Before The Winter Chill / Avant l’Hiver (2013)
★★★☆☆
As a thirty-year marriage crumbles in Luxembourg, Philippe Claudel’s Before The Winter Chill goes beyond family drama to find a black heart of darkness.
France
The Informant / Gibraltar (2013)
★★☆☆☆
In Gibraltar, a French bar owner agrees with French Customs to inform on international drug smugglers and quickly gets out of his depth.
The Past / Le Passé (2013)
★★★★☆
The emotional secrets of two families are revealed when an Iranian returns to Paris to finalise his divorce from his French wife.
Yves Saint Laurent (2014)
★★★☆☆
Undressing the high life of the fashion designer, his label, loves and lows, Jalil Lespert’s Yves Saint Laurent cuts a fine figure.
Suzanne (2013)
★★★☆☆
An elliptical life torn apart by love and crime, Katell Quillévéré’s Suzanne offers a journey back to happiness and family through absence.
Stranger By The Lake / L’Inconnu Du Lac (2013)
★★★★☆
With murderers among us, Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger By The Lake turns a sexually explicit peek at gay cruising into a political metaphor in the horror genre.
Love Is In The Air / Amour et Turbulences (2013)
★★★☆☆
A French rom-com set against Paris’ most romantic boulevards, Alexandre Castagnetti’s Love Is In The Air sees passion reignited on the red-eye.
Bastards / Les Salauds (2013)
★★★☆☆
A haunting nightmare in a Parisian dystopia, Claire Denis’ Bastards is an infernal cacophony of sex, blood and broken families.
Archive: Lift To The Scaffold / Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (1958)
An iconic black and white classic, Louis Malle’s Lift To The Scaffold is a noirish Parisian tale of murder and suspense which made a star of Jeanne Moreau.
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Journal de France (2012)
★★★☆☆
Journal de France looks back at the career of photojournalist and filmmaker Raymond Depardon, interwoven with his latest project: a portrait of rural France.
Review Of The Year: 2013
In black and white or riotous colour, here’s a quick look back over the best and worst films of 2013 and a sneak preview of the movies to watch out for in 2014.
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Age Of Uprising – The Legend Of Michael Kohlhaas (2013)
★★★★☆
Unpicking the tragic deadlock of a wronged man out for justice, Arnaud des Pallières’ Michael Kohlhaas is a fine tribute to people power and ruthless idealism.
The Patience Stone (2012)
★★★★☆
A war movie like no other, Atiq Rahimi’s The Patience Stone leaves no woe unturned as a woman rails against man and the theatre of war.
Young And Beautiful / Jeune Et Jolie (2013)
★★★★☆
Fathoming the sordid depths of taboo and transgression, François Ozon’s Jeune Et Jolie finds the unfathomable in a teenager trading innocence for money.