Anora, Flow, the cat who was no longer afraid of water, Juror n°2: what’s new at the cinema this week
What to see in theaters
THE EVENT
ANORA ★★★★☆
By Sean Baker
The essentials
Sean Baker continues to assert himself as a subtle painter of American marginals with this azimuthal variation on Pretty Womanwhere the immature son of a Russian oligarch took the place of Prince Charming. A burlesque odyssey, Palme d’Or in Cannes.
We can easily describe the 2024 Palme d’or as a modern and rude variation on Pretty Woman. The film recounts the meeting, then the complicated romance between Anora (Mikey Madison), a stripper and prostitute in a New York club, and a young Russian on a spree who becomes infatuated with her and invites her to his immense rich kid’s hut to spend, for $15,000, a few days in her company before deciding to marry her. A turning point in the film because the announcement of the marriage does not take long to reach the ears of the young man’s family, in Russia, who will arrive there to have everything canceled. Anora then turns into chaotic comedy in amphetes between Homeric fights, hysterical parentheses and a long trip into the New York night. We often think of Uncut Gems of the Safdie brothers, for this art of digression. The cinema of the 70s is not far away either, for the way in which cinematographer Drew Daniels’ very beautiful photo captures the coldness of winter. Because if Anora presents itself as a comedy, it’s the emotional power of its final act that really makes it worth its price.
Frédéric Foubert
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PREMIERE LIKED A LOT
FLOW, THE CAT WHO WAS NOT AFRAID OF WATER ★★★★☆
By Gints Zilbalodis
This wordless animated film features an adorable cat waking up in a world where humanity seems to have evaporated. We barely have time to question the reasons for this disappearance when a tidal wave engulfs a large part of the land. With the water only rising, the cat then finds refuge on a boat, the only chance of survival, with a group of disparate animals. Personalities immediately embodied by the astonishing realism of the noises and movements of the creatures, with minimalist 3D imagery that borrows from video games. This would be enough to nourish a Disney-style tale from Northern Europe, but Zilbalodis imposes a tone of his own, light and serious at the same time, minimalist and massive, sensorial and dreamlike. And a fable sign, a great, moving and sincere one, about the power of the collective but also a little about the uselessness of our species, even its responsibility in the collapse of the world.
François Leger
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FIRST TO LIKE
JUROR N°2 ★★★☆☆
By Clint Eastwood
Justin (Nicholas Hoult), a good young man in all respects, finds himself a jury in a highly publicized murder case. The accused, a violent man, allegedly killed Kendall, his partner, after an argument in a bar. For the prosecutor, it’s an ideal case. The culprit has been found, and this trial will be able to boost his electoral campaign. Except that the more Justin listens to the testimonies, the more complicated it becomes: the evening of the murder, he was in the bar in question and on his way home, he hit something that he took for a deer. What if it was Kendall? Fun rereading of 12 angry men, Juror number 2 is a courtroom drama which hides a twist. Eastwood remains faithful to his themes and his style. His character’s dilemma serves as his compass and he plays on a very economical register which will delight his fans. Juror #2 will he be the ultimate Eastwood? In any case, there is nothing testamentary in this playful and profound film which examines justice as a system and a moral ideal.
Peter Lunn
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ON A WIRE ★★★☆☆
By Reda Kateb
Since its beginnings 15 years ago in A prophetReda Kateb has never ceased as an actor to explore universes where we did not necessarily expect him. And the same goes for his first feature film as a director where he delves into the world of clowns for sick children through the prism of a young street artist who, after a serious injury, will rebuild herself and find meaning. to its existence. Kateb in fact 100% assumes the ultra-emotional register in which his story evolves, without trying to complicate it unnecessarily to “make himself an author”. There is in this limpidity, in this faith in the nobility of popular cinema which speaks to the heart, a bold gesture in our era of kingly cynicism. And the choice of its casting without a headliner (including Aloïse Sauvage, luminous in her first major role) and the discreet simplicity of a staging in the service of its subject testify to a sensitivity which avoids any sentimentality. A film in his image: rich and generous.
Thierry Cheze
THE ART OF BEING HAPPY ★★★☆☆
By Stefan Liberski
He always dreamed of being recognized for his works without glory ever coming to his door. So Jean-Yves, the painter, hero of the new Stefan Liberski (Bunker Paradise) decided to change his life and settle in a small Normandy town in order to find inspiration to create his masterpiece. You don’t need to be a soothsayer to understand that none of this will happen and that’s precisely what makes this portrait of a magnificent loser so special. Benoît Poelvoorde wonderfully embodies this skin-deep vulnerability, source of as many tender as burlesque moments, helped by the joyful band that accompanies him (François Damiens, Gustave Kervern, Camille Cottin, etc.) reveling in the situations born from the pen rich in Liberski’s fantasy. Like its anti-hero, this film is full of imperfections, including a tearful ending contradicting everything that has come before without damaging this air of sweet madness which makes the whole thing so endearing.
Thierry Cheze
TOTEM ★★★☆☆
By Lila Aviles
Life is sweet at seven years old. Except when illness knocks at the door. Little Sol knows: her father is going to die of cancer. The air is heavy, serious, suffocating. And yet, the whole family comes together to celebrate the birthday of the one who is one step closer to death. Look Totemit’s remembering an old childhood memory, the one where cousins jostle in a house that’s a little too small, where mothers and aunts carry all the mental load of the home, where the cake burns in the oven, where we are happy to have our first goldfish. But also, the one where the all too sensitive childhood will soon be damaged by mourning. All the bitterness of this beautiful film for children lies in this overwhelming observation: this celebration will be the last memory that Sol will have of his father. It is even possible to hear, in the distance, the sound of a little heart breaking.
Lucie Chiquer
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FIRST TO MODERATELY LIKED
THE FALLBACK ★★☆☆☆
By Joseph Paris
Questioned by American news channels on the evening of November 13, human rights activist Yasser Louati was called upon by journalists to “condemn” the attacks in the name of Muslims in France. The first in a long list of racist incidents. And while France is sinking into a state of emergency and the search for an “internal enemy” (a term borrowed from the far right), director Joseph Paris here examines with a fine-tooth comb the identity jolts of the previous decade until the advent of powerful anti-Muslim racism. This necessary message, today carried by a growing number of intellectuals (including the writer Aurélien Bellanger) is unfortunately blurred by a noisy form, which overuses suspenseful music and black and white. So much so that we sometimes end up believing we are in a spy film with vaguely conspiratorial overtones.
Emma Poesy
FIRST DID NOT LIKE
RIVER ★☆☆☆☆
By Hugues Hariche
Manon, a hockey player who has recently arrived in Belfort in the hope of finding her father, crosses paths with a group of friends who are a bit of a daredevil. A good basis for coming-of-agewhich Hugues Hariche unfortunately spoils by the weakness of the writing of his female characters. By wanting to address lesbianism as much as sport or even mental health, he gets confused and ends up making banalities.
Lucie Chiquer
And also
Venom: The Last Dance, by Kelly Marcel
The Covers
The Chained, by Alfred Hitchcock
Rebekah, by Alfred Hitchcock
Shaun of the dead, by Edgar Wright
When we were kings, by Leon Gast
