads with seven nominations.
Winter’s Bone was nominated for Best Film, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography.
The Best Film nominees also include 127 Hours, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right and Black Swan.
The Kids Are All Right had five nominations while Black Swan, Greenberg and Rabbit Hole each landed four.
127 Hours, Jack Goes Boating and Tiny Furniture found three each.
Rabbit Hole received nominations for its performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart playing grieving parents, as well as a director’s nod for John Cameron Mitchell, best known...
- 12/2/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
The nominations of 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced on Tuesday, November 30 in Los Angeles by Jeremy Renner and Eva Mendes. And some movies which have received Oscar buzz such as "127 Hours" and "Black Swan" are touted for Best Feature at the upcoming Spirit Awards.
For this title, the two movies will fight against "Greenberg", "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone". The latest mentioned flick, which is fresh from grabbing two kudos at Gotham Independent Film Awards, has a chance to be a big winner at Spirits Awards since it takes the most nods.
The drama leads Debra Granik to be a contender for Best Director prize. She will face a tight competition with Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle in addition to Lisa Cholodenko and John Cameron Mitchell for this title.
The cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Dale Dickey and John Hawkes are additionally up for Best Female Lead,...
For this title, the two movies will fight against "Greenberg", "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone". The latest mentioned flick, which is fresh from grabbing two kudos at Gotham Independent Film Awards, has a chance to be a big winner at Spirits Awards since it takes the most nods.
The drama leads Debra Granik to be a contender for Best Director prize. She will face a tight competition with Darren Aronofsky, Danny Boyle in addition to Lisa Cholodenko and John Cameron Mitchell for this title.
The cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Dale Dickey and John Hawkes are additionally up for Best Female Lead,...
- 12/1/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Natalie Portman is going to get a stiff competition from Jennifer Lawrence at 2011 Independent Spirit Awards. The nominees for the annual awards dedicated to independent filmmakers have been announced on Tuesday, November 30, and both actresses were unraveled to be among those up for Best Female Lead.
29-year-old Natalie received the nomination for her portrayal of a ballet dancer in "Black Swan", while 20-year-old Jennifer got her nod for her role as a teen on a desperate search to find her missing father in "Winter's Bone". Both of them were nominated along with Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams.
In addition to Natalie's acting nom, her psychological thriller "Black Swan" has nabbed three other nods. It is vying for Best Feature along with "Winter's Bone", "127 Hours", "Greenberg" and "The Kids Are All Right". Additionally, it also collected nomination for its director Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
Jennifer's "Winter's Bone", in the meantime,...
29-year-old Natalie received the nomination for her portrayal of a ballet dancer in "Black Swan", while 20-year-old Jennifer got her nod for her role as a teen on a desperate search to find her missing father in "Winter's Bone". Both of them were nominated along with Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Nicole Kidman and Michelle Williams.
In addition to Natalie's acting nom, her psychological thriller "Black Swan" has nabbed three other nods. It is vying for Best Feature along with "Winter's Bone", "127 Hours", "Greenberg" and "The Kids Are All Right". Additionally, it also collected nomination for its director Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
Jennifer's "Winter's Bone", in the meantime,...
- 12/1/2010
- by celebrity-mania.com
- Celebrity Mania
The 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees have been announced, and there are a lot of great films that are being recognized. Winter's Bone racked up seven nominations after it won Best Feature at the Gotham Awards. Other films on the list include, 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, and The Kids Are All Right.There's some great competition this year, 127 Hours, Black Swan, and Winter's Bone are three of the best movies I've seen this year, but I think Winter's Bone will take the win on this one.
These nominations are only given to films which were produced for under $20 million. The awards will be handed out on February 26 live on IFC with host Joel McHale.
Check out the nominee list below and let us know what you think! Who would you like to see win?
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right...
These nominations are only given to films which were produced for under $20 million. The awards will be handed out on February 26 live on IFC with host Joel McHale.
Check out the nominee list below and let us know what you think! Who would you like to see win?
Best Feature (Award given to the Producer)
127 Hours
Black Swan
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right...
- 11/30/2010
- by Venkman
- GeekTyrant
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