France

Promising premise, terrible execution. It feels like there was never a script, just some nice locations where someone said "Hey! This would look good! Let's shoot here! We'll figure out where it fits later. Or not."

Unlike its trailer/loglines, this film widely misses the mark as a skewering of image-centered "journalists", infotainment and the like, areas so ripe for the satire which is so badly needed in today's media-centric world. What a missed opportunity!

Fortunately the actor Blanche Gardin can improv or at least deliver some lines well; otherwise.... Also, did they fire the editor? Loooooooooong shots that were really, really unnecessary, contributing nothing but boredom. In fact, it starts to be risible. The relentless pathway eventually seems so ludicrous, one can only start laughing at the incongruities.

I suggest watching with a shot of spirits; every time France cries, take a shot. You'll be drunk in about 10 minutes-- which is not even a good excuse for watching this -- and comatose by the end. And you'll be missing nothing. Shame because Lea Seydoux has been rather good in many good films; who knows what happened here: bad choice? Coercion?

Recap: No script or at least nothing to say, bad editing, scenes that are long and drawn-out for no reason, and even a couple of actors who have all the personaity and intrigue of a plastic spoon (i'll name no names). Make it a definite miss; catch The French Dispatch (or indeed, anything else) instead.

Bruno Dumont tells the story of a television journalist and presenter. To show us what goes on behind the scenes, the way these journalists operate, their lack of humanity, the staging, their selfishness despite the showcase they present. But also the character of Léa Seydoux, who carries the film, whom Bruno Dumont paints with her contradictions, her complexities, her changing moods. This makes the character almost endearing, not at all monolithic, which we as viewers can't judge, given the number of contradictions in her character.

The mix of professional and amateur actors works perfectly, providing a real anchor that gives density to the subject.

We can only admit that the strings are thick: the film is devoid of subtlety. This is always the case with Bruno Dumont. But the trick with the laptop resting on the joystick that plays the commentary is really a screenwriter's trick, not believable for a second. This penalizes the film as a whole.

It's worth noting that all Léa Seydoux's scenes with her husband, Benjamin Biolay, are the best in the film, whether as a couple or in a group with other people.

All in all, Bruno Dumont gets his messages and criticisms across well, while inviting reflection in which not everything is black and white.

Otherwise you'll loose the chance to see how great actress Lea Seydoux is and how old France is struggling with current societal collaps. The rest are just stage props.

The director must love Lea, as both the scenario and the way he set the stage leverage her acting performance in a way I couldn't see from the time of major Hollywood tales.

Quite disapointed by the people who rated 1 star. You spent 2 hours watching someone elses' work and decided it worth just one star. This should be discused in therapy, not here.

Nothing more to say, but needed to complete this minimum number of characters.

"Such faux-naivety shows Dumont's tricksy proclivity to go against the grain for characterization, he distances France from a realistic, complex character, then magnifies her every banal emotion beat from her easily processed headspace to the extreme of absurdity. France has no tact in fending off life's caprices, her guilt (after injuring an immigrant delivery man), her rage (a romance with a fellow resident in an expensive sanitarium turning out to be a hoax), her grief (a road tragedy shot in disturbingly long and slo-mo details), never reach far to get audience's sympathy. France de Meurs might be read as a symbol of France the country, all glossy and haute-couture-y, but troubled by the immigrant crisis, deluded by the deceptive wooing parties and dreading disaster can be detonated at any minute and much more."

read my full review on my blog: Cinema Omnivore, thanks.

France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) is a famous TV news host and she's a celebrity. She skillfully stages her warzone interviews and always puts herself in the middle. She juggles her busy professional life with her family life. She's at fault in a minor car accident and she starts spiraling.

The movie meanders along too long. It's not only the over two hours running time. The story keeps going and going. When the accident happens, I figured the story would pivot around that. I even thought that the family would scam her and make it an even bigger media circus. It seems to be making Baptiste as the brooding teenager ready to make her life miserable. Then those characters fade away. The affair at the retreat is an extra thing that extends the story. At some point, I want the movie to end. It overstays its welcome and I get antsy in the seat. I do like her staging of her interviews. Her accident could be poetic justice if the accident was staged. That's why it's a better central issue.