Innocence, An Affair of Honor, Dream Scenario... Films to see or avoid this week.

Thriller/Drame de Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2h06.

Innocence is full of nuances and details that only take on meaning as the story progresses. On the film poster, the faces of two children covered in mud pose questions. What happened to them? What is the connection with this first sequence which sees the firefighters rush in, all sirens blaring, to put out the fire in a hostess bar? A rumor spreads: Minato and Yori's teacher frequented the place. And now young Minato, who is raised by his mother alone, begins to tell her that this professor told him that he had a pig's brain. A questionnaire will be distributed to the children to judge the teacher who will be subjected to a self-criticism session in front of the parents before being fired. China under Mao? No, contemporary Japan. It is this Japan, which hides a muted violence beneath an apparent placidity, that the filmmaker wants to show us. Based on a screenplay by Yuji Sakamoto which won an award in July at the Cannes Film Festival, Kore-eda renews his way of making a thriller. It adopts a three-part structure: the story is told successively by Minato's mother, by the teacher then by the child himself. This part is the most beautiful. From dark, the film becomes luminous. Confusing but subtle, Innocence also attempts to describe the awakening of the feeling of love in adolescents. Minato, fatherless, overprotected by his mother, and Yori, abandoned by a violent father, will discover that together, they can let go. F.D.

Also read: Our review of Innocence: childhood in the midst of a spell

Drama/Story by Vincent Perez, 1h41.

Vincent Perez, film buff and fencer, knows his classics. Scaramouche, The Duellists, Barry Lyndon… He even played in some of them. Formidable Christian in Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, truculent Duke of Nevers in The Hunchback by Philippe de Broca, he gives himself the role of a handsome bastard in An Affair of Honor. His fourth feature film as director and his most successful. In the Paris of 1887, Clément Lacaze (Roschdy Zem, impeccable as a master of arms broken by the war of 1870) and Colonel Berchère confront each other directly or through intermediary arms. Sword, pistol or saber, the fights follow one another and are never the same. Rich in stakes, they relaunch the intrigue each time and keep you in suspense. The actors wet their shirts or dresses (Doria Tillier, Damien Bonnard, Guillaume Gallienne). Beneath the entertainment, the fencing lesson is bitter. The sense of honor also sometimes covers the taste for blood. E.S.

Also read: Vincent Perez: “Each fight must have its own music”

Comedy/Horror by Kristoffer Borgli, 1h41.

What a loser! He doesn't look like anything, with his baldness, his little metal glasses, his hooded anorak that he had to order on the internet. This ordinary professor teaches biology. Anger roars inside him. Frustration boils in his veins. This can not go on. In fact, it doesn't last. Suddenly, everyone starts dreaming about him. At first he is intrigued, but flattered. His wildest hopes are fulfilled. We're tearing it away. He has become a star. With a little effort, he could be the king of influencers. His head is spinning. The coin has its other side. People's dreams begin to resemble horror films in which he is the reluctant hero. The situation is changing. From star, he transforms into monster. At his daughter's school, the students nicknamed him Freddy Krueger. The dean of his university imposes a leave of absence on him. Anonymous, celebrity, then outcast, such is the involuntary destiny of this man like any other. Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) makes a clever film like no other, with a side of In the Skin of John Malkovich. He disturbs, denounces the damage of cancel culture. Teeth grind. Nicolas Cage finds here one of his roles (Joe, Pig) which exonerate him at regular intervals from his innumerable stupidities. As a helpless father, as an invisible husband, as an underestimated researcher, he proves that, when they want, nerdy people have talent, too. QED. Problem: we will have to wait several more years before seeing him again in a decent film. Sacred Nicholas. IN.

Also read: Our review of Dream Scenario, Nicolas Cage's exhilarating nightmare

Comedy by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, 1h59.

1998, a good year. In addition to the victory of Zidane's Blues in the World Cup, we are witnessing the consecration of brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly with Mary at all costs. Catherine Deneuve is a big fan. She's not the only one. And 25 years later, the acid romantic comedy from the makers of Dumb and Dumber is still sparking. Their ability to elevate below-the-belt jokes into unstoppable gags remains unmatched. Ben Stiller's testicle stuck in his fly, the sperm gel in Cameron Diaz's hair or the wrestling match with a dog on amphetamines always provoke hilarity. The successful marriage of shame and love. E.S.

Fantastic film by Sébastien Vanicek, 1h45.

Revival of French fantastic cinema, episode 38. After Grave, The Animal Kingdom, Acid and even Vincent Must Die, here is Vermin, by Sébastien Vanicek, presented at the end of Critics' Week at the Venice Film Festival. Killer spiders proliferate in a suburban apartment block. A group of young people (including Théo Christine and Finnegan Oldfield) will try to save their skin. In the Suburban Alien genre, the film has allure and can give nightmares to any arachnophobe. The metaphor is clear but not too strong: city dwellers and spiders, same pariah fight. E.S.

Animated film by Pablo Berger, 1h42.

For his first animated film, Spanish director Pablo Berger (Abracadabra, Blancanieves) adapts the graphic novel by American Sara Varon. There we find the anthropomorphism of the Disney studios, plus melancholy. Its hero, Dog, is a sad and lonely dog ​​in Manhattan. One day, he builds himself a robot which becomes his best friend, must separate from him and despairs of finding him in the New York jungle. A fable about friendship without words, carried by a groovy soundtrack, My Friend Robot Has Dog, but it is perhaps a little too childish for adults and a little too minimalist for children. E.S.