LE MANS 66 (James Mangold – USA)
It was in Mâcon, at the “Marivaux” cinema of my childhood, now a mega-complex, that we watched Le Mans 66, an old-style film depicting the incredible saga of the brilliant car designer Carroll Shelby and his borderline driver Ken Miles, who managed to end Ferrari’s dominance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the famous Ford GT40 MK II.
Even though the characters are real, the film is more reminiscent of a comic book like Michel Vaillant than a documentary. Fortunately, the story as narrated is thrilling, the racing scenes are spectacular, and the performance is impeccable (Matt Damon and Christian Bale). Just for fun, it’s worth noting that a scene was filmed… in Peille 06.
MY STUPID DOG (Yvan Attal – France)
A fifty-something writer with writer’s block, Henri (Yvan Attal) is convinced that his wife Cécile (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and their four children are to blame for his lack of inspiration. A gigantic dog (a huge, ugly, drooling “Neapolitan Mastiff”) bursts into his life and helps him bounce back. It must be said that the dog’s libido is much more robust than that of his master!
Even if we don’t always understand the dog’s impact on Henri’s life, the film, which addresses the angst of living, is a French dramedy somewhat more ambitious than average, probably aided by the star couple’s performance and the original depth of the story drawn from a short story by John Fante.
THE TRUTH IF I LIE! THE BEGINNINGS (Michel Munz, Gérard Bitton – France)
An attempted clever flashback: the small group of teenagers bustling in the Sentier district are in fact the heroes of the first three films of the series.
This prequel wasn’t exactly necessary. Each character is merely a rough draft of what they will become later. With the performances themselves being weak, the humor and emotion one might have felt with the adult actors are not present.
