Lost Illusions, Little Nicolas' Treasure, The Heroics… Films to watch or to avoid this week

To have

Lost Illusions,

Lucien Chardon, who wrote a collection entitled

, has ambitions. Frequenting Madame de Bargeton's salon is not enough for him. Getting a particle is already complicated. Making a name for yourself is an almost impossible task. Under his new name, Lucien de Rubempré, a young man with a not unpleasant physique, he seduces the ladies, irritates the gentlemen, cherishes dreams of glory. The province goes five minutes. To both of us Paris, as one of his comrades would proclaim in block letters. In the 19th century, this city was the kingdom of businessmen and combiners. The crook is swarming. False values ​​hold the upper hand. Lucien remains confused. This astonishment has only a short time. The boy learns quickly. The literature will be patient. In the meantime, there is journalism. It's a nice job. Under the leadership of Vincent Lacoste, cynical and sassy,the capital suddenly takes on other colors.

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very contemporary

Le Trésor du Petit Nicola

With his cheerful kid's face emerging from school, his muddy short panties, his red tie in the wind, his tuft of devil-combed hair and his schoolbag in his hand, Nicolas conjures up memories of an eternal childhood as much as nostalgia for a happy France, that of the Trente Glorieuses.

[…] Led with beating drum by a sincere and inspired Julien Rappeneau,

avoids the pitfalls of prefabricated family comedy disguised as a “French blockbuster”. The staging, precise, highlights the care given to the dialogues, which crackle like whips. Billy Wilder spoke of the hysterical "tempo" inherent in comedy. Here there is nothing to complain about. Rappeneau also knew how to learn the lessons of cinema from his father. His direction as an actor is on the line. Especially with this troupe of child actors who must not have let themselves be taken in by the docility of professional actors. The two teachers (Noémie Lvovsky and Adeline d'Hermy, from the Comédie-Française) scarf themselves in speckled foils, with great finesse. Special mention also to "Bouillon", the supervisor of the school embodied this time by Grégory Gadebois. Short,Rappeneau provides excellent, fast-paced and moving entertainment. By far the best of the three films. Owl !

Read alsoCinema: the return of Le Petit Nicolas

The Wolf People 

The Wolf People

is the last part of a triptych on Irish folklore, after

and

. Tomm Moore, this time with the help of co-director Ross Stewart, stars Robyn, an 11-year-old girl, confined at home by a widowed father and worried about the outside world, recruited by a cruel lord to hunt a pack of wolves in order to better ratiboiser the forest around the city. By disobeying, Robyn befriends Mebh, a abundant red-haired "Wolfwalker", child by day, wolf by night. Moore is inspired by both Celtic and Amerindian art, Gustav Klimt or Indian mandalas to encapsulate a fabulous nature, setting of spectacular metamorphoses. Human, animal and plant forms mingle with remarkable fluidity and harmony. The Irish counterpart to the marvelous and fantastic environmentalism of Studio Ghibli.

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an animated film on Celtic folklore in the hair

À la vie

Chantal Birman is a midwife. We see her visiting mothers of all backgrounds and origins in Seine-Saint-Denis, to whom she gives advice on breastfeeding or the aftermath of a caesarean. Good humor breaks out in car journeys, from one suburb to another. Nothing says it in this refined documentary, but this septuagenarian is already the author of a book and has been honored with the Legion of Honor. Laugh loudly, soft voice, he's a funny bird. For whom a mother is not just a body. Suicide is the second leading cause of maternal death in France, she recalls. To one, Chantal Birman gives advice to prevent the germ of familial anorexia from developing in her little one. To the other, this suggestion, as if nothing had happened, for the future:

There is a lot of human intelligence in this film.

You can see

 The Heroics

In this long version of

, François Creton is Michel, a former leather jacket junkie who talks verlan and rides a Harley.

He does not leave concrete but paddles like a galley, between a baby on his arms, a sick father (Richard Bohringer) and no job.

Immature but endearing.

First Cow

Presented in competition at the Berlinale in 2020, Kelly Reichardt's latest film remains reluctant to the notion of entertainment.

We find the long time in Oregon, in the 19th century.

A cook joins forces with a Chinese to sell donuts to pioneers.

The secret of their success?

The milk, which he secretly draws from the first cow introduced into America, owned by a notable (Toby Jones).

A fable about capitalism less competitive than an episode of "Meilleur Pâtissier".

Everything smiles on us

A couple (Elsa Zylberstein and Stéphane de Groodt) go for the weekend separately but with their respective lovers.

Without having concerted, they find themselves in the country house where children and grandparents also arrive.

This comedy does not shine by its novelty, but the earthiness of the dialogues makes it think outside the box.

More sensitive than funny, the film offers Guy Marchand the role of a fragile patriarch that he holds wonderfully.

To avoid

Pleasure

A young Swede comes to Los Angeles to pursue a career in porn.

The upstart is astonished at what the directors put him through.

Filmed in an almost documentary fashion, the itinerary of this not so naive blonde is a series of clichés.

It's a world where test ends are aptly named.

The director plunges her camera into this unpleasant industry.

The result is complacent and voyeuristic.

It will please.