French

Arman, a 33-year-old Parisian slacker (and self-deprecating livewire), is out running when he collides with the stunning, oddly impassive Amelie. There’s a seductive undertow of gravity to this engagingly self-aware romcom.

Soprano Natalie Dessay, acclaimed for her dramatic brilliance, rehearses La Traviata in intense creative collaboration with director Jean-Franois Sivadier. “Ravishing... Time with Dessay is worth treasuring.” — Village Voice

In a heartbreaking performance, Juliette Binoche portrays the great French sculptress consigned by her family a century ago to a mental asylum; for reasons neither she nor we can understand.

Four stories of contemporary Italian life, love and politics are expertly interwoven in Marco Bellocchio’s sweeping, eagle-eyed drama of social upheaval and personal crisis. With Isabelle Huppert.

A gruff bear and an artistically inclined mouse become the best of friends in this exquisitely drawn animated feature based on the children’s stories and watercolour illustrations of Belgian artist Gabrielle Vincent.

Claudia Cardinale, Jeanne Moreau and Michael Lonsdale await the return of a prodigal son in an adapted play from the world’s oldest director. “A grand piece of cinematic chamber music for a cast of mighty soloists.” — New Yorker

When hard-working Maria and Jose inherit a handsome property in Portugal, should they leave behind the lives they’ve made in Paris? A funny, warm-hearted and hugely entertaining upstairs-downstairs comedy.

Nicolas Philibert’s funny, affectionate doco about dedicated individuals at work in Paris’s massive Maison de la Radio is an audio-visual hymn to broadcasting artistry, and a resounding endorsement of French public service radio.

Fabrice Luchini and Kristin Scott Thomas star in a juicy black comedy-drama by François Ozon. “A witty, naughty, insight-packed provocation which never takes its seriousness too seriously.” — Time Out London

In this hit romcom the age difference that has characterised a century of French cinema is reversed: 38-year-old fashion editor Alice (Virginie Efira) is romanced by 20-year-old architecture major Balthazar (Pierre Niney).

The stirring true story of French show jumper Pierre Durand, his amazing little black gelding Jappeloup and their long ride to the Seoul Olympics. So expertly told it will have Kiwi audiences cheering for the French equestrian.

Passionate romance, brutal treachery and selfless nobility are set against Napoleon’s 1810 invasion of Portugalin the late Raúl Ruiz’s epic follow-up to Mysteries of Lisbon, completed by his widow Valeria Sarmiento.

Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh’s perennial project is to bear witness to the history that the Khmer Rouge, with terrible effectiveness, systematically consigned to oblivion. In this remarkable new film, winner of the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes this year, he enlists a mix of narration, propaganda footage, music, photos and tiny carved models.

Michel Gondry’s eye-popping film is a surreal romantic tragedy set in a retro-futurist Paris, with Romain Duris, Audrey Tatou, Omar Sy. “Gondry builds a beautifully busy alternate universe full of surprises.” — Screendaily

The great Iranian director Asghar Farhadi turns his attention to a Parisian household in a drama as intimate and gripping as his A Separation. Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) in the pivotal role took the Best Actress Award at Cannes.

A visually ravishing, palpably sensual autobiographical feature from Mexican director Carlos Reygadas (Japon, Silent Light), winner of the Best Director prize at Cannes in 2012. “A perverse, dreamlike masterpiece.” — Salon.com

A sensation at Cannes, and anywhere else it plays we’d imagine, Alain Guiraudie’s film is a seductive blend of beauty, eroticism and suspense in which multifarious desires are played out on a secluded, idyllic gay beach – and adjacent forest

Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Javier Bardem and Olga Kurylenko star in an impressionistic contemplation of eroticism and grace by Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life). “A rapturous photo essay on carnal and spiritual love.” — Time