“Sirat”, “Renoir”, “Downton Abbey. The Grand Finale”… Cinema releases for Wednesday, September 10

♦ Sirat ⭐⭐⭐

by Oliver Laxe

Spanish film, 1 hour 55 minutes

In an atmosphere of the end of the world, Sirat takes us aboard old trucks converted into homes with a group of misfits who look like punks with dogs, running from one free party to another to assert their freedom and their rejection of society. In the middle of this motley crew, there is Luis (Sergi Lopez), a Spanish father in search of his eldest daughter, who has been missing for several months and is familiar with this kind of gathering. A journey strewn with pitfalls begins in the Moroccan desert, which will lead them to experience extreme situations and become aware of the fragility of existence.

This film, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes , is not for everyone to see, or even for everyone to hear. With its absolute audacity and radicalism, this odyssey does not spare us and confronts us with our own finitude. We emerge from this work, as powerful as it is disturbing, vaguely stunned, but its story resonates within us for a long time.

» READ THE REVIEW: “Sirat”: A metaphysical odyssey in the Moroccan desert

♦ Renoir ⭐⭐⭐

by Chie Hayakawa

Japanese film, 2 hours

Fuki, an 11-year-old girl, is confronted during the summer of 1987 in Tokyo with her father's illness, who is battling terminal cancer. As the holidays approach and her mother tries every means to escape reality by taking refuge in her work, the girl, left to her own devices, must deal with her emotions and take refuge in an imaginary world populated by spirits and strange dreams.

Renoir , the second film by Japanese director Chie Hayakawa, sensitively explores the territory of childhood and its wounds. The filmmaker drew inspiration from her own story to construct a subtle portrait of this little girl unable to cope with the situation, who navigates between denial and indifference in order to better protect herself.

» READ THE REVIEW: “Renoir,” tenuous and precious flashes of childhood

♦ Free trade ⭐⭐

by Michael Angelo Covino

American film, 1 hour 44 minutes

Carey (Kyle Marvin), previously happily married, is told by his wife Ashley (Adria Arjona) that she wants a divorce after cheating on him several times. He runs to his best friend, Paul (Michael Angelo Covino), who is in the perfect love affair with Julie (Dakota Johnson). To his shock, he discovers that they attribute their success to being an open couple. Each person is free to have extramarital affairs as they please.

Writers and actors in their film, Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino, examine the pretenses in couples, the displayed certainties that hide completely different realities. As with The Climb , they create a burlesque and cruel comedy that turns out to be more subtle than it appears at first glance.

» READ THE REVIEW: “Free Trade”: My Best Friend’s Wife

♦Downton Abbey. The Grand Finale ⭐

by Simon Curtis

British film, 2 hours 4 minutes

In 1930, the financial crash from America jeopardizes the peace of mind of wealthy English landowners, while a few opportunists, even downright crooks, dangle lucrative stock market opportunities in front of them. Morals, however, evolve slowly, and high society does not accept that a divorced woman continues to shine in the world. On the noble floor as in the kitchens of Downton Abbey, generations pass and the "old" must, willingly or not, give way to a youth thirsty for reform.

Already scalded by the first two feature films extending the six seasons of the Downton Abbey series, the viewer will find little consolation in the third. The fault lies in a poor script, weakly supported by very dull dialogue. The heart is no longer in it.

» READ THE REVIEW: “The Grand Finale,” autumnal gloom on Downton Abbey

♦ A place for Pierrot ⭐⭐

by Hélène Médigue

French film, 1 hour 39 minutes

During a visit to her brother Pierrot, a 45-year-old autistic man, in his nursing home, Camille discovers that he's regressing, overwhelmed by medication. She immediately takes him out of the institution and moves him into her home. This lawyer under pressure is determined to juggle everything: her role with her teenage daughter, her career where she champions worthy causes, and the support Pierrot needs to emerge from his lethargy and achieve a little independence. But her brother, who's disrupting her meticulous organization, also needs a calm atmosphere.

In a somewhat bland film, Marie Gillain brings a beautiful energy to the character of Camille, between overflowing affection, a desire to do the right thing, and guilt at the idea of entrusting her brother to others. But it's Grégory Gadebois who impresses above all with his subtle interpretation of this autistic adult. With an economy of play and words, he expresses emotions with a look, a smile, a blush.

» READ THE REVIEW: “A Place for Pierrot,” three reasons to see the film by director Hélène Médigue

♦ Connemara ⭐

by Alex Lutz

French film, 1 hour 47 minutes

Following in the footsteps of Their Children After Them , adapted for the screen last year by the Boukherma brothers, it's the turn of another novel by Nicolas Mathieu, Connemara , to be transposed to the screen and it's the actor and director Alex Lutz who's taking on the role. In this depressive version of Partir un jour , where we find the impeccable Bastien Bouillon in the role of the former handsome guy from high school who stayed behind, Mélanie Thierry plays a senior executive who returns to settle with her family in her hometown after a burnout. Hélène succumbs to her former object of fantasy, but time has passed and the social distance has widened.

Despite two rather convincing actors, this pretty story of thwarted love against the backdrop of peripheral France is weighed down by a mannered and unsophisticated production which ends up annoying us instead of moving us.