French cinema gave the world the Nouvelle Vague, but its adventurousness runs far deeper, from the philosophical strangeness of Fantastic Planet to the quiet alienation of The Man Who Sleeps. France has long rewarded directors who treat film as a genuinely literary form, and that spirit runs through everything here. See what Macca made of it below.
Rating: 3.5★
There's a moment watching No Dogs or Italians Allowed when you realise you've stopped thinking about the craft and started feeling the story. That's the trick Alain Ughetto pulls off here, and it's no small thing. The film announces itself immediately as
1970s
There's a moment early in Fantastic Planet where a giant blue hand reaches down and scoops up a tiny human like you or I might pick up a woodlouse off the kitchen floor. It's matter-of-fact, almost gentle, and it's one of the
Genre Documentary
Letter from Siberia (1957)
Genre Documentary
Here and Elsewhere (1976)
Genre War
Lessons of Darkness (1992)
Genre Drama
★★★ — The Man Who Sleeps (1974)
Genre Comedy
★½ — Cemetery Man (1994)
Genre Adventure
★★★ — Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005)
Genre Drama
★ — Only God Forgives (2013)
Genre Action
★★ — Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
Genre Horror
★★★ — The Substance (2024)
Genre Animation
★★★ — Chicken for Linda! (2023)
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