A certain state of French cinema. A certain look at French society. A certain Christmas spirit. Otherwise posed, a film feel good, a fable film and a scary film.
To end this year 2025, the cinema “critical spirit” takes you to see « A Fanfare », the public and critical success signed Emmanuel Courcol; Twenty Gods, the astonishing feature film by Louise Courvoisier and finally Planet Banticipation film directed by Aude Léa Rapin.
« A Fanfare »
A Fanfare is the title of Emmanuel Courcol's latest feature film. It was released at the end of November, but we wanted to come back to it today, to understand the reasons for both the critical and public success of this film, which has already attracted more than a million spectators and spectators in less than three weeks of operation.
Thibaut, raised in a bourgeois family in Meudon, and a brilliant conductor of international renown, jumping from one plane to another to conduct the best orchestras in the world. But he collapses during a rehearsal, due to devastating leukemia which requires an urgent bone marrow transplant.
The opportunity to discover, thanks to the DNA tests necessary for this transplant, that he is not the brother of the sister he thought he had, and that he was adopted without anyone having ever told him anything about its origin. But also the opportunity to discover a biological brother, whose existence he did not suspect, who was also adopted and lives in the north of France. This brother named Jimmy lives a life unlike Thibault, since he is a modest kitchen worker. He also plays the trombone in the municipal harmony of his small town and the shared passion of the two brothers for music will ensure that the graft between the two men is not just bone marrow.
« Twenty Gods »
Twenty Gods is no longer just a swear word, it is now the title of a film, in this case the first impressively masterful feature film from director Louise Courvoisier. The action takes place in the Jura where Anthony known as Totone drinks beers with his two friends at agricultural shows and local festivals. Until the day his father sees his car end up embedded in a tree after returning from a drunken dance during which his son also got into a fight with other local guys.
Totone, now alone in charge of his little sister, decides to try the competition to make the best Comté and win the 30,000 euros promised for the gold medal. We will not recount here the result of this competition, which is not the only one to take place in this film which also shows us a stock car race and a few fights over milk with a flowery taste.
Twenty Gods was released in theaters on December 11.
« Planet B »
Planet B comes out on December 25 but it is not strictly speaking a Christmas story. The second feature film by Aude Léa Rapin, after Heroes never die is in fact set in a dystopian France in the year 2039, in which all the excesses of our contemporary societies have become more pronounced: climate change, mistreatment of migrants, police violence, limitless surveillance, widespread corruption, fascisation of state powers, etc.
The film begins during a night of riots during which several activists disappear. Among the latter is Julia Bombarth, played by Adèle Exarchopoulos, who wakes up in an unknown universe: Planet B. A place which could resemble a tropical island if it were not a concentration camp universe of a new kind.
Planet B, by Aude Léa Rapin, will be on screens on December 25.
With :
- Alice Leroy, who writes for Cinema Notebooks et Panther Premiere
- Salima Tenfiche, lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle University
- Occitane Lacurie, member of the editorial board of the cinema review Overflowsdoctoral student in aesthetics and visual studies.
“Critical spirit” is a podcast recorded by the Gong teams and produced by Karen Beun.
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