The Best of French Cinema in 2016

Outside of Hollywood and the UK, the most accessible cinematic nation has to be France – being a country that creates a myriad of productions every year, released all around the world – with a certain appeal outside of their nation. With countless stars emerging in English language features, generally speaking, there’s enough of an allure for them to remain on home soil, especially given the sheer wealth of talent amongst the filmmakers still creating movies.

Last year Flickreel gave you the low-down on the best French cinema had to offer in 2015, and now we’re going to let you know what to keep an eye out for in 2016…

French cinema aficionados will have likely seen a handful of endeavours already this year, for Vincent Cassel’s Partisan illuminated the big screen at the start of the year, while we’ve seen been fortunate enough to welcome the releases of Alice Winocour’s pulsating thriller Disorder, starring Belgian superstar Matthias Schoenaerts, and more recently, the return of Jean Reno in the (somewhat surprising) remake of Nick Love’s The Sweeney, the creatively titled, The Sweeney: Paris. However while French cinema takes inspiration from the UK and US, it works vice-versa too, with Florence Foster Jenkins – a soon to be released biopic starring Meryl Streep – told first, by Xavier Giannoli, in the fictionalised account Marguerite.

There’s also a handful of films that were first brought to our attention at Cannes Film Festival last year, now getting worldwide recognition as they finally find distribution, with the likes of Jacquas Audiard’s incredibly pertinent Dheepan – the winner of the top prize at the festival: the Palme d’Or; and also The Measure of a Man, which won Vincent Lindon the Best Actor accolade, and then Maiween’s stunning drama Mon Roi – which saw Emmanuelle Bercot pick up the same award in the Best Actress category (well, tied with Rooney Mara for Carol).

More recently French cinema illuminated the Berlinale, and while Italian documentary Fire at Sea picked up the prestigious Golden Bear – critically, some of the very finest endeavours that premiered at the festival were of French origin. From the compelling drama Being 17, starring Sandrine Kiberlain, and directed by Andre Techine, not to mention having a screenplay penned by Girlhood director Celine Sciamma. Also in competition was Mia Hansen-Love’s latest, Things to Come, starring the irresistible Isabelle Huppert, and it’s the director’s most accomplished yet, which is quite the compliment given how brilliant her preceding picture Eden was. There were also showings for the comedically inclined Gerard Depardieux-starring Saint Amour, and Eugene Green’s genius, deadpan production The Son of Joseph.

There are also many films without a release date as of yet, but are (thankfully) in the hands of international distributors, ensuring a theatrical release – and none stand out more so than Joachim Lafosse’s The White Knights. The allure of Vincent Lindon and Louise Bourgoin is undoubtedly strong in that one, while the same can be said of the indelible courtroom comedy Courted, starring Fabrice Luchini. The enigmatic Francois Damiens can also be seen in a rare, dramatic turn in the relevant drama Cowboys, also starring John C. Reilly, while the venerable Daniel Auteuil can be seen in the harrowing, real-life story Au Nom De Ma Fille.

Talking of real life, Blue is the Warmest Colour star, Adèle Exarchopoulos, can be seen in the prison drama Eperdument – a soon-to-be rare outing in her home nation following an impending move to Hollywood, where the majority of her forthcoming films are being made. Away from real life, France is also hoping to contend with the biggest animation studios, hiring Marion Cotillard to voice the title role in the enchanting April and the Extraordinary World.

There’s a real range of electric projects listed above, but they are all comparable and alike in one area: quality. Though this year is unlikely to replicate both the critical and box office success of 2012, it’s set to be yet another fine year for this culturally significant country, that continue to prove that no matter what political issues they may be facing, their commitment to the arts will always prevail. Je Suis cinema.