ARP Sélection (France): 3

This Must Be the Place (2011), an Italian-French-Irish drama directed and written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello respectively, tells the story of Cheyenne. The former wealthy rock star has been living a mundane and uninspired life in Dublin for the past two decades. His retirement was prompted by the tragic suicides of two of his teenage fans. Seeking some sort of redemption, he makes the journey to New York to make amends with his dying father, only to arrive too late. His justification for not being in contact for 30 years was due to his father’s rejection when he began experimenting with goth ...

The French crime film, The Second Wind (2007), helmed by Alain Corneau, follows the story of Gu – a notorious gangster who has recently broken out of prison. With all of the French police hot on his trail, Gu must make a swift exit from the country with Manouche, his beloved. In order to fund their escape, Gu seeks out one last job. However, things take a turn when a corrupt police officer sets him up and makes it seem like he betrayed his own team. Determined to clear his name and restore his honour, Gu will stop at nothing to achieve justice.

Adapted from Dominique Mainard’s novel Leur histoire, the French drama film Some Kind of Blue (2005) was brought to life by Alain Corneau. The story follows Clara, a woman who works at a bird shop and is sole caretaker of her deaf-mute daughter Anna. Despite her concerns for Anna, who has never spoken, Clara herself is unable to read and write due to a traumatic incident in her past. After her beloved grandmother Baba was attacked while reading to her, Clara developed a strong aversion to learning literacy skills. As a ...