Feature : French cinema: the comeback

After years of pervading gloom and self-flagellation, the morale of French cinema is set fair: attendance at cinemas exceeded 163 million viewers in 2000 (as against 155 million in 1999), and French films were largely reaping the benefits [1]. The market share of national production has remained steady at 30% over the year, going over the 60% historical mark in February 2001, and investment in the film industry (essential for the vitality of production) increased by 16% between 1999 and 2000.

But beyond the figures, tribute should be paid to the diversity of the French supply, which manages to distance itself from Hollywood’s large budget films while daring to compete, sometimes brilliantly, with the Americans on their own territory: from the genre films (Taxi 2, Le Pacte des loups, Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien) to art-house cinema (Les Blessures assassines, Sous le sable), through comedy (Le Goût des autres, La Vérité si je mens! 2, Mademoiselle), to costume frescoes (Les Destinées sentimentales, Saint-Cyr), each one getting something out of it. Let’s take a closer look at a few films that have left their mark on the public and the critics in 2000-2001.

Taxi 2: shooting off at top speed!

By Gérard Krawczyk, with Frédéric Diefenthal, Sami Naceri and Marion Cotillard.

Its film maker’s name is unpronounceable and its performers almost unknown to the general public. This has not prevented this sequence of adventures, made in Marseilles, from being acclaimed by the public. Seen by over 10 million spectators, Taxi 2 is the most popular French film since Les Visiteurs (1993), with Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, and one of the most profitable (almost 300% paid off!). It is in any case proof that an independent production, admittedly stamped Luc Besson, can turn out to be an unusually effective action and stunt film and be a huge commercial success.

Le Goût des autres: to everyone’s taste

By and with Agnès Jaoui, with Jean-Pierre Bacri, Alain Chabat, Gérard Lanvin and Anne Alvaro.

Agnès Jaoui’s first production, but the fourth collaboration of the Bacri/Jaoui duo, Le Goût des autres revives this quality of observation of social mores and this affection for the characters which made a success of Un air de famille (1995), by Cédric Klapisch and of On connaît la chanson (1997), by Alain Resnais. Wonderful screenwriters, Jaoui and Bacri lay into bourgeois hypocrisy and class prejudice with caustic humour.

For her first experience behind the camera, Agnès Jaoui abandons stylistic effects leaving plenty of scope for the actors, all of them marvellous. And this is probably what has captivated around 4 million viewers. Basking in the glow of four César film awards (including those for best film and best screenplay) and the trophy for best screenplay at the European Cinema Film Awards, the film represented France at the 2001 Oscars.

La Vérité si je mens ! 2: a team spirit

by Thomas Gilou with Richard Anconina, José Garcia, Gad Elmaleh and Aure Attika.

A satirical comedy portraying the daily life of a gang of Jewish friends of North African origin working in the ready-to-wear sector in Paris. Another phenomenal success for the team, marking community comedy’s comeback with around 8 million admissions!

Les Blessures assassines: an entomologist’s view

By Jean-Pierre Denis, with Sylvie Testud, Julie-Marie Parmentier and Isabelle Renauld.

This film is about the famous affair of the Papin sisters, already adapted several times by the theatre (Les Bonnes (The Maids) by Jean Genet) and the cinema. But it is with the heightened view of an ethnologist that Denis observes the behaviour of the two protagonists - servants who have savagely murdered their employers - where we end by understanding the reasons behind their action. An uncompromising, almost Bressonian work, these Blessures assassines (Vicious Wounds) have achieved a pleasing result of 350,000 admissions.

Le Placard: politically correct but effective

By Francis Veber, with Daniel Auteuil, Jean Rochefort, Gérard Depardieu and Thierry Lhermitte.

Francis Veber is making a habit of success. After Le Dîner de cons, with over 9 million admissions in France and 2 million abroad, he does it again with this very politically correct Placard (Cupboard), which has attracted around 5 million viewers. Based on a very simple idea (a chap passes himself off as a homosexual in order to avoid being sacked), the director lines up a few highly effective gags while sounding out bourgeois prejudices.

Le Pacte des loups: clever recycling

By Christophe Gans, with Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Mark Dacascos and Monica Belluci.

A former editor on the magazine Starfix , Gans was brought up on genre cinema. In other words, he could not let the opportunity of filming a costume drama with a budget of Euro 30 million [2] (200 million Francs) go by without studding it with references and allusions (from the heroic fantasy style to 60s’ fantastic cinema, from John Woo-style Kung-Fu to Riccardo Freda-style adventures, Le Pacte des loups is a wonderful lesson in full-scale recycling!). We have to believe that this works since the film has attracted over 5 million viewers and has sold throughout the world.

Mademoiselle: 24 hours in a woman’s life

By Phillipe Lioret, with Sandrine Bonnaire, Jacques Gamblin, Isabelle Candelier and Zinedine Soualem.

His previous film, Tenue correcte exigée was not exactly one to bother with niceties. Mademoiselle, on the other hand, is a sentimental comedy, which has a touch of sadness to it, but which delights the audience with its sensitive directing and the psychological perceptiveness of the characters. One thinks of Stefan Zweig and of those brief encounters that mark a life for ever. And the Bonnaire/Gamblin duo, already appearing together in Au cœur du mensonge (At the Centre of the Lie) by Claude Chabrol, works wonders - 600,000 tickets sold.

Saint-Cyr: the brutality behind the facade

By Patricia Mazuy, with Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Pierre Kalfon and Simon Reggiani.

With two feature-length films (and two TV films) in twelve years, Patricia Mazuy is taking her time, probably the time it takes to develop as accomplished a work as Saint-Cyr: far from the richly decorative reconstructions, the film reveals the brutal, bitter face of a 17th century in which death is constantly on the prowl. Saint-Cyr is in any case one of the rare costume films to achieve over 400,000 admissions in 2000.

Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien: a bonus for the bizarre

By Dominik Moll, with Sergi Lopez, Laurent Lucas and Mathilde Seigner.

He produced an upset at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000. One must admit that the originality of the screenplay like the atmosphere of the bizarre flirting with the fantastic has good reason to captivate the viewer (between Hitchcock and Polanski, Moll is turning out to be one of the most promising talents of the 2000 crop). With 2 million admissions and record sales abroad, Harry has also been honoured by the profession, which has given him two coveted César film awards for best director and best actor.

Sous le sable: looks at death

By François Ozon, with Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer and Jacques Nolot.

Probably because they are not really commercial, mourning and denial of death are subjects rarely exploited in the cinema. François Ozon, a young film director prodigy, is showing exceptional maturity in the way he paints the portrait of a woman prematurely confronted with death through her husband’s disappearance. At fifty-six, Charlotte Rampling has discovered one of her finest roles here. And the film has attracted around 650,000 viewers...

Les Rivières pourpres: a metaphysical detective film

By Mathieu Kassovitz, with Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel and Nadia Farès.

All eyes were on the creator of La Haine after the failure of Assassin(s). Les Rivières pourpres, a more or less faithful adaptation of Jean-Christophe Grangé’s novel, does not disappoint. Immersed in the terrifying world of the sects, the film is a fast-moving detective story that shows bold, visual innovations. With over 3 million admissions in his favour, Kassovitz has won his bet.

Ressources humaines: Ken Loach, French-style

By Laurent Cantet, with Jalil Lespert.

This is one of the little gems produced by the Arte channel (see article on page 20) that came out in the cinema after it was broadcast on television. A social assessment worthy of Ken Loach at the same time as a poignant family drama, Ressources humaines (Human Resources) dares to take hold of a very contemporary subject, redundancies in industry, an extremely rare event in French cinema, while creating characters who are absolutely true to life. Jalil Lespert amply deserved his César award for best male newcomer.

Mercredi, folle journée !: a trip full of charm...

By Pascal Thomas, with Vincent Lindon, Alessandra Martines, Victoria Lafaurie, Isabelle Candelier and Isabelle Carré.

Two years after the unexpected success of La Dilettante (The Amateur), Pascal Thomas does it again with this imaginative, poetic comedy fragrant with the simple joys of existence. Based on a perfectly controlled choral narrative, the film director invents highly colourful characters who have kept their childlike spirit, headed up by Vincent Lindon. The film is also a beautiful declaration of love to the city of Nantes, which Jacques Demy had already filmed so well. One would almost want to go and live there...

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Rediscover French films (portraits, major interviews, events...) in the "Performing Arts and Entertainment" section of the multimedia version of the magazine Label France