LE CINQ DIABLES (The Five Devils) (France 2022) **½
Directed by Lea Mysius
Vicky (Sally Dramé), a strange and solitary little girl, has a magical gift: she can reproduce any scent she likes, and collects them in a series of carefully labeled jars. She has secretly captured the scent of Joanne (Adèle Exarchopoulos), her mother for whom she nurtures a wild, excessive love. When her father’s sister Julia (Swala Emati) bursts into their life, Vicky reproduces her smell and is transported into dark and archaic memories which lead her to uncover the secrets of her village, her family and her own existence.
Filmmakers appear to be fond of and quite frequently use pre-teen girls as their protagonist. The recent and excellent Irish film THE QUIET GIRL, nominated for this year’s Oscar for Best International feature is the best of the lot with a very simple story of a young girl spending a summer at her aunt’s while her mother is pregnant about toggle birth. THE FIVE DEVILS also sees a pre-teen, a precocious little child who learns too, about life in another coming-of-age story. As Jesus said in the Bible: “And a child shall lead them.” But there is one huge difference. between these two films. THE QUIET GIRL is simple but terribly effective making it one of the best films of the year. THE FIVE DEVILS, on the other hand, is an ambitious, in fact over ambitious project that the director takes many risks that does not always pay off. The girl here has power, power to store and create smell and to invoke memories. She does not always use her powers to good use. The film also tackles a gay and bi-relationship the girl’s mother has. Often too, the non chronological timeline of the film is confusing and disorientating, though one must give the director credit for trying, in her sophomore effort.
When the film works, it is beautiful, but when it is not the film can be quite annoying,
The best parts involve the director’s use of music. Music with the lyrics bookends the film as a car is driven along a highway. The Bonnie Tyler song “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, sung by the two women during a karaoke session also clearly gets the importance and point of their relationship across.
Director Mysius covers a lot of issues in her film from female and bi-relationships, coming-of-age, self discovery, bullying, racism, small town mentality, childhood fantasy among other minor ones.
THE FIVE DEVILS premiered last year at Cannes in the Director’s Fortnight in which stranger films get a showcase. The film opens upon March the 24th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Not an easy watch but the film does have its pleasures.
CETTE MAISON (THIS HOUSE (Canada 2022) ** Directed by Miryam Charles
As the voiceover of the deceased info the audience; “I was born in Stanford, Connect in 1994,I died 2008 in my house cette mason (in French).“You are the source that inspired me, I do not need anyone else.”There are lots of chanting at the film’s start and voiceover that is a little confusing though inputs the film in perspective.
Bridgeport, January 17, 2008. A teenage girl is found hanged in her room. While everything points to suicide, the autopsy report reveals something else. Ten years later, the director and cousin of the teenager examine the past causes and future consequences of this unsolved crime. Like an imagined biography, the film explores the relationship between the security of the living space and the violence that can jeopardize it.
Though the story is simple, the film requires some concentration as one needs to realize who is speaking and which time frame the action is taking place.It is also an extremely slow moving picture with little story so, there is a lot of patience required to sit through this otherwise art piece of filmmaking.
The film will play the TIFF Bell Lightbox with special limited screenings as this is a small film with only a limited audience.
Screening schedule:
· Tuesday, March 14 at 3:30 p.m. | TIFF Bell Lightbox (Cinema 3 - Piers Handling Cinema)
· Wednesday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m. | TIFF Bell Lightbox (Cinema 2) - with the filmmaker in attendance
· Thursday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m. | TIFF Bell Lightbox (Cinema 2)
CETTE MAISON has got a good festival run.THIS HOUSE shone at international festivals in 2022. It had its world premiere at the Berlinale, followed by its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs. Selected in 20 festivals in more than 15 countries, the film was awarded the Silvestre Award for Best Feature Film at IndieLisboa, the Best Narrative Feature Award at the Trinidad + Tobago Film Festival, and the Innovation Award at the Festival du nouveau cinéma. This House continues its national and international film festival tour in 2023.
CINEFRANCO Returns March 2023 with A Special Program
Please see Cinefranco’s announcement below regarding their March lineup to celebrate Francophonie (world) month. The celebration kicks off Mar 8 (International Women’s Day) with special screening, TO Premiere of SimonVeil A Woman of the Century at the Varsity.
Simone Veil A Woman of the Century (Simone Le Voyage du siècle) launches Cinéfranco’s celebration of
Francophonie 2023 throughout March
Lineup also includes a youth program, online screenings and a special screening of
The Kitchen Brigade/La Brigade at The Royal
Simone A Woman of the Century/Simone Le Voyage du siècle Varsity Cinemas, Wed Mar 8, 7pm
This is the most viewed film in France in 2022, where half a million attended the film’s opening week and over 1.5 million tickets have been sold.
Director Olivier Dahan (La Vie en Rose, Grace of Monaco) brings the extraordinary life of beloved French feminist icon Simone Veil to the screen in his moving and sweeping feature starring Elsa Zylberstein (An Irrepressible Woman) and Rebecca Marder (A Radiant Girl). A holocaust survivor, Veil’s pioneering career in politics including her successful campaign to legalize abortion in France as Health Minister and her role as the first president of the European Parliament.
Simone Veil offers an intimate and epic portrait of a singular woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.
Online film screenings Friday, March 10 – Sunday, March 12
Youth Program/Le Programme Jeunesse Wed Mar 1, Thurs Mar 2, Fri Mar 3,Mon Mar 6 Cineplex Empress Walk
Cinéfranco’s annual Youth Program/Le Programme Jeunesse that began on February 21st continues through March with in-cinema screenings on March 1st (School Society/L’École est à nous), March 2nd & 6th (Neneh Superstar), and March 3rd (The KitchenBrigade/La Brigade) at the Cineplex Empress Walk.
The Kitchen Brigade/La Brigade co-presented with ACAF Wed Mar 22, The Royal, 7pm
Tickets available to purchase online: Simone Veil A Woman of the Century/ Simone Le Voyage du siècle - March 8th: Eventbrite.ca
The Kitchen Brigade/La Brigade - March 22: Eventbrite.ca
Online Screenings, March 10-12: Eventive The Youth Program/Le Programme Jeunesse is sold out
For further information including the complete Francophonie program: www.cinefranco.ca
Capsule Reviews of Selected Films:
GULLIVER RETURNS (Ukraine/Cyprus 2021) **
Directed by Ilya Machismo
Thew new adventures of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is given a makeover as a children’s animated film from the Ukraine.The tale is similar to Swift’s classic only remotely.
World traveler and adventurer Gulliver is invited to return to Lilliput, the town he previously saved from the enemy fleet of the neighbouring Blefuscu.When he arrives, he only finds indignation, panic and a hopeless crowd, as the King of Lilliput made his people believe that the legendary Giant Gulliver was returning.Instead, they discover an ordinary man, when the whole town had been getting ready and building accommodation to welcome a giant.Disappointed, the King orders Gulliver's execution.Meanwhile, the invincible Blefuscu armada is at the gates of the city and threatening again.As much as one wants to support Ukraine in her animated feature, GULLIVER RETURNS is hardly very good, with ok animation, silly rather than funny/goofy humour that would be catered to younger kids.
Trailer:
ROSIE (Canada 2022) ***1/2 Directed by Gail Maurice
ROSIE follows the trail of an orphaned Indigenous girl by the name of Rosie (Keris Hope Hill). Her mother’s sister, Frederique (Melanie Bray) is forced by social services to look after her. Fred has her own plate full, being evicted and out of a job. She can hardly care for herself less than one else. The story does not sound fresh or like anything new. In fact the story is rather predictable. But first time Metis director Maurice shoots her film as if it is totally fresh material injecting humour and spirit in a 80’s Montreal setting, with English, French and a little Metis spoken. This is also a seondary story of poor people surviving on the fringe. Two of Fred’s friends are drag queens Flo (Constant Bernard) and Mo (Aex Trahan) who spice up the proceedings. Director Maurice also adds a bright note to a homeless Cree (Brandon Oakes) who shows kindness to the child. ROSIE is an entertaining and insightful debut from Gail Maurice.
On an island in French Polynesia, the Haut-Commissaire, a man, de Roller (Benoit Magimel, who first well-known film was LIFE IS A LONG QUIET River by Etienne Chatiliez, way back when in 1988) with a turbulent naturalness and high diplomacy, lives between the highest echelons of politics and the lowest social stratum of his co-citizens. Conflict as a way of life will lead him to take reckless decisions against his political status, as the film examines. Director Serra introduces him in a ‘questionable’ club where he goes backstage to look at the costumes, and perhaps flirt with the dancers.
About 500 hours of footage were shot during the production, including about 200 hours with dialogue and sound recording. Director Serra explained that since the beginning of his career, he tried to use the advantages of shooting digital and therefore shoots long, improvisational scenes with 3 cameras at once, which results in a lot of footage to work with in post-production. From the dialogue of the characters, particularly noticeable in the one dinner segment in which the topic of nuclear thing is brought up, a certain point can go on and on, with the characters beating around the bush in which nothing concrete is said.
Serra’s film turns out to be a really lengthy 2 hours and 44 minutes, so one has to be prepared to be patient to sit through his film. It is a long process, and whether one will be satisfied to decipher though all the material is entirely up to the nature of the individual.
But the cinematography is stunning, as stunning as the French Polynesian Islands.
PACIFICTION is shot in French mainly, and also in English and Portuguese.
PACIFICTION plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
(full review of the film will be posted the weekend)
CAPSULE REVIEWS of Select Films will be posted once embargoes have lifted. Embargo dates listed.
DES PREUVRES A’AMOUR (Love Letters)(France 2025) ***½ Directed by Alice...
