A prisoner without charges and a grumpy escapist: 5 bright films with French actors

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“Predators” (As bestas)
Denis Menoche

Antoine (Denis Menoche) and Olga (Marina Fois) move from France to the Spanish countryside. In a new place, a man buys a plot for growing vegetables and restores the destroyed neighbor’s houses. An ambitious outsider irritates the locals, and so begins the persecution of foreigners. But spouses are not going to be in the position of a victim.

Denis Menochet began acting in films in the early 2000s and for more than twenty years has managed to work with both Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”) and Francois Ozon (“Peter von Kant”). In Predators, he shows how a protest gradually awakens inside a calm and benevolent person against the hostile attitude towards him and his wife.

“Mauritanian” (The Mauritanian)
Tahar Rahim

In November 2001, two months after the worst terrorist attack in US history, Mohammed Ould Slahi (Tahar Rahim) was arrested as the prime suspect. Although the man never received official charges, the main reason for his imprisonment in Guantanamo was his connection with al-Qaeda and acquaintance with Osama bin Laden. Relatives of Mohammed, wishing to achieve a review of the case, turn to lawyer Nancy Holander (Jodie Foster) for help.

The psychological drama “The Mauritanian” by Scot Kevin McDonald is based on the autobiographical book of Mohammed Ould Slahi himself, who spent more than 14 years in prison. Tahar Rahim creates on the screen the image of a man exhausted, but not broken. During filming, the performer personally met Slakhy, lost 10 kilograms and even wore real handcuffs and shackles while filming in prison. The role earned Raheem a Golden Globe nomination.

“Beautiful era” (La Belle Époque)
Guillaume Canet

Victor Drumont (Daniel Auteuil) used to work for a newspaper where he created political cartoons. But there comes a time when paper publications die, and these comics are no longer needed on the Internet. A creative and family crisis exhausts a man, and it is at this difficult moment in his life that Antoine (Guillaume Canet), a childhood friend of his son, makes an unusual proposal. Drumont can become a client of his company, which reconstructs the pleasant events of the past. Without hesitation, Victor asks to recreate 1974 in Lyon, when he was young and successful.

In the “Belle epoch” by Nicholas Bedos, Daniel Auteuil personifies France of the 20th century, and Guillaume Canet, on the contrary, is a man of modern times. However, the man does not deny the past, but treats it with trepidation, because the bygone eras shaped his personality. Modern technology makes it possible to preserve the past. In this combination of classical and new culture, the director sees a way out of the crisis for Victor.

“Go!” (En roue libre)
Benjamin Voisin

Tired nurse Louise (Marina Fois) suffers from panic attacks. Another attack covers a woman when she is driving a car. Now it seems impossible for her to get out of the car – only within these limits does the heroine feel safe. By an absurd accident, the bandit Paul (Benjamin Voisin) decides to steal, but the guy does not suspect that Louise is in the back seat.

In Didier Barcelo’s roadmovie, two opposite characters collide – a quiet woman and an impulsive petty criminal. But gradually it becomes obvious that the characters are united by loneliness and a painful past. The audience probably remembered Benjamin Voisin from Francois Ozon’s nostalgic drama “Summer’85”. In “Let’s go!” the actor creates the image not of a leisurely handsome party-goer, but of a nervous and vulnerable person.

“This new world” (La croisade)
Louis Garrel

Wealthy spouses Abel (Louis Garrel) and Marianne (Letizia Casta) own an expensive house. Rare watches, cufflinks and branded vintage dresses are stored in the cabinets, and rare publications are on the bookshelves. But one day it turns out that part of the acquired property has disappeared. A teenage son sold old items that no one used to invest in an eco-project aimed at saving the Earth from destruction.

“This New World” is the third directorial work of Louis Garrel, in which the actor played the role of a wealthy Frenchman. In pursuit of the material, a man, together with his wife, does not have time to think about the spiritual. Having learned, what led the son, Abel gets the opportunity to reconsider his own life.