Like every week, here are the favorites of our film journalists with, this Wednesday, March 11, a comedy about a boarding school where young girls learn to be the perfect housewife in the 1960s, and a fantastic drama which stages a Parisian mermaid.
WE LOVE
"The Good Wife"
How to become a perfect wife, a mother who knows how to keep her home and fulfill her conjugal duty without fail? These are the rules of conduct requiring in all circumstances "self-forgetfulness, understanding and good humor" learned by the young residents of the household school that Paulette Van Der Beck (Juliette Binoche) headed in 1967 in Alsace. To support her in her task, she can count on Yolande, her sister-in-law (Yolande Moreau) and sister Marie-Thérèse (Noémie Lvovsky) as a dry fart nun.
But Mr. Van Der Beck dies suddenly and Paulette discovers the debts he left behind… Martin Provost (“Séraphine”, “Violette”) had a golden subject to combine delicacy of production, irresistible comedy and depth of purpose. Enamelled with a thousand details, it's a whole era that lives again under his camera. The central female trio is a marvel of casting. In short, this "Good Wife" puts the ring on our finger.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 4/5
"The Good Wife", by Martin Provost, with Juliette Binoche, Yolande Moreau, Noémie Lvovsky, Edouard Baer, François Berléand… 1h49.
WE LOVE A LOT
"A Mermaid in Paris"
Gaspard is a crooner on a barge-cabaret in Paris. But since his last breakup, the young man has had a dry heart. One evening, when the Seine is in flood, Gaspard sees a pretty mermaid stranded and injured. The singer collects it at home to treat it. When the blonde creature admits to her that her song explodes the hearts of sailors who fall in love with her, Gaspard reassures her: he is immune to love…
This “Mermaid in Paris”, imagined by Mathias Malzieu, catches our eyes first with its vintage, whimsical and dreamlike decor. By telling a fantastic story in a realistic setting, it then touches with its unique charm. And the attractive Nicolas Duvauchelle and the enigmatic Marilyn Lima add depth to this variation on impossible love.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3.5 / 5
“A Mermaid in Paris” , by Mathias Malzieu, with Nicolas Duvauchelle, Marilyn Lima, Rossy de Palma… 1h40.
"A son"
Modern Tunisians from a privileged background, Farès and Meriem love each other and raise their son Aziz, 9, in harmony. But during a car trip in the south of the country, their car was the target of a terrorist attack and Aziz was seriously injured. At the hospital, doctors announce that the little boy's only chance of survival is to receive a liver transplant…
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In "A Son", it is a question of terrorism, exploitation of misery, laws on adultery ... But if these themes are approached with subtlety, they only form a background to a family drama that takes tripe. The film tells this one like a thriller. With a breathtaking suspense, "A Son" is a very beautiful film on solidarity, forgiveness and madness that awaits us in the face of the unbearable.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 4/5
“Un Fils” , by Mehdi M. Barsaoui, with Sami Bouajila, Najla Ben Abdallah, Youssef Khemiri… 1h36.
"Radioactive"
Who was Marie Curie? A scientist in the shadow of her husband, Pierre? Far from there. “Radioactive” paints a portrait of the scientist, a woman of character, passionate, obstinate… and resolutely feminist. The film shows how the Polish physicist and chemist fought to impose herself in a world of men, before meeting Pierre and after, when she had to pursue her career alone.
He says that in addition to the machismo of her colleagues, she had to face xenophobia and stigma when she had an affair with another scientist ... five years after the death of her husband. This biopic, all in nuances, is interspersed with light explanations on radioactivity. And sequences that show, through several eras, how the works of Marie Curie have saved millions of lives.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3.5 / 5
“Radioactive” , a British drama by Marjane Satrapi, with Rosamund Pike, Sam Riley… 1h50.
WE ALSO LIKE
"Vivarium"
Gemma and Tom are a young couple who wants to buy a house. At the insistence of a strange real estate agent, they follow him in a new subdivision where all the streets, all the buildings are alike. The house they visit does not suit them, but, taking advantage of their distraction, their host faints. Despite their efforts, Gemma and Tom cannot find a way out of the subdivision, finding themselves tirelessly at their starting point. They spend the day trying to leave the premises ...
Director Lorcan Finnegan presents "Vivarium" as a critique of the consumer society. His couple prefer to conform to social pressure rather than freely enjoy existence, ready to go and bury themselves in a nightmarish housing estate. This desire to draw the feature film towards philosophical satire unfortunately drowns out the subject, its revolving characters, literally and figuratively, a little too much in circles.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 3/5
“Vivarium” , by Lorcan Finnegan, with Jesse Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Jonathan Aris, Eanna Hardwicke… 1h38.