23 October 2026
Not a very satisfying week for the release of these somewhat mediocre films.
By the way, just as a troubling aside, THREE of this week’s daily press screenings were films concerned with violence, blood and horror – CLAYFACE, HOPE and SANGUINE. Films I will neither see nor cover. Such is the state of our world today – a vicious cycle of what the media and so-called ‘entertainment’ feed the public.
However, have you seen the worthwhile films still on our screens?
PRESSURE; DIGGER; MINOTAUR; DE GAULLE; NAZA; HEART OF THE BEAST; THE SOCIAL RECKONING – at Cine17, The Empire, Scala, Nord-Sud, or Balexert. Check their schedules on cineman.ch
UNE FEMME AUJOURD’HUI **1/2 (vo French)
Robert Guédiguian is at it again, with his usual band of actors, always in Marseille. He has been filming the lives of working-class people in his southern hometown, almost always with his regular crew – mainly his wife, Ariane Ascaride, who plays the mother of the main character (Marilou Aussilloux) this time. There’s also Jean-Pierre Darroussin as a concerned neighbor and Gérard Meylan as the gentle father.
He’s made twenty-five films about decent people over almost half a century. Guédiguian is a sort of a French Ken Loach, with his penchant for focusing on the lower classes and their problems.
In his latest, there’s a lovely daughter who has achieved great success in the world of finance, with a spectacular home, constant travels and a free lifestyle. Until one evening when she is assaulted by a colleague. Her world turns upside down, and it takes her some time to return to normal life. Her transformation comes through a change of work, when she begins volunteering at a shelter for women. Gradually, she regains her taste for friendship and family, as well as a reason to exist. All is fine, but somehow too sweet and obvious. This is a rather pat, overwrought Guédiguian
KARMA ** (vo French)
Guillaume Canet is a talented actor and director of such memorable films as “Les petits mouchoirs” and “Rock’n Roll”. His latest directorial project is a dark tale of a secretive religious cult that one woman has escaped, but returns to – for either refuge or revenge when she is sought by the police after the disappearance of a child.
Starring the always excellent Marion Cotillard, who won the Best Actress Oscar for “La vie en rose (La Môme)” in 2008, Denis Ménochet as the cult leader, and Argentine actor Leonardo Sbaraglia as her lover, this is a twisted thriller that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. A bit of an overdone, frightening melodrama.
CAMEMBERT ** (vo French, subtitles in English)
A wannabe “Le Prénom”, this film doesn’t hit the spot like that earlier, clever comedy about family affairs. That 2012 film was a brilliant comic thesis on the consequences of a name that should not be given, all unfolding within the confines of a dinner party that goes haywire.
This one is also about a family gathering, in the lovely home of a famous woman, played by Kristin Scott Thomas. However, this time the daughter of this wealthy family brings along a new boyfriend who doesn’t quite fit in. The family has a tradition of playing Trivial Pursuit with great gusto and rivalry, and the social position of the newcomer begins to unravel as the game progresses. The supposed fun is an obvious cover for the film to deliver a lesson in equality, but it does so with far too heavy a hand. Scott Thomas almost saves the day with her usual elegance, but the scenario and direction are simply mediocre.
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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