On Audrey Diwan’s ‘Happening’ (‘L’événement’)
Hearing about a new film adaptation of an Annie Ernaux book always makes me nervous. Her texts are so committed…
Passion Imperfect: On Danielle Arbid’s Simple Passion
Midway through Simple Passion (2020) the protagonist, Hélène, played with studied poise by Laetitia Dosch, announces to her lover, “I…
The Impossible Profession: On Justine Triet’s ‘Sibyl’
In Promises, Promises, Adam Phillips writes, “When people need a new question to ask of themselves, then it may be…
No Year of Rest and Relaxation: On Emily Atef’s ‘Three Days in Quiberon’
Near the end of Emily Atef’s Three Days in Quiberon (2018), a cinematic snapshot of the life of Romy Schneider,…
Ordinary Devotion: The Seduction of Normalcy in Chantal Akerman’s ‘No Home Movie’
Chantal Akerman’s final film, No Home Movie, opens with an image of a tree in the Israeli desert, being buffeted…
A Drama of Access: On Sebastián Lelio’s ‘A Fantastic Woman’
At the recent Academy Awards A Fantastic Woman pulled off the historic double feat of claiming both the first-ever Oscar…
Between the Ingénue and the Heroine: on Sandrine Bonnaire’s ‘Marianne Faithfull: Fleur d’Âme’
Sandrine Bonnaire possesses a face which, in its planar, geometric architecture, seems designed to be in front of the camera,…