The conquest by American colonists in the form of an epic choral tale, a former political prisoner, tortured by the regime of Bashar al-Assad in pursuit of his executioner, Roschdy Zem in an action thriller… The films to see this week.
Horizon. An American saga – To have
Kevin Costner Western, 3 hours
In 1859, the San Pedro Valley is nothing but a hostile land beaten by the winds. A man and his son take topographical surveys. They plant stakes to demarcate the contours of their future ranch. At a good distance, two Indian children observe these whites with their mysterious activity, circumspect. ” It’s a game “explains one of the two. Their parents do not share the same opinion. These first settlers will be massacred. Like the following ones. Good westerns are always about territories, spaces to conquer and defend. Kevin Costner is an expert on the fate reserved for indigenous tribes since the invention of the western, a Hollywood genre that evolved at the same time as awareness of the extermination of the Native Americans. Costner, for his part, does not take sides. The one who danced with wolves and smoked the pipe with the Sioux puts the two camps back to back. Violence is shared. The United States of America was born in blood. The confrontation with the Indians is at the heart of this first chapter ofHorizon. An American saga. Three other parts are planned. The scenario multiplies the leads and the characters. Even if it sometimes drags along along the way. Twenty years later Open RangeThe Last of the Mohicans proves that the mythology of the western is not exhausted. It is. S.
Read alsoOur review of Horizon, the other rush to the West
The ghosts – To have
Drama by Jonathan Millet, 1h46
Emerging from the darkness of the Saidnaya jails in Syria, young Hamid wanders off into a sun-drenched desert… Some time later, we find this former political prisoner, who was tortured by the regime of Bashar al-Assad, in Strasbourg, during the Christmas holidays. Slim and sharp, Hamid (Adam Bessa, the film’s revelation) still displays the impenetrable face of a poker player. A young Syrian woman is interested in him. He seems elsewhere. This enigmatic hero often communicates with his mother. And lies to her. In reality, Hamid is not what he claims to be. He is an agent on a mission who is part of a secret cell tracking down “the Chemist”, his former tormentor. In this sensory film, the smallest detail counts. Without claiming it, director Jonathan Millet reactivates the figure of the Nazi hunter, that of the Dossier Odessa (1974), by These boys who came from Brazil (1978). The ghosts turns out to be a spy thriller of burning geopolitical relevance, as merciless as it is hard-hitting. A success hailed at the opening of Critics’ Week at the last Cannes Film Festival. O. D.
The teacher – To have
Comedy by Maria Alché and Benjamin Naishtat, 1h51
An old philosophy professor dies while jogging. At Lujan University in Buenos Aires, the competition is in full swing. The brave Marcelo thinks he will naturally succeed his mentor. Things will not be so simple. The competition will be represented by a colleague with an unpronounceable name who arrives from Frankfurt and thinks he is at home. It must be said that the man has an advantageous physique, that he has the attraction of novelty and that his reputation is largely due to his affair with a famous actress. He is stopped in the street, asked for selfies. Opposite, there is the poor hero with his baldness, his modesty, which borders on clumsiness. We feel sympathy for this Marcelo who has few illusions about himself. Punctuated by fades to the iris, the film has the charm of a shrug. This South American Droopy provokes the smile of this summer. It is a bittersweet smile. They are the best. It is. N.
Elyas – To have
Thriller d’action de Florent-Emilio Siri, 1h39
Sitting, bare-chested, on his camp bed in a room with stone walls, Elyas (Roschdy Zem) plays at snapping his “Marlin” like a metronome. The fishing knife of this former special forces soldier twirls to the rhythm of his wrist. The gesture is sure. It works for him like a metallic lullaby that is as soothing as it is threatening. On the chest of this broken ex-warrior who served in Afghanistan, a set of military plaques shines. Roschdy Zem stares into space. Like a machine on standby. Cut off from the world, solitary, willingly paranoid, overwhelmed by post-traumatic stress disorder, the man has locked himself away in his suffering and mental illness. In short, he has become a shadow of himself. A former colleague brings him out of his torpor and hires him to provide security for a Middle Eastern family living in a castle. Reluctantly, Roschdy Zem re-enlists. Florent-Emilio Siri films his star with attention to each shot. Elyas slowly regains a taste for life in this fortified country house until a mysterious commando targets them. Siri perfectly masters the rhythm, tempo and space of the action sequences he orchestrates. Efficient and without any downtime, Elyas stands out as a film of reactivation, that of a sleeping soldier, a sort of French John Wick, less ironic and more tender. O. D.
Read alsoOur review of Elyas: Roschdy Zem or the awakening of the bodyguard
The 7 Samurai – Unavoidable
Epic drama by Akira Kurosawa, 3h37
The 7 Samurai is neither unobtainable nor even rare. But the new 4k restoration and the re-release on screens of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece are the event of this summer in the heritage section. 70 years after its initial release in theaters in Japan, the fourteenth film by the Japanese master, an epic fresco of 3h30, regains a forgotten splendor. If the plot of the 7 Samurai inspired other stories (randomly, the western The Magnificent Seven by John Sturges), the virtuosity of his staging has influenced generations of filmmakers. “Every time I make a film, whether it’s an action film, a comedy or a war film, I look The 7 Samurai », said John Woo. A method that pays off. It is. S.
Why are you smiling ? – To avoid
Comedy by Christine Paillard and Chad Chenouga, 1h35
There were all the ingredients for a spicy comedy. Wisi (Jean-Pascal Zadi), a homeless black man, pretends to be an undocumented Ivorian to soften up Marina (Emmanuel Devos), a solitary humanitarian with a big heart, who agrees to put him up. Jérôme (Raphaël Quenard), another galley slave, also crashes in Marina’s house. Unfortunately, the script quickly stalls. The satire is too gentle to make people laugh. The trio of excellent actors doesn’t create sparks. We can console ourselves with the wicked humor of Plastic gunsstill in theaters. It is. S.
