The Extraordinary French Film
Ilene Dycus
A new film by German director Christian Petzold is set in a suspended-in-time version of the present. Critic Justin Chang calls it "a piercingly sad lament for the lost and forgotten souls of Europe."
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. In his earlier films "Barbara" and "Phoenix," the acclaimed German director Christian Petzold explored different chapters of his country's tumultuous 20th century history, from the Holocaust to the Cold War. His new suspense drama "Transit" is adapted from a novel set in Nazi-occupied France, though the actual time frame is one of the movie's visual tricks. Film critic Justin Chang has this review.JUSTIN CHANG, BYLINE: The quietly extraordinary new movie "Transit" presents us with a real puzzle right off the bat. We know where the story is taking place, but when it's taking place is far less certain. It begins with a vision of Paris on the verge of collapse. You hear the scream of police sirens and a few references to encroaching armed forces, visas and deportations, all of which strongly suggest World War II.But what we see looks like Paris in the present day, or at least a strange, suspended-in-time version of the present day with modern cars and modern clothes, but apparently no computers or smartphones. Is this Nazi-occupied France or some fresh dystopian war zone? The German director Christian Petzold isn't saying.Seven years ago, he made a movie called "Barbara," an impeccable drama of love and political resistance set in 1980 East Germany. He followed that with "Phoenix," a devastating romantic mystery about a Holocaust survivor in post-war Berlin. "Transit" is a bold, experimental leap, his most mysterious and conceptually audacious treatment of history yet. It positions us in a time and place between two eras, where the weight of the past is forever bearing down on the present.The movie, adapted from Anna Seghers' 1944 novel, follows a young AV technician named Georg, played by the soulful German actor Franz Rogowski, who is lying low in Paris after having escaped from a concentration camp. It's suggested that Georg is Jewish, although here and in other places, the movie avoids spelling things out.With the German occupation of France looming, Georg makes his way to the port city of Marseille, where thousands of refugees are desperately trying to secure their exit papers and flee to the Americas. Georg has in his possession some documents belonging to a famous communist writer named Weidel, who recently committed suicide.Shortly after arriving in Marseille, Georg is mistaken by officials for Weidel himself and goes along with the deception, especially since it means he will be the beneficiary of Weidel's transit visa to Mexico. From there, the twists and ironies begin to pile up as Georg encounters and quickly falls in love with Weidel's estranged wife, Marie, played by Paula Beer. Marie has no idea that her husband is dead.And while she and Georg are drawn to each other, there's little hope that it will end happily. Georg can't bring himself to tell her the truth. And they both seem more like ghosts than people, haunted by their war-torn pasts.Christian Petzold is a lover of classic Hollywood genres, especially film noir. And he works in a crisp, exacting style that might be termed Hitchcockian realism. His stories are full of preposterous plot turns and elaborate cases of mistaken identity. But the emotions, like the visuals, are always powerfully restrained. It's as though he were ruthlessly paring away the excesses we usually associate with melodrama.Curiously, the more contrived "Transit" gets, the more affecting it becomes. Outwardly, the movie tells the story of an impossible love during wartime with shades of "Casablanca." But the indeterminate nature of the setting creates its own strange dissonances. A lot of the old documents we see, the passports and the visas, look right out of the 1940s.But there are also deliberate echoes of the current refugee crisis, especially when Georg befriends a North African migrant woman and her young son. In a different life, he could be the husband and father figure they need, too. But there are no easy escapes or solutions here. And despite Georg's wily resourcefulness, he's ultimately unable to help anyone, including himself.Franz Rogowski, an actor with a serene, haunted presence and a strong resemblance to Joaquin Phoenix, is our angelic guide to this strange netherworld. Marseille, often shot in broad daylight, here takes on the mournful quality of a sunlit purgatory. By the end, "Transit" has become a piercingly sad lament for the lost and forgotten souls of Europe in the last century, the present one and, possibly, the next.GROSS: Justin Chang is a film critic for the LA Times. If you'd like to catch up on FRESH AIR interviews you missed, like our interview with Pamela Adlon, who writes, directs and stars in the FX series "Better Things" about a single mother raising three daughters who's also juggling the demands of her aging mother and an acting career, check out our podcast. You'll find lots of FRESH AIR interviews.(SOUNDBITE OF BRAD MEHLDAU'S "HAPPY TUNE")GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Mooj Zadie, Thea Chaloner and Seth Kelley. I'm Terry Gross.(SOUNDBITE OF BRAD MEHLDAU'S "HAPPY TUNE")
The most nominated film at the French Oscars. 12 nominations and 5 wins for this extraordinary film. One of the best examples of innovative French Film making with a sympathetic treatment Hollywood would get all wrong. There will be a U.S. version of this film for sure --it's too amazing for there not to be.
Romain Duris (Eiffel, The Three Musketeers) and Paul Kircher (Winter Boy) play Franois and mile, a father and son living in the not-so-distant-future when the planet is afflicted with a new crisis: some people are mutating into animals. Yet, there's no major covid like panic. Life goes on.
Romain Duris scored a Best Actor nomination at the French Oscars for his role here and is extarordinary as the Father and Husband who is in fear of losing everything and at the same time wanting to protect the people he loves as others demand their extinction.
Many defining elements make the elegant, realistic French cinema incredibly engaging. A highly dramatic and somewhat philosophical narrative (though often not short on humorous moments), well-written characters that showcase some kind of development, and a visually striking, sophisticated setting and locations all play poignant roles in what makes these European features so beloved. There is no doubt that France has been providing the film industry with countless high-quality features throughout the years and fascinating viewers with their intriguing stories.
However, while there are plenty of incredible picks to choose from when getting into French movies, some have managed to stand out more than others and helped shape cinema globally. To make it a bit easier for those who aren't familiar with France's national treasures to dip their toes into the country's extensive catalog, Collider has picked the best French movies of all time, from Blue is the Warmest Color to Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, ranking them by entertainment value, influence, and overall quality.
An LGBTQ+ film favorite, Blue is the Warmest Color (La vie d'Adle) is now considered a French classic. The movie follows Adle, played by Adle Exarchopoulos, as she navigates a seemingly monotonous life. However, when she meets La Seydoux's Emma, a free-spirited girl with blue hair with whom she bonds tightly, Adle embarks on a self-discovery journey, embracing her sexuality along the way.
Abdellatif Kechiche's film is often thrown into every conversation about contemporary French cinema, as it has quickly become one of the most discussed movies from the European country. Although Blue is the Warmest Color's controversial sex scenes are still a topic of conversation these days, the heartbreaking coming-of-age tale is much more than the adult content it features. At its core, Kechiche's movie is tender, humorous, and extreme, with two remarkably realistic central performances.
Following nineteen-year-old Franco-Algerian Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim) who has just been sent to prison with a six-year sentence in Brcourt for assaulting police officers, this top-notch Jacques Audiard 2009 crime film centers around the young man's wild journey as he navigates through life in prison and ascends the inmate hierarchy.
One of the most praised French movies, A Prophet (Un prophte), deserves all the hype it gets. Although a slightly underrated French gem (and possibly not one that is fit to everyone's taste), the gritty and riveting A Prophet is outstanding on all levels, delivering a truly engaging narrative throughout that will appeal to those who enjoy prison dramas, as it compellingly showcases the transformation of a small-time criminal into a proper crime boss.
Like Blue is the Warmest Color, Claire Denis' moving and undeniably well-crafted Beau Travail (which translates to "Good Work") was a landmark in LGBTQ+ cinema. The openly queer adaptation of Billy Budd by Patrick Grandperrent, starring DenisLavant, follows a Foreign Legion officer who recalls his glorious life leading troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. The film highlights his rigid and strict days and the chaotic arrival of a young recruit.
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of Claire Denis' incredible movie is the very compelling way it explores manliness, with Legion being an intriguing archetype system to reflect the stoicism of masculinity that embodies a sense of isolation and detachment. Furthermore, Beau Travail features one of the most unforgettable film endings and certainly earns a spot among the best French films of all time.
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