Shooting anecdotes, notes of intent, information for film lovers: every week, discover behind the scenes of cinema releases.
Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde by Malik Bentalha, Ludovic Colbeau-Justin
With Malik Bentalha, Joséphine Japy, Jérôme Commandeur…
What is it about ? Two years after surviving alone on the hostile island of Val Verde, Jack Mimoun has become an adventure star. He is then approached by the mysterious Aurélie Diaz who will bring Jack Mimoun back to Val Verde to train him in search of the legendary sword of the pirate La Buse.
Did you know ? If the name Val Verde reminds you of something, it’s normal. Beyond the obvious reference to the Indiana Jones saga in the costume worn by Jack Mimoun, the film also hides a nod to 58 minutes to live.
In this cult film with Bruce Willis, mention is made of a Latin American country, Val Verde, which was allegedly subjected to the dictatorial regime of General Esperanza. But it is a totally fictitious state, fruit of the imagination of Joel Silver.
Halloween Ends by David Gordon Green
Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell…
What is it about ? Four years after the events of Halloween Kills, Laurie now lives with her granddaughter Allyson and is finishing her memoir. Michael Myers hasn’t come forward lately…
Did you know ? It is the actor and stuntman James Jude Courtney who hides behind the mask of Michael Myers. He had previously played this character in Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills (2021). On the three films, he was able to benefit from the advice of Nick Castle, the original interpreter of the boogeyman.
Simone, the trip of the century by Olivier Dahan
With Elsa Zylberstein, Rebecca Marder, Elodie Bouchez…
What is it about ? The fate of Simone Veil, her childhood, her political battles, her tragedies. The epic and intimate portrait of a woman with an extraordinary career who has shaken up her time by defending a humanist message that is still burningly topical.
Did you know ? After Édith Piaf with La Môme and Grace Kelly with Grace de Monaco, director Olivier Dahan once again retraces the extraordinary journey of a female figure in Simone, le voyage du siècle: that of Simone Veil. As soon as she finished writing La Môme, the idea came to her to devote a trilogy of portraits to an artist, an actress, and a politician.
The Innocent by Louis Garrel
With Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant…
What is it about ? When Abel learns that his mother Sylvie, in her sixties, is about to marry a man in prison, he panics. Supported by Clémence, his best friend, he will do everything to try to protect her. But the meeting with Michel, his new father-in-law, could well offer Abel new perspectives…
Did you know ? Louis Garrel started writing alone before being joined by Tanguy Viel, a writer of detective novels “existentials who like to seize the genre to tell intimate things”, then by Naïla Guiguet, with whom he had worked on The Crusade. “All this time has been very beneficial for the script”he believes.
Butterfly Vision by Maksym Nakonechnyi
With Rita Burkovska, Lyubomyr Valivots, Myroslava Vytrykhoska-Makar…
What is it about ? Lilia, an aerial reconnaissance specialist, returns to her family in Ukraine after several months in prison in the Donbass. The trauma of captivity torments her and resurfaces in visions. But she refuses to see herself as a victim and fights to free herself.
Did you know ? The idea for this film was born in 2018 when Maksym Nakonechnyi was editing a documentary on Ukrainian women engaged in war. The director explains: “One of them said that she had made a deal with her fellow fighters: they had to kill her rather than let her be taken prisoner by the enemy.”
“It made me think about what awaits a female soldier when captured by the enemy, and how it could be worse than death. As I built the plot, I realized I wanted to tell a story about hope and humanity despite totally desperate circumstances.”
Le Petit Nicolas – What are we waiting for to be happy? by Amandine Fredon, Benjamin Massoubre
With Laurent Lafitte, Alain Chabat, Simon Faliu…
What is it about ? Leaning over a large white sheet, Sempé and Goscinny give life to a laughing and mischievous little boy, Petit Nicolas. As the story progresses, the boy slips into the workshop of his creators, and challenges them with humor.
Did you know ? Originally, it was to be a documentary film combining the archive videos of Jean-Jacques Sempé and René Goscinny with the drawn stories of Petit Nicolas. Finally the project evolved and the desire to realize the whole film in animation was essential. This long-standing project was only really developed and funded in the spring of 2020, when director Benjamin Massoubre joined the adventure.
Time out by Vincent Dieutre, Julien Theves
What is it about ? One is confined to Paris, the other to the countryside. One is a writer, the other a director. In the spring of 2020, both correspond with their phones.
The Harkis by Philippe Faucon
With Théo Cholbi, Mohamed El Amine Mouffok, Pierre Lottin…
What is it about ? At the end of the 1950s, beginning of the 1960s, the war in Algeria continued. Salah, Kaddour and other destitute young Algerians join the French army as harkis. At their head, Lieutenant Pascal. The outcome of the conflict suggests the imminent independence of Algeria.
Did you know ? Already at the heart of his film La Trahison in 2006, the Algerian war is at the center of Philippe Faucon’s new film. Born during this conflict, the director was deeply marked by the subject: “We inherited something that was transmitted without always having been expressed.”
“We then grew up and met other young people of our age, who also inherited something very raw and very antagonistic around the memory of the war, whether they were the children of former harkis or those marked by the suffering suffered for the cause of the independence of Algeria.
aya by Simon Coulibaly Gillard
With Marie-Josée Kokora, Patricia Egnabayou, Junior Ass…
What is it about ? Lahou, Ivory Coast. Aya grows up carefree with her mother. Intimately linked to her island, the young girl sees her bearings crumble when she learns that her paradise is doomed to disappear under water. As the waves threaten her home, Aya makes a decision: Lahou is her island; she will not leave her.
Azor by Andreas Fontana
With Fabrizio Rongione, Stephanie Cléau, Carmen Iriondo…
What is it about ? Yvan De Wiel, a private banker from Geneva, goes to an Argentina in the midst of a dictatorship to replace his partner who disappeared overnight. Between hushed lounges, swimming pools and gardens under surveillance, a remote duel between two bankers who, despite different methods, are accomplices in a form of discreet and ruthless colonization.