swiss french films – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THUNDER – Review by Jennifer Green

October 23, 2023October 23, 2023 Jennifer Green Carmen Jaquier, Foudre, Lilith Grasmug, Marin Atlan, Oscar submission, swiss french films, Thunder

Thunder (Foudre), Switzerland’s official submission to this year’s International Feature Film Oscar, is an enigmatic and beautifully filmed period piece that could entice viewers (and the Academy) with its mixed-up tale of sexual desire and religious faith. Director Carmen Jaquier and cinematographer Marin Atlan revel in the beauty of the Swiss Alps, and setting the film in 1900 allows for a paring down of visual distractions to just the countryside, the people and spectacular nature.

Reviews

CALAMITY, A CHILDHOOD OF MARTHA JANE CANNARY – Review by Leslie Combemale

December 30, 2020December 30, 2020 Leslie Combemale animation, Annecy Festival, calamity jane, Florencia Di Concilio, Martha Jane Cannary, Rémi Chayé, swiss french films

Animator extraordinaire Rémi Chayé’s Calamity, A Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary won Annecy Festival’s coveted Cristal Best Feature Award at Annecy Festival. Annancy fest’s highest honor. The colorful and arty film broadly imagines the pre-teen adventures of the girl who would grow up to be Calamity Jane, following her on her journey into the West, as she starts out on a wagon train with her father and siblings, gets herself into all sorts of trouble, and discovers herself and a few of her singular talents in the process.