A few days no more, Black Flies, Agra, an Indian family... Films to see or avoid this week

Comedy by Julie Navarro, 1h43Arthur Berthier, rock critic, accompanies a singer to her hotel room and cannot prevent her from destroying everything. The minibar goes through the window. The bill is steep. The editor-in-chief of Arthur does not intend to pay a bill of 1,100 euros. Hippolyte Girardot has a false air of Serge July. The newspaper is called L'Époque and resembles Libération. Arthur is relegated to general news. While covering the evacuation of a migrant camp, a CRS beat him on the head with a baton. Mathilde (Camille Cottin), head of the Solidarité Exilés association, catches his eye. For his beautiful eyes and his big nose, Arthur agrees to accommodate Daoud, a young Afghan refugee. Benjamin Biolay, often used in the cinema to play bourgeois cowards or bastards, fits perfectly into the perfecto of Arthur Berthier, an indolent, immature and very funny fifty-something. He drinks dry, smokes like a fireman. His apartment looks like a teenager's bedroom, clothes strewn about and the floor littered with pizza boxes. Daoud wants to go to England to find his father. He must coexist with this specimen of irresponsible Parisian journalist. The migrant film has become a genre in itself. Since Welcome, by Philippe Lioret, with Vincent Lindon as a lifeguard at the Calais swimming pool, heroes with big hearts have abounded. A few days no more, a social and romantic comedy, is less soothing. Above all, it is much more fun. E.S.

Also read: Our review of Few days no more, rocker's heart

Comedy by Olivier Ducray and Wilfried Meance, 1h17

While a student diligently massacres Carmen on the recorder, Xavier (Bernard Campan), a jaded music teacher, barely listens to her, not even trying to fight against the drowsiness that is overtaking him. He would surely have been less eager to see the class end if he had known what awaited him at home. Sophie, his wife (Isabelle Carré), has invited Adèle and Alban (Julia Faure and Pablo Pauly), their upstairs neighbors, to dinner, the sound intensity of their nocturnal antics is not up for debate. They had barely arrived when the first barbs erupted between these two completely opposite couples, one bourgeois and uptight, the other much younger and less conventional. Especially since the slow cooking of a leg of lamb for seven hours will leave time for tasty foreplay, before this explosive evening goes into a tailspin, with revelations and twists and turns. Adapted from Sentimental, a Spanish film itself based on a play, And more if affinities is a nice surprise. Anatomy of married life in shared fashion, this vaudeville filmed behind closed doors about buried desires and love weariness does not spare its effects, as funny as they are effective. The mechanics are relentless, the responses follow one another and the rhythm does not weaken. As an appetizer in front of glasses, facing their open-mouthed hosts, Alban and Adèle say they practice “group sex”, a term they prefer to “orgy”. With the entries, a new revelation will increase the madness. No one will be spared. No reason to shy away from this theatrical comedy, the heir to Cuisine et Dépendances and Le Prénom. V.B.

Also readOur review of And more if affinities: the couple with the pan

Drama by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, 2 hours

With Black Flies, Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, former assistant to Cyril Collard and Gaspar Noé, dives into the dark depths of New York, his adopted city. To get there, you have to follow the ambulances of the emergency nurses, driving with sirens blaring and flashing lights on in the night, like in Martin Scorsese's Open Tomb. On board one of them, Gene Rutkovsky (Sean Penn), a battered old veteran, haunted by what he went through on September 11, and Ollie Cross (Tye Sheridan revealed by Spielberg in Ready Player One), a new recruit who dreams of being a doctor, still lulled by his illusions. They won't last long. From the first mission, his stomach cannot resist the sight of the bodies lying there, seriously wounded by bullets after a bloody settling of scores. This is only the first level of a descent into hell that he will experience on a daily basis with his seasoned teammate, toothpick at the corner of his lips like a cowboy. But New York is not far from the Wild West where survival is a struggle. Nothing is spared for the spectators either. Filmed in close-ups, this quasi-documentary feature film adapted from 911, the novel by Shannon Burke, is a completely immersive dive into this raw humanity. The journey is trying but his sincerity prevents us from shooting the ambulance. V.B.

Also readOur review of Black Flies: the paramedics are tired

Drame de Kanu Behl, 1h48

For a tourist, Agra is famous for the Taj Mahal. For an Indian, it is also the city where the largest psychiatric asylum in the country is located. The viewer very quickly has doubts about Guru's mental health. The young man imagines flirting with Mala, one of his colleagues with whom he is madly in love. His hallucinations take a more nightmarish turn when he fornicates with a giant squirrel on the kitchen table. The more beastly of the two is not what you might think. Later, he tries to rape his cousin, on the ground. Sexual frustration goes hand in hand with lack of intimacy. Guru still lives with his parents. He lives on the ground floor with his mother. His father lives upstairs with his mistress. He plans to sell the house to a third wife so he can expand it. Insults, shouts and blows on all floors. Family life is not a long, quiet river. Guru and his parents fight for their share of living space. Real estate corruption is a scourge as formidable as police corruption. Kanu Behl prolongs the transactions between Guru and the promoters, a cruel and cynical fool's game. He also doesn't avoid the sex scenes when Guru finally meets a young woman. Priti, a widow and owner of an internet café, walks with a limp. The two cripples, physically and psychologically damaged, console each other in hand-to-hand combat with unvarnished crudeness. The glimmer of hope for the outcome is faint. E.S.

Also readOur review of Agra, an Indian family: Ungallant Indies

Comedy by Ethan Coen, 1h24

Whoever had the idea to separate the Coen brothers should denounce themselves. The cinema does not thank him. Together, they created sparks. Without Joel, Ethan throws wet firecrackers. He is, however, a good husband: he collaborated with his wife, Tricia Cooke. We can never say enough about the harms of working as a couple. The writers have an excuse: the script is a good twenty years old. The action takes place in 1999. Jamie, a lesbian with an incredible appetite for sex, has just broken up with her partner. She was cheating on her. The lady, who is a cop, took it badly. We understand it. Drama is added to the separation: who will keep the dildo? A family court judge should be summoned to resolve this thorny problem. To take her mind off things, our curly girl decides to leave Philadelphia and head to Tallahassee with a rental car and her friend, the shy, reserved Marian. The latter, who also loves women, makes the mistake of being romantic. The duo is unaware that the trunk of their vehicle contains dangerous cargo that fearsome gangsters are after. The road movie jumps from motels to queer bars. Matt Damon appears briefly as a senator involved in a sex scandal. Psychedelic interludes punctuate this chaotic journey whose wheels spin in the void. Crooked framing, messages left on telephone answering machines, forced humor, the result, which is as flat as a deserted road, provokes a sad feeling of déjà vu. IN.

Also readOur review of Drive-Away Dolls: a free-wheeling Coen brother