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Young French film-makers opt for gritty realism Young French film-makers opt for gritty realism
(about 21 hours later)
A young generation of French film-makers is writing a new chapter of cinema history with a spate of films rooted in gritty reality.A young generation of French film-makers is writing a new chapter of cinema history with a spate of films rooted in gritty reality.
Two documentary-style films, which opened last week, are set in the crisis-hit port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and a bleak suburban housing estate outside Paris. In their latest offerings, the directors have tended to focus on young people and feature non-professional actors. They also speak about their common aim – to raise social awareness.    Two documentary-style films, which opened last week, are set in the crisis-hit port of Boulogne-sur-Mer and a bleak suburban housing estate outside Paris. In their latest offerings, the directors have tended to focus on young people and feature non-professional actors. They also speak about their common aim – to raise social awareness.
Is the latest trend a sign of a new “New Wave” in French cinema? Professor Raphaëlle Moine, who teaches cinema studies at the Sorbonne, notes the temptation for critics to see parallels with the films of Truffaut and Godard “every time something apparently new or different pops up in French cinema.” She argues that the latest batch of films from directors in their 30s is more reminiscent of the more overtly political “jeune cinéma français” of the mid-1990s, which also attracted comparisons with the Nouvelle Vague at the time. The themes of such films as La Haine, by Mathieu Kassovitz in 1995, were police repression and social exclusion. Is the latest trend a sign of a new “New Wave” in French cinema? Professor Raphaëlle Moine – who teaches cinema studies at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris 3 – notes the temptation for critics to see parallels with the films of Truffaut and Godard “every time something apparently new or different pops up in French cinema.” She argues that the latest batch of films from directors in their 30s is more reminiscent of the more overtly political “jeune cinéma français” of the mid-1990s, which also attracted comparisons with the Nouvelle Vague at the time. The themes of such films as La Haine, by Mathieu Kassovitz in 1995, were police repression and social exclusion.
Bande de Filles (Girls’ gang), which opened last Wednesday, is a coming of age film about a 16-year-old black girl named Marieme from the suburbs who drops out of school but is empowered by joining a gang of three other girls who steal, fight and dance. In one scene, set in a shabby hotel room presumably paid for with stolen cash, she gets up to dance to “Diamond” by Rihanna, wearing an electric blue dress on which the store’s security tag is still visible. Marieme – also known as Vic (for victory) – eventually leaves the tower block where her brother physically abused her but drifts from one marginal job to another. By the end of the film it’s clear that she wants to remain independent, but what is less clear is where she will end up.Bande de Filles (Girls’ gang), which opened last Wednesday, is a coming of age film about a 16-year-old black girl named Marieme from the suburbs who drops out of school but is empowered by joining a gang of three other girls who steal, fight and dance. In one scene, set in a shabby hotel room presumably paid for with stolen cash, she gets up to dance to “Diamond” by Rihanna, wearing an electric blue dress on which the store’s security tag is still visible. Marieme – also known as Vic (for victory) – eventually leaves the tower block where her brother physically abused her but drifts from one marginal job to another. By the end of the film it’s clear that she wants to remain independent, but what is less clear is where she will end up.
The director of Bande de Filles, Céline Sciamma, who directed the acclaimed 2011 film, Tomboy, explains that she wanted to use the four main characters “to keep working on youth issues and a coming of age narrative, but anchored in a political, French reality.”The director of Bande de Filles, Céline Sciamma, who directed the acclaimed 2011 film, Tomboy, explains that she wanted to use the four main characters “to keep working on youth issues and a coming of age narrative, but anchored in a political, French reality.”
There aren’t many laughs in Bande de Filles, which opened last week to audiences of more than 25,000. But Hippocrate, which has attracted audiences exceeding 800,000 since opening last month, has a more humorous take on the rite of passage: interns suffering from burnout in a crumbling French hospital. The film is about the experiences of Benjamin, who works in the same hospital unit as his father along with a foreign co-intern, Abdel, who is far more experienced than Benjamin.There aren’t many laughs in Bande de Filles, which opened last week to audiences of more than 25,000. But Hippocrate, which has attracted audiences exceeding 800,000 since opening last month, has a more humorous take on the rite of passage: interns suffering from burnout in a crumbling French hospital. The film is about the experiences of Benjamin, who works in the same hospital unit as his father along with a foreign co-intern, Abdel, who is far more experienced than Benjamin.
Hippocrate was shot in the same hospital where the director, Thomas Lilti, trained while a medical student, and real nurses and doctors appear in the film. “I knew I wanted to move away from the collective imagery of a hospital as shown in TV series,” he says.  “Particularly because the reality is very different.” Hippocrate was shot in the same hospital where the director, Thomas Lilti, trained while a medical student, and real nurses and doctors appear in the film. “I knew I wanted to move away from the collective imagery of a hospital as shown in TV series,” he says. “Particularly because the reality is very different.”
Like Sciamma, he wants to open people’s eyes to a problem – at the end of the film the interns are about to vote on strike action – but “Hippocrate isn’t a soap box.” Even so, President François Hollande and Paris city authorities were so interested in the film’s depiction of hospital life that they have organised showings for their staff.Like Sciamma, he wants to open people’s eyes to a problem – at the end of the film the interns are about to vote on strike action – but “Hippocrate isn’t a soap box.” Even so, President François Hollande and Paris city authorities were so interested in the film’s depiction of hospital life that they have organised showings for their staff.
Two other directors who had a surprise 2011 hit with The Intouchables, a film portraying the relationship between a quadriplegic aristocrat and his black carer, have returned with black actor Omar Sy in a film about the plight of illegal migrants. In Samba, the film directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache which opened earlier this month, Sy plays a Senegalese migrant opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in the role of a overstressed manager who seeks relief through charity work. Two other directors who had a surprise 2011 hit with The Intouchables, a film portraying the relationship between a quadriplegic aristocrat and his black carer, have returned with black actor Omar Sy in a film about the plight of illegal migrants. In Samba, the film directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache which opened earlier this month, Sy plays a Senegalese migrant opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in the role of a overstressed manager who seeks relief through charity work.
Moine suspects that the recession may have inspired the young directors to turn to such grim subject matter. But it remains to be seen whether they will be able to rival France’s biggest box office hit of the last few months. Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu? (what did we do to deserve this?), which deals with racial stereotyping, boasts audiences of more than 12 million since it came out in April. That film, however, is a comedy.Moine suspects that the recession may have inspired the young directors to turn to such grim subject matter. But it remains to be seen whether they will be able to rival France’s biggest box office hit of the last few months. Qu’est-ce qu’on a fait au Bon Dieu? (what did we do to deserve this?), which deals with racial stereotyping, boasts audiences of more than 12 million since it came out in April. That film, however, is a comedy.