News

No reasonably intelligent person imagines an artist’s statement about the horrors in Gaza would, in fact, end those horrors, but there are always limits to what one can take and hopes for what one could do. It might even be said that, as observers of the world and human behavior, filmmakers are especially inclined to recoil. When I interviewed Pedro Costa last month he spoke, unprompted, of a situation that’s only grown worse: “It’s very clear that we cannot stand images anymore. I can’t. I can’t. The images of the world for me [Exhales] I can’t. I turn my eyes, and I’m sure you do the same. It’s unbearable.” When I spoke with Anthony Dod Mantle a couple of weeks later it, again, emerged––vis-a-vis The Zone of Interest, whose own cinematographer alluded to it the next day. It’s difficult being a person in the world,...

Exclusive: Golden Globe winner Emma Corrin (The Crown) and Cesar nominee Lucie Zhang are set to star in Jenny Suen’s English language feature debut Peaches, which Coco Francini (Fingernails) will produce and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton will executive-produce for Dirty Films.

Set in contemporary Hong Kong, the movie will follow two spoiled best friends who scam sugar daddies for a living. When they discover a Hermes Birkin bag they were gifted is a fake, their “boyfriends” and crimes catch up with them.

The film is an adaptation of Vera Chitylova’s 1966 Czech New Wave comedy Daisies.

Paris-based MK2 Films, whose slate includes Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall and Cannes Un Certain Regard winner How to Have Sex, is handling international sales and discussed the project with buyers at last week’s AFM. The film will start production early next year in Hong Kong.

The film series Adèle Exarchopoulos: Fire Starter begins showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries on August 10, 2023.Zero Fucks Given.Cassandre (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is not having it. She’s listening to someone invisible, someone with authority, addressing her and a few other flight attendants in unplaceably accented English. This is their manager, instructing them how to sell the duty-free in the air, how to push the pricey alcohol—a little snippet of the very alienated, very feminized service labor that makes contemporary convenience industries run. We know it’s a cheap airline because they wear bright, synthetic-looking uniforms; one of them looks intently at the off-camera speaker, nodding in a serious, brown-nosing kind of way. But Cassandre, wearing lots of makeup—very red lips, winged black eyeliner—is blank, petulant, distracted, looking back and forth from her coworker and manager, definitely thinking something like, “I don’t give a shit...

Drama is inspired by 19th-century La Pitié Salêpetrière women-only mental asylum in Paris.

Elle Driver has boarded French director Arnaud des Pallières’s period thriller Party Of Fools in which Charlotte Rampling and Cecile de France have signed to star with Léa Seydoux.

The Paris-based sales company is launching pre-sales on the production at the Pre-Cannes Screenings next week.

Written by des Pallières and Christelle Berthevas, the drama is inspired by the infamous late 19th-century La Pitié Salêpetrière women-only mental asylum in Paris, which interned up to 4,500 women, many against their will. It unfolds against the backdrop of one of...

Oren Moverman is writing and directing the WWII drama.

Woody Harrelson has signed to star in an adaptation of French writer Joseph Kessel’s 1960 biographical work The Man With The Miraculous Hands: The Fantastic Story of Felix Kersten, Himmler’s Private Doctor.

It will be produced by Paris-based Jerico Films, a division of the Vendôme Group, the French production banner behind Sundance hit Coda, which was in turn of a remake of its French hit La Famille Belier.

Harrelson will start as the real-life figure of Felix Kersten, a Finnish-born medical professional who was reluctantly pulled into the Third Reich...

Lea Seydoux, the French star of Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” will headline “Party of Fools” (“Le Bal des Folles”), a high-profile period drama-thriller to be directed by Arnaud des Pallières.

The female-driven movie is produced by two of France’s biggest producers, Philippe Rousselet and Jonathan Blumental, at the Paris-based company Prelude. The pair previously teamed on Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Lost Prince” with Omar Sy.

“Party of Fools,” which is the first high-profile, big-budget project to be announced since the start of the coronavirus crisis, is expected to begin shooting at the end of 2020 or early 2021.

Written for the screen by Arnaud des Pallières and Christelle Berthevas, the film is set during the Paris Carnival in 1893 and is based on true historical events and characters. It takes place at the Pitié Salpétrière mental institution for women, which is rendered the epicenter of an elaborate ball where politicians,...

The French firm is a partner in Indian director Gitanjali Rao’s first feature film, which is set to world-premiere this summer. From Waltz With Bashir (in competition in Cannes 2008 and Oscar-nominated in the category of Best Foreign Language Film in 2009) to Funan (the winner of Annecy’s Best Film Cristal in 2018), the Parisian production company Les Films d’Ici has already proven that it has just as good a nose for animated works as it does for documentaries (Gianfranco Rosi’s works in particular) and fiction. So its co-production, Bombay Rose, the first feature film by the Indian director Gitanjali Rao, is arousing a great deal of interest, further piqued by rumours that the film is set to world-premiere in a parallel section of one of the summer’s big international festivals. Having made a name for herself with her short films, especially Printed...

Following a premiere at Toronto International Film Festival last fall, a new international trailer has arrived for writer-director Arnaud des Pallières‘ latest drama Orpheline (which translates to Orphan). While the trailer is in French (making certain key plot elements a bit cloudy), one need not read subtitles when there are flashing neon lights, money smuggling, race-track gambling, and police raids.

The revolves around Sandra through multiple stages of her life (the eldest of which is played by Adèle Exarchopoulos) as she tumbles through a life of trouble and potential romance (with Gemma Arterton). See the trailer below, for the film that also stars Adèle Haenel (the lead of the Dardennes’ latest film The Unknown Girl), Sergi López and Nicolas Duvauchelle.

Tiff synopsis:

Arnaud des Pallières’ unique talent, evident in his wildly different first two feature films, shifts yet again for this ambitious, fractured narrative about a woman at various stages of her life.

A selection of films from the 2016 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has been unveiled, with films by Jim Jarmusch, Maren Ade, Tom Ford, Paul Verhoeven, Damien Chazelle, and many more.Opening NIGHTThe Magnificent Seven (Antoine Fuqua)GALASDeepwater HorizonArrival (Denis Villeneuve)Deepwater Horizon (Peter Berg)The Headhunter's Calling (Mark Williams)The Journey Is the Destination (Bronwen Hughes)Jt + The Tennessee Kids (Jonathan Demme)Lbj (Rob Reiner)Lion (Garth Davis)Loving (Jeff Nichols)A Monster Calls (J.A. Bayona)Planetarium (Rebecca Zlotowski)Queen of Katwe (Mira Nair)The Rolling Stones of Olé Olé Olé!: A Trip Across Latin America (Paul Dugdale)The Secret Scripture (Jim Sheridan)Snowden (Oliver Stone)Strange Weather (Katherine Dieckmann)Their Finest (Lone Scherfig)A United Kingdom (Amma Astante)Special PRESENTATIONSLa La LandThe Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)All I See Is You (Marc Forster)American Honey (Andrea Arnold)American Pastoral (Ewan McGregor)Asura: The City of...

Seven further competition titles have been revealed, including the 18th feature from South Korean director Hong Sang-soo.

Seven titles have joined Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut American Pastoral in this year’s competition line-up at San Sebastian Film Festival (Sept 16-24).

Competing for the 2016 Golden Shell will be Hong Sang-soo’s latest feature Yourself And Yours (Dangsinjasingwa Dangsinui Geot). Marking the three-time Palme d’Or nominee’s 18th feature, the film chronicles a male artist and his relationship struggles.

Bertrand Bonello will present his latest feature Nocturama, his first film since 2014’s Palme d’Or nominated biographical drama Saint Laurent. Starring Finnegan Oldfield and Vincent Rottiers, the thriller chronicles the occupation of a Paris department store by a group of teenagers. Wild Bunch will distribute in France.

Also in the line-up is William Oldroyd’s period drama Lady Macbeth, which stars Florence Pugh and 2013 Screen Star of Tomorrow Cosmo Jarvis and was supported through the iFeatures scheme...

Though life and general business kept us from saying so at the time, the Toronto International Film Festival announced their first massive wave of selections yesterday and there is some very impressive stuff coming to Canadian screens in the fall. The festival kicks off with Antoine Fuqua's Magnificent Seven before wrapping with Kelly Craig's The Edge Of Seventeen and, in between, there is a freshly announced selection of 19 gala and 49 special presentation titles from directors such as (deep breath) Denis Villeneuve, Oliver Stone, Mira Nair, Ewan McGregor, Konkona Sensharma, Lone Scherfig, Raja Amari, Jonathan Demme, Baltasar Kormákur, Amma Asante, Christopher Guest, Feng Xiaogang, Rob Reiner, J.A. Bayona, Arnaud des Pallières, and Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Ready for the full list? Take a deep breath, hit...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) programmers have served up the first picks from what will be a typically daunting menu in September.Scroll down for full list of Galas, Special Presentations

The world premiere of Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven will open the 41st Tiff on September 8. The western remake stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-Hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard.

It marks a third visit to the festival for Fuqua, who previously screened Training Day and The Equalizer at Tiff.

The festival will close on September 17 with The Edge Of Seventeen, starring Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick.

The coming-of-age comedy-drama marks the feature debut of writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig and is produced by Oscar-winner James L. Brooks (Jerry Maguire, As Good As It Gets).

Gala world premieres

Unveiling its first wave of titles, Tiff announced that world premieres in its Gala strand would include...

The Toronto International Film Festival — aka Tiff — has announced its first round of picks for this year’s festival, including Galas and Special Presentations, along with the festival’s opening night selection, Antoine Fuqua’s “The Magnificent Seven,” and their closing night pick, Kelly Fremon Craig’s feature directorial debut “The Edge of Seventeen.” Filled with early awards contenders, returning filmmakers and favorites from other festivals from around the globe, it’s a meaty selection of offerings that firmly announces the imminent arrival of the cinematic bonanza otherwise known as the fall festival season.

There are plenty of familiar faces here, including Denis Villeneuve, who will be bringing his “Arrival” to the same festival that has also screened his “Sicario” and “Prisoners” in previous years. The year after debuting his “Being Charlie” at Tiff, director Rob Reiner will return with his Woody Harrelson-starring biopic “Lbj.” Lone Scherfig, who has...

Donald Sutherland, Arnaud Desplechin, Vanessa Paradis among those to join president George Miller.

The 69th Cannes Film Festival jury, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will be made up of eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.

The jury, made up of four women and four men, will comprise a collection of directors, actors and writers. They will decide on the prizes for the 21 films in Competition.

The jury:

George Miller – President

(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)

Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)

Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)

Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)

Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)

László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)

Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)

Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)

Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)

Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)

Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got...

Donald Sutherland, Arnaud Desplechin, Vanessa Paradis among those to join president George Miller.

The 69th Cannes Film Festival, presided over by Mad Max director George Miller, will comprise eight luminaries of world cinema, from Iran, Denmark, United States, Italy, France, Canada and Hungary.

The jury, made up of four women and four men, comprises directors, actors and writers.

The jury:

George Miller – President

(Director, Writer, Producer – Australia)

Arnaud Desplechin (Director, Writer – France)

Kirsten Dunst (Actress– United States)

Valeria Golino (Actress, Director, Writer, Producer – Italia)

Mads Mikkelsen (Actor – Denmark)

László Nemes (Director, Writer – Hungaria)

Vanessa Paradis (Actress, Singer – France)

Katayoon Shahabi (Producer – Iran)

Donald Sutherland (Actor – Canada)

Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)

Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel, his first feature film. He then made My Sex Life… or How I Got into an Argument, which introduced a new generation of actors. The artists in his films have regularly been awarded the most...

We have what should now be the full line-up for the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, featuring many of our most-anticipated films of the year. Coming next in line is the announcement of the competition jury, which director George Miller will be presiding over, returning to Cannes after delivering one of the best films of the festival last year, Mad Max: Fury Road.

Made up of four women and five men, they include Arnaud Desplechin (returning after last year’s My Golden Days), Kristen Dunst, Italian actress Valeria Golino, Mad Mikkelsen (Cannes Best Actor winner for The Hunt), Grand Prix-winning Son of Saul director László Nemes, actress/singer Vanessa Paradis, Iranian producer Katayoon Shahabi, as well as actor Donald Sutherland. Check out their biographies below as we look forward to seeing what they award the Palme d’Or, and beyond.

Arnaud Desplechin, Director, Writer (France)

Arnaud Desplechin became an official competitor at Cannes with The Sentinel,...

Catherine Deneuve: César Award Besst Actress Record-Tier (photo: Catherine Deneuve in 'In the Courtyard / Dans la cour') (See previous post: "Kristen Stewart and Catherine Deneuve Make César Award History.") Catherine Deneuve has received 12 Best Actress César nominations to date. Deneuve's nods were for the following movies (year of film's release): Pierre Salvadori's In the Courtyard / Dans la Cour (2014). Emmanuelle Bercot's On My Way / Elle s'en va (2013). François Ozon's Potiche (2010). Nicole Garcia's Place Vendôme (1998). André Téchiné's Thieves / Les voleurs (1996). André Téchiné's My Favorite Season / Ma saison préférée (1993). Régis Wargnier's Indochine (1992). François Dupeyron's Strange Place for an Encounter / Drôle d'endroit pour une rencontre (1988). Jean-Pierre Mocky's Agent trouble (1987). André Téchiné's Hotel America / Hôtel des Amériques (1981). François Truffaut's The Last Metro / Le dernier métro (1980). Jean-Paul Rappeneau's Le sauvage (1975). Additionally, Catherine Deneuve was nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category...

An arresting medieval epic starring Mads Mikkelsen, Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas explores the high cost of vengeance. With the age of feudalism in decline, Europe rests at a tense crossroads between the old world and the new. Respected, well-to-do horse merchant Michael Kohlhaas is a loving husband and family man leading a peaceful existence, until a ruthless nobleman steals his horses, setting off a chain of irreversible events. Kohlhaas resorts to extremes after these crimes destroy his livelihood and trust in the law, igniting a rampage through the countryside in his quest for justice. Check out our exclusive clip for this historical drama, in theaters now.

Adapted from Heinrich von Kleist's 16th century novella, the story of Michael Kohlhaas is considered one of the first examples of modern literature. Filled with gorgeous widescreen cinematography, Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas had its world...

Released on demand and in select theatres a couple days ago, it’s all-but a guarantee that by now, Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas has already greatly disappointed some uninformed viewer expecting the next great piece of fantasy schlock from bargain bin king Uwe Boll. With its mouthy title and posters featuring sword-strapped star Mads Mikklesen, a vision of medieval masculinity, one could easily mistake Age of Uprising for a B-grade sword and sorcery epic. But that all-important asterisks of the box art, the Cannes “Official Selection” frond, is your real indicator of what to expect from this French import, which nobly (to a fault) walks a path of high-minded high art, not high fantasy.

Like a worrywart parent hiding vegetables in their child’s Kraft Dinner, Age of Uprising is just one of several European releases this year that’s tried to lure North American audiences...

Mads Mikkelsen is one of those actors that makes all of his characters fascinating and intriguing to watch. He brings a complexity to his performances that makes you wonder as much about the unspoken life of the people he embodies as the moment he’s currently living. In the medieval epic Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas, Mikkelsen portrays Michael Kohlhaas, a respected and well-to-do horse merchant, loving husband and family man whose peaceful existence is turned upside down when a nobleman steals his horses, setting off a chain of irreversible events. And on the NBC drama series Hannibal, his work as Dr. Hannibal Lecter is both charming and unsettling, making it always unpredictable. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Mads Mikkelsen talked about what drew him to this film, what it was like to have to pick up the French language for the role,...

With a premise like Rob Roy and a title like a video game, one might expect Arnaud des Pallières's Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas to be louder.

But instead of embracing its inner Braveheart, the feudal revenge drama sacrifices thrills in favor of moral reflection in the unspoiled French countryside, keeping most of its violence at arm's length.

When dogs are set on a man, we don't see the attack, only evidence of the wounds. Mounted soldiers attack a caravan, and we watch from atop a hill; guards drop silently as horsemen pass. This muted approach robs the film of sorely needed momentum, but offers a rare opportunity for contemplation, a trade-off that only occasionally satisfies.

As Kohlhaas, a merchant wronged by ...

If you're not following Mads Mikkelsen career as of late, well then, you're doing something wrong. He currently stars as Hannibal Lecter in NBCs stunning "Hannibal," can do period pieces a la "A Royal Affair" and is perhaps one of the best Bond villains of all time. Now, thanks to The Playlist, we have a clip of more Mikkelsen badassery from his upcoming film "Age Of Uprising: The Legend Of Michael Kohlhaas." Based on the novel "Michael Kohlhaas," by Heinrich von Kleist, "Age Of Uprising: The Legend Of Michael Kohlhaas" stars Mikkelsen as a sixteenth century man who resorts to crime when justice isn't served. In the trailer we see a silent Mikkelsen, staring intently at the man accusing him of having a wicked heart. He's also wielding a sword; a sword he will no doubt use eventually."Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas," which is directed by Arnaud des Pallières,...

The ‘Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas’ has been unleashed in the film’s official trailer and photos. The historical drama, which was written and directed by Arnaud des Pallières, is set to be released on May 30 in theaters and On Demand. The following synopsis for ‘Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas,’ which was nominated for six César Awards, including Best Actor for Mads Mikkelsen in the title role, has been released: An arresting medieval epic starring Mads Mikkelsen (‘A Royal Affair,’ ‘Valhalla Rising,’ ‘Hannibal’), ‘Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas explores the high cost of vengeance. With the age of feudalism in decline, [ Read More ]

The post See the Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas in Offical Trailer and Photos appeared first on Shockya.com.

Many might recognize Mads Mikkelsen from his superb work on the sublime NBC series, Hannibal, but the veteran Dane has quite the list of feature film work to his credit as well.  One of his latest works is writer-director Arnaud des Pallières' Age of Uprising: The legend of Michael Kohlhaas, an adaptation of German author Heinrich von Kleist's novella based on the 16th-century vigilante Hans Kohlhase.  While none of the above names are likely to strike a chord with the American public at large, the themes that drive Age of Uprising should, since they center on the title character who is wronged by the ruling class, and then sets out in search of justice.  The first look at the film in the new Age of Uprising trailer draws comparisons to Robin Hood and Braveheart, while showing (for many) a whole new side to Mikkelsen. Hit the jump to...

★★☆☆☆Following the runaway success of Danish director Nikolaj Arcel's A Royal Affair (2012) a couple of years back, another period European drama of revolt and revenge starring the magnetic Mads Mikkelsen would undoubtedly have seemed like an excellent idea. Somewhat regrettably, Arnaud des Pallières' Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013), adapted from the Heinrich von Kleist novella, not only fails to live up to the mark but struggles to work on a more fundamental level. Even the presence of the venerable leading man fails to elevate this glossy but staid vengeance drama that repeatedly struggles to either quicken the pulse or provoke the mind.

Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, Swann Arlaud, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Roxane Duran | Written by Arnaud des Pallières, Christelle Berthevas | Directed by Arnaud des Pallières

In the 16th Century, in the Cévennes, Michael Kohlhaas (Mads Mikkelsen) is leading a happy life with his family raising horses to sell at the market. When a corrupt Baron (Swann Arlaud) seizes some of his horses and mistreats them, Kohlhaas attempts to sue the Baron for the damage but due to the Baron’s influence in local government finds his case is ignored. When his wife travels to plead his case to the royal family she returns fatally injured leading to Kohlhaas forming a rebellion aimed at taking down the Baron and his cohorts and regain the rights he feels he has lost.

When a character like Kohlhaas forms a rebellion you would expect there to be some action, and...

Mads Mikkelsen is one of the most engaging actors in the world right now, and if you've yet to check out TVs Hannibal then what are you waiting for, an invitation to dinner? So it's easy to see why distributors might be lining up to release his theatrical outings. Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is not your typical blood-soaked medieval epic, nor is it a good example of Mikkelsen's undisputed screen presence. It's a long, hard slog through the marshes of cinematic wasteland, an emotional vacuum that could've been and should've been so much more. The film takes us back to 16th century France, where Michael Kohlhaas is making a living as a horse dealer. He lives with his wife and daughter in the peaceful, picturesque countryside. Things take a turn for the worse when a rapacious baron seizes his livelihood and defiles his family's honour. Kohlhaas...

Mads Mikkelsen is one of the most engaging actors in the world right now, and if you've yet to check out TVs Hannibal then what are you waiting for, an invitation to dinner? So it's easy to see why distributors might be lining up to release his theatrical outings. Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is not your typical blood-soaked medieval epic, nor is it a good example of Mikkelsen's undisputed screen presence. It's a long, hard slog through the marshes of cinematic wasteland, an emotional vacuum that could've been and should've been so much more. The film takes us back to 16th century France, where Michael Kohlhaas is making a living as a horse dealer. He lives with his wife and daughter in the peaceful, picturesque countryside. Things take a turn for the worse when a rapacious baron seizes his livelihood and defiles his family's honour. Kohlhaas...

French actor and director Guillaume Gallienne was the big winner at the 39th ceremony of the César Awards in Paris, where he took home a total of five trophies, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adaptation, Best First Film and Best Editing for Me, Myself and Mum. Michael Kohlhaas by Arnaud des Pallières and 9 Month Stretch by Albert Dupontel were also among the big winners, while Quentin Tarantino presented a lifetime achievement award to a young American actress. Hosted by Cécile de France, who starred in Clint Eastwood's Hereafter in 2010 and whose own mantelpiece includes two Césars - she didn't lose the opportunity to remind the audience in one of her many shameless self-elevating moments – this year’s edition of the French film awards was rather bland and short on humor. The jokes lacked edge, the writers had forgotten to include punch lines, and their delivery by Cécile de France amplified all of that.

Outside of Camelot Theatres, where Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas screens in 30 minutes, stands an older man with a telescope. He doesn’t appear to be affiliated with the Palm Springs International Film Festival — or even attending it, for that matter — and is dressed as you might expect an actual astronomer to be. Arnaud des Pallières’ adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist’s 1811 novella premiered to mixed reviews at Cannes last year, but familiarity with the source material and the fact that Mads Mikkelsen and Denis Lavant are both involved seem reason enough to take a […]...

Outside of Camelot Theatres, where Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas screens in 30 minutes, stands an older man with a telescope. He doesn’t appear to be affiliated with the Palm Springs International Film Festival — or even attending it, for that matter — and is dressed as you might expect an actual astronomer to be. Arnaud des Pallières’ adaptation of Heinrich von Kleist’s 1811 novella premiered to mixed reviews at Cannes last year, but familiarity with the source material and the fact that Mads Mikkelsen and Denis Lavant are both involved seem reason enough to take a […]...

★★☆☆☆One of the more eyebrow-raising nominees for last year's Cannes Palme d'Or, French director Arnaud des Pallières' Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (2013) sees European cinema darling Mads Mikkelsen star as the vengeful equine breeder in question, spurred into armed conflict against a greedy local land baron. With Holy Motors' Denis Lavant, Bruno Ganz and rising German star David Kross perhaps the only other recognisable players for British audiences, there's little to distract one from this drab literary adaptation's ponderous pace and washed out palette - even the great Dane himself.

Even the excellent Mads Mikkelsen can't lift the tedium of this one-note French revenge saga

Mads Mikkelsen finds himself installed like a figurehead at the prow of Arnaud des Pallières's surging historical romp, gazing resolutely towards the far horizon, his eyes alive with both sadness and strength. Age of Uprising tells the tale of Michael Kohlhaas, an unbending horse trader in feudal 16th-century France, wronged by the baron and demanding redress. His subsequent adventures are played out on blasted heaths, beneath lowering skies, to the squealing of pigs.

Des Pallières's picture is stern and impressive, although its endless, one-note hammer blows soon start to grow tiresome. I could have done with a little more of Denis Lavant (so good as a crumpled priest who upbraids Kohlhaas for his arrogance) and Roxane Duran (as the capricious princess of Angoulême) and a little less of the lowering skies, the clattering swords and the squealing of pigs.

Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom (12A)

(Justin Chadwick, 2013, UK/Sa) Idris Elba, Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Riaad Moosa, Jamie Bartlett. 146 mins

Prestige dramatisation finds little to add to a true story that's already inspirational enough, and has already been much retold, especially since Mandela's death. That leaves this as a slightly redundant exercise in biopic box-ticking and corner-cutting, puffed up with awards-friendly grandeur and less interested in the political questions than the personal heart-strings. Still, Elba conveys something of the man as well as the icon, and Harris is a spirited Winnie.

Last Vegas (12A)

(Jon Turtletaub, 2013, Us) Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline. 105 mins

If that title and cast had you thinking "is this The Hangover for seniors?", you wouldn't be far off. It's another Las Vegas bachelor-party adventure, in which four decaying dudes cement their buddyhood and lose their dignity – often assisted by people a fraction of their age,...

This classy and beautiful 16th-century period drama is determined, but it delivers less than it promises

Reading on mobile? Watch the trailer here

Age of Uprising – entitled Michael Kohlhaas when it was premiered in competition at Cannes last year – is a handsomely made and beautifully photographed 16th-century period drama from film-maker Arnaud des Pallières. It is based on the 1811 story by Heinrich von Kleist, and here transposed from Germany to France: the casting of Danish star Mads Mikkelsen in the title role is perhaps a nod to the story's northern European origins.

Kohlhaas is a well-to-do and law-abiding horse dealer who is mistreated by an arrogant nobleman. Two of his horses are wrongly confiscated. Kohlhaas's grievances against the powers that be escalate and, denied justice, he leads a military rebellion against these decadent timeservers.

The movie is played out in a mood of grim, concerted determination that matches Kohlhaas's own mood.

This dour 16th-Century-set revenge thriller (adapted from a novel by Heinrich von Kleist) suffers from the formal constraints it places on itself. Director Arnaud des Pallières is seemingly aiming for dirty realism, late-Medieval style. That means he uses natural light wherever possible and real locations (the wetter and muddier the better) rather than studio sets. He largely eschews music and shies away from primary colours, aiming instead for a dark, desaturated look. The action sequences are shot in surprisingly murky fashion.

He made his name in Pusher and Open Hearts and went on to be a Bond baddie. But he is still waiting to work with Lars von Trier – and still trying to keep things radical

Mads Mikkelsen, as handsome as you like, lowers himself into a seat, rolls a cigarette and stares handsomely out over the sea. Did I mention he was handsome? Not only is he wearing the kind of shiny suit that only the handsomest among us can get away with, he's also sporting a radioactive tan that sets off his handsomely glittering eyes. The tan, he says, is because he's just come back from shooting a western in South Africa, not, I'm relieved to discover, the latest manifestation of the World Conspiracy of Handsomeness.

Oh well. It's safe to say that the way Mikkelsen, 48, looks has not hurt him in his quest to become a well-known and successful actor.

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave to open festival; director Peter Greenaway to receive Visionary Award.Scroll down for full line-up

Steve McQueen’s historic drama 12 Years a Slave is to open the Stockholm International Film Festival (Nov 6-17) and is nominated in the Stockholm Xxiv Competition.

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the drama about free black man kidnapped from his family and sold into slavery in the 1850s debuted at Telluride and has received positive reactions throughout its festival tour of Toronto, New York and London among others.

It will be released in Sweden on Dec 20 by Ab Svensk Filmindustri.

Screenwriter John Ridley, who will be present during the festival, is nominated for the Aluminum Horse in the category Best Script.

McQueen’s Hunger won Best Directorial Debut at Stockholm in 2008.

Line-up

The 24th Siff includes more than 180 films from more than 50 countries.

As previously announced, the spotlight of this year’s festival is freedom but Chinese artist...

The 15th Mumbai Film Festival (Mff) presented by Reliance Entertainment and organized by the Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (Mami) scheduled between 17th-24th October is all set to showcase the best of contemporary French cinema and welcome artists for the 6th edition of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema co-organized with The French Embassy in India, Institut Français en Inde and Unifrance films.

As part of the festival highlights, Costa Gavras will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the opening ceremony in the presence of His Excellency Mr François Richier, Ambassador of France to India who will grace us with his presence especially for this occasion. Among others, Nathalie Baye, jury member of the international section, Mahamat Saleh Haroun, director of the film “Grigris”, Guillaume Brac, director of the film “Tonnerre” (Competition) and Leos Carax, well known film maker who will be conducting a masters class.

The special section “Rendez-vous...

Around the midway point of the fest, all indications told us that Asghar Farhadi’s The Past and the Coen bros. Inside Llewyn Davis would be a part of what is traditionally a two to four-way horse race for the top of the leader-board position and films to beat in our daily temperature-taker, but when the other fifteen critics in our Cannes Critics’ Panel grid started flooding our inbox with jaw-dropping scores – we quickly understood that Blue Is The Warmest Colour (La Vie d’Adele, Chapitres 1 et 2) was the odds on favorite. Abdellatif Kechiche’s fifth feature film, generated a combined score of 4.4, beating out the Coens.’ (16 critics, combined score of 60 for an average of 3.75) and Farhadi’s Le Passe (The Past) (14 critics, combined score of 52 for an average of 3.71). Not surprisingly, all three were award with trophy-ware with Inside Llewyn Davis capturing the 2nd place (Grand Prix prize) and...

★★★★☆ The 66th Cannes Film Festival just got medieval on our asses with Arnaud des Pallières' Palme d'Or outsider Michael Kohlhaas (2013), a tale of injustice and revolt set in 16th century France. Adapted from the Heinrich von Kleist novella, Pallières' latest follows the plight of its eponymous hero (Denmark's Mads Mikkelsen), a happy and prosperous family man and horse trader who suffers an injustice at the hands of an arrogant young baron. Kohlhaas seeks redress legally, only to be rebuffed and threatened. Tragedy strikes when Judith, his wife (Delphine Chuillot), is murdered, leading our protagonist on the path to vengeance.

The towering Mikkelsen wowed Cannes last year as a teacher stubbornly refusing to bow to injustice in Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt (Jagten, 2012). Injustice is one again on the menu here; however, as an actor in possession of a range as epic as the Cevénnes landscape against which his latest film plays against,...

Chicago – After heating up juror monocles with the steamiest three hours at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the lesbian romance “Blue is the Warmest Color” won the coveted Palme d’Or at the 2013 awards ceremony held Sunday, May 26th. The top prize was shared by French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche (“The Secret of the Grain”) and his two leading ladies, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos.

Settling for the Grand Prix was Joel and Ethan Coen’s “Inside Llewyn Davis,” a music-filled portrait of a fictionalized ’60s-era folk singer played by Oscar Isaac (in a performance guaranteed to generate Oscar buzz). Amat Escalante won Best Director for his brutal Mexican crime drama, “Heli,” while the Best Screenplay award was presented to Zhangke Jia (“Still Life”) for his uncharacteristically blood-spattered Chinese thriller, “A Touch of Sin.” Hirokazu Koreeda (“Still Walking”) won the Jury Prize for his Japanese family drama, “Like Father, Like Son.

Mads Mikkelsen makes a principled avenging warrior in this handsome 16th-century-set tale of a man wronged – which could certainly use picking up the pace a little

Here is a handsomely-made and admirably high-minded revenge movie, set in 16th century France, that paints its world in glowing, vivid colours, but is rather too much in love with its leading man, Mads Mikkelsen, to achieve the epic grandeur it is aiming at. It is directed by Arnaud des Pallières, making his first visit to the Cannes competition with his fourth feature, and is adapted from the novella by Heinrich von Kleist, with the action transposed from Reformation-era Saxony to the mountainous Cévennes region of France.

Des Pallières' film follows the original fairly closely: Mikkelsen plays a horse trader who is badly treated by a local baron; his attempt to gain legal redress over two illegally-held horses and a beating of his servant...

French filmmaker Arnaud des Pallières’s new film, Michael Kohlhaas is an adaptation of the Heinrich Von Kleist novella from 1811 of the same name. The film was selected to play in the main competition of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival – marking the first time that a film by des Pallières competes for the Palme d’Or. Set in sixteenth-century France, the film features Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant and Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who this time last year, went on to win the Best Actor prize at Cannes for his role in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. The first clip for the film has been released, which you can watch below. Enjoy!

****...

Ahead of its first Cannes market screening, Chicago-based Music Box Films has picked up all Us and Canadian rights to Arnaud des Pallières' competition title "Michael Kohlhaas," starring Mads Mikkelsen and adapted from the 1811 Heinrich von Kleist classic Romantic novel. Films du Losange is selling the film, which is Des Pallières' fourth feature, at Cannes. Des Pallières describes the film as: "set in a period where an impoverished aristocracy precariously still clings to feudal privileges passed down since the Middle Ages, while in the towns, a new world is taking shape. The townspeople are educated, often wealthy, but politically almost powerless. Kohlhaas, a horse merchant, suffers an injustice at the hands of a young baron and demands his rights, but society lets him down. He reacts by suddenly, brutally declaring war on society. He chooses the path of violence, with a razor-sharp sense of justice as his only moral guideline.

In competition at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, French director Arnaud des Pallières' Michael Kohlhaas is a 16th century revenge drama featuring a strong European cast including the likes of Bruno Ganz (Downfall) and Denis Lavant - star of Leos Carax's refreshingly bonkers 2012 Palme d'Or contender Holy Motors. However, it's Danish man of the moment Mads Mikkelsen who will no doubt be the main attraction here. Last seen at Cannes with Thomas Vintenberg's Jagten (The Hunt, 2012) and currently starring in the NBC TV drama Hannibal as everyone's favourite cannibal, Doctor Lecter, Mikkelsen has repeatedly proved himself both a versatile actor and a powerful screen presence.

Michael Kohlhaas

The aforementioned Mikkelsen plays the title role of horse-dealer Kohlhaas who, when wronged by a local lord, raises an army and seeks his revenge, spreading violence and fire across the land. The film is part-scripted and directed by Frenchman des Pallières,...

Germany has a large number of films in Cannes this year both as coproducer and single producer. Three German co-productions are in the competition including Heli by Amat Escalante (Mexico/ Germany/ France/ Netherlands), the adaptation of the Heinrich von Kleist novella Michael Kohlhaas by Arnaud des Pallières (France, Germany) and Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive (Germany, U.K., France, Cyprus), which has always been supported by the German producer Karl Baumgartner of Pandora. U.S. gets bragging rights but has no actual credit in the film.

Screening in Un Certain Regard are Tore Tanzt, the debut feature film of German director Katrin Gebbe ♀ which is eligible for the Camera d'Or as are first films from all sections, the co-productions My Sweet Pepper Land by Hiner Saleem (France, Germany) and Bastards by Claire Denis (France, Germany).

A digitally remastered version of Fedora by Billy Wilder will be shown in Cannes Classics along with four more German co-productions.

The German short Come And Play by Daria Belova ♀ is in Semaine de la Critique which will also present the German co-production The Lunchbox by Ritesh Batra (India, Deutschland, France).

Directors Fortnight is screening The Congress by director Ari Folmann (Israel, Germany, Poland, Luxembourg, France, Belgium).

The debut feature Summer Outside by Friederike Jehn (Germany, Switzerland) will be shown in Ecrans Juniors / Cannes Cinephiles which is curated by Cannes Cinema during the festival. The Strange Little Cat by Ramon Zürcher (Dffb) will be presented in the L'Acid-series, a special program by the Association du Cinéma Indépendant pour sa Diffusion during the festival.

German Films will be presenting a total of 30 New German Films to professional visitors at Cannes' Marché du Film from 17 to 22 May. Furthermore, this will be the 13th time that German Films joins forces with Focus Germany, the amalgamation of the seven major regional film funds, to run the German Pavilion in the International Village of the Marché du Film. The German Pavilion has been a popular platform for many years for people to get know one another personally and to foster an exchange between the accredited festival delegates from the German and international film industries in Cannes.

(Welcome to Cannes Check, your annual guide through the 19 films in Competition at next month's Cannes Film Festival, which kicks off on May 15. Taking on a different selection every day, we'll be examining what they're about, who's involved and what their chances are of snagging an award from Steven Spielberg's jury. We're going through the list by director and in alphabetical order -- next up, Arnaud des Pallières with "Michael Kohlhaas.") The director: Arnaud des Pallières (French, 51 years old). As you'd guess from that age, the Paris-born des Pallières is no newcomer: he made his feature debut with "Drancy...

Cannes Film Festival announces 2013 Lineup. There were 1,858 submissions this year, according to festival chief Thierry Frémaux. Some titles will be added in the coming weeks: In Competition Opening Film Baz Luhrmann The Great Gatsby (H.C.) *** Valeria Bruni-tedeschi Un CHÂTEAU En Italie Ethan Coen, Joel Coen Inside Llewyn Davis Arnaud des PALLIÈRES Michael Kohlhaas Arnaud Desplechin Jimmy P. (Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian) Amat Escalante Heli Asghar Farhadi Le PASSÉ (The Past) James Gray The Immigrant Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Grigris Jia Zhangke Tian Zhu Ding (A Touch Of Sin) Kore-eda Hirokazu Soshite Chichi Ni Naru (Like Father, Like Son) Abdellatif Kechiche La Vie D’ADЀLE (Blue Is The Warmest Color) Takashi Miike Wara No Tate (Shield Of Straw) François Ozon Jeune Et Jolie (Young And Beautiful) Alexander Payne Nebraska Roman Polanski La VÉNUS À La Fourrure Steven Soderbergh Behind The Candelabra Paolo Sorrentino La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) Alex Van Warmerdam...

The Official Selection for the 66th Cannes Film Festival has been unveiled and noticeable absentees in the list of 19 Main Comp films and the Un Certain Regard section include Terrence Malick, Ari Folman’s The Congress, Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, Michael Rowe’s Manto Acuifero, Tsai Ming-Liang’s Diary of a Young Boy, Jean-Luc Godard’s Goodbye To Language 3D, Serge Bozon’s Tip Top, Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, Corneliu Porumboiu’s Nine Minute Interval, Michel & Vicky Franco’s In the Eyes and not surprisingly, a film which might have become a colony instead in Ilya Khrzhanovsky’s Dau. All of these may trickle into the Directors’ Fortnight section, or might join Steve McQueen on the Lido in Venice.

In the Main Comp selection plenty that were targeted as likely candidates were included, and while we were thinking this was the year of the U.