Girlhood evokes Kidulthood and Adulthood, the seminal British films about young black urban experience. But whereas Noel Clarke’s films were raw, hit-and-miss affairs, director Céline Sciamma's Girlhood is more than just a political statement about straitened opportunities or a moving female-centric relationship drama. Ravishingly shot in Cinemascope, it is a work of cinematic art.
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Starring Ludivine Sagnier and Lola Lasseron and based on the famous French comic book series, Lou! tells the charming, funny story of a creative 12-year-old who lives alone with her mother in an orange building. Here, she hangs out with her best friend Mina, and Tristan, a neighbour with whom she has been in love since kindergarten.
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
This new French thriller (aka La prochaine fois je viserai le coeur) retells the story of a manhunt that swept across northern France in the late 1970s, as a serial killer went on the rampage targeting women. Guillaume Canet plays a gendarme on the hunt for the elusive murderer. As the investigation proceeds, the identity of the so-called “tueuer de l’Oise” becomes uncomfortably clear.
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
French comic star Manu Payet (The Players) directs and stars in this romantic comedy for the 21 st century with laughs galore, starring Entourage star Emmanuelle Chriqui. Ben, aged 30, is about to marry Juliette. But his quiet little life is turned on its head when he runs into the person whom he secretly wanted to see more than anyone: Vanessa, the high-school sex bomb who never gave him a second glance. She’s back in Paris now, and he’s the only person she knows…
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
French actor Lambert Wilson stars in this comedy-drama about a group of friends who have to confront the pitfalls of middle age. For his 50th birthday, Antoine receives a rather unpleasant gift: a heart attack. From now on, he’s going to have to start being more careful. But Antoine has spent his whole life being careful. Now Antoine wants to shake things up.
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Award-winning French novelist Michel Houellebecq makes spirited fun of himself in Guillaume Nicloux’s briskly enjoyable reality comedy. It is 16 September 2011. The TV news networks, newspapers, blogs, websites and radio stations are all reporting on one story: star author Michel Houellebecq, winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2010, has been abducted. For the next few days, the news ripples through literary circles and members of the press, feeding buzz and speculation. Houellebecq will never provide the media with any rational explanation for what happened to him.
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Featuring superb performances from leads Louise Bourgoin and Pierre Rochefort, Nicole Garcia’s latest film is an emotional drama about the complexity of family ties and the chemistry of attraction. Baptiste is a gifted primary teacher who is left in charge of Mathias one weekend by the child’s negligent father, the boy takes Baptiste to his mother Sandra. For one enchanted day, a powerful spell unites them. But it won’t last. Sandra owes money and she is forced to flee. To help her, Baptiste must return to the darkest, most painful secrets within him …
Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Based on the cult novel by Boris Vian and directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), Mood Indigo tells the surreal and poetic tale of Colin (Romain Duris) and Chloé (Audrey Tautou) and their idyllic love story. Set in a fantasy version of Paris, their romantic adventure is turned on its head when Chloé falls sick and discovers a water lily growing in her lung. Mood Indigo is in cinemas 1 August. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Funny and troubling, Smart Ass is from director Kim Chapiron (Dog Pound). The dean of a business school tells students: “Soon the rules of a market economy will no longer be a mystery to you. Learn, work and apply." Kelly, Dan and Louis take him at his word. Starting from the theory that relationships can be regulated by market principles, they inflate the popularity of students artificially, and soon confront the problems of rapid growth. Then the system escapes their control. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Featuring electrifying performances from Léa Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour) and Tahar Rahim (A Prophet), Grand Central is Rebecca Zlotowski’s second film after Belle Épine (2010). In cinemas 18 July. After a succession of odd jobs, Gary is taken on at a nuclear power plant. There, he finds money, a team, a family. But the team includes Karole, Toni’s wife, with whom he falls in love. Forbidden love and radiation contaminate Gary. Each day is menacing. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Philippe Garrel’s Jealousy explores the lives of two theatre actors, Louis (Louis Garrel) and Claudia (Anna Mouglalis) struggling to make ends meet with little work between them. When their passionate affair ends with infidelity on both sides, Louis discovers that his sacrifices might not have been worth it, leaving him poorer in more ways than one. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Chinese Puzzle is the third in a series of films by Cédric Klapisch. In cinemas now. No need to have seen L'Auberge Espagnole (2002) or Russian Dolls (2005) to enjoy this human depiction of modern life. In Chinese Puzzle, Romain Duris (Xavier) follows his ex-wife and two kids to New York, is persuaded by an immigration lawyer to marry a random girl, agrees to donate sperm to a childless lesbian friend, and faces a dilemma when an old flame (Audrey Tatou) re-enters his life. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
Luc Jacquet (March of the Penguins) has teamed up with celebrated French botanist Francis Hallé on a spectacular journey into the heart of the tropical jungle. Filmed in the Amazonian and Congo rain forests, Once Upon a Forest draws on a vast fund of research and uses the latest technology – drones, ultra-sharp telephoto lenses, and blimp-borne rafts – to chart the secret lives of the trees that are literally at the root of all life on earth. In cinemas now. Photograph: STUDIOCANAL
