APPLETON, WIS. — An eclectic mix of French cinema will be featured in the month-long Tournées Film Festival hosted by Lawrence University. The festival is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.
A total of five films — in French with English subtitles — will be shown three times each at 7 p.m. in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center auditorium. Admission is $4 for the general public, free for Lawrence faculty, students and staff. An informal discussion session led by a faculty member of the Lawrence French department will follow each Saturday evening screening.
Launched in 1995 by the French-American Cultural Exchange and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the Tournées festival provides colleges and universities access to new French films that are normally only distributed in major cities. Lawrence was awarded a grant to serve as a Tournées film series host institution for the third straight year.
The films and dates are as follows.
• Oct. 2-4 — Look at Me (“Comme une Image”), 2004, 110 min., Rated PG-13
Winner of best screenplay awards at the Cannes and Stockholm film festivals, the film paints a vibrant portrait of Parisian social life, including the undercurrent of backbiting and backstabbing that flows just beneath the glittering surface. The character-rich comedy follows 20-year-old Lolita, a stocky, dark-haired aspiring singer who is acutely aware she doesn’t fit into a world ruled by skinny blondes.
• Oct. 9-11 — Molière, 2007, 120 min., Not rated
A witty and suspenseful historical “fiction” that offers an explanation of the transformation of Jean Baptiste Poquelin from bankrupt and imprisoned theatre founder into the great French dramatist Molière.
• Oct. 16-18 — Delwende (“Delwende: lève-toi et marche”), 2005, 69 min., Not Rated
Winner of two Cannes Film Festival awards, this mother-daughter tale focuses on the injustice of some traditional African practices and women’s struggle for equality. Set in a small village in Burkino Faso and based on a true story, the film examines some traditional customs in Africa and the role women play in exposing the injustices perpetrated against them.
• Oct. 23-25 — The Duchess of Langeais (“Ne touchez pas la hache”) 2007, 137 min., Not Rated
Hailed as a “nearly impeccable work of art — beautiful, true, profound,” the film is set against the French Restoration, when hypocrisy, social niceties and appearances were the values of the day. A Duchess and a military general meet and instantly fall hopelessly in love with each other. But it is a doomed love, the Duchess bound by the rules of Parisian society and the general a free spirit unwilling to play games.
• Oct. 30-Nov. 1 — Heartbeat Detector (“La Question humaine”) 2007, 144 min. Not Rated
A psychologist in charge of human resources within a German multinational discovers company ties to the Holocaust. When he finds out he is being manipulated by the company, he confronts chilling questions about today’s society and the structures of modern big business.
