Alliance Francaise French Film Festival

March 17, 2021

 

Alliance Francaise French Film Festival (AFFFF)  is my favourite and I was thrilled to be asked to view a few movies on Vimeo from their vast collection. They never cease to disappoint with their diversity and cross cultural story lines.

From March through to April 2021 the AFFFF is screening a fabulous range of films around Australia. I suggest you check out their web site now   https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org

In Brisbane they begin from 17 March to 13 April. 

Movie tasters

 I highly recommend all three as each vastly different to one another and I plan to see more at the cinemas in the next few weeks: 

1 The Man Who Sold His Skin

Most people in Australia couldn’t even fathom the concept of being forced from your home and country due to political injustices, particularly not in the 21st century. 

But sensitive yet impulsive Syrian, Sam Ali did just this for his love, but not without sacrifice. He naively accepts an offer to have his back tattooed by one of the world’s most conversational contemporary artists. 

He left his country for Lebanon to escape the war, driven by desire. His payment, freedom to travel within Europe and the ability to establish a comfortable lifestyle for the woman he loves. Turning his body into a prestigious piece of art, Sam comes to realise that his decision might actually mean anything but freedom.

The Man Who Sold His Skin is an evocative story of sadness. The realisation for Sam he is a persona non grata, is a daunting sacrifice in order to achieve greatness for his love. Such an unusual and mind provoking story. Director Kaouther Ben Hania knew what he was doing with Sam, but what would you do in his position? 

2 Bye, Bye Morons

I found this to be quite distinct. Directed by Albert Dupontel, this French drama with a twist of comedy was intriguing and I was keen to see where it all ended. 

Three people from completely different backgrounds managed to find a way to fight for their cause by collaborating together to achieve a mutual objective. 

Suze Trappet, a hairdresser suffering from a rare work related auto-immune disease from the use of salon sprays, who also gave birth as an anonymous teenage mother, now desperate to find her adopted son.

Mr Cuchuse an IT tele-surveillance technician, never married nor children, devastated to be told he would be replaced by a younger model at work , attempts an unsuccessful suicide.

A blind man, locked away in a government building conducting record searches using braille technology, to prevent the real truth from being leaked, given a window of opportunity to be free. 

The three amigos met by chance and amongst all the chaos they shared something in common, bureaucratic barriers. As I sat at my computer watching Bye, Bye Morons, I laughed as well as shed a few tears over the extraordinary and bizarre turn of events. Life can work in the strangest of ways. 

3 Love Affair(s)

Les Choses qu’on Dit, Les choses qu’on fait (Things we say, Things we do)

We are lured to the French countryside and stepped through a beautifully preserved French villa. What more could one want, yet there was much more to this critically acclaimed movie full of love triangles, affairs, passion, relationships and philosophical rationality. 

Daphne, three months pregnant to partner Francois waits for him to join her on their country vacation. Maxime, Francios’s younger cousin, a translator planning to write novels comes to visit. Our dashing young Frenchman is nursing a broken heart. He had an affair with a married woman Victorie to discover by chance Victorie is the sister of the woman (Sandra) he originally fell in love with. The plot thickens as Maxime is entertained by Daphne while Francios is away, their bond is formed and nurtured.  

Sparks fly, as does laughter, tears and a yearning for romance. A series of interlocking tales around relationships begin to weaves its emotional web and touch your heart. There are frivolous tales, sensual encounters and an exploration of the complexities of modern love. How do we know if we have fallen in love or simply are powerfully attracted to someone? 

This film has many layers and some described it as ‘a more serious Love Actually’. I was keen to unearth the love choices by each character. The finish line had potential for a number of directions and director, Emmanuel Mouret skilfully lead us on a string of possibilities. I like the way he ensured we could expect the unexpected until the very end.  

Booking information

For further information on AFFF cinema times and bookings for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Byron Bay, Parramatta and Hobart, go online as some states have begun their screenings.   https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org 

#AllianceFrancaiseFrenchFilmFestival2021 #AFFFF #RialtoDistribution  

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