On Tuesday, Feb. 14 in Hull Auditorium,
the French Film Festival
ended with "Joueuse," a French
drama released in 2009 based upon
Bertina Henrichs' novel "La Joueuse
d'échecs."
The film features actress Sandrine
Bonnaire ("Vagabond") as chambermaid
Hélène, who gains an intense
newfound passion for chess after
viewing an intimate couple playing
the game. Bonnaire soon yearns for
improvement and instruction to learn,
which comes upon the role of her employer,
played by Oscar winner Kevin
Kline ("A Fish Called Wanda").
The film was awarded Special Mention
for the John Schlesinger Award
for Outstanding First Feature at the
Palm Springs International Film Festival
in 2010, and awarded Official Selection
at the Tribeca Film Festival in
2009.
On Jan. 31, The Rotunda reported,
"The festival was created in part
thanks to the French American Cultural
Exchange, part of the Cultural
Services of the French Embassy, and its
program. The Tournées Film Festival,
a program that seeks to bring modern
French cinemas to American colleges
and universities. The Tournées Grant
offers money and distributes movies
in hopes that the schools will soon be
able to fund and sustain their own foreign
film festivals."
"At a time when most pictures are
all CGId up and IMAXd out, there's
something particularly enjoyable
about settling into a film whose pleasures
reside in quiet moments, understated
performances and the reading
of subtitles," reported the Washington
Post.
"It's almost necessary to see it twice
to really appreciate fully what's going
on between Kline and Bonnaire's
characters over the course of the film,"
reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
"Chess is here both metaphor — a
symbol of the life Hélène dreams of,
in which any move is possible — and
a means to an end, as she realizes her
own worth and her ability to change
her future," reported the Seattle Times.
This year's French Film Festival,
that included films ranging from comedy
to drama to animated and more,
comes to a close. It was partnered by
the General Education Film Series, the
Department of English and Modern
Languages, the Office of International
Affairs and the Parents' Council, as reported
by The Rotunda on Jan. 31.
The complete list of films presented
includes, "Coco avant Chanel,"
"Des Dieux et des Hommes,"
"L'Illusioniste," "Potiche" and, finally,
"Joueuse."
Don't let this year's conclusion to the
French Film Festival end your broadening
of worldly cinematic boundaries
until next year. Hollywood is only
the tip of the iceberg in the film industry.
Don't let subtitles intimidate you
when your new favorite movie could
be across the aisle from "New Releases"
and into the aisle titled, "Foreign"
– or
Sandrine Bonnaire's heroine faces criticism and doubt from her community in the film 'Joueuse.'
