1/2
France | Germany | Italy |Belgium 2021
Opening June 9, 2022
Directed by: Bruno Dumont
Writing credits: Bruno Dumont
Principal actors: Léa Seydoux, Blanche Gardin, Benjamin Biolay, Emanuele Arioli, Juliane Köhler
France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) faces a major upset in her life when she accidently drives into a young deliveryman; trying to correct the mistake unravels her own live at the seams. At first glimpse we see a glamourous young woman dressed in the most expensive clothing taking on the most difficult subject matter and conquering it all. France as a talk show host/journalist is willing to take measured risks which later reveal the fraudulent choices she has made in conjunction with her desire to be in the spotlight. The more we see her the less we like her, and the more absurd the film becomes.
Director Bruno Dumont clearly wants to critique the French mass media by focusing on this character. But somehow he seems to focus on the aesthetics and the cinematography too much, so the main intent of this film gives us a feeling of swimming in pea soup. This drama/black comedy had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and was among the films picked for Filmfest Hamburg in 2021. 134 min. ()