L'Avenir (Things to Come) (2016)

Director: Mia Hansen-Love
Writer: Mia Hansen-Love
DOP: Denis Lenoir
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Andre Marcon, Roman Kolinka
Language: French

A philosophy teacher (Isabelle Huppert) soldiers through the death of her mother, getting fired from her job, and dealing with a husband who is cheating on her.

Most of the film industries of the World can be defined by the iconic actors that they produce and French film industry must be the only one where these iconic positions are held by the female gender. Am talking about the duo of Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert. Some might point out Vincent Cassel but his popularity is to do more with his work in Hollywood films rather than the French ones even though he has been in many good ones in his his native language as well. I can't really choose between the two but  I have seen Binoche appearing in films directed by different directors while most of the Huppert films that I have seen have been directed by Michael Haneke who is probably the greatest director that is currently going.

Mia Hansen-Love's breakout film, Eden, was an excellent one that was based mostly of her brother's career as a DJ. 'Things to Come' is also another solid outing. While the synopsis suggests that it is probably going to be a sob story, it is anything but. Huppert takes the various setbacks in her life in her stride and is constantly moving forward. With her mother's death, her divorce and her teenage kids moving out of the house, she finds herself alone all of a sudden even though it affords her a great deal of freedom. She is also taken aback by the way her favorite student sees her as not much different from the bourgeoisie that he despises. Like most French films, nothing much happens in terms of plot development but is a tremendous watch. Like the lead character in it, the camera is always on the move and is not bogged down by the events.  One would think that with her being a Philosophy teacher, there would be a great deal of Philosophy being talked about. Director does not take it as a license for it being a Philosophy talk like how Richard Linklater's 'Before Trilogy' was (Am a great fan of those as well). Things to Come is a great watch with a great central performance from Huppert in a role that is not very intense like 'Piano Teacher' was.

Rating: 4/5 

Eden (2014)

Director: Mia Hansen-Love
Writers:  Mia Hansen-Love, Sven Hansen-Love
Cast:       Felix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne
Language: French

Paul, a teenager in the underground music scene of early 90s Paris, forms a DJ collective with his friends and together they plunge into the nightlife of sex, drugs, and endless music.

The film is magnificent and different in terms of what it doesn't do. Is it the story of an underdog or under-appreciated DJ who overcomes things with a great resolution at the end?, Is he a famous guy?,  Does his life takes drastic turns due to random things happening? Is it Boggie Nights for DJs? - Answer to all of that is- Hell No!!! Film is basically an adaptation of Mia's brother Sven life and he helped in writing the screenplay for it. It is not a job with which you can plan your life around and despite warnings from his mother- he plunges into it with the genre being Garage- which he describes as electronic music meeting disco. It basically revolves around his life and try to portray what happens after music is turned off and lights are out or, in this case, sun has come up. Despite the cool soundtrack and sexy settings, it is a slow burner and still a very cool watch. An obvious comparison for this one would be with Michael Winterbottom's masterpiece- '24 Hour Party People'. Unlike 24HPP, it doesn't concentrate much on the business side of things but they play a significant role in the Part-2 portion of the film- which is significantly shorter than the first. The central character is played in a very toned down manner by Felix de Givry and it is left to the viewer to decipher what is going on in his mind and life. Changes are quite subtle as the years go by. The power play in his relationships are also quite subtly told and everything is done without any accompanying bells or whistles.

It also includes appearances by two actors who portray Daft Punk at various points in their career. Since we don't know how they look like, it is quite possible that they were indeed the Daft Punk duo. Film is a very good one and is recommended for people who love this sort of music and like the films that they watch to be subtle. It can also be classed as a companion-piece to 'Inside Llewyn Davis'.

PS: I feel like watching '24 Hour Party People' again on the back of that and these two films would make an excellent double bill.

Rating: 4.5/5