• France: Celebrity and the Need for It

• • Art for Progress
  • Film
• 3 years ago
• French filmmaker Bruno Dumont has never played by any movie-making rules, which has resulted in a fascinating career of provocative and unsettling work, most of which can be classed as art films. A former philosophy professor, Dumont has clearly relished exploring themes of good and evil, incorporating gritty realism, extreme violence and sexuality (La Vie de Jesus, Twentynine Palms), as well as unexpected humor (the charmingly offbeat P'tit Quinquin). Dumont's latest, France, starring Léa Seydoux as the title character, is slicker looking than previous efforts, which makes it more confounding in some ways. A satirical exploration of celebrity and television journalism, France is uneven in tone, veering from wildly unsubtle to inscrutable, its deliberate pace elongating scenes that sometimes seem like they should be more revelatory. It’s also quite watchable, thanks mainly to Seydoux, who plays France de Meurs, a famous Parisian TV journalist who hosts a talk show. Early in the film, she is recognized and besieged for autographs on the street, which she seems to enjoy. Dumont digitally inserts France into footage of an actual press conference with President Emmanuel Macron, where she asks a tough question and mocks the event via a series of silent but expressive exchanges with her assistant Lou (comedian Blanche Gardin). Lou, a near slapstick character, fawns over her boss and treats TV journalism like a fame game. In one drawn-out scene, France takes charge du[...]
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