Bangkok French Film Festival

Now that the French cinema has gained unprecedented popularity in Thailand with an increasing number of films shown on Thai screens, the aim of the Bangkok French Film Festival is to promote the variety and the richness of the French contemporary cinema, its analysis of French society and its entertaining qualities. Enjoy the show!

Film Selection:

Change of Address
Directed by: Emmanuel Mouret
2006 / Romantic Comedy / 1h 25min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Fanny Valette,Frédérique Bel,Dany Brillant
Cannes Film Festival 2006 / Pusan Film Festival 2006

David, a shy, awkward musician who has just moved to Paris, falls madly in love with his young student, Julia. He tries everything to win her heart. His roommate, Anne, provides encouragement, advice and consolation... passionately!

Four Stars
Directed by: Christian Vincent
2006 / Comedy / 1h 40min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Isabelle Carré, José Garcia, François Cluzet
Berlin International Film Festival 2006 / Nominated for the César 2007

"Quatre Etoiles" is a story about money, and therefore, feelings. It’s the story of a girl who inherits €50,000 and doesn’t really know what to do with it. It’s a burden, this thing called money. It binds you, just like feelings. Franssou decides to spend it by going to the Côte d'Azur. Here she comes across Stéphane at the Carlton Hotel. He is interested in money – other people’s money, that is. He wants Franssou’s, but the lady is no pushover. They will join forces and try to cheat a third scoundrel, a former racing car driver. A story mixes vice and virtue, money and feelings.

Immortal
Directed by: Enki Bilal
2004 / Fantasy / 1h 42min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling
Nominated for the César 2005

New York 2095. A floating pyramid above Manhattan… A population of mutants, aliens, humans, real or synthetic. An electoral campaign. A bulimic serial killer looking for a sane body and a falcon-headed god who has got only seven days to preserve his immortality. A prison which loses a subversive dissident who had been frozen for thirty years. A woman whose origin remains unknown, with blue hair and blue tears… Three names: Horus, Nikopol, Jill. Three people with convergent destinies, in a world in which everything is fake: voices, bodies, memories. Only love is a true relief.

Screened in English with Thai subtitles.

La Mome
Directed by: Olivier Dahan
2007 / Drama / 2h 20min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Cast: Marion Cotillard, Gérard Depardieu, Clotilde Courau
Official competition Berlin International Film Festival 2007

From the slums of Paris to the limelight of New York, Edith Piaf’s life was a battle to sing and survive, live and love. Raised in poverty, Edith’s magical voice and her passionate romances and friendships with the greatest names of the period -Yves Montand, Jean Cocteau, Charles Aznavour, Marlene Dietrich, Marcel Cerdan and others- made her a star all around the world. But in her audacious attempt to tame her tragic destiny, the Little Sparrow - her nickname - flew so high she could not fail to burn her wings.

Moliere
Directed by: Laurent Tirard
2007 / Comedy / 2 hours - Showtimes Here
Cast: Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante

In 1644, Molière is only twenty-two years old. Up to his eyes in debt and pursued by bailiffs, he persists in trying to stage tragedies in which he is an undeniably a bad actor. And then one day, after having been imprisoned by his impatient creditors, he disappears...

Orchestra Seats
Directed by: Danièle Thompson
2006 / Comedy / 1h 46min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Cécile de France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel
César 2007: 4 nominations / César for the best actress in a supporting role

Catherine is a hit on TV; she’s famous, popular, adored. And yet, all she dreams of is to be in art-house movies and appreciated by the intellectual set. Tonight, she’s performing in her 100th episode; during the day she’s rehearsing a play at the Champs- Élysées Theater. She is overworked, but the play opens on the 17th and one’s got to be on form to play Feydeau, even if one prefers Sartre! One must be careful about orchestra seats: if they are too far away, you miss the show, but if they are too close, everything is blurred.

My Son
Directed by: Martial Fougeron
2007 / Drama / 1h 29min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Nathalie Baye, Olivier Gourmet, Victor Sévaux
San Sebastian International film festival 2006 : Golden Shell for Best Film

Julien is an adorable boy on the cusp of adolescence, but he is also a prisoner of love. His mother, neglected by her academic husband, adores him excessively and controls his every move, often through cruel psychological bullying. Miserable, he tries to break free, finding and then losing a girlfriend, turning to his grandmother and sister, calling the police, threatening suicide. But there is nothing stronger than a mother's love.

The Page Turner
Directed by: Denis Dercourt
2006 / Drama / 1h 25min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory
Cannes Film Festival 2006

Daughter of a provincial butcher, young Mélanie shows talent as a pianist. She sits the entrance exam at the Music Academy, but fails, having felt unsettled by the thoughtless behavior of the jury chairwoman, a well known concert pianist. Some ten years later, she starts working as an intern at a major international law firm, whose director, Mr. Fouchéchourt, happens to be married to the woman who irrevocably changed her life. Mélanie soon attracts praise for her efficiency and dedication, and Mr. Fouchéchourt recruits her into his home to look after his son. Mrs. Fouchéchourt warms to her when the young woman reveals her musical sensitivity, and Mélanie becomes her pager turner.

In French with English and Thai subtitles.

The Passenger
Directed by: Eric Caravaca
2006 / Drama / 1h 25min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Julie Depardieu, Eric Caravaca, Vincent Rottiers
Critic’s week Venice International Film Festival 2005

Thomas has just been informed that his brother, Richard, has died. It has been some years since he saw him. He leaves Paris and goes to Marseille to identify the body, gathers up his brother’s things, and then heads for his home town. Shortly after arriving, he returns to his childhood home, but doesn’t linger there. He rents a room in a hotel on the outskirts. There is no one about, except for Jeanne, the hotel owner, Lucas, a teenager she is taken in, and Joseph, an elderly mechanic. They all knew Richard well. Thomas decides not to reveal his true identity to them.

Private Fears in Public Spaces
Directed by: Alain Resnais
2006 / Drama / 2h 5min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Sabine Azéma, Isabelle Carré, Laura Morante
Official Competition Venice International Film Festival 2006

Thierry is a real estate agent who goes to great efforts to try and find an apartment for Nicole and Dan, two difficult clients. Charlotte, his colleague, lends him a video of "Songs That Have Changed My Life,” a TV program of Christian tunes that she adores. Thierry is powerfully moved by what he sees. Gaëlle, Thierry’s younger sister, who is secretly looking for love, even tries out the personals. Dan, a professional soldier recently expelled from the army, spends his days in the bar of a swank, new hotel in Paris’s 13th arrondissement where he tells Lionel, the barman, about his misfortunes – both professional and personal, with Nicole. To work nights, Lionel seeks out the services of a volunteer caregiver to look after his father, Arthur, an elderly, sick, and cantankerous man. The caregiver is none other than Charlotte. And so, a character’s actions can reshape another’s destiny, without even knowing, or indeed, even meeting him or her.

You and Me
Directed by: Julie Lopes Curval
2006 / Romance / 1h 30min - Showtimes Here
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Julie Depardieu, Jonathan Zaccaï

Editor of the photo romance section of "You and Me” magazine, Ariane has a tendency to transpose the love lives of herself and her sister, Lena, onto the pages – albeit with some extra flourishes. However, their lives are not exactly romantic: Ariane clings on to Farid, who wants nothing to do with her, while Lena has grown bored with her companion, François. But what if Ariane let herself go and fell in love with Pablo, the handsome Spaniard who is working her building? And what if Lena let her heart beat for Mark, the remarkable violinist she has just met?