Larry Oliver Film Reviews

Pictured : Students at the Talent Campus practice 'conscious eating' in a scene from Jessica Hausner 's 2023 film, ' Club Zero '. (Still: Coop 99 ) Over the period 1 November 2023 and 31 October 2024, I watched and reflected upon a further fifty-two fiction films directed by women. 28 of these films had American finance. Six could be classed as British films. Three were French, a surprisingly low number given the number of French auteurs currently working. Two had Indian subjects, if not finance. Two were Belgian, another two Canadian (one in French, the other English). The remaining nine films were from Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Denmark, Germany, Morocco, Netherlands and Spain. Of the fifty-two, three movies officially grossed more than $100 million (either superhero sequels or spin-offs, namely Venom: The Last Dance , The Marvels and Madame Web ). One ( Yolo ) unofficially grossed this sum; Box Office Mojo does not offer reliable figures on Chinese movie...

Still courtesy of Vertical Releasing (US) When it comes to French history, I confess to regnal ignorance. Why so many Louis when two is enough? (‘Louie Louie’, sung by The Kingsmen.) I am grateful to writer-director-star Maïwenn for introducing me to Louis XV (1710-1774), as portrayed in her film Jeanne du Barry , a lavish spectacle in which the titular courtesan enchants the King in pre-revolutionary France. I also appreciated the exchange, ‘This is barbaric.’ ‘No, this is Versailles’, which counts as so bad it’s … bad. At one time, French films split the credit between scenario and dialogues. Here, among the screenwriters Maïwenn, Teddy Lussi-Modeste and Nicholas Livecchi, no one takes responsibility. But then there isn’t much dialogue, which works to the film’s advantage. Writers such as Moliere have spoilt us. We expect wit from French costume dramas. Here, we just get fashion – nouvelle Vogue rather than French New Wave. At one point, Jeanne (Maïwenn) attracts the comment, ‘she’...