Subject: french

Browse all posts

Published:

La vie de bohème

Aki Kaurismäki’s adaptation of Henri Murger’s novel Scènes de la vie de bohème, filmed in France and in French, tells the story of three artists – Albanian painter Rodolfo (Matti Pellonpää), writer Marcel Marx (André Wilms), and composer Schaunard (Kari Väänänen) – and their struggles and friendship amidst the complexities of the bohemian artist’s life and poverty. Rodolfo falls in love with Mimi (Evelyne Didi), but is later deported when his residence permit expires. Later, Rodolfo returns illegally and reunites with Mimi, but the often harsh realities of bohemian life continue to challenge their romance. Mimi falls gravely ill, and the three artists do everything they can to raise the money needed for her care. During a visit to Mimi in the hospital, she asks Rodolfo to go outside and pick some flowers. When Rodolfo returns to the room, Mimi has already passed away. Rodolfo informs his waiting friends outside that he wants to be alone and walks away.

Director:
Aki Kaurismäki

Starring:
Matti Pellonpää
André Wilms
Kari Väänänen

The film won the 2007 Jussi Award for Best Direction.

Published:

Paavo, a Life in Five Courses

Finnish farm boy Paavo Turtiainen is hired into the Parisian household of Swedish theatre producer Lars Schmidt and his wife, actress Ingrid Bergman. The couple “adopts” and trains Paavo to navigate among the rich and famous. Later on, Paavo becomes the personal secretary for Schmidt and Bergman. His responsibilities include building up the personal archives of both Schmidt and Bergman. Ms. Bergman’s archives are now at the film archives of Wesleyan University and Schmidt’s archives are in the United States Library of Congress. After Schmidt and Bergman divorce Paavo decides to settle permanently in New York. His first clients are friends of Schmidt: celebrities and business personalities Paavo has met while working in Paris and on Dannholmen, a Swedish island owned by Schmidt. Eventually, Paavo becomes an acclaimed chef and event planner for high society. Along the way, he has learned to stand on his own feet.

Le Havre elokuvan juliste

Published:

Le Havre

A small African boy ends up in the French port city of Le Havre in a shipping container full of other refugees. The boy manages to escape and while hiding from the authorities, he meets a shoe polisher who wants to help the boy get to his destination: London to his mother. At the same time, the shoe polisher’s wife is diagnosed with a serious illness.

The film won a remarkable six Jussi awards: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing.

Moulin Rouge elokuvan juliste

Published:

Moulin Rouge!

The film is based on the well-known Parisian nightclub Moulin Rouge and the events take place at the beginning of the 20th century. Satine (Nicole Kidman) is a well-known courtesan of a nightclub, who aims to succeed in her career and become an actress. Christian (Evan McGregor) is a young American poet who arrives with his friends at a nightclub to plan a new show. A romance develops between these two main characters, and the focus of the film is the development of their love story.

Moulin Rouge has used many well-known pop songs, such as Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and “Material Girl”, The Beatles’ “All you need is love”, Elton John’s “Your Song”, the theme song from The Sound of Music and Nirvana’s ” Smells Like Teen Spirit”. It took almost two years to get the rights to the songs.

The film was successful at the Oscars and received two awards: best art direction-set Decoration and best costume design, and was awarded also at Bafta Gala.

Mrs Harris Goes to Paris elokuva.

Published:

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Widowed Ada Harris lives in London in the 1950s, working as a cleaner. One day she falls in love with a Dior dress presented by her client. As a sign from her late husband, Ada receives a large sum of money for the loss of her husband Eddie in the war, as she should have received a war widow’s pension as a result of what happened.

Mrs. Harris makes a different decision compared to his previous lifestyle and makes it her goal to own a Dior dress and leaves for Paris. The film is the story of a brave woman who pursues her unique dream regardless of other people’s opinions. The film is based on Paul Galliconi’s novel Mrs. ‘Arris Goes to Paris, which appeared in 1957.

The film was nominated for best costume design at the Oscars.

Published:

Marie Antoinette

A retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette, from her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 15 to her reign as queen at 19 and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

Published:

The Specials (Hors Normes)

Erityiset on koskettava draama, jossa huumori ja lämpö kietoutuvat yhteen. Elokuvassa seurataan kahta miestä, Brunoa (Vincent Cassel) ja Malikia (Reda Kateb), jotka tekevät väsymättömästi töitä vaikeasti autististen ihmisten ja haastavista oloista tulevien nuorten parissa. Heidän työnsä on ainutlaatuista ja elintärkeää, sillä heidän hoivattavansa ovat ihmisiä, joita muut eivät tunnu ymmärtävän. Elokuva perustuu tositarinaan ja nostaa esiin ystävyyden merkityksen. Sen taustalla ovat ranskalaiset Stephane Benhamou ja Daoud Tatou, joiden omistautuminen ja ystävyys inspiroivat tätä tarinaa. Ohjaajina ovat toimineet Olivier Nakache ja Eric Toledano, samat nimet suositun Koskemattomat-elokuvan takana.

Published:

Van Gogh – At Eternity’s Gate

Van Gogh – At Eternity’s Gate is the story of an extraordinary talent who defied the norms of his time. It focuses on the artist’s last years and the productive period he spent in Arles, France. The journey to the beautiful light and colors of the south was tinged by a stormy friendship with Paul Gaugain (Oscar Isaak) – and van Gogh’s own mental breakdown. Ignoring doubters and scoffers, working in modest circumstances, Van Gogh created some of the world’s most beloved works of art. His most important supporter was his younger brother Theo (Rupert Friend), who saw Vincent as an interpreter for future generations. Other roles include e.g. Mads Mikkelsen, Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric. Director Julian Schnabel, known as a painter himself, rejects the typical conventions of a biopic and focuses on depicting the landscape of Van Gogh’s mind. (Source: Finnkino Oy)