French Cinema

Remi Fournier Lanzoni's French Cinema. From Its Beginnings to the Present had already established itself as the authoritative reader for anyone serious about teaching and studying French cinema. This second edition not only brings us up to date the significant French films produced since the beginning of the twenty first century but it also provides welcome and much needed sub chapters dealing with French women filmmakers, Beur cinema, and the recent international accomplishments of French cinema. Written in an engaging, jargon free, and reader friendly style, Lanzoni's book succeeds in connecting the history of French cinema to the history of France, its peoples, and its institutions. Alain-Philippe Durand, Professor of French and Director of the School of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, University of Arizona, USA The new edition of French Cinema brings us into the new millennium, as it sheds light on the new generation of directors, their diversity, freedom of expression, their use of new mediums to bring international success to French films. It is captivating. The historical, social and political background presented at the head of each chapter gives a deep understanding of the films and the directors. This book is the perfect companion for film students, professors, as well as anyone who loves cinema. Helene Laroche Davis, Professor of French and Film Studies, Notre Dame de Namur University, California, USA, and author of Robert Desnos: Une Vois, Un Chant, Un Cri Fournier Lanzoni (Wake Forest) updates the first edition of this model history of French cinema (CH, Sep'03, 41-0198) with an 84-page chapter titled 'The New Millennium.' As in the earlier edition, he summarizes the changing social, political, industrial, and technical contexts of the films. After a review of pioneering French women directors, he focuses on the controversial work of Catherine Breillat and Virginie Despentes, and on Noemie Lvovaky's less steamy and more complex narratives. Especially timely is his introduction to beur cinema (i.e., work by second-generation filmmakers of Maghrebi descent), politically aware examinations of France's colonial past and its present citizens' tension between integration and ethnic diversity. He surveys Abdellatif Kechiche's dramas of the banlieue and Rachid Bouchareb's reworking of French history. Fournier Lanzoni concludes with the nation's reemergence on the international scene, as exemplified by Michel Hazanavicius's Oscar-winning silent The Artist. Updated appendixes include France's Cannes award winners, the Cesar Awards, box office toppers, and the country's successes at the Oscars. This second edition replaces the first. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. -- M. Yacowar, University of Calgary, Canada CHOICE