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RELEASES France

The Minister eclipses competition

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Launched today by Diaphana on a 154-print run, Pierre Schoeller’s French/Belgian co-production The Minister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pierre Schoeller
film profile
]
has pulled off the impressive feat of garnering unanimous critical acclaim. Described variously as "masterful", "thrilling" and "gripping", among other superlatives, the film unveiled in the Cannes Un Certain Regard section (where it won the FIPRESCI Prize) clearly distinguishes itself from the usual codes of French auteur cinema. Delving into the heart of political power with great subtlety and without over-simplification, this film with a thriller-like pace offers an extraordinary platform for its actors Olivier Gourmet and Michel Blanc. Moreover, in the eyes of the press, it wins hands down in a comparison with another political film also hitting screens today: George Clooney’s US title The Ides of March.

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After his debut feature, Versailles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Geraldine Michelot
interview: Pierre Schoeller
film profile
]
, which looked at extreme poverty and was selected at Cannes in 2008, Schoeller has thus emerged as one of the most promising French directors of his generation, which hasn’t escaped the notice of the Dardenne brothers who co-produced The Minister (executive produced by Archipel 35, sold by Doc & Film International).

Another European co-production piloted by France, in association with Belgium and Germany, has also received critical approval, but not quite as much: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud’s Chicken with Plums [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. Released by Le Pacte on a 215-print run, the latest feature by the creators of Persepolis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Marc-Antoine Robert
interview: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Pa…
film profile
]
is also their first live-action film. This poetic tale starring Mathieu Amalric had its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (see review and interview with the directors).

This Wednesday’s line-up of new releases is completed by Frank Henry’s French/Luxembourg detective film De Force [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(“By Force”, see news - distributed by Rezo Films and Studio 37 on 65 prints); and Marie Losier’s documentary The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(co-produced by France, the US, Germany, the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands), which is being launched by Epicentre.

At the box office, this year’s Cannes prize-winners are enjoying success, including Maïwenn’s Poliss [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maïwenn
film profile
]
(472,000 admissions in five days - Mars Distribution on 407 prints); Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michel Hazanavicius
film profile
]
(733,000 viewers in 12 days – Warner on 402 prints); and Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive (972,000 admissions in 19 days – Le Pacte on 334 prints). Bibo Bergeron’s animated film A Monster In Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
is also doing well (553,000 viewers in 12 days - EuropaCorp Distribution on 617 prints), as is Eric Lavaine’s comedy Welcome Aboard [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(993,000 admissions in 19 days – Pathé Distribution on 547 prints).

European productions also make it into the weekly top 10 with Oliver Parker’s Johnny English Reborn [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(132,000 admissions in five days – StudioCanal on 327 prints); and Paul W.S. Anderson’s The Three Musketeers [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(321,000 admissions in 12 days – UGC Distribution on 471 prints).

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(Translated from French)

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