Netflix's new 2024 series, Furies, is headlined by a talented cast of French actors, such as Lina El Arabi and Steve Tientcheu.
The series chronicles the story of Lyna as she embarks on a journey inside the Paris criminal underworld to uncover the identity of her father's killer.
Furies premiered on Netflix on March 1.
Read full article on The Direct.
The series chronicles the story of Lyna as she embarks on a journey inside the Paris criminal underworld to uncover the identity of her father's killer.
Furies premiered on Netflix on March 1.
Read full article on The Direct.
- 3/4/2024
- by Aeron Mer Eclarinal
- The Direct
Near the end of the political drama “Les Indésirables,” a precisely angled wide shot of a run-down apartment complex depicts the immigrant families that have inhabited it for many years throwing their most precious belongings over their balconies in a last-ditch effort to save them. Scores of virulent riot police have shown up to evict them without prior notice. Amid such extreme circumstances, it’s the unconditional solidarity between all of those surviving in this constantly dehumanized Parisian neighborhood that defines the chaotic scene.
It’s the rare instance when French director Ladj Ly allows the images to speak for themselves, rather than having one of his many characters instructively proclaim why we must care, in the second feature from the Oscar-nominated director of “Les Misérables.” Another impassioned statement against social and racial inequality, “Les Indésirables” feels no less urgent, and yet, the film stumbled at the French box office...
It’s the rare instance when French director Ladj Ly allows the images to speak for themselves, rather than having one of his many characters instructively proclaim why we must care, in the second feature from the Oscar-nominated director of “Les Misérables.” Another impassioned statement against social and racial inequality, “Les Indésirables” feels no less urgent, and yet, the film stumbled at the French box office...
- 1/29/2024
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Variety Film + TV
The French sales outfit has the first image of Tomer Sisley in The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure.
Goodfellas has boarded Claire Burger’s anticipated coming-of-age drama Langue Etrangère, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Nina Hoss, ahead of this week’s Rendez-Vous with France Cinema this week in Paris.
Langue Etrangère is about teenage pen pals in France and Germany and is produced by Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani’s Les Films de Pierre with Belgium’s Les Films du Fleuve and Germany’s Razor Film Produktion. Burger wrote the film in collaboration with The Five Devils’ Léa Mysius.
Goodfellas has boarded Claire Burger’s anticipated coming-of-age drama Langue Etrangère, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Nina Hoss, ahead of this week’s Rendez-Vous with France Cinema this week in Paris.
Langue Etrangère is about teenage pen pals in France and Germany and is produced by Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani’s Les Films de Pierre with Belgium’s Les Films du Fleuve and Germany’s Razor Film Produktion. Burger wrote the film in collaboration with The Five Devils’ Léa Mysius.
- 1/15/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
- 11/7/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Lupin season 3.
When you’re a gentleman thief renowned for his jewel heists, how do you top yourself? By killing the legend. In the latest installment of George Kay’s Lupin, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) faked his own death to protect his family, only to be drawn back into the world of the living when his mother Mariama (Naky Sy Savane) was kidnapped by a dangerous figure from his past. For the first time forced into heists not of his own choosing, Assane has had to rely on his encyclopedic knowledge of literary gentleman thief Arsène Lupin—as well as his usual arsenal of impeccable disguises—to pay a thieves’ ransom in stolen pearls, paintings, and bracelets.
While each heist was the usual blend of clever hiding-in-plain-sight and intricate two-days-ago time jumps that viewers have come to expect, the overall season arc of Lupin Part 3 was relatively straightforward…...
When you’re a gentleman thief renowned for his jewel heists, how do you top yourself? By killing the legend. In the latest installment of George Kay’s Lupin, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) faked his own death to protect his family, only to be drawn back into the world of the living when his mother Mariama (Naky Sy Savane) was kidnapped by a dangerous figure from his past. For the first time forced into heists not of his own choosing, Assane has had to rely on his encyclopedic knowledge of literary gentleman thief Arsène Lupin—as well as his usual arsenal of impeccable disguises—to pay a thieves’ ransom in stolen pearls, paintings, and bracelets.
While each heist was the usual blend of clever hiding-in-plain-sight and intricate two-days-ago time jumps that viewers have come to expect, the overall season arc of Lupin Part 3 was relatively straightforward…...
- 10/5/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
French filmmaker Ladj Ly has returned to his home turf of Paris with Les Indésirables, a searing portrait of police violence and political injustice in angry suburbs that has a world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this week.
On Saturday, Ly told a TIFF panel that little has changed for the better for the marginalized communities depicted in his follow-up to Les Misérables, which earned the Jury Prize in Cannes. “There’s absolutely no political volition to make anything better,” Ly said during an informal conversation with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Roxborough, which was presented as part of the Visionaries series.
“The problems that touched the suburbs have now extended to the rest of France,” Ly added, as he pointed to the police crackdown of Yellow Vests protests countrywide against economic injustice, which included grassroots protests earlier this year against pension reforms.
“The police have a free pass to kill Blacks and Arabs,...
On Saturday, Ly told a TIFF panel that little has changed for the better for the marginalized communities depicted in his follow-up to Les Misérables, which earned the Jury Prize in Cannes. “There’s absolutely no political volition to make anything better,” Ly said during an informal conversation with The Hollywood Reporter‘s Scott Roxborough, which was presented as part of the Visionaries series.
“The problems that touched the suburbs have now extended to the rest of France,” Ly added, as he pointed to the police crackdown of Yellow Vests protests countrywide against economic injustice, which included grassroots protests earlier this year against pension reforms.
“The police have a free pass to kill Blacks and Arabs,...
- 9/10/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The elevator hasn’t worked in years, so the men carry the casket down several flights of stairs. The hallway lights flicker at unpredictable intervals. The descent to the street, where the men will meet a hearse, is a treacherous one. At the sight of their hunched backs and the sound of barked instructions, a grieving woman asks: “How can we live and die in a place like this?” Welcome to Batiment 5, the setting of French Malian director Ladj Ly’s blistering feature Les Indésirables.
Ly knows how to stage scenes of visceral power, deftly moving between full-hearted flashes of community and taut, antagonistic ones laced with a dreadful foreboding. In Les Misérables, his 2019 Cannes Jury Prize-winning and Oscar-nominated film, the helmer examined tensions between working-class residents and a French anti-crime unit. He harnessed the propulsive energy of thrillers and blended it with the insistent morals of a political drama.
Ly knows how to stage scenes of visceral power, deftly moving between full-hearted flashes of community and taut, antagonistic ones laced with a dreadful foreboding. In Les Misérables, his 2019 Cannes Jury Prize-winning and Oscar-nominated film, the helmer examined tensions between working-class residents and a French anti-crime unit. He harnessed the propulsive energy of thrillers and blended it with the insistent morals of a political drama.
- 9/8/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It would be easy to mistake Ladj Ly’s “Les Indésirables” for a direct sequel to his 2019 debut “Les Misérables.” Beyond possessing a similar title, some of the same cast, and a shared focus on the oppressive living conditions of Paris’ most vulnerable immigrant communities, Ly’s second narrative feature picks up where his first left off: In the crowded stairwell of a suburban housing project as its residents ask themselves, this time aloud: “How can we live and die in a place like this?”
The fade-to-black in the final moments of Ly’s Cannes breakout suggested that loss was imminent, and the ominous drone shot that begins his more expansive sophomore effort ultimately arrives at the sight of a corpse in a coffin. But if these equally combustible films are set in different buildings, and in different communities (with the town of “Grand-Bosquet” standing in for Montfermeil), they’re...
The fade-to-black in the final moments of Ly’s Cannes breakout suggested that loss was imminent, and the ominous drone shot that begins his more expansive sophomore effort ultimately arrives at the sight of a corpse in a coffin. But if these equally combustible films are set in different buildings, and in different communities (with the town of “Grand-Bosquet” standing in for Montfermeil), they’re...
- 9/8/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The social drama is set to debut at this year’s Toronto film festival.
Goodfellas has unveiled the first English-language trailer for Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables (Bâtiment 5) set to world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 8).
Watch the trailer above.
The social drama follows a young woman (newcomer Anta Diaw) deeply involved in the life of her community, who discovers a redevelopment plan for her neighbourhood calling for the demolition of the block where she grew up and led behind closed doors by a young doctor thrust into the role of mayor (Les Misérables’ co-writer and star...
Goodfellas has unveiled the first English-language trailer for Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables (Bâtiment 5) set to world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 8).
Watch the trailer above.
The social drama follows a young woman (newcomer Anta Diaw) deeply involved in the life of her community, who discovers a redevelopment plan for her neighbourhood calling for the demolition of the block where she grew up and led behind closed doors by a young doctor thrust into the role of mayor (Les Misérables’ co-writer and star...
- 9/8/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
The social drama is set to debut at this year’s Toronto film festival.
Goodfellas has unveiled the first English-language trailer for Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables (Bâtiment 5) set to world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 8).
Watch the trailer above.
The social drama follows a young woman (newcomer Anta Diaw) deeply involved in the life of her community, who discovers a redevelopment plan for her neighbourhood calling for the demolition of the block where she grew up and led behind closed doors by a young doctor thrust into the role of mayor (Les Misérables’ co-writer and star...
Goodfellas has unveiled the first English-language trailer for Ladj Ly’s Les Indésirables (Bâtiment 5) set to world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival tonight (September 8).
Watch the trailer above.
The social drama follows a young woman (newcomer Anta Diaw) deeply involved in the life of her community, who discovers a redevelopment plan for her neighbourhood calling for the demolition of the block where she grew up and led behind closed doors by a young doctor thrust into the role of mayor (Les Misérables’ co-writer and star...
- 9/8/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Ladj Ly’s “Les Indésirables” is set to make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, making it the first international title to debut at TIFF 2023.
“We are honored to showcase Ladj Ly’s remarkable talent once again with the World Premiere of his latest work, ‘Les Indésirables,’” Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, said. “This deeply personal film beautifully captures the struggles and aspirations of a community, reflecting Ly’s unparalleled storytelling skills.”
The film – whose title is a nod to the Victor Hugo novel – is set in the suburbs of Paris and follows a young doctor (Alexis Manenti) who is appointed to replace the mayor after the politican’s sudden death. As he tries to continue the plans of his predecessor, which involve rehabilitating a working-class neighborhood, he comes face-to-face with a local French woman (Anta Diaw) of Malian origin who refuses to let her family lose their home.
“We are honored to showcase Ladj Ly’s remarkable talent once again with the World Premiere of his latest work, ‘Les Indésirables,’” Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, said. “This deeply personal film beautifully captures the struggles and aspirations of a community, reflecting Ly’s unparalleled storytelling skills.”
The film – whose title is a nod to the Victor Hugo novel – is set in the suburbs of Paris and follows a young doctor (Alexis Manenti) who is appointed to replace the mayor after the politican’s sudden death. As he tries to continue the plans of his predecessor, which involve rehabilitating a working-class neighborhood, he comes face-to-face with a local French woman (Anta Diaw) of Malian origin who refuses to let her family lose their home.
- 7/5/2023
- by Kayla Cobb
- The Wrap
The fall fest season is revving up.
The Toronto Film Festival said Wednesday that French director Ladj Ly’s new feature Les Indésirables will world premiere at its 48th edition, running from September 7-17.
It is the first international world premiere title to be unveiled by TIFF ahead of fuller lineup details in the coming weeks. Last week, organizers said Searchlight’s Taika Waititi soccer comedy Next Goal Wins will have its world premiere there.
Les Indésirables is Ly’s second fiction feature after his award-winning debut Les Misérables, which won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2019 and went on to make its North American premiere at TIFF that same year.
Les Misérables won a slew of French Césars the following year and was also France’s Academy Awards submission, getting through to the final nominations stage in the International Feature category, going up up against Parasite.
Ly’s work, capturing...
The Toronto Film Festival said Wednesday that French director Ladj Ly’s new feature Les Indésirables will world premiere at its 48th edition, running from September 7-17.
It is the first international world premiere title to be unveiled by TIFF ahead of fuller lineup details in the coming weeks. Last week, organizers said Searchlight’s Taika Waititi soccer comedy Next Goal Wins will have its world premiere there.
Les Indésirables is Ly’s second fiction feature after his award-winning debut Les Misérables, which won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2019 and went on to make its North American premiere at TIFF that same year.
Les Misérables won a slew of French Césars the following year and was also France’s Academy Awards submission, getting through to the final nominations stage in the International Feature category, going up up against Parasite.
Ly’s work, capturing...
- 7/5/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Ladj Ly, the French filmmaker behind “Les Misérables,” will return to the Toronto International Film Festival with his latest drama, “Les Indésirables.” The film will have its world premiere at the fall festival, where it is selling distribution rights.
Buyers, particularly those looking to land the rare foreign language film that could appeal to U.S. audiences, will certainly be keen to see what Ly has brought to Toronto. “Les Misérables,” with its searing depiction of police violence and roiling tensions in an immigrant community on the outskirts of Paris electrified critics when it debuted in Cannes in 2019. It won Cannes’ Jury Prize and went on to pick up Oscar and BAFTA nominations after it sold to Amazon.
“Les Indésirables,” which translates to undesirables, stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar, Steve Tientcheu, Anta Diaw and Aristote Luyindula. Like “Les Misérables,” it is also set in the suburbs of Paris. After the...
Buyers, particularly those looking to land the rare foreign language film that could appeal to U.S. audiences, will certainly be keen to see what Ly has brought to Toronto. “Les Misérables,” with its searing depiction of police violence and roiling tensions in an immigrant community on the outskirts of Paris electrified critics when it debuted in Cannes in 2019. It won Cannes’ Jury Prize and went on to pick up Oscar and BAFTA nominations after it sold to Amazon.
“Les Indésirables,” which translates to undesirables, stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar, Steve Tientcheu, Anta Diaw and Aristote Luyindula. Like “Les Misérables,” it is also set in the suburbs of Paris. After the...
- 7/5/2023
- by Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
French filmmaker won the jury prize at Cannes with ‘Les Misérables’, which went on to secure an Oscar nomination.
Les Indésirables, the second feature of Cannes award-winner Ladj Ly, will receive its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
The French filmmaker was previously at TIFF in 2019 with debut Les Misérables, which won the jury prize when it premiered in Competition at Cannes and went on to secure an Oscar nomination for best international feature film.
Les Indésirables is a timely tale of revolution, set in the suburbs on the outskirts of Paris, and stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar and Steve Tientcheu,...
Les Indésirables, the second feature of Cannes award-winner Ladj Ly, will receive its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival.
The French filmmaker was previously at TIFF in 2019 with debut Les Misérables, which won the jury prize when it premiered in Competition at Cannes and went on to secure an Oscar nomination for best international feature film.
Les Indésirables is a timely tale of revolution, set in the suburbs on the outskirts of Paris, and stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar and Steve Tientcheu,...
- 7/5/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Ladj Ly, whose debut feature Les Miserables won the Jury Prize in Cannes and became a box office hit in France, is bringing his follow-up feature Les Indesirables to the Toronto International Film Festival for a world premiere.
The French filmmaker will return to Toronto with Les Indésirables after his debut feature, Les Misérables, had a North American premiere at TIFF in 2019, received the Jury Prize at Cannes and earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature at the 2020 Oscars, where it lost out to Parasite.
Ly skipped Cannes with Les Indésirables and Venice was also under consideration for a world premiere ahead of a Nov. 22 commercial release. Set in the suburbs of Paris, Les Indésirables stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar, Steve Tientcheu, Anta Diaw, and Aristote Luyindula.
After the sudden death of a town’s mayor, Pierre (Manenti), an idealistic young doctor, is appointed to replace him. He intends...
The French filmmaker will return to Toronto with Les Indésirables after his debut feature, Les Misérables, had a North American premiere at TIFF in 2019, received the Jury Prize at Cannes and earned an Oscar nomination for best international feature at the 2020 Oscars, where it lost out to Parasite.
Ly skipped Cannes with Les Indésirables and Venice was also under consideration for a world premiere ahead of a Nov. 22 commercial release. Set in the suburbs of Paris, Les Indésirables stars Alexis Manenti, Jeanne Balibar, Steve Tientcheu, Anta Diaw, and Aristote Luyindula.
After the sudden death of a town’s mayor, Pierre (Manenti), an idealistic young doctor, is appointed to replace him. He intends...
- 7/5/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This year’s Toronto International Film Festival is continuing to take shape. Today, the festival has announced the world premiere of Ladj Ly’s “Les Indésirables,” which also gives film fans a glimpse at the first international title to be announced from this year’s slate.
It will not be Ly’s first TIFF appearance: the French filmmaker previously screened his “Les Misérables” at the 2019 festival. That film received the Jury Prize at Cannes, was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes as well as several César awards, and ultimately earned an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature.
Per today’s announcement, the festival promises that “Ly continues to push artistic boundaries, offering audiences a thought-provoking cinematic experience.” “We are honored to showcase Ladj Ly’s remarkable talent once again with the World Premiere of his latest work, ‘Les Indésirables,’” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF in an official statement.
It will not be Ly’s first TIFF appearance: the French filmmaker previously screened his “Les Misérables” at the 2019 festival. That film received the Jury Prize at Cannes, was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes as well as several César awards, and ultimately earned an Academy Award nomination for Best International Feature.
Per today’s announcement, the festival promises that “Ly continues to push artistic boundaries, offering audiences a thought-provoking cinematic experience.” “We are honored to showcase Ladj Ly’s remarkable talent once again with the World Premiere of his latest work, ‘Les Indésirables,’” said Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF in an official statement.
- 7/5/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Ladj Ly, the French filmmaker whose feature debut “Les Miserables” won Cannes’ Jury Prize and earned Oscar and BAFTA nominations, has just started shooting his next film, “Les Indesirables” (Undesirables).
The movie reteams Ly and “Les Miserables” producers Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral at Srab Films, the Paris-based banner whose recent credits include Alice Diop’s buzzed-about French Oscar entry “Saint Omer.”
“Les Indesirables” brings back the entire team behind “Les Miserables”: Wild Bunch International for world sales and Le Pacte for French distribution, as well as the pay TV channel Canal+ and Cine+ which pre-bought the film. The local public broadcaster France Televisions also scooped French free-to-air rights to the movie which will be headlined by a promising newcomer, Anta Diaw, and Alexis Manenti, whose gripping performance in “Les Miserables” earned him a Cesar Award for best male newcomer.
Penned by Ly and Giordano Gederlini (“Les Miserables”), “Les...
The movie reteams Ly and “Les Miserables” producers Toufik Ayadi and Christophe Barral at Srab Films, the Paris-based banner whose recent credits include Alice Diop’s buzzed-about French Oscar entry “Saint Omer.”
“Les Indesirables” brings back the entire team behind “Les Miserables”: Wild Bunch International for world sales and Le Pacte for French distribution, as well as the pay TV channel Canal+ and Cine+ which pre-bought the film. The local public broadcaster France Televisions also scooped French free-to-air rights to the movie which will be headlined by a promising newcomer, Anta Diaw, and Alexis Manenti, whose gripping performance in “Les Miserables” earned him a Cesar Award for best male newcomer.
Penned by Ly and Giordano Gederlini (“Les Miserables”), “Les...
- 12/19/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Wild West was created by Wild Bunch International and Capricci last year to foster French-language genre content.
French-language genre incubator and production company Wild West, which was launched last year as a joint venture between Wild Bunch International (Wbi) and Capricci, has unveiled its second slate of projects at a special event in Bordeaux.
The meeting, running June 8-9, gathered emerging screenwriters and directors, sales and acquisition professionals, film financiers and special effects specialists for two days of pitching and networking
“The aim is to get the big financiers of French cinema to Bordeaux and create a dialogue around French-language...
French-language genre incubator and production company Wild West, which was launched last year as a joint venture between Wild Bunch International (Wbi) and Capricci, has unveiled its second slate of projects at a special event in Bordeaux.
The meeting, running June 8-9, gathered emerging screenwriters and directors, sales and acquisition professionals, film financiers and special effects specialists for two days of pitching and networking
“The aim is to get the big financiers of French cinema to Bordeaux and create a dialogue around French-language...
- 6/14/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
This imaginative and unique Ivorian tale blends modern-day thriller dynamics with older storytelling traditions
The Maca prison, outside Abidjan, is a world with its own codes and rules, we are told, and this imaginative, energetic Ivorian drama follows suit, blending modern-day thriller dynamics and fluid handheld visuals with older storytelling traditions to produce something unique and locally specific. As well as a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend the grimmest of circumstances, it could also be read as a commentary on Ivory Coast’s own war-torn, postcolonial reality.
The prison in question feels more like a slum than a penitentiary. Rather than being locked in cells, the inmates seem to have free run of the place, while armed guards observe nervously from behind barricades. According to Night of the Kings, the true ruler of the Maca is an inmate named Blackbeard. But he is dying and others are vying to take his place,...
The Maca prison, outside Abidjan, is a world with its own codes and rules, we are told, and this imaginative, energetic Ivorian drama follows suit, blending modern-day thriller dynamics and fluid handheld visuals with older storytelling traditions to produce something unique and locally specific. As well as a testament to the power of storytelling to transcend the grimmest of circumstances, it could also be read as a commentary on Ivory Coast’s own war-torn, postcolonial reality.
The prison in question feels more like a slum than a penitentiary. Rather than being locked in cells, the inmates seem to have free run of the place, while armed guards observe nervously from behind barricades. According to Night of the Kings, the true ruler of the Maca is an inmate named Blackbeard. But he is dying and others are vying to take his place,...
- 7/20/2021
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
At a table in his house, Georges, an aging movie star with a reputation for uninsurable off-set shenanigans — played in a staggering coup of against-type casting by Gérard Depardieu — is running lines with his private security guard Aïssa (“Divines” breakout Déborah Lukumuena). While they rehearse, Georges cracks walnuts under heavy whomps from his meaty fist; Aïssa barely flicks a brow in response but her alarmed amusement is palpable. This funny little scene is Constance Meyer’s charming, refreshingly un-sappy odd-couple dramedy “Robust” in miniature: Depardieu all bluster and boom, Lukumuena quietly snaffling whole scenes away from him with just the sparkle in her eye.
The tale of an unlikely friendship blossoming between a wealthy older white man and his young Black helper might set the schmaltz alarm a-tinkling, but this is no “Intouchables,” and not just because, with its tactile emphasis on skin and heft and physical contact, “Robust” feels entirely touchable.
The tale of an unlikely friendship blossoming between a wealthy older white man and his young Black helper might set the schmaltz alarm a-tinkling, but this is no “Intouchables,” and not just because, with its tactile emphasis on skin and heft and physical contact, “Robust” feels entirely touchable.
- 7/8/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
After its world premiere in 2020 at the Venice International Film Festival, Philippe Lacôte’s ‘Night of the Kings’ is set to be released in the UK on July 23rd and a new trailer has dropped to celebrate.
When a young man (first-timer Koné Bakary) is sent to an infamous prison, located in the middle of the Ivorian forest and ruled by its inmates, he is chosen by the boss ‘Blackbeard’ to take part in a storytelling ritual just as a violent battle for control bubbles to the surface. After discovering the grim fate that awaits him at the end of the night, Roman begins to narrate the mystical life of a legendary outlaw to make his story last until dawn and give himself any chance of survival.
Written and directed by Philippe Lacôte, the film went on to feature at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival that same year.
When a young man (first-timer Koné Bakary) is sent to an infamous prison, located in the middle of the Ivorian forest and ruled by its inmates, he is chosen by the boss ‘Blackbeard’ to take part in a storytelling ritual just as a violent battle for control bubbles to the surface. After discovering the grim fate that awaits him at the end of the night, Roman begins to narrate the mystical life of a legendary outlaw to make his story last until dawn and give himself any chance of survival.
Written and directed by Philippe Lacôte, the film went on to feature at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival that same year.
- 6/9/2021
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
“Tell me a story.” This is the command that Roman (Bakary Koné), a new arrival at La Maca penitentiary — a forest-borne fortress just outside of the Ivory Coast’s capital, Abidjan — is given almost as soon as he arrives. It’s quite a welcome. Dismissed by the prison’s guards for the gang affiliations that landed him here, Roman is thrown into the “jungle,” as the guards call it. And as soon as he arrives, everything else stops. Another inmate, the feminine Sexy (Gbazi Yves Landry), has just been knocked to the ground,...
- 3/10/2021
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
A prisoner becomes a storyteller in Night Of The Kings, Ivory Coast’s vivid International Feature Oscar shortlist selection written and directed by Philippe Lacôte (Run). Newcomer Bakary Koné stars as a pickpocket who arrives at La MacA, a notorious prison in the Ivorian forest. The guards barely have control, and the inmates have developed their own hierarchical system. Leader Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu) declares that the new arrival will be a “Roman” (French for “novel”) and entertain the prisoners when the red moon rises. Gradually, “Roman” realizes that he must speak until the sun rises — or the cost will be his life.
It’s a compelling premise that blends relatively gritty prison drama with oral tradition and mysticism. Roman claims that he went to school with famed crime boss Zama King, and invents a backstory for him set in pre-colonial Africa. As he speaks, the camera periodically leaves the prison...
It’s a compelling premise that blends relatively gritty prison drama with oral tradition and mysticism. Roman claims that he went to school with famed crime boss Zama King, and invents a backstory for him set in pre-colonial Africa. As he speaks, the camera periodically leaves the prison...
- 2/23/2021
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
Benoît Poelvoorde, Justine Lacroix and Steve Tientcheu lead the cast of this Haut et Court production which is co-produced by Tarentula and set to be sold by mk2 Films. The first clapperboard is set to slam on 22 March for Normale, Olivier Babinet’s 4th feature-length movie after two titles unveiled in Cannes’ Acid competition in 2010 and 2016 (the fiction film Robert Mitchum est mort and the documentary Swagger which was also nominated at the Césars), and Fishlove (which just won India Hair a nomination for 2021’s Best New Actress César). The lead roles will be played by Belgium’s Benoît Poelvoorde, Justine Lacroix (revealed via Real Love) and Steve Tientcheu (recently brilliant in Night of the Kings and Les Misérables). Adapted by Juliette Sales, Fabien Suarez and Olivier Babinet (the first two having notably written all three...
Which group of people is most likely to survive a harsh prison environment mentally intact? Study after study suggests that it's not the strongest, not the most aggressive, nor even the cleverest: it's those who are good at telling stories.
Thrown into the notorious La MacA jail outside Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, our young hero (Bakary Koné) does not expect to survive long. He is not a storyteller - at least not until he is ordered to be and, accordingly, given the name Roman. This is a prison where the prisoners are in control, with their Dangoro, Barbe Noire ruling with an iron fist. It is the night of the red moon and so, as prison ritual dictates, a sacrifice must be made. If Roman cannot tell a story that holds the prisoners' attention from dusk till dawn, he will lose his life. But tonight is...
Thrown into the notorious La MacA jail outside Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, our young hero (Bakary Koné) does not expect to survive long. He is not a storyteller - at least not until he is ordered to be and, accordingly, given the name Roman. This is a prison where the prisoners are in control, with their Dangoro, Barbe Noire ruling with an iron fist. It is the night of the red moon and so, as prison ritual dictates, a sacrifice must be made. If Roman cannot tell a story that holds the prisoners' attention from dusk till dawn, he will lose his life. But tonight is...
- 2/8/2021
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Night of the Kings Trailer — Philippe Lacote‘s Night of the Kings / La nuit des rois (2020) movie trailer has been released by Neon. The Night of the Kings trailer stars Bakary Kone, Steve Tientcheu, Jean Cyrille Digbeu, Rasmane Ouedraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Abdoul Karim Konate, Macel Anzian, Laetitia Ky, and Denis Lavant. Crew Philippe Lacôte [...]
Continue reading: Night Of The Kings Trailer: Philippe Lacote’s acclaimed 2020 African Prison Thriller is Being Released by Neon...
Continue reading: Night Of The Kings Trailer: Philippe Lacote’s acclaimed 2020 African Prison Thriller is Being Released by Neon...
- 1/30/2021
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"When the red moon comes out tonight, you will tell us stories." Neon has unveiled an official US trailer for the outstanding Ivory Coast film Night of the Kings, which has been playing at every major festivals since last fall. It first premiered at the Venice, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals (read our review here), and is playing at the Sundance Film Festival this week (hence the trailer). The film follows a young man who enters the infamous (and real) "La Maca" prison, a highly secure facility in the middle of Ivory Coast's forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners. It's a film about a storyteller, and how stories move us and inspire. Bakary Koné stars as the night's "Roman", and Steve Tientcheu plays "Blackbeard", with Jean Cyrille Digbeu,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The first trailer for “Night of the Kings,” Ivory Coast’s official submission to the Oscar race, beautifully blends African mythology and fairy tales with the grim reality of life inside one of the country’s most infamous prisons.
David Oyelowo, who joined the film as an executive producer Friday ahead of the film’s screening at Sundance, called “Night of the Kings” a “magnificent showcase of African cinema, artistry, culture, folklore and myth.” The trailer shows the film’s protagonist stepping up to a soapbox to tell a story to the whole prison that begins with “Once upon a time…”
Neon will be releasing “Night of the Kings,” which comes from director Philippe Lacote and tells the story of a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison La Maca. Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning,...
David Oyelowo, who joined the film as an executive producer Friday ahead of the film’s screening at Sundance, called “Night of the Kings” a “magnificent showcase of African cinema, artistry, culture, folklore and myth.” The trailer shows the film’s protagonist stepping up to a soapbox to tell a story to the whole prison that begins with “Once upon a time…”
Neon will be releasing “Night of the Kings,” which comes from director Philippe Lacote and tells the story of a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison La Maca. Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning,...
- 1/29/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
This story about Koné Bakary and “Night of the Kings” first appeared in the International Films Issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Philippe Lacôte’s prison drama “Night of the Kings,” the Ivory Coast’s entry in this year’s Oscar race for Best International Feature Film, stars a lot of actors who are known in international cinema circles. Among them are Steve Tientcheu from the Oscar-nominated French film “Les Misérables” as the inmate boss of a brutal concrete prison, and “Holy Motors” star Denis Lavant in a feral and deranged performance as the sole white convict.
But in many ways, the central role in the stylish and harrowing drama is the “Roman,” a young prisoner who is chosen on the night of a blood moon to tell a story until the dawn. And for the role of the Roman — that’s a title, not a name — Lacôte chose Koné Bakary,...
Philippe Lacôte’s prison drama “Night of the Kings,” the Ivory Coast’s entry in this year’s Oscar race for Best International Feature Film, stars a lot of actors who are known in international cinema circles. Among them are Steve Tientcheu from the Oscar-nominated French film “Les Misérables” as the inmate boss of a brutal concrete prison, and “Holy Motors” star Denis Lavant in a feral and deranged performance as the sole white convict.
But in many ways, the central role in the stylish and harrowing drama is the “Roman,” a young prisoner who is chosen on the night of a blood moon to tell a story until the dawn. And for the role of the Roman — that’s a title, not a name — Lacôte chose Koné Bakary,...
- 1/15/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Philippe Lacôte's Night of the Kings follows a young pickpocket in his first night at the "MacA", one of the main prisons in Abidjan, the largest city in the Ivory Coast. As the Ivory Coast's entry for International Feature Film at this upcoming Academy Awards, Night of the Kings has the power and storytelling to inject its reality into the category. First-time actor Koné Bakary plays wide-eyed, unassured Roman, the name of the selected storyteller during the red moon, a real-life tradition still enacted at the MacA. Picked by the prison's de facto leader, "Blackbeard" (Steve Tientcheu), Roman must tell a story for the duration of the night, with failure resulting in the price of his life. In a film with high stakes and visible violence, Night of the Kings unfurls like a ballad, an ode to the weight and humanity of storytelling, and the need for tradition. At the MacA ("La Maca") prison,...
- 10/16/2020
- by Michael Frank
- firstshowing.net
Philippe Lacôte understands the cyclical nature of human conflict and how invaluable the stories people tell about their collective past are. In the remarkable “Night Of The Kings,” the Ivorian director’s follow-up to the political turmoil drama “Run,” oral tradition enlivens a chaotic microcosm that’s suspended somewhere between an ancient saga and contemporary unrest.
Read More: NYFF 2020: 12 Most Anticipated Films You Need See
Under its own code of conduct and lore, La MacA, a prison nestled in a lush forest in the West African nation of Ivory Coast, is a kingdom onto itself where veteran inmate Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu) governs.
Continue reading ‘Night Of The Kings’ Is A Striking Tribute To The Power Of Storytelling Set In An Ivorian Prison [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
Read More: NYFF 2020: 12 Most Anticipated Films You Need See
Under its own code of conduct and lore, La MacA, a prison nestled in a lush forest in the West African nation of Ivory Coast, is a kingdom onto itself where veteran inmate Blackbeard (Steve Tientcheu) governs.
Continue reading ‘Night Of The Kings’ Is A Striking Tribute To The Power Of Storytelling Set In An Ivorian Prison [NYFF Review] at The Playlist.
- 9/27/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Playlist
Set partly in Ivory Coast’s “Mad Max”-like MacA correctional facility and partly in the imagination of its newest inmate, “Night of the Kings” feels radically different from most films set behind bars, and not just because of its one-of-a-kind location. Naturally, the wild plots and power games one typically associates with the genre still feature, but “Night” stands apart — if not necessarily above — as director Philipe Lacôte zeroes in on an unusual tradition within those walls: that of the “Roman.”
A variation on the West African griot (a kind of troubadour storyteller or bard), the Roman is tasked with spinning amusing tales for his fellow prisoners — an honorific role to which “Night” attaches heightened life-and-death stakes: In Lacôte’s version, the Roman will be killed when his story concludes. And so, like some kind of modern-day Scheherazade, this unwitting protagonist (first-timer Koné Bakary) puts everything he can into entertaining the “captive audience,...
A variation on the West African griot (a kind of troubadour storyteller or bard), the Roman is tasked with spinning amusing tales for his fellow prisoners — an honorific role to which “Night” attaches heightened life-and-death stakes: In Lacôte’s version, the Roman will be killed when his story concludes. And so, like some kind of modern-day Scheherazade, this unwitting protagonist (first-timer Koné Bakary) puts everything he can into entertaining the “captive audience,...
- 9/24/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
by Nathaniel R
Director Philippe Lacôte and a still from "Night of the Kings" his second feature
We have our third reported Oscar submission for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars and this one is a rarity. Ivory Coast, a West African country, has only ever submitted two previous films to the race. Though Ivory Coast, a former French colony, became independent in 1960, their first submission Black and White in Color (1976), which won the Oscar, was the debut of French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud who was quickly snapped up by Hollywood. Ivory Coast didn't submit again until they had their own debut director, Philippe Lacôte. His first film, a crime drama called Run, was submitted to represent the country in 2015 and his sophomore feature will represent the country again. Screen Daily recently spoke with the filmmaker about why there are so few African films at A-list festivals and how this new film came into being.
Director Philippe Lacôte and a still from "Night of the Kings" his second feature
We have our third reported Oscar submission for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars and this one is a rarity. Ivory Coast, a West African country, has only ever submitted two previous films to the race. Though Ivory Coast, a former French colony, became independent in 1960, their first submission Black and White in Color (1976), which won the Oscar, was the debut of French filmmaker Jean-Jacques Annaud who was quickly snapped up by Hollywood. Ivory Coast didn't submit again until they had their own debut director, Philippe Lacôte. His first film, a crime drama called Run, was submitted to represent the country in 2015 and his sophomore feature will represent the country again. Screen Daily recently spoke with the filmmaker about why there are so few African films at A-list festivals and how this new film came into being.
- 9/13/2020
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Writer/director Philippe Lacôte looks to tell a tale of the Ivory Coast and its most recent two decades of civil war and strife with his latest film Night of the Kings. With that also comes a necessity to speak about the youth who’ve recently taken up residence within the confines of his setting: La MacA. This prison—whose under-thirty population is currently hovering around eighty percent—shifts between the horrors of its inherent violence and the magical fantasy conjured when Lacôte was a boy visiting his mother (a political prisoner) in its open courtyard traversed by inmates, guards, and outsiders alike. He thought then that it reminded him of a kingdom. To a child its social ladder would seem more fairy tale than feudal.
He therefore creates MacA as a world unto itself—an easy concept considering it was built in the middle of a forest and thus isolated from its surroundings.
He therefore creates MacA as a world unto itself—an easy concept considering it was built in the middle of a forest and thus isolated from its surroundings.
- 9/10/2020
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Neon said Wednesday that it has acquired U.S. rights to writer-director Philippe Lacôte’s Night of the Kings, a deal that comes after the pic premiered earlier this week in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival. The drama, which has been selected as Ivory Coast’s submission for this year’s Academy Awards, is also playing later this month at the Toronto and New York film festivals. Memento Films International is handling international sales.
The distributor behind last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite has not set a release plan.
Night of the Kings centers on a young man (Koné Bakary) on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history,...
The distributor behind last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite has not set a release plan.
Night of the Kings centers on a young man (Koné Bakary) on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history,...
- 9/9/2020
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Neon has acquired U.S. rights to Philippe Lacôte’s prison drama “Night of the Kings,” which premiered Monday in the Horizons sidebar of the Venice Film Festival.
“Night of the Kings” is set to play at both the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival later this month. The film, which has been chosen as the Ivory Coast submission for this year’s Academy Awards, stars newcomer Koné Bakary.
The film follows a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history, while around him, prison politics threaten to boil over.
Lacôte wrote and directed the film which, in addition to Bakary, stars Steve Tientcheu,...
“Night of the Kings” is set to play at both the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival later this month. The film, which has been chosen as the Ivory Coast submission for this year’s Academy Awards, stars newcomer Koné Bakary.
The film follows a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history, while around him, prison politics threaten to boil over.
Lacôte wrote and directed the film which, in addition to Bakary, stars Steve Tientcheu,...
- 9/9/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
Memento Films International handles worldwide sales.
Neon has acquired US rights to Philippe Lacôte’s autumn festival selection and Ivory Coast international feature film Oscar submission Night Of The Kings ahead of Thursday’s (September 10) screening in Toronto.
The drama premiered on September 7 in the Horizons sidebar of Venice and plays later this month in New York.
Night Of The Kings centres on a young man on his first night in the infamous MacA prison who faces death unless he manages to captivate his audience with a story.
He recounts the tale of Zama King, a childhood friend recruited to...
Neon has acquired US rights to Philippe Lacôte’s autumn festival selection and Ivory Coast international feature film Oscar submission Night Of The Kings ahead of Thursday’s (September 10) screening in Toronto.
The drama premiered on September 7 in the Horizons sidebar of Venice and plays later this month in New York.
Night Of The Kings centres on a young man on his first night in the infamous MacA prison who faces death unless he manages to captivate his audience with a story.
He recounts the tale of Zama King, a childhood friend recruited to...
- 9/9/2020
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Neon has acquired the rights to “Night of the Kings,” the sophomore narrative feature film by director Philippe Lacôte that is the official Oscar submission from the Ivory Coast and that has been selected as part of the lineups for Venice, Toronto and the New York Film Festival, the distributor announced Wednesday.
“Night of the Kings” made its premiere on Monday in Venice and will next screen at TIFF and NYFF later this month. Neon will announce release plans at a later date.
“Night of the Kings” follows a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history, while around him, both prison and national politics threaten to boil over.
“Night of the Kings” made its premiere on Monday in Venice and will next screen at TIFF and NYFF later this month. Neon will announce release plans at a later date.
“Night of the Kings” follows a young man on his first night in the infamous Ivorian prison, “La Maca.” Upon arriving, he is christened the “Roman,” or “Storyteller,” and must entertain his audience until morning, risking death should he fail. Under a blood-red moon, he crafts a tale weaving together the country’s mythological past and recent history, while around him, both prison and national politics threaten to boil over.
- 9/9/2020
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
If you looked at the poster for Ladj Ly’s French-language drama Les Misérables, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a documentary. That’s not an accident.
An unnervingly well-timed portrait of police brutality and youth revolt in a rough Paris suburb (or “banlieue”), Les Misérables serves as a kind of spiritual sequel to the 1995 classic La Haine. A similarly bleak tale of urban social conflict, La Haine forced the government to reflect on the country’s near-sacred assimilation model, which posed French society as an inclusive home for immigrants and ethnic minorities – on the condition they were willing to play the French way.
Most in France still believe in the old approach to newcomers, but Les Misérables offers a new spanner in the works in the form of a keener focus on the country’s racial tensions, which are less subconscious bias, and more of an all-encompassing...
An unnervingly well-timed portrait of police brutality and youth revolt in a rough Paris suburb (or “banlieue”), Les Misérables serves as a kind of spiritual sequel to the 1995 classic La Haine. A similarly bleak tale of urban social conflict, La Haine forced the government to reflect on the country’s near-sacred assimilation model, which posed French society as an inclusive home for immigrants and ethnic minorities – on the condition they were willing to play the French way.
Most in France still believe in the old approach to newcomers, but Les Misérables offers a new spanner in the works in the form of a keener focus on the country’s racial tensions, which are less subconscious bias, and more of an all-encompassing...
- 9/2/2020
- by Adam Solomons
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
A Banshee Films production sold by Memento, Philippe Lacôte’s second feature film will be unveiled on the Lido within the Orizzonti line-up. Night Of The Kings, the second full-length movie by the French-Ivory Coast filmmaker Philippe Lacôte who was discovered in Cannes in 2014 (in the Un Certain Regard section) via Run, will enjoy its world premiere in the Orizzonti competition of the 77th Venice International Film Festival (running 2 – 12 September) as well as being screened at the 45th Toronto Film Festival (running 10 – 19 September) in the Contemporary World Cinema line-up. Starring in the cast are Koné Bakary, Steve Tientcheu, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Digbeu Jean Cyrille, Abdoul Karim Konaté, Anzian Marcel, Laetitia Ky and Denis Lavant. Penned by Philippe Lacôte in collaboration with Delphine Jaquet, the story plunges us into Abidjan’s Maca prison, one of the most overcrowded jails in...
Film is second feature from Ivorian director Philippe Lacôte after ’Run’.
Paris-based sales company Memento Films International (Mfi) has acquired Ivorian director Philippe Lacôte’s Night Of The Kings, ahead of its world premiere in Horizons at the Venice Film Festival, running September 2-12 this year.
The Scheherazade-style tale revolves around a young pickpocket who is locked up with a bunch of hardened criminals in the notoriously violent, real-life MacA prison in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan.
In a ritual imposed by a powerful convict, who is regarded as the prison boss, he is nominated to tell stories to...
Paris-based sales company Memento Films International (Mfi) has acquired Ivorian director Philippe Lacôte’s Night Of The Kings, ahead of its world premiere in Horizons at the Venice Film Festival, running September 2-12 this year.
The Scheherazade-style tale revolves around a young pickpocket who is locked up with a bunch of hardened criminals in the notoriously violent, real-life MacA prison in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan.
In a ritual imposed by a powerful convict, who is regarded as the prison boss, he is nominated to tell stories to...
- 7/28/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦69¦
- ScreenDaily
Director Ladj Ly's "Les Miserables" is not a contemporary, retelling of Victor Hugo's classic. In fact, it is a gritty and fiery urban thriller with a social urgency bubbling under the surface to provide added depth.
Set in the low-income housing district of Montfermeil, which was also the setting for parts of Victor Hugo's novel, the film tells us of the class struggle and culture clashes between disenfranchised immigrants in Paris today.
The narrative follows police officer Ruiz (Damien Bonnard) on his first day of work at his new unit in the ghettos of Paris, where he patrols along with his experienced partners, the veteran short-fused squad leader Chris (Alexis Manenti) aka "the Pink Pig" and his absolutely laidback companion Gwada (Djibril Zonga), who harass mostly the Muslim immigrants to the point of simmering community resentment.
It is in this community we meet a few key players, namely...
Set in the low-income housing district of Montfermeil, which was also the setting for parts of Victor Hugo's novel, the film tells us of the class struggle and culture clashes between disenfranchised immigrants in Paris today.
The narrative follows police officer Ruiz (Damien Bonnard) on his first day of work at his new unit in the ghettos of Paris, where he patrols along with his experienced partners, the veteran short-fused squad leader Chris (Alexis Manenti) aka "the Pink Pig" and his absolutely laidback companion Gwada (Djibril Zonga), who harass mostly the Muslim immigrants to the point of simmering community resentment.
It is in this community we meet a few key players, namely...
- 3/9/2020
- GlamSham
Oh, oh. Didn’t we just endure another retelling of this classic story? And in song this last time? With an actor or two not known for their (to put it gently) pipes? No, it’s the same title, but put that flick out of your head. Along with countless 19th-century costume epics. So we’re not dealing with the stealing of baked goods and a hungry waif and dogged inspectors. Although this film does concern itself with poverty and law enforcement. But there’s class struggle and culture clashes between disenfranchised immigrants. Plus there are some trigger-happy thugs engaged in racial profiling. You may think those problems have only plagued our backyard, but it’s going on all over the globe, in this film and the original novel’s backdrop. This is a very modern-day melodrama that is also titled Les Miserables.
The story actually begins on a somewhat...
The story actually begins on a somewhat...
- 1/17/2020
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Les MISÉRABLE Amazon Studios Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Ladj Ly Screenwriter: Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Manenti Cast: Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Issa Perica, Al-Hassan Ly, Steve Tientcheu Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, 10/24/19 Opens: January 10, 2020 Victor Hugo’s “Les Misérables” is to […]
The post Les Miserable Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Les Miserable Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/5/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
There are no trilled notes, no stirring group musical numbers, no talk of castles on clouds in French-Malian director Ladj Ly’s directorial debut. You will hear, however, the songs of angry men, expressed in a way that drives home the point of their rage and rancor. It is not a coincidence that his cop procedural shares the same name of Victor Hugo’s socially conscious 19th century novel/Broadway musical source material; like the literary landmark, it also takes place in Montfermeil, the township where Les Miz‘s heroes and villains strutted and fretted.
- 11/29/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Amazon Studios will release Les MISÉRABLES in theaters on January 10th, 2020. You can watch the official trailer below: Directed by Ladj Ly Written by Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini, Alexis Maneti Starring Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djebril Zonga, Steve Tientcheu, Jeanne Balibar Stéphane, has recently joined the Anti-Crime squad in Montfermeil, a sensitive district of the Paris projects. Paired up with Chris (Alexis Manenti) and Gwada (Djebril Zonga), whose methods are sometimes unorthodox, he rapidly discovers the tensions between the various neighborhood groups. When the trio finds themselves overrun during the course of an arrest, a drone begins filming every move they make. 103 Minutes...
- 10/24/2019
- by Kristyn Clarke
- Age of the Nerd
"What if voicing anger... was the only way to be heard?" Amazon Studios has released the first official Us trailer for the acclaimed French drama Les Misérables, which also won the Jury Prize (third place behind Parasite and Atlantics) at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. This film marks the feature directorial debut of very talented actor/filmmaker Ladj Ly, and it has nothing to do with the original "Les Misérables" book by Victor Hugo. It's a contemporary story set in the suburbs of Paris. Stéphane joins the Anti-Crime Brigade of Montfermeil. He meets his new teammates, Chris and Gwada, and discovers the tensions between the cops and the locals in the district. Starring Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Issa Perica, Al-Hassan Ly, Steve Tientcheu, Almamy Kanoute, and Jeanne Balibar. This was one of my favorite films out of Cannes this year, a remarkably powerful and invigorating film about cops and citizens.
- 10/23/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The new film Les Misérables may take only passing glances to Victor Hugo’s text but it does boast a synopsis worthy of the sheer exuberance of that title. Hugo wrote his classic novel in the early-to-mid 19th century, but this film couldn’t be more wired-in to contemporary Paris if it tried. In it, we see the fuse of gang warfare lit when a young man, named Issa (Issa Perica), steals a lion cub from a traveling circus. Issa is a black kid in Saint-Denis, a buzzing multi-cultural suburb in the north of the French capital. The circus owners are Gypsy travelers. The most seemingly reasonable community leader is an ex-con turned Muslim Brotherhood sage named Salah (Almamy Kanoute), who runs the local kebab shop. The unofficial mayor of the block (Steve Tientcheu) wears not a shirt and tie but a jersey of the French national team with “Le Maire” on the back.
- 5/18/2019
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Pointedly repurposing the title of Victor Hugo’s classic novel about the laws of nature and grace, Ladj Ly’s “Les Misérables” bears little outward resemblance to the epic story of Jean Valjean and his stolen loaf of bread. But Ly’s first narrative feature — a gripping and grounded procedural that probes the tensions between Paris’ anti-crime police and the poor Muslim population they torment and suppress — revisits the French suburb of Montfermeil in the present day, and finds that little has changed in the 150 years since Hugo first characterized the strife he saw through his bedroom window.
Extended from Ly’s short of the same name, and inspired by the riots that erupted at the foot of the filmmaker’s building in 2005, “Les Misérables” vibrates with the kind of unshakeable verisimilitude that can only be earned through first-hand experience. At the same time, it’s not like the movie...
Extended from Ly’s short of the same name, and inspired by the riots that erupted at the foot of the filmmaker’s building in 2005, “Les Misérables” vibrates with the kind of unshakeable verisimilitude that can only be earned through first-hand experience. At the same time, it’s not like the movie...
- 5/15/2019
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
“C’est moi, le loi!” screams a bent cop midway through “Les Misérables.” If he’s trying to emulate the comic-book indomitability of Judge “I am the law” Dredd, his shrill, panicked delivery is a dead giveaway to the contrary. In both a practical and a moral sense, being the law counts for less and less as French docmaker Ladj Ly’s first fiction feature unfolds: A buzzing, sunstruck street thriller, it pits a nervous, trigger-happy police force against an aggravated urban underclass in a battle of wills and weaponry that is all too universally recognizable. Exploring the worn-out housing projects of the director’s own home turf — the outlying Parisian commune of Montfermeil — with a keen eye and an antsy gait, it’s a furious work of social geography that satisfies slightly less as a character piece: In its ambitious attempt to dramatize the violent anxieties of men on both sides of the law,...
- 5/15/2019
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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