A new work by Linklater, a great melodrama by Almodóvar, the haikus of Koya Kamura… What films to see this week (or not)? Every Wednesday, find our reviews of the latest theatrical releases.
Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore in “The Room Next Door,” by Pedro Almodovar. Pathé Films/The Desire
By The Cinema Service
Published on January 7, 2025 at 5:42 p.m.
“The Room Next Door”, by Pedro Almodóvar: our favorite
Genre: luminous melodrama. Almodóvar orchestrates the summit meeting of two adventurous icons, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, on a heartbreaking score, evoking the right to die with dignity, at the chosen time. Sober and elegant. (With Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro. 1h47.)
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The Room Next Door
“The Wild Fires”, by Jia Zhang-Ke
Genre: shocking reinvention. Through a fragile and heartbreaking love story, the Chinese master Jia Zhang-ke revisits the epic of his country over more than twenty years, as well as his own work, of which we find fragments here and there. Masterful. (With Zhao Tao, Zhubin Li, Jianlin Pan. 1h51.)
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“The Wild Fires”, a masterful Chinese epic
“Winter in Sokcho”, by Koya Kamura
Genre: graceful contemplation. In a seaside town in South Korea numbed by the cold, two solitudes meet. A gentle chronicle full of melancholy, as delicate as a haiku. (With Roschdy Zem, Bella Kim, Park Mi-hyeon. 1h45.)
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“Winter in Sokcho”, a first film with the delicacy of a haiku
“No one understands anything”, by Yannick Kergoat
Genre: The Sarkozy-Gaddafi affair for dummies. This puzzle with multiple pieces, patiently assembled by Mediapartmade it possible to reveal one of the most resounding scandals of the Fifth Republic. Sober and efficient. (Documentary. 1h44.)
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“No one understands anything”, by Yannick Kergoat: our review
“The Daughter of a Great Love”, by Agnès de Sacy
Genre: happy autofiction. In 1992, Agnès de Sacy made a short documentary about her divorced parents, which led to their reunion. She tells this story in an autobiographical fiction with accents of Truffaut and Sautet. (With Isabelle Carré, François Damiens, Claire Duburcq. 1h34.)
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“The Daughter of a Great Love”, by Agnès de Sacy: our review
“Bernie”, the Richard Linklater
Genre: dark humor. In this unclassifiable comedy [inédite au cinéma en France]Linklater investigates a real tragedy: Bernie (Jack Black, excellent), a charming undertaker, falls in love with a widow whose husband he buried… Then kills her. (With Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey. 1h36.)
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Bernie
Not seen by the editorial staff
“Criminal Squad: Pantera”, by Christian Gudegast
(With Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad. 2h10.)
Still in theaters:
“Bird”, “A bear in the Jura”, “Love in the present”…
