french films – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE MARCHING BAND – Review by Leslie Combemale

August 16, 2026August 16, 2026 Leslie Combemale Benjamin Lavernhe, Emmanuel Courcol, french films, Pierre Lottin, the marching band

A world-class conductor connects with the brother he never knew, in the French dramedy co-written and directed by Emmanuel Courcol variously called The Marching Band, My Brother’s Band, and En Fanfare. It’s a sweet story that never quite dips into sentimentality or maudlin territory, while tackling issues like nature vs nurture, musical legacies, the power of privilege, and how the feeling of familial belonging can help heal the soul. An enjoyable little flick, The Marching Band will likely have you reaching out to call your siblings or closest found family just to let them know what they mean to you.

Reviews

MOVIE OF THE WEEK Archive: PETITE MAMAN (April 22, 2022)

July 7, 2026July 12, 2026 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Céline Sciamma, french films, Gabrielle Sanz, jennifer merin, Joséphine Sanz, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Nina Meurisse, Petite Maman, sandie angulo chen, Stéphane Varupenne

Quietly emotional and tenderly sincere, Petite Maman is a poignant tale about loss, connection, and growing up. Blending gentle fantasy elements with grounded, naturalistic performances, writer-director Céline Sciamma tells the story of 8-year-old Nelly, whose parents take her with them to clear out her mother’s childhood home after the death of her beloved grandmother. To her surprise, she finds much more waiting for her there than her mother’s old books and playthings.

Festivals Reviews

GARANCE (Cannes 2026) – Review by Diane Carson

May 21, 2026May 21, 2026 Diane Carson Adèle Exarchopoulos, alcoholism, Another Day, Cannes 2026, french films, Garance, Jeanne Herry, palme d'or, Sara Giraudeau

As Garance proves many times over, the life of an alcoholic is a disaster for her family, her friends, and her own life. Knowing the statistics on this disease, there is no question that everyone knows or is part of that unfortunate group. As a case in point, French writer/director Jeanne Herry’s Garance/Another Day presents a prime example of a temporarily, moderately functioning alcoholic.

Festivals Reviews

A FEW WORDS OF LOVE (Cannes 2026) – Review by Diane Carson

May 16, 2026May 17, 2026 Diane Carson A Few Words of Love, Cannes 2026, Ella Bedoucha, french films, Hafsia Herzi, Nour Salam, Quelques Mots d'Amour, Rudi Rosenberg, Un Certain Regard

Writer/director Rudi Rosenberg’s A Few Words of Love/Quelques Mots d’Amour is a heartbreaking film that delivers as many laugh out loud moments as the best comedies. Rosenberg’s witty script manages a high wire act of a devastating family issue balanced throughout by humorous repartee, much of that involving seven-year-old and then fourteen-year-old Abigaëlle, called Abi. The serious side of the story centers on Abi’s obsession with finding and talking with her one hundred percent absent father, a man who, in his own words, “never wanted a kid.”

Festivals Reviews

A WOMAN’S LIFE (Cannes 2026) – Review by Diane Carson

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026 Diane Carson A Woman's Life, Cannes 2026, Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, french films, Lea Drucker, Melanie Thierry, Noé Bach, palme d'or

Writer/director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s A Woman’s Life vibrantly explores the life of 55-year-old maxillofacial surgeon Gabrielle (a magnificent Léa Drucker) as she copes resourcefully with a rewarding, outstanding professional life. In contrast, her personal relationships inhabit a more tumultuous, complex realm. A Woman’s Life presents a refreshing, unusual portrayal of exactly what its title signifies.

Festivals Reviews

A PRIVATE LIFE (NYFF 2025) – Review by Margaret Barton-Fumo

September 30, 2025October 10, 2025 Margaret Barton-Fumo A Private Life, Daniel Auteuil, Frederick Wiseman, french films, Jodi Foster, NYFF 2025, Rebecca Zlotowski, Vie Privée

A Private Life is an engaging but purposefully jumbled film, following Jodi Foster’s Dr. Lilian Steiner, a confused expat psychoanalyst whose life turns upside-down when one of her patients unexpectedly commits suicide. Living and working in a gorgeous, book-filled Parisian apartment, Lilian tends to her patients distractedly, relying perhaps too heavily on her outdated mini-disc recorder. Abruptly dumped by her longstanding patient Pierre in favor of a hypnotist who apparently helped him quit smoking, Lilian handles the sudden rejection with a slightly befuddled ease—but when she discovers that another one of her patients, Paula has recently died, her reaction is more profound.

Reviews

THE ICE TOWER – Review by April Neale

September 25, 2025September 26, 2025 April Neale Clara Pacini, french films, Hans Christian Andersen, Lucile Hadžihalilović, Marion Cotillard, The Ice Tower, The Snow Queen

Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower is a haunting French adult fable about loss, obsession, and the perilous allure of fantasy. It is no straightforward narrative; it is a dark fairytale with all the below-the-line crafts working in an orchestrated manner to transport you, the viewer, to this place in time when you knew less about human nature. It is also about cinema’s power to enchant someone not immersed in the arts or fortunate to be surrounded by them, and the dangers of mistaking illusion for salvation. At once eerie and beautiful, it leaves you chilled, as if you have stepped into the ice realm yourself.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK September 26, 2025: FRENCH LOVER

September 21, 2025October 10, 2025 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, french films, French Lover, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, Lisa-Nina Rives, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Omar Sy, romcom, sandie angulo chen, Sara Giraudeau, sherin nicole

Kind of like a reverse, more empowered Notting Hill, director Lisa-Nina Rives’ appealing French romcom tells the story of the unlikely connection between a mega movie star and a regular person who is a matter-of-fact waitress/chef who’s not particularly intimidated by the trappings of fame. While you can’t exactly claim that it reinvents the romcom wheel, French Lover is sweet, fun, and refreshing in the way that Rives portrays her leading lady a clearly in control and rarely compromises who she is or what she wants.

Festivals Reviews

A PRIVATE LIFE (TIFF 2025) Review by Leslie Combemale

September 6, 2025September 6, 2025 Leslie Combemale A Private Life, Daniel Auteuil, french films, Jodi Foster, Rebecca Zlotowski, TIFF 2025, Vie Privée

A Private Life is a genre-bending mashup of an absurdist comedy, a romance, a murder mystery, and a surreal examination of self and mortality, It follows expat therapist Lilian as she falls down an emotional and intellectual rabbit hole, the result of losing a longterm client to suicide. A stoic woman who takes self control to the logical absurdity, she finds she can’t stop crying.

Festivals Reviews

DOSSIER 137 (Cannes FF 2025) – Review by Diane Carson

May 15, 2025May 17, 2025 Diane Carson 2018 Yellow Vests protests, Cannes FF 2025, Dominik Moll, Dossier 137, french films, Guslagie Malanda, IGPN (L'inspection générale de la police nationale), Lea Drucker, surveillance video

The crime drama Dossier 137 centers on a determined, ethical investigator. Set during and after the tumultuous December 2018 Yellow Vests protests in Paris and incorporating actual archival video footage from those events, it follows Stéphanie Bertrand, an IGPN (L’inspection générale de la police nationale) investigator basically the police who examine and decide if charges are warranted against officers guilty of criminal misconduct. These interrogators have little cooperation from their police colleagues and engender a great deal of resentment, as well as, at times, outright hostility. Stéphanie will not be deterred in her commitment to justice, but the circuitous path toward it will take a toll on her life.

← Previous