Kristen Stewart has teamed up with Olivier Assayas once again to bring us a ghost story called, Personal Shopper. Y'all know, I don't do ghost stories but I didn't realize that till the end of the trailer so I'm in for a reaaaal treat! Stewart was in Assayas' previous film Clouds of Sils Maria where she went to win the Cesar Best Supporting Actress Award, making her the first American actress to win a Cesar Award (French equivalent to the Oscars). Personal Shopper is a film that seems like it'll challenge Stewart to face certain demons while providing a dense story about loss. It comes out March 10th and so I still have time left to build up some courage to watch it!

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It's a long time coming but it's almost here! The official trailer for Mia Hansen-Løve's house music film, Eden is here! I had seen the film last November when it was screened at AFI FEST and even did a review with Sales on Film (watch here) where I rave about Hansen-Løve's portrayal of the real-life events that took place. Inspired by her brother Sven's career as a DJ (and co-writer), Mia constructs a beautifully simplistic yet refreshing take of a French DJ's career spanning twenty years, capturing the grim realities of adulthood as well as his rise and fall with swooning melancholia. This new U.S. cut of the trailer translates the film perfectly with serenading music provided by none other than Daft Punk. I had the extreme pleasure of interviewing Mia way back when about this film which is her fourth feature (read interview here). Broad Green Pictures will be releasing Eden on June 19th so get ready!

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Year: 2014
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve

Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve & Sven Hansen-Løve

Cinematographer: Denis Lenoir

Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Hugo Conzelmann, Roman Kolinka, Vincent Macaigne, Greta Gerwig, 

Country of Origin: France

Rating: N/A

Time: 131 min.

Kristen Sales (Sales on Film) and I went to AFI FEST this past month and we were able to catch some of the same films together and so we decided to do the natural thing and record some reviews together. I also had the privilege of interviewing Mia about her fourth feature, Eden (see interview here) which chronicles 20 years of the life of a French DJ (Félix de Givry) who's credited with inventing "French Touch" or "French House" which was popularized in the 90s.

The beauty within Hansen-Løve's work is how she takes simple everyday stories in a person's life and is able to adapt it to screen with painstaking realism embedded into every scene. With it's naturalistic performances and precise camerawork, Hansen-Løve brings her stories about people and their passions alive. Paul, the French DJ is stuck in a phase of arrested development where the grim realities of adulthood hasn't kicked in and Eden captures his rise and fall with swooning melancholia. This isn't your average musically-driven, club-setting, DJ story but wholly shows the night and club lifestyle in unfiltered form. 

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- See more reviews at AFI FEST -

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Year: 2014
Director: Céline Sciamma
Writer: Céline Sciamma
Cinematographer: Crystel Fournier
Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré
Country of Origin: France
Rating: N/A
Time: 112 min.

Kristen Sales (Sales on Film) and I went to AFI FEST this past month and we were able to catch some of the same films together and so we decided to do the natural thing and record some reviews together. Starting off with Céline Sciamma's Girlhood (Bande de filles)  which is a breathtaking examination of social navigation and identity within Marieme's world as a young woman. Girlhood is booming with ferocious energy and daring performances that is complemented really well with it's cool electronic soundtrack. 

It is probably one of the best coming-of-age stories that is told in the backdrop of lower class Paris neighbors which features an all-Black cast of first-time actors starring with Karidja Touré who plays subdued teen Marieme. Sales and I both really love Sciamma's style and approach to storytelling that truly commands your attention to examine sexuality, identity, and society as seen in her previous works like Water Lilies and Tomboy. I hope you enjoy our review and come back for more reviews from AFI FEST this week!

Follow Kristen:

Blog // Twitter

 - See more reviews at AFI FEST -

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It's HERE! I can't believe Mommy is already the young Quebecois filmmaker, Xavier Dolan's fifth feature. Mommy tied the Jury Award at this year's Cannes with Jean-Luc Godard's Goodbye to Language 3D. And that's Godard so even a tie is a great accomplishment in itself! We all know that Dolan probably has some mommy issues considering his first film was I Killed my Mother (2009) which was  semi-autographical. And although, I have not seen his first feature yet, I can already tell his mother is a sensitive subject that he wants to tackle again and again. (But who doesn't mothers?! There's not enough films about them!)

Mommy stars Anne Dorval as a widowed mother of a violent, young teenage boy name Steve, played by Antoine-Olivier Pion. She finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household. Just watching the trailer, immediately you are drawn to the refreshing yet constricting format of the "instagram-sqaure." As much as I admire that format, I enjoy that much more seeing the vast landscape and wide scenery especially  in Dolan's films, knowing that he most likely will tap into his iconic visual style to show many enthralling and transcending scenes complemented with bursts of color! 

This film is Canada's official entry to the Oscars and I hope it wins even though I haven't even seen Nuri Vilge Ceylan's Winter Sleep which won the Cannes' Palme d'Or. I really am speaking too soon because hello?! I haven't even seen either of the films! Regardless, the excitement for these foreign films is real and I hope I get to see them soon. Luckily, Roadside Attractions is bringing Mommy to U.S. screens beginning of 2015! See you then!

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Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo is one of the film I've been anticipating to make it to the U.S. market. Good thing Drafthouse Films acquired it and will be releasing it in July! If it has Gondry's name + romantic theme, I am LIT.ER.ALLY all over that like peanut butter on jelly! The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is hands down one of my favorite films ever! With it's moody cinematography, innovative mis-en-scene, mind twistingly brilliant storyline, and idiosyncratic performances by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, it's no wonder why I love Gondry's unparalleled and creative vision!

Mood Indigo is an adaptation of the 1947 novel Froth on the Daydream by Boris Vian. This is a surreal and poetic tale of Colin (Romain Duris), an idealistic and inventive young man who meets Chloe (Audrey Tautou) and falls in love. Shortly after they get married, Chloe becomes diagnosed with an unusual illness cause by a flower growing in her lungs. Gondry seems to be tackling a more delicate subject of love and death which almost always will make me bawl from just a shot of someone crying alone (the fEeEeELz)! Mood Indigo seems like the ultimate tragic love story but from what I hear, it is a visual masterpiece like his other films. I simply cannot wait to see another powerfully tragic  love story that embodies all of his thematic quirkiness of infectious whimsical imagery and heart-swooningly offbeat characters. Mood Indigo comes out July 18th.

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Kristin from Sales on Film and I review Rebecca Zlotowski's Grand Central starring Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color). One cay say that this film is an atomic kind of film considering that it takes place at a Nuclear plant with a juxtapositioning story of an equally dangerous love affair. Although, there are some technical things I liked about this film, this soap opera kind of story was just bland and uninventive. I guess it's just nice to see attractive people getting it on.

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Year: 2012

Director: Leo Carax

Cast: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes

Country of Origin: France, Germany

Rating: NR

Time: 115 mins.

Holy Motors is in the limited and elite category of films that is recognized and revered more for its innovative story than its actual execution. So rarely are there films that can truly sweep and intoxicate the audience with its sheer audacity in storytelling. Sadly, I had not heard of Leo Carax till Holy Motors came out last year as it was the subject of much hype during Cannes Film Festival and AFI-FEST. And to my surprise, I had seen his work Merde in the cinematic triptych Tokyo! back in 2008, along with other shorts by Bong Joon-Ho and Michel Gondry. In Merde, his long time collaborator Denis Lavant appears as this socially inept creature who roams and terrorizes the city, devouring flowers left at graves and smoking incessantly with his disfigured fingers.  And in Holy Motors, not only is he a one man show that transforms himself into more than a dozen characters but he resurrects his previously monstrous role from Merde. 

I had only seen Denis Lavant previously in Merde and then again as Charlie Chaplin in Harmony Korine's outrageously idiosyncratic film Mister Lonely. But when witnessing Lavant transform into different types of people with extremely distinct personalities, it is jawdroppingly convincing it makes you wonder if any other prestigious actor would be able to possess and accomplish what Lavant has just done on screen for the entirety of the film without missing a beat. Maybe given the opportunity, possibly even Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis would be able to pull off a stunt like this but even then, I'll only believe it when I see it. At only 5'3, Lavant is larger than life with his talent and performance bursting at the seams, ready to give more notably revered thespians a run for their money and probably win!

In the beginning of the credit, Kylie Minogue's name appears which made me question if it is in fact the same Kylie Minogue that we all know. After patiently waiting till the end of the credits, I had not seen anyone who had remotely resembled the 90's pop star that I once danced along with on MTV. With the help of the rewind button, I had realized that she had completely disappeared into her character because of the make-up of old age and of course, decent acting. It seems as though the French have been dominating in the genre of absurdist surrealism. Or maybe I'm just generalizing considering I just saw Quentin Dupieux's Rubber only a week ago. But they do share many of the same filmic qualities and it must be noted that the French really know how to create such worthwhile surrealist films that can even surpass Luis Bunuel's filmmaking antics. With such homages to classic films, like Eyes Without a Face, it is a downright pleasure to say that Holy Motors is a wholly wild and courageous experience that should not be missed. B+

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White Material (2009, Claire Denis)

Radio Host: As for the white material, the party's over. No more cocktails on shaded verandas while we sweat water and blood. They're getting out and they're right to run scared. Our rulers are already trembling.

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