FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

Cinema 3 Shangri La Cineplex
June 8-17
FREE ADMISSION

LIST OF FILMS:

Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) by Luc Besson
Animation/Adventure/Family/Fantasy
Ten-year-old Arthur, in a bid to save his grandfather's house from being demolished, goes looking for some much-fabled hidden treasure in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

Fair Play (2006) by Lionel Bailliu
Thriller
Even if I am French, I am not a fanatical "french cinema lover". I think that too often french directors have more pretensions than real abilities. But, Fair Play is really a good film for those who, like me, have had difficult relationships in their job environment. Things are a little bit "over the top" in this movie, for sure. But the actors are so good... Give it a try, if you want to see how intelligence can mesh today with satirical criticism. Eric Savin is a real "ego monster" cruel and seductive. Benoit Magimel is without a doubt one of the more promising young french actors. Marion Cotillard gives a great performance too, playing a complex secretary, half shy and fearful, half aggressive and selfish. And, of course, Lionel Bailiu knows how to film. He does it like an entomologist watching his poor creatures fighting against the harshness of a meaningless existence.

Gamblers (2005) by Frederic Balekdjian
Crime Drama
Vahé, Sahak, and Toros run a bonneteau game on the streets of Paris. They're Lebanese French. Vahé also works with his father, a cloth merchant, and is in love with Lu Ann, Chinese French, who's broken off their affair. Vahé wants to make things right: with Lu Ann, with his father's business, and with Yuen, Lu Ann's younger brother, who's on the edge of delinquency and owes money to the gang who arranged his passage from China. Vahé tries to be like a father to Yuen, teaching him a work ethic. When Yuen impetuosity puts his own life in jeopardy, Vahé tries to save him. Are Vahé's impulses and hopes to die on the streets of Paris?

March of the Penguins (2005) by Luc Jacuet
Documentary
A look at the annual journey of Emperor penguins as they march -- single file -- to their traditional breeding ground.

Not There to be Loved (2005) by Stephane Brize
Comedy Drama Music Romance
Jean-Claude is 51 and weary. Since his divorce he has been leading a lonely, cheerless life. His job does not help him. Indeed, as a "huissier de justice" his everyday task consists in bringing despair into the homes of those who can't pay their rent, announcing eviction and/or property seizure. His depressing Sunday afternoons are invariably spent in the retirement home of his old father, a sour, never-satisfied pain in the neck. A glimmer of hope could come from the dance studio across his office. This is a place specializing in tango lessons. One day, Jean-Claude decides to enroll. There, he meets charming young Françoise and both click. The trouble is that Françoise is about to marry.

OSS 117 (2006) by Michel Hazanavicius
Adventure / Comedy
Secret agent OSS 117 is stupid, but at least he sort of knows it, whereas I've always found that James Bond was stupid but acted like a smart arse. Dialogue is witty with a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour that one would expect from a British rather than a French movie. The women and the music are beautiful. A refreshing trip into the past, when the bad guys were ex-Nazis or Soviet brutes, cars were shiny, and France had colonies!

Sequins (2004) by Eleanore Faucher
Drama
When Claire learns that she is five months pregnant at the tender age of 17, she decides to give birth anonymously. She finds refuge with Madame Melikian, an embroiderer for haute couture designers. And, day by day, stitch by stitch, as Claire's belly grows rounder, the threads of embroidery create a filial bond between them.

The Ax (2005) by Costa-Gavras
Comedy Crime Drama Thriller
The thirty-nine years old executive Bruno Davert has been working for fifteen years in a paper company. After a merging operation with a Romania's company, he is fired in a downsizing. While unemployed for two years, Bruno loses his self-esteem and sanity and his family loses the middle-class lifestyle without cable television, Internet and regular consumption. He concludes that there is too much competition in his sector for a few job positions and decides to literally eliminate his competitors, killing those more qualified than him.

The Little Lieutenant (2005) by Xavier Beauvois
Crime Drama
When a fresh young police academy graduate from provincial Le Havre volunteers for the high pressure world of the Parisian homicide squad, his schoolteacher wife is reluctant to go with him. He moves into a rooming house that caters to single cops as he embraces his fellow officers as an extended family. He becomes close to an Arab officer and his boss, a very professional but lonely, middle-aged female detective who is also a recovering alcoholic. Routine police procedure gives way to an intensive search among the city's homeless for an undocumented Russian immigrant who may be responsible for a series of violent crimes.

Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006) by Tom Tykwer
Crime Drama Thriller
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of eighteenth century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

SKED:

June 8 (F)
1:00 PM Perfume
3:30 PM Arthur
6:00 PM The Ax
8:30 PM Gamblers

June 9 (Sa)
1:00 PM Arthur
3:30 PM Lieutenant
6:00 PM Penguins
8:30 PM Sequins

June 10 (Su)
1:00 PM Penguins
3:30 PM Not Here
6:00 PM Perfume
8:30 PM The Ax

June 11 (M)
1:00 PM Sequins
3:30 PM Not Here
6:00 PM The Ax
8:30 PM Penguins

June 12 (Tu)
Tribute to Philippine Cinema

June 13 (W)
1:00 PM The Ax
3:30 PM Gamblers
6:00 PM Sequins
8:30 PM Arthur

June 14 (Th)
1:00 PM Penguins
3:30 PM The Ax
6:00 PM Fair Play (Discussion with Lionel Bailliu willbe followed)

June 15 (F)
1:00 PM Not Here
3:30 PM Sequins
6:00 PM Arthur
8:30 PM Perfume

June 16 (Sa)
1:00 PM The Ax
3:30 PM Perfume
6:00 PM Fair Play
8:30 PM Gamblers

June 17 (Su)
1:00 PM Arthur
3:30 PM Lieutenant
6:00 PM Not Here
8:30 PM Penguins