J'adore! A Focus on French-Language Cinema / June 9-12, 2011

 

Opening Night

Service Entrance / Les Femmes du 6ème étage

By Philippe Le Guay / France / 2010 / 100mn

An uptight stockbroker (Fabrice Luchini) lives a peaceful, boring existence in 1960s Paris with his neurotic socialite wife (Sandrine Kiberlain) - until some exuberant Spanish maids move upstairs turning expectations and lives upside down. More...

When - Opening Night Film, Thursday, June 9, 7:00pm
Opening Night party follows the screening in Henderson's Lounge.

In presence of David Martinon, Consul General of France in Los Angeles and Mathieu Fournet, head of the Fim Bureau at the French Consulate in Los Angeles..

Cost; $20 members $25 non-members. Buy your tickets here

Homage to Chabrol: Beautiful Serge / Le Beau Serge

By Claude Chabrol / France / 1958 / 90mn

François (Jean-Claude Brialy), a theology student suffering from TB, returns from Paris to his small hometown to recuperate. He is shocked to discover that his childhood friend Serge (Gérard Blain), once a promising architect, is now a hopeless drunk estranged from his pregnant wife. Often cited as the first New Wave feature film, Le Beau Serge was an assured and technically accomplished début by Claude Chabrol.

When - Friday, June 10, 1:30pm. Purchase your tickets

Impasse du désir

By Michel Rodde / Switzerland / 2010 / 95mn

When distinguished 50-year-old psychiatrist Robert Block discovers that his much younger wife Carole has betrayed him, he is thrown completely off balance. His intense jealousy forces him to make one of his pyschotic patients and accomplice in a secret plan designed to end his own pain.

When - Friday, June 10, 4:00pm. Purchase your tickets

The Little Room / La Petite Chambre

By Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond / Switzerland / mn.

This is a story of heart. Edmond's is no longer strong, but it beats with independance and fierce resistance to entering a retirement home. Rose, his home care provider, has her own heart break which has not yet healed. One day, an accident changes everything for both of them. La Petite Chambre was Switzerland's Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film.

When - Friday, June 10, 7:00pm. Purchase your tickets

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life / Gainsbourg: Vie héroïque

By Joan Sfar / France / 2010 / 122mn

Gainsbourg is a completely original take on one of France's greatest mavericks, the illustrious and infamous Jewish singer-songwriter, Serge Gainsbourg who, along the way, romances many of the era's most beautiful women, including Brigitte Bardot.

When - Friday, June 10, 9:15pm

Buy your ticket here

Watching Hour: Irma Vep

By Olivier Assays / France / 1996 / 99mn.

Maggie Cheung, acting out her own role as one of the greatest stars of Asian cinema, comes to Paris to portray Irma Vep (the character created by Musidora) in a remake of the famous series Vampires directed by Louis Feuillade between 1915 and 1916. She does not speak a word of French, and therefore everyone is forced to speak to her in broken English--especially her somewhat incomprehensible, has-been director, Rene Vidal, who sees Maggie as the unique incarnation of a modern Irma Vep. Purchase your tickets

When - Friday, June 10, 10:00pm

From One Film to Another / D'un film à l'autre

By Claude Lelouch / France / 2011 / 103mn

On the occasion of his 50th year in cinema, Oscar-winning A Man and a Woman director Claude Lelouch turns his famously swooping, pirouetting camera on himself for his uncommonly revealing auto-portrait.

When - Saturday, June 11, 12:00 noon. Purchase your tickets

Homage to Chabrol: Merci pour le chocolat

By Claude Chabrol / France / 2000 / 99mn

A mystery set in the environs of Lausanne, Switzerland, concerning several plots which wind their way through the elegant homesteads of a couple of well-heeled French-Swiss denizens. This French confection start the omnipresent Isabelle Huppert as Mika who prepares and faithfully serves her special recipe for hot chocolate each evening.

When - Saturday, June 11, 2:15pm. Purchase your tickets

Route 132

By Louis Belanger / Canada (Québec) / 2010 / 113mn

This poignant tale of a father devastated by his 5-year-old son's death never hits a false note, thanks to a veteran director at the top of his game. Gilles, in his grief, hits the road with his old friend and petty crook, Bob, destination unknown. Filled with unpredictable events, their journey will take an unexpected turn, leading both of them on the path of hope and renewal.

When - Saturday, June 11, 4:30pm. Purchase your tickets

Homage to Chabrol: The Ceremony / La Cérémonie

By Claude Chabrol / France / 1995 / 112mn

In The Ceremony, Claude Chabrol has created another chilling, atmospheric masterpiece. Chabrol, who has always enjoyed puncturing the balloon of bourgeois complacency, presents an ambiguous view of culture and class conflict in this stunning thriller. Staring Isabelle Huppert, Jacqueline Bisset, Sandrine Bonnaire, and Jean-Pierre Cassel, this 1995 psychodrama was nominated for six César awards, with Huppert winning Best Actress.

When - Saturday, June 11, 7:00pm. Purchase your tickets

Blind Spot / Lucidité passagère

By Fabrice Barrillet, Nicolas Bolduc, Julien Knafo, and Marie-Hélène Panisset / Canada (Québec) / 2010 / 82mn

Parallel stories unfold and interwine: When it comes to love, does Véronique have anything to hide? Is Mathieu just tired of life's hardships? Can Fred really adapt himself to any woman he wants to pursue? Does Rémi simply need a raison d'être? When you take things for granted, life usually finds a way to bring you back to square one.

When - Saturday, June 11, 9:30pm. Purchase your tickets

The Names of Love / Le Nom des gens

By Michel Leclerc / France / 2010 / 102mn

Baya, a young, extroverted liberal lives by the old hippie slogan: "make love, not war" to convert right-wing men to her left-wing political causes by sleeping with them. She seduces many and so far has received exeptional results - until she meets Arthur, a Jewish middle-ages, middle-of-the-road scientist. Sara Forestier pulls off a comedic tour de force as Baya, winning Best Actress at this year's César Awards.

When - Sunday, June 12, 1:45pm. Purchase your tickets

Mozart's Sister / Nannerl, soeur de Mozart

By Réné Féret / France / 2010 / 120mn

Like her younger brother, Maria Anna Mozart was a prodigy ahead of her time, but tragically the 18th century was not fair to women. This is her story. Boasting stunning production values and ethereal music, the film is a treat for the eyes and the ears, for classical music lovers and cinephiles alike.

When - Sunday, June 12, 4:15pm. Purchase your tickets

Closing Night

The Hedgehog / Le Hérisson

By Mona Achache / France / 2010 / 98mn

With a magical blend of gravity and levity, director Mona Achache deftly brings Muriel Barbery's much-loved novel and its intriguing and delightfully complicated characters to life. Paloma is a serious, but deeply bored 11-year-old who questions life and begins documenting her immediate circle with a High-8 camera, drawing trenchant and often hilarious observations on the world around her.

When - Sunday, June 12th at 7pm. Purchase your ticket here
Followed by Closing Night Party in Henderson's Loundge