The Queen's Game, Paternal, Los delincuentes... Films to see or avoid this week

Historical drama by Karim Aïnouz, 2 hours

“Once upon a time there was a sick and angry king who ruled over a corrupt kingdom. » The first sentences of the film, in the form of an incipit of a story, are spoken by a future queen of England, Elizabeth I. His voice introduces an episode from his youth with his father, Henry VIII. She might as well have been humming a nursery rhyme that the English later learned: “Divorced, beheaded, dead, divorced, beheaded, alive,” a mnemonic way of remembering the fate of the famous monarch’s six wives. Once is not customary, The Queen's Game is interested in the last one. The “living” Catherine Parr, who assisted her husband until his death in 1547.

It is by resurrecting this figure of a wife long compared to the nurse of a decrepit king that Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz ventures into the ripoliné lands of costume film. And it doesn't smell like mothballs. Catherine Parr (Alicia Vikander), Queen Regent, is in charge while her husband is at war in France. She manages day-to-day affairs quite efficiently and makes her stepchildren, both orphans, revise their lessons. Henry VIII (Jude Law), afflicted with a leg ulcer, returns earlier than expected from the French campaign. The fight is going on at the castle, the stress is spreading throughout the anterooms. Jude Law, ogreesque as hell, thunders, belches, plays a game of cat and mouse with his wife who dodges, alternately cuddly or firm. Karim Ainouz films the story by looking through the keyhole, the couple's confrontation. It introduces the psychological thriller into this England filmed like a painting. F.D.

Also readOur review of The Queen's Game: The Bride Was Too Strong

Thriller by Rodrigo Moreno, 3h10

A teller organizes a heist at his own bank. From the safes, Moran stole $650,000, which he stuffed into a black nylon bag. He counted that on his fingers: the amount was equivalent to what he would have received if he had worked until he retired. For the sentence, he will serve three and a half years in prison, not without having entrusted the loot to his colleague Roman, who will keep the jackpot until his release. In Argentina, we don't know, but everywhere else the plan wouldn't hold up for a second. It's all the strange charm of these three hours which pass like a breath, with a quiet audacity, a cheek that shrugs the shoulders, an invention at all times. They are full of little incongruous things, such as the opening sequence where, on a sidewalk in Buenos Aires, colleagues debate the best way to quit smoking or this lady at the counter who has the same signature as another customer.

Verisimilitude is not Rodrigo Moreno's main concern. As for suspense, great deal! We are not at Hitchcock. Los delincuentes is free, sinuous, picaresque. The film escapes all labels. The plot offers digressions and twists and turns. This aerial and disenchanted chronicle is reminiscent of La flor, by Mariano Llinas, which lasted fourteen hours. A gentle anarchism bathes the whole. Getting up every morning to go to the office, thank you very much. Suddenly it's about changing life, making it a little poetic, in short, taking it easy. A sort of exquisite corpse with chimichurri sauce, his film buzzes with unresolved questions. IN.

À lire aussiNotre critique de Los delincuentes: touchez au grisbi

Drama by Teddy Lussi-Modeste, 1h32

Julien is one of those black hussars of the Republic that Jules Ferry spoke of. His college is called Paul Éluard, but during his courses, he teaches Ronsard. The students listen to him dissect Mignonne, let's see if the rose. The hero makes the mistake of taking the shy Leslie under his wing. The teenager blushes, looks down. The others laugh. It all seems good-natured. Here is the poor literary man accused of harassment. He is amazed. His superior summons him. The principal tries to temper things. The famous phrase “no waves” appears on his lips. So the sea is unleashed in this suburban establishment. He finds himself in a nightmare. The film, a modern version of The Risks of the Job, puts its foot down. It is tight, tense, shows the distress of an adult, describes this tender age when we are so afraid of not being like others. Teddy Lussi-Modeste, helped by screenwriter Audrey Diwan (Bac Nord), knows his subject. A similar story happened to him. On screen, he has the features of François Civil who swaps the musketeer's habit for the diploma's glasses. E. NOT.

Also read: Our review of No Waves: A Table of Horror

Drama by Ronan Tronchot, 1h32

Attacked with a jackhammer, an ordeal is torn from its base, expelled by a developer who has other ambitions for the land than a Christ on his cross, in the middle of the countryside. Simon (Grégory Gadebois) supervises the operation. It's a mission like any other for this priest with a busy day, between an information meeting on the installation of digital trunks in parishes, slideshows on their profitability to support, a trip to the hospital to delivering a last sacrament and writing his homily. With a busy schedule as prime minister, this life of priesthood dedicated to others actually leaves him little time for himself. Even less for family life. But at the end of a funeral, Louise (Géraldine Nakache), a former girlfriend from Canada, waits for Simon to tell him bluntly that he is the father of her son, the young 11-year-old boy who is standing next to him. his sides, with his trapper's headdress.

On the verge of burnout, she waits for him to take his part and recognize the child in civil status. If he has not broken any canonical law by becoming a father (without knowing it) before taking his vows, when he was still a seminarian, his case was not so simple, neither for him nor for his diocese. The sermons and advice given to his parishioners, behind the calm certainty of his function, take on a completely different resonance when he himself must face his own choices. In almost every way, the actor carries this first feature film by Ronan Tronchot with a gentle good nature and a touching tenderness, while revealing the complexity of the character but without forcing his features. V.B.

Also readOur review of Paternal: a son fallen from the sky

Animated film by Mike Mitchell and Stephanie Stine, 1h34

Here comes Po again, the overweight panda who became the king of kung fu. The Dragon Warrior has nothing left to prove and its creators don't have much left to tell. Worried about becoming the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace (he's bad at proverbs), Po rushes to accomplish one last mission: save the kingdom from the evil Chameleone, a lizard witch capable of transforming into any what a creature. Po goes to the big city with a new sidekick, Zhen, a thieving and cunning vixen since she is a vixen. Nothing very original in terms of anthropomorphism.

This fourth installment of the Dreamworks franchise looks like a Zootopia without genius. Those under ten will undoubtedly find the martial acrobatics entertaining. Those over ten years old will be able to doze off peacefully, lulled by the voice of Dustin Hoffman. Provided you see the film in VOST. E. S.