Paul Guilhaume – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE FIVE DEVILS – Review by Diane Carson

August 12, 2023August 13, 2023 Diane Carson Adèle Exarchopoulos, french films, Léa Mysius, Les Cinque Diables, Moustapha Mbenge, Paul Guilhaume, Sally Dramé, The Five Devils

French director Léa Mysius’ The Five Devils is enigmatic, at times compelling, but ultimately puzzling and disappointing. The story focuses on eight-year-old Vicky who possesses a hypersensitive sense of smell and an ability to mix powerful potions leaving individuals unconscious. She benefits from her ability to travel back in time where she learns unpleasant secrets of violent events. The title, The Five Devils, suggests a comment on the five central characters that, in the final analysis, are reconsidered in what appears to be a meaningful flashback. It didn’t work for me.

Reviews

THE FIVE DEVILS – Review by Nadine Whitney

February 27, 2023March 1, 2023 Nadine Whitney Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Mysius, Les Cinque Diables, Moustapha Mbenge, Paul Guilhaume, Sally Dramé, The Five Devils

Blending supernatural elements to tell the story of consuming love The Five Devils is a seductive and uneasy mystery that encompasses racism and homophobia, as well as the sadness that two people face when they are in a marriage that suits neither of them. Léa Mysius’ skills as a director are in full force in The Five Devils. The visuals are striking and haunting and complement the strangeness of their script.

Reviews

PARIS, 13TH DISTRICT – Review by Jennifer Green

April 8, 2022April 8, 2022 Jennifer Green Adrian Tomine, Céline Sciamma, Jacques Audiard, Les Olympiades Paris 13e, Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Noémie Merlant, Paris 13th District, Paul Guilhaume

Veteran director Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades, Paris 13e) is a beautiful film to look at, well-acted and full of commentary on a generation of contemporary Parisians. It does for the meandering lives and loves of thirty-something Parisians something akin to what Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World did for Norwegian millennials. What voids these young people are grappling to fill (or ignore) is left at least partially up for interpretation. Perhaps that’s why Paris‘s somewhat traditional – and satisfying – closure comes as a bit of a surprise.