High Museum French Film series preview: A fun sampling of French films old and new

April 9, 12:53 AMAtlanta Movies ExaminerRyan McNally

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From Amelie to Breathless to La Haine (probably my all-time favorite foreign film), French films have a rich cinematic history. And this month, Atlanta residents can enjoy a sampling of French film at the High Museum of Art’s tenth annual “French Film Yesterday and Today” film series from April 10 through April 18, 2009.

“When American audiences seek out foreign films, most often they turn to French cinema,” says Linda Dubler, the High’s Curator of Media Arts.  “With its long and storied history and its continuing vitality, French film sets the bar in terms of both artistic achievement and entertainment.”

Here’s the lineup for the High Museum’s French film series:

Friday, April 10
The Grocer’s Son (2007, 96 minutes)

Praised as “a small gem” by The New York Times’ Stephen Holden, The Grocer’s Son is the story of Antoine, a young man who reluctantly leaves Paris for Provence to help run the family grocery after his fiercely judgmental father has a heart attack. Along with a shop in the village, the business includes a grocery van that serves as a small, mobile store. For Antoine, driving the van along rural roads and making stops for elderly customers is a chore. But Claire, his friend from Paris, comes to visit and helps him find his inner salesman. As friendship evolves into attraction, Antoine must confront his feelings for Claire, as well as the resentment he shares with his father. IMDB rating: 6.9; Tomatometer score: 88.

The Grocer's Son trailer:


 

Saturday, April 11
A Secret (2007, 105 minutes)

The film explores the uncomfortable truth that some family secrets, though long-buried, are ultimately irrepressible as it uncovers the hidden history of a Jewish family living a middle-class life in Paris in the 1950s. At its center is Francois Grimbert, the sickly son of athletic parents who invents an older brother to compensate for his own shortcomings. Based on a French psychiatrist’s family history, the film’s cast includes Mathieu Amalric (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and Ludivine Sagnier (Swimming Pool). IMDB rating: 7.0; Tomatometer score: 80.

A Secret trailer:

 


Friday, April 17
Crossed Tracks/Roman de Gare (2007, 103 minutes)

This comedic thriller finds both threat and allure in the possibilities of personal reinvention. The film’s plot, reminiscent of Hitchcock, centers on two characters who meet at a highway rest stop. The woman (played by Fanny Ardant) is a celebrity-worshipper working as either a hairdresser or a hooker who’s been dumped by her doctor fiancée en route to a first meeting with her folks. The man is even more mysterious—an escaped serial killer, a ghost-writer for a famous novelist or just a suburban teacher on the run from his wife and kids. When he offers her a lift they end up at her parent’s farm, where she passes him off as her betrothed. IMDB rating: 7.1; Tomatometer score: 87.

Roman de Gare trailer:

 


Saturday, April 18—double feature
The Red Balloon (1956, 34 min.) and White Mane (1953, 40 min.)

Albert Lamorisse directed this classic pair of poetic shorts that appeal to both children and adults. The Red Balloon is a film without dialogue and centers on a small boy (played by Lamorisse’s son) who wanders through the streets of Paris trailed by an ever-present red balloon. Critic Pauline Kael describes it as “an allegory of innocence and evil, set in a child’s dream world.” White Man” was shot in the Camargue— France ’s wildest, loneliest region—and is the story of a boy’s love for a horse he alone is able to tame. Kael called it “One of the most beautiful films ever made.” The film narrations are done by James Agee. IMDB ratings: 8.1 (The Red Balloon); 7.5 (The White Mane).

Related Articles:
1) Everlasting Moments (review): A life in pictures
2) 2009 Atlanta Film Festival trailer: Getting psyched to 'see more'
3) High Museum Francophone Series special preview

Unless otherwise noted, all films in the High Museum's French film series begin at 8 p.m. and are screened in the Richard H. Rich Theatre. The theatre is located in the Memorial Arts Building, adjacent to the High at Peachtree and 15th Streets in midtown Atlanta. All films are in French with English subtitles.

To purchase tickets in advance, visit the High Museum Web site, drop by the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office or call 404-733-5000. Tickets for all shows are $7 general admission and $6 for students, seniors and Museum members. Patron-level members enter free. Tickets may also be purchased at the door on the night of the screening.

The Grocer's Son still ©The Grocer's Son (2007)