The essentials and discoveries of the FNC

The Festival du nouveau cinéma, which is in full swing until October 15, is once again presenting several works this year that have delighted film buffs at major festivals recently. Here are the films not to be missed, and those to discover, according to our journalists who have seen them in recent months.

The unavoidable

The passion of Dodin Bouffant, by Tran Anh Hùng

Dodin Bouffant (Benoît Magimel) has been trying for two decades to convince Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) to marry him. He is a gastronome of international reputation, considered the “Napoleon of the culinary art”, the equal of the great chefs Carême and Escoffier. She is his cook and his lover. In a final effort, he will meticulously prepare a meal fit for a queen. We have never seen such a declaration of love, through delicate dishes, in the cinema. Inspired by a novel by Marcel Rouff published in 1924, The passion of Dodin Bouffantopening film of 52^e Festival of new cinema, remembered for its gastronomic excess Babette’s feast. We waltz in the kitchen with Dodin and Eugénie as they prepare a feast for friends, thanks to the fluid camera movements and choreography by Trân Anh Hùng. French quality, in the culinary art (the triple Michelin starred Pierre Gagnaire acted as consultant) and cinematographic, is expressed through this elegant and moving, but academic, didactic and smooth film, which earned the filmmaker the Best Director Award at the most recent Cannes Film Festival.

Marc Cassivi, The Press

At the Imperial cinema on October 12, 6 p.m.

Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicideby Ariane Louis-Seize

Terrific vampire film with dark humor, coupled with a touching coming-of-age story, Humanist vampire seeking consenting suicide, the first feature film by Ariane Louis-Seize, co-written with Christine Doyon, is a successful balancing act between drama and comedy, on a subject as serious and delicate as suicide. It’s the story of Sasha (Sara Montpetit), a teenager who refuses to give in to her bloodthirsty nature and bite a human being. She just drinks blood through a straw from the sachets available in the family fridge. Her father (Steve Laplante) supports her in her difference, but her mother (Sophie Cadieux) is less forgiving. Sasha is sent by her parents to live with her cousin and, at their insistence, joins a support group for anonymous depressives. There she meets Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a shy boy who cannot find meaning in his life. Sasha offers him a deal. The result is a sensitive and beautiful film, which multiplies metaphors and innuendoes, particularly on the awkwardness and stress of the “first time”. It earned Ariane Louis-Seize first prize in the Giornate degli Autori section of the 80^e Venice Film Festival, a few weeks ago.

Marc Cassivi, The Press

At the Imperial cinema on October 10, 7 p.m.; at the Cineplex Latin Quarter on October 12, 6:30 p.m.

The beast, by Bertrand Bonello

The beast, by Bertrand Bonello, a retrofuturist drama loosely inspired by a short story by Henry James dating from 1903, is an elegant and enigmatic, disturbing and anxiety-provoking film, which takes place in parallel universes and variable space-time, with back and forth constants between the past (1910), the present (2014, in fact) and the future (2044). Bonello manages to maintain an atmosphere of disquiet throughout the duration of this sumptuous and glacial film, mysterious and sometimes opaque, which gradually reveals its multiple layers. The story alternates between French and English, Paris and Los Angeles. Léa Seydoux alternately plays a French actress in Hollywood, a pianist married to a doll maker who meets a young Londoner (George MacKay) to whom she revealed a dark presentiment, and a woman who hesitates to escape a purification of his DNA, in order to cut himself off from his feelings. Bonello, to whom the FNC is paying tribute this year, addresses fears linked to the invasion of artificial intelligence or even the misogynistic culture of incels, with processes which are notably reminiscent of certain films by Michael Haneke (Benny’s Video, Funny Games).

Marc Cassivi, The Press

At the Imperial cinema on October 11, 7 p.m.; at the Cineplex Latin Quarter on October 15, 4:30 p.m.

Priscillaby Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of Priscilla Presley’s biography, Elvis and Me, published in 1985, is a subtle and intimate work, minimalist and impressionist, about the emancipation of a woman under the yoke of a pygmalion since adolescence. A story in perfect harmony with the rest of Sofia Coppola’s filmography, about young women in search of freedom, which rises through its mastery above the fray of Bling Ring, Beguiled And On the Rocks. Priscilla Beaulieu was only 14 years old and Elvis Presley, 10 years older, when they met in 1959. It is from this moment, and through the eyes of Priscilla Presley, that Sofia Coppola tells this story of mythical love that today we would describe as toxic. Until the couple separated in 1973. Sofia Coppola made the wise choice to entrust these iconic roles to little-known actors. The Australian Jacob Elordi, who does not attempt to imitate Elvis, exudes an energy that is both touching and terrifying. The American Cailee Spaeny, 25, is completely convincing, both in the shoes of a smitten 14-year-old teenager and that of an emancipated 28-year-old woman. She won the Best Actress Award last month at the Venice Film Festival.

Marc Cassivi, The Press

At the Imperial cinema on October 8, 9 p.m.; at the Cinéma du Parc on October 15, 8 p.m.

To discover

Musicby Angela Schanelec

Montrealer Alyocha Schneider plays Jonathan, a modern Oedipus who sings more than he speaks, in Music by Angela Schanelec, a very free rereading of the famous Greek myth, presented in competition at the Berlinale last February. Music tells the tragic journey of Jonathan, abandoned shortly after his birth in the Greek mountains, then adopted by the paramedic who found him there. As an adult, while a student, he accidentally kills a young man and is sent to prison where Iro (Agathe Bonitzer), a supervisor, becomes infatuated with him. The German filmmaker plays with time, blurring the lines and multiplying ellipses. It does not in the slightest adhere to the usual narrative codes and immediately imposes those of Greek tragedy – the stoic and placid performance of the actors is resolutely theatrical. Music is a film of indolent atmospheres and long silences. Alyosha Schneider does not say a single word during the first 30 minutes of the film and the rest of his lines can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It is through music and his songs that his character is expressed in this enigmatic, atmospheric, austere, abstract and frankly demanding film.

Marc Cassivi, The Press

At the Cineplex Latin Quarter on October 8, 3 p.m.; at the Cinémathèque québécoise on October 9, 7:15 p.m.

Trips to Italy, by Sophie Letourneur

A vacation gone wrong becomes the ideal pretext for this burlesque comedy that evokes Roberto Rossellini’s classic. The actress and director Sophie Letourneur (Huge) forms a particularly credible couple with Philippe Katerine who finds one of his best roles in the cinema. Their irresistible chemistry, as well as the often hilarious situations, the dialogues that melt in the mouth and the mockumentary-style staging infuse a constant good humor into this somewhat repetitive story. The duo must also make the trip to Montreal to present the feature film.

Martin Gignac, special collaboration

At the Cineplex Latin Quarter on October 7, 5:45 p.m. and October 8, 3:30 p.m.; at the Museum Cinema on October 9, 4 p.m.

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the Worldby Radu Jude

After winning the Golden Bear for his breathtaking Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Radu Jude offers a new unclassifiable and subversive UFO. By following a young woman who seeks to talk to disabled workers, the enfant terrible of Romanian cinema paints a relentless portrait of neoliberal capitalism and the digital age. The ingenuity of the staging is reminiscent of the Godard of the good old days, the cynical humor hits the mark and the references flow freely. The whole thing may drag on, but it is a huge, brilliant and necessary political satire.

Martin Gignac, special collaboration

At the Cinéma du Parc on October 7, 6:15 p.m.; at the Cineplex Latin Quarter on October 9, 7:45 p.m.; at the Cinéma du Parc, October 14, 6 p.m.

Olfa’s daughtersby Kaouther Ben Hania

A mother hires professional actresses to fill the absence of her two eldest daughters. This is the starting point of this exceptional film by Kaouther Ben Hania (The man who sold his skin), which is intended to be both a powerful cathartic therapy and a fascinating reflection on cinema. The hybrid device between reality and fiction allows us to grasp the full complexity of this woman – and of her country, Tunisia – who evolves in an environment where violence and freedom are often linked. A moving work.

Martin Gignac, special collaboration

At the Imperial Cinema on October 9, 4:30 p.m.; at the Cineplex Latin Quarter October 14, 8:30 p.m.