The Boston French Film Festival returns with an exciting lineup that captures the textures, tensions, and petits bonheurs (small joys) of contemporary French life. The festival opens with Three Friends, Emmanuel Mouret's bittersweet comedy about love, infidelity, and emotional entanglement among a trio of women. Catherine Deneuve leads The President's Wife, a sly comedy about politician Bernadette Chirac's bid to step out from her husband's shadow. Winner of the 2024 Jury Prize and Best Actor award in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, Souleymane's Story is a gripping portrait of life on the margins. Holy Cow brings charm to the lineup with a tale about a teenage cheesemaker chasing a contest prize, while Night Call delivers high-stakes thrills as a locksmith races through Brussels during a night of unrest. Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte's sweeping new adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo reminds us that French cinema, like the country's literature, still revels in grand tales of betrayal, justice, and revenge.
Together, these films offer a vivid snapshot of a society in motion—ever-evolving while remaining rooted in the passionate pursuit of artistic and intellectual truth. Grab some French wine and cheese at Taste and join us for these evocative stories.
Schedule of Events:
11:00 am–12:45 pm - When Fall Is Coming (Quand vient l'automne)
Directed by François Ozon (France, 2024, 104 min.). French with English subtitles.
In his latest genre-bending tale, François Ozon (The Crime is Mine; 8 Women) returns with a masterfully restrained and quietly unsettling tale of family, memory, and suspicion.
Living a quiet retirement in the Burgundy countryside, mushroom-hunting Michelle (Hélène Vincent) hopes a visit from her young grandson will help mend a rift with her estranged daughter. But when a culinary accident disturbs the delicate balance of the household, long-festering tensions give way to deeper questions—and possibly darker motives.
With a light touch and simmering unease, When Fall Is Coming evolves from domestic drama into a twisty, character-driven mystery, laced with Ozon's signature tonal ambiguity. Featuring standout performances from Vincent, Josiane Balasko, and Ludivine Sagnier—reuniting with Ozon for the first time since Swimming Pool—the film offers a wry, disquieting reflection on the thin line between care and control.
"Gorgeously shot…. François Ozon plays a tricky game, and there are currents of darkness swirling underneath that cottagecore exterior. Ozon has crafted a deceptively intricate little puzzle of a film which sticks in your mind." —Boston Hassle
Members
$12.00
Nonmembers
$15.00
2:30 pm–4:15 pm - Misericordia
Directed by Alain Guiraudie (France, Spain, and Portugal, 2024, 104 min.). French with English subtitles.
The tangled ambiguities of love, death, and desire remain fertile ground for Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake), who returns with Misericordia, a sharp and darkly funny thriller. Set in a misty, autumnal village in Guiraudie's native Occitanie, the film follows Jérémie (Félix Kysyl), an out-of-work baker who drifts back to his hometown after the death of his former employer.
Long after the funeral, Jérémie lingers—gently insinuating himself into the life of his late boss's family, from the warm-hearted widow (Catherine Frot) to the volatile son (Jean-Baptiste Durand), all while striking up a curiously warm rapport with a relentlessly upbeat local priest (Jacques Develay).
In Guiraudie's disarmingly sensual and morally slippery world, violence and eroticism erupt without warning, and criminal impulses emerge as natural extensions of longing. With Misericordia, he once again upends genre expectations, crafting a deceptively quiet tale that simmers with menace, desire, and subversive wit.
"A welcome re-embrace of the streamlined murdery perversities of his terrific Stranger by the Lake, Alain Guiraudie gives [Cannes Film Festival] one of its darkly sparkling standouts.… there hasn't been a more exaggeratedly eccentric vision of French provincialism since Bruno Dumont established his Li'l Quinquin universe." —Variety
Members
$12.00
Nonmembers
$15.00
Location: Harry and Mildred Remis Auditorium (Auditorium 161)
