FRANCE

Two French Classics: Past & Present

The films are presented by the Institut français de Finlande – Ranskan instituutti Suomessa. Instagram: @iffinlande

Dive into the world of French cinema! Discover the sharp and timely depiction of media, identity, and a nation in constant change, France, by Bruno Dumont, a leading figure in modern French film, as well as Jean-Luc Godard’s bold masterpiece, Breathless / À bout de souffle, that transformed cinema as an art form forever.

In FRANCE, a satirical drama set in contemporary Paris, Léa Seydoux stars as France de Meurs, a seemingly unflappable superstar TV journalist whose career, home life, and psychological stability are turned upside down after she carelessly drives into a young delivery man on a busy street. This unexpected eruption of reality triggers a series of self-reckonings as well as a strange romance that proves impossible to shake. As France attempts to slow down and retreat into a simpler, anonymous life, her fame continues to pursue her. Starting out as a tragicomic satire of the news media, writer-director Bruno Dumont’s provocative new film spirals out into something darker as it examines the difficulty of maintaining one’s sense of self in a corrosive culture.