The Goldman Trial, DogMan, New Beginning... Films to watch or avoid this week

History of Cédric Kahn, 1h55

You have to remember. The affair caused a stir. It was just petitions, support committees. The intellectuals were swooning. In Pierre Goldman, they had found a hero worthy of them. Sentenced to life in prison at first instance, the far-left activist was accused of having killed two pharmacists on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, which he stubbornly denied. The four robberies, yes, but shooting these ladies, never. In 1975, a second trial opened in Amiens. The province would perhaps calm heated minds. The character is troubled, tormented, dark. He sends a salty letter to his lawyer Georges Kiejman, whom he calls a “living room Jew.” In prison, he wrote a book that became a bestseller, Obscure Memories of a Polish Jew Born in France. This son of resistance fighters doesn't hate flirting with gangsters, likes girls, alcohol, jazz, Cuban music. He only has the word “revolution” on his lips. In his box, the defendant has a padlocked face. The court is transformed into an arena. Goldman’s defense is simple: “I am innocent because I am innocent.” Feverish, sharp, Arieh Worthalter embodies this bundle of nerves with a depth, an intensity that recalls Gian Maria Volonte. Cédric Kahn does not leave the courtroom, does not stand with his feet to the wall with his camera. He frames tightly, scrutinizes the faces. The film is sober, dry, rough like sandpaper. Arthur Harari plays Kiejman to perfection. IN.

Also read Notre critique du Procès Goldman: la guerre des mots

Also read: Cédric Kahn: “A Parisian elite was pro Goldman”

Drame de Jessica Hausner, 1:50 a.m

Welcome to Talent Campus. In this private establishment, registrations are ruinous. The building shines like new. It is as cheerful as the complete works of Madame Ernaux. As for the uniforms, they consist of a yellow polo shirt and grayish shorts. We're not here to joke. A new teacher arrives. Miss Novak (Mia Wasikowska) has her methods. His subject: Conscious Eating. Basically, it involves holding a bar of chocolate with your eyes closed before considering taking a bite of a single square. Eating this way has a chance of saving the planet. Excessive consumption leads us to our downfall. The speech is rehearsed and convincing. The trampoline champion wants to lose a few kilos. The classical dancer with blue-painted nails rehearses Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and struggles to lower his insulin levels. The class cutie wants to belong to the group, quite simply. Jessica Hausner (Little Jo) uses her camera with the care and precision that characterizes a surgeon and his scalpel. It touches the nerve. She maintains a distance, watches the horror mount with a calm that borders on fatalism. The boarding school turns into a sect. Club Zéro is guaranteed gluten-free. IN.

À lire aussiNotre critique de Club Zéro: l'idole des jeûnes

Comedy by Philippe Lefebvre, 1h40

Franck Dubosc as a symphony orchestra pianist, the role may surprise. If there is a counter-use, it is more in the sobriety of the character, Diane's loving and kind husband. Too sober even for Diane (Karin Viard in her usual register). She is bored. His son flies to study in Tokyo. Her daughter is pregnant. She is featured in the magazine she works for. Menopause overwhelms her. After thirty years of living together, passion is nothing more than a pile of ashes. To reignite the flame, Alain causes the breakup. Diane takes the opportunity to discover dating sites and have a good time. According to the old principle of the sprinkler being watered, Alain does not let himself be discouraged for very long and meets a pretty thirty-year-old, Agathe. Philippe Lefebvre is not of the same generation as Philippe Lacheau (Alibi.com and Alibi.com 2). No pee-poo humor or corny panpan with bare bottom spanking for Didier Bourdon (or his understudy). A remarriage comedy, a genre popularized in Hollywood in the 1930s (New York-Miami, This Sacred Truth, The Impossible Mr. Baby), New Departure does not have the elegance of these illustrious models. But in the general range of French comedy, he stands out for the tenderness and sincerity he exudes. E.S.

Science-Fiction de Gareth Edwards, 2h13

Seven years after Rogue One, director Gareth Edwards returns with a shocking space opera where an augmented soldier faces a robotic girl. The plot takes place in the near future, after an AI created to protect humanity sets off a nuclear bomb on Los Angeles. Since then, the United States has waged a merciless war on AI with the help of a gigantic steel wing that orbits the Earth to destroy the androids. Joshua (John David Washington, the star of Tenet), a former special forces agent weakened by the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to neutralize the Creator, the elusive architect of an AI capable of ending the war... or destroying the human race. The hero quickly discovers that the weapon in question is a 6-year-old robot child (Madeleine Yuna Voyles) who spends his time watching cartoons on television. Obviously, he ends up taking Alphie under his wing. Hunted, the hero discovers that the child possesses immense powers. We sometimes think of The Road, by Cormac McCarthy, and the physical, psychological and spiritual journey of this father-son tandem experiencing a powerful inner journey. This does not prevent Gareth Edwards from orchestrating sumptuous action sequences and touching on some currently popular topics, linked to racism and the fear of humans of being overtaken by AI. O.D.

Also readOur review of The Creator: artificial intelligence is child's play

Drama by Luc Besson, 1h54

Formerly martyred by his father, a man lives with his dogs trained to burglarize. The police arrest the unfortunate man. At the station, he confides in a psychiatrist. This gives us a series of flashbacks peppered with serious trauma. Doug, who is a redhead, had a hard time. He was beaten by his father who had imagined nothing better than to lock him up with the pit bulls he raised for clandestine fights. Behind his gates, the kid finds comfort in caressing his unfortunate neighbors with soft fur. His brother is trash. Dad is angry. In the middle of a crisis, he shoots her. A bullet hits Doug's spine: he is in a wheelchair, unable to stand for long on his legs held in place by splints. As an adult, our man took refuge in an abandoned school with his four-legged companions. He trained them to rob sumptuous penthouses, to bring back expensive jewelry in their mouths. Bad Latinos are after him. The leader will have his crotch grabbed by the jaws of a German shepherd. The others will fall into deep pits and have their legs crushed by a wolf trap. There has always been this kind of joyful violence in Besson. It's something between Taxi Driver and Lassie. The scenario is stupid, disarmingly childish, filmed like a music video from the 1980s. É.N.

Also readOur review of Dogman, the new film by Luc Besson: nothing to lick your lips about