Blue Is The Warmest Colour
2013 has been an incredibly year for French cinema as we have seen a whole host of movies perform incredibly well on the festival circuit.
One of those stand out movies comes in the form of Blue Is the Warmest Colour, which hits the big screen this week.
To celebrate the release of the movie we take a look at the French films that you have to have seen in 2013.
- Blue Is The Warmest Colour
Blue Is The Warmest Colour seems to be the perfect place to start as it is the move that just about everyone seems to be talking about.
The movie marks the return of Abdellatif Kechiche to the director's chair - his first film since Black Venues - as he teams up with actresses Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos.
Based on the novel by Julie Maroh, the film follows Adèle, a young woman whose longings and ecstasies and losses are charted across a span of several years. Emma is the older woman who excites her desire and becomes the love of her life.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour made everyone sit up and take note as it won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.
This is a raw and honest movie with two fantastic central performances from Seydoux and Exarchopoulos.
- Dans La Maison
François Ozon returned to the director's chair at the beginning of the year to helm Dan la Maison - which starred Fabrice Luchini, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ernst Umhauer.
Ozon always makes character driven movies, and that trend continues with this film as he brings the best out of his talented cast.
This is an incredibly intriguing movie that blurs the lines between what is real and what is a story as well as balancing comedic and intellectual elements incredibly effectively.
The script is incredibly witty and sharp as well as being funny and, in parts, quite emotional and hard hitting.
Dans La Maison won the main prize at the 2-12 San Sebastian International Film Festival.
- Populaire
Régis Roinsard made his feature film directorial debut this year with romantic comedy Populaire.
Set in 1950s France, Populaire is the extraordinary tale of Rose, a shopkeeper’s daughter who dreams of escaping the trappings of her small village and a lifetime of drudgery as a housewife.
While Rose may be a terrible secretary she is a demon typist. Her handsome boss resolves to turn her into the fastest girl in the world.
There is a fabulous retro feel as the director has really delivered on the visual side of things. This movie is bright and glossy and it really does look fantastic.
- Jeune Et Jolie
We have already looked at one François Ozon movie, and now we are going to take a closer look at another gem.
Jeune Et Jolie is the second film from Ozon in 2013, and we got the chance to see it at the BFI London Film Festival.
The movie follows the story of seventeen-year-old Isabelle (Marine Vacth) over a single year as she starts to explore her sexuality. It goes from losing her virginity to choosing a life of prostitution.
Ozon has delivered a movie that is both intelligently and beautifully told as well as shot, but is driven forward by an incredibly interesting central character; the young Marine Vacth is fantastic in the role of Isabelle.
The movie was in the running for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has gone on to play in Toronto and London this year.
- Venus in Fur
Roman Polanski has been behind some great movies over the years, and he was back in the director's chair in 2013 with Venus In Fur.
The movie was an adaptation of the play by David Ives and saw Polanski pen the screenplay.
An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production.
Polanski really has adapted this play to the screen with the minimum of fuss as he delivers a movie that is incredibly entertaining.
Venus In Fur premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour is released on 22nd November.