Chers Amis,
Thank you to Hélène and Maude who drew my attention to the fact that over the next few weeks QFT will be screening no less than five French films including Cédric Klapisch’s comedy trilogy L'Auberge Espagnole, Les Poupées russes and Casse-tête chinois.
Sat 28th June at 1:20pm and Sun 29th June at 1:20pm
L'Auberge Espagnole (Pot Luck)
Xavier (Duris) is a young Parisian who embarks on a European exchange scheme in Barcelona - and has to take pot luck by sharing an apartment with a culturally diverse group of fellow students. He says farewell to his family and girlfriend (Tautou)...and then the fun begins.
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 2 hours 2minutes
Released: 2002
Country: France/Spain
Cast: Romain Duris, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou
Sat 28th June at 3:50pm and Sun 29th June at 3:50pm
Les Poupées russes (Russian Dolls)
Five years after their year together in Barcelona, the Pot Luck team of Xavier (Romain Duris), William (Kevin Bishop), Wendy (Kelly Reilly), Martine (Audrey Tatou) and Isabelle (Cécile de France) reunite for a Russian wedding. Set in London, Paris and St. Petersburg, Russian Dolls is a romantic comedy about growing up, making choices and finding love in unexpected places.
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 2 hours 9minutes
Released: 2005
Country: France/UK
Cast: Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou
The trilogy concludes with Casse-tête chinois (Chinese Puzzle) on
Fri 4th July to Thu 10th July
Casse-tête chinois (Chinese Puzzle)
It's been over a decade since Cédric Klapisch first introduced us to the beloved group of friends sharing a Barcelona apartment in Pot Luck. Three years later, they were brought back together for a wedding in Russian Dolls and now a third outing arrives in the form of Chinese Puzzle.
Xavier's (Duris) life is turned upside down when his wife Wendy (Kelly Reilly) announces she's moving to NY and taking the kids. A few months later, he's on a transatlantic flight as well. From fathering a child to a lesbian couple, to marrying a Chinese-American to get papers, to reigniting a flame with his first love who comes for a visit, Xavier and his world really do seem like a Chinese Puzzle...
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 1 hour 57minutes
Released: 2013
Country: France/USA/Belgium
Cast: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France
Other French film showing at QFT in July are …..
Fri25th July to Thu 31st July
Grand Central
French nuclear workers face the twin perils of radiation and amorous meltdown in a terrific blue-collar drama starring Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and Léa Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour).
Tahar Rahim plays Gary, who signs on for work in a nuclear power plant (the ‘Central' of the title). He's inducted into the workforce by supervisor Gilles (Gourmet) and hard-bitten veteran Toni (Ménochet), only to discover that radiation contamination is not just a risk factor but an everyday hazard. But also pushing Gary towards meltdown is his simmering attraction to Toni's girlfriend Karole (Seydoux).
Rahim and Seydoux crackle like isotopes in their own right, and an urgent jazz score by Robin Coudert pushes this atomic drama into the red.
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Released: 2013
Country: France/Austria
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Léa Seydoux, Olivier Gourmet, Denis Ménochet
Sun 27th July at 4:30pm
Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games)
Mark Cousins' Cinema of Childhood season continues with one of the greatest anti-war statements ever filmed.
German fighter planes massacre a column of refugees fleeing Paris on a country road. A dazed little orphaned girl is left wandering the fields clutching her dead dog. She's adopted by a peasant boy who brings her into his eccentric family. The children retreat into a fantasy world, but they cannot hide from reality forever.
René Clément's angry masterpiece blends tragedy and farce into a heart-breaking account of children caught in a war they can't possibly understand, and it made Brigitte Fossey a star at the age of just 5.
Director: René Clément
Run Time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Released: 1952
Country: France
Cast: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée
For full details of QFT’s programme seewww.queensfilmtheatre.com
A bientôt,
Philip