Sacreblue! x SBS
The April Selection
Every month, Sacreblue! highlights francophone films from the SBS catalogue.
These movies will be available for the whole month for free on SBS On Demand.
Here is our April selection of SBS French films, cuddle up on the couch for a cozy movie night!
Back Home / Revenir (2020)
Cast: Niels Schneider, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Patrick d’Assumçao, Roman Coustère Hachez, Hélène Vincent
Genre: Drama
Back Home won the award for Best Screenplay at the 2019 International Venice Film Festival, it includes stellar performances from lead actors Niels Schneider and Adèle Exarchopoulos, displaying emotional honesty and psychological nuance.
French drama Back Home is the very embodiment, and an honourable one, of what distributors mean when they say a ‘small film’ – in other words, one that they like but can’t easily see themselves pitching to a paying public. The second feature by writer-director Jessica Palud – following 2013’s Les Yeux Fermés – is a quietly moody rural drama of the sort that is the bread and butter of French art cinema. Its strong suits are its performances, its emotional honesty and, at 77 minutes, it is refreshingly concise. While it may be too intimate and narratively low-key to score highly except with hardcore adepts of Gallic psychological realism, its integrity and confidence make you wonder what Palud might achieve if she gets to tackle a third film on a slightly bolder scale.
By Jonathan Romney, 3 September 2019, Screendaily
Head to the Screendaily website to read the whole film critique.
Watch it on SBS on Demand here.
The Rose Maker / La Fine Fleur (2020)
Director: Pierre Pinaud
Cast: Catherine Frot, Fatsah Bouyahmed, Manel Foulgoc, Olivia Côte, Marie Petiot, Vincent Dedienne, Rukkmini Ghosh, Serpentine Teyssier, Pasquale d’Inca
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Eve is one of France’s greatest artisanal horticulturalists, but her rose business is business facing imminent bankruptcy or liquidation. When her secretary hires three inexperienced ex-convicts, they must team up to rescue the business in this verdant comedy.
The Rose Maker is a feel-good comedy, achieving a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film highlights France’ strong artisanal and agricultural perosna, featuring renowned French actrice, Catherine Frot.
Watch it on SBS on Demand here.
Me, Myself and Mum / Les Garçons et Guillaume, à table ! (2013)
Director: Guillaume Gallienne
Cast: Guillaume Gallienne, André Marcon, Françoise Fabian, Nanou Garcia, Diane Kruger, Reda Kateb, Götz Otto, Brigitte Catillon, Carole Brenner,
Charlie Anson, Yvon Back, Renaud Cestre, Oscar Copp, Pierre Derenne
Genre: Comedy
Me, Myself and Mum is a 2013 French autobiographical coming-of-age comedy film written, directed by and starring Guillaume Gallienne. The film follows Guillaume as a boy as he develops his own identity and sexuality, as well as his relationship with his mother.
The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for 10 César Awards and won 5, including Best Film and Best First Feature Film. Despite its recognition, the film received mixed reviews due to its quirky and expermiental nature, making it teh perfect film to watch and debate with friends.
Read the film review by The Sydney Morning Herald here.
Watch the film on SBS on Demand here.
