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Cédric Klapisch has showcased Paris before in the 2008 film of the same name and the city gets to strut its stuff again in two distinctive time periods in his latest soufflé-light but satisfying quasi-costume drama. In the present, the three distant branches of a large extended family have been brought together by an unexpected inheritance. The small Normandy cottage once owned by their predecessor Adèle Meunier is wanted by developers who plan to create a state-of-the-art shopping mall – an elaborate description of which is one of the many modern-day vagaries Klapisch torches along the way, in the manner of a drive-by shooting.

Members of the family must be there when the cottage is opened. Urged on by his grandfather (François Chattot) young vidoegrapher/’content’ creator Seb (Abraham Wapler) goes along, with anti-capitalist beekeeper Guy (Vincent Macaigne), Abdel (Zinedine Soualem), a teacher on the brink of retirement, and stressed-out high...

Kathryn Bigelow’s underappreciated “Strange Days” features a line that goes something like “The issue isn’t whether you’re paranoid. The issue is whether you’re paranoid enough.” Although that film is set in 1999, it’s an aphorism that would work equally well in Stéphan Castang’s fun, violent, high-concept “Vincent Must Die,” as a punchy summation of post-pandemic — rather than pre-millennial — nervousness and malaise. Who among us has not gazed in dismay at a world that’s not just increasingly bad-tempered, but seems to hold against each one of us some focused, individual grudge? The times have doubtless always been bad, but they hit (and hit and hit) differently now, like this time, it’s personal.

Vincent is initially not paranoid enough/at all. A bit uninspired, perhaps. Low-level depressed, possibly. And carrying his inevitable thirtysomething disillusionment in a little schlub around the midriff, for sure. But not...

Recently split from his co-worker girlfriend, Vincent (Karim Leklou) is having a bad day at the office. First, a young intern batters him over the head with a laptop, and then Yves from accounting stabs him savagely with a pen. And after a meeting with human resources, the poor guy is left with the curious feeling that, somehow, he deserved it. Even his shrink, who has a print of J.M.W. Turner’s ironic masterpiece “The Fighting Temeraire” on his wall, thinks so, planting further seeds of doubt in Vincent’s mind. “I think you’re looking for attention from those who attack you,” he decides.

Vincent’s “crime” is to make eye contact, and after a further series of interactions — notably with a middle-aged female motorist, who tries to run him down, and, crucially, his upstairs neighbor’s young children — Vincent drops everything and heads to his family’s country home.

Nine titles announced for Berlinale, which runs Feb 7-17.

The first films have been announced for the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival Competition and Berlinale Special sections.

The Competition line-up includes new films by Fatih Akin (The Golden Glove), François Ozon (By the Grace of God) and Denis Côté (Ghost Town Anthology).

The other three films in the strand are Marie Kreutzer’s The Ground Beneath My Feet, Angela Schanelec’s I Was at Home, but and Emin Alper’s A Tale of Three Sisters. All are world premieres except By the Grace Of God which is an international premiere.

The...

The Berlin Film Festival has revealed the first wave of titles for its competition lineup, including new films from François Ozon, Marie Kreutzer, Denis Côté and Fatih Akin. Charles Ferguson’s Watergate documentary is among the Berlinale Special titles.

The first nine Competition and Berlinale Special films were revealed today, alongside the previously announced opening film, The Kindness of Strangers by Lone Scherfig.

Festival favourites Akin (In The Fade) and Ozon (In The House) return with German-language thriller The Golden Glove and French-language drama By The Grace Of God, respectively. The former follows a serial killer who strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s. The latter looks at a real-life case of sexual abuses allegedly committed by a French priest in the late 1980s. Oscar-winner Ferguson (Inside Job) will present anticipated 260-minute feature doc Watergate, which is sure to draw plenty of contemporary parallels.

The Slamdance Film Festival announced today their narrative and documentary feature film competition for its 24th Festival edition, taking place January 19-25, 2018 in Park City. Established in 1995 by a group of filmmakers whose work had been rejected by the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance is dedicated to fostering a community for independent emerging artists, fashioning itself “the premiere film festival by filmmakers, for filmmakers.”

The feature competition includes 16 premieres, mostly produced in the U.S. All competition films are feature length directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million Usd, and without Us distribution. In addition, the festival announced a new partnership with alumni Anthony and Joe Russo (“Captain America: Civil War,” and “Avengers: Infinity War”) to establish the inaugural Russo Fellowship award. Every participating filmmaker will be eligible for a $25,000 cash prize and mentorship from the Russos in the development of the winner’s next project at the brothers’ Los Angeles studio.