A big day for Le Grand Soir

by Fabien Lemercier

06/06/2012 - After winning a special jury prize at Un Certain Regard in Cannes last month, caustic comedy Le Grand Soir [trailer] by anarchist-libertarian duo Benoît Delépine - Gustave Kervern (read the review), featuring the wild Benoît Poelvoorde and Albert Dupontel, is no doubt one of the main attractions among the 11 new films out in France this Wednesday.

Over the years, the two filmmakers have managed to impose their very personal style, notable for its black humour to a backdrop of social desperation, and have attracted increasingly larger audiences, with 450 000 admissions for Louise-Michel [trailer, film focus] at the beginning of 2009 and 865,000 admissions in 2010 for Mammuth [trailer, film focus] (distributed on 200 copies). This increase was orchestrated by Ad Vitam, who have distributed all of the duo’s feature films in France (including Aaltra in 2004 and Avida [trailer] in 2006) and who have now hedged their bets on 258 copies of Le Grand Soir.

The punk influence in Le Grand Soir is also prevalent in Sons of Norway [trailer] by Jens Lien (review), a film unveiled in Toronto and distributed by Zootrope Films on nine copies.

Austrian director Umut Dag’s excellent debut feature Kuma [trailer, film focus], which opened the Panorama section at the last Berlinale, is also out (distribution KMBO on 60 copies). It is joined by Franco-Belgian animation film Approved for Adoption, by comic book author Jung and Laurent Boileau (read more - Gebeka Films on 50 copies) .

The following have also joined this Wednesday’s diverse selection of new films: the British comedy Salmon Fishing in Yemen [trailer] by Swedish director Lasse Hallström (starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Emily Blunt, and Ewan McGregor – distribution Metropolitan Filmexport in 107 cinemas), Arrête de pleurer Pénélope ! [trailer] (lit. “Stop crying, Pénélope!”) by Corinne Puget, and Juliette Arnaud (adapted from the successful play of the same name - distribution SND in 262 cinemas), French-Polish-German co-production Ich bin eine terroristin by Valérie Gaudissart (Kanibal Distribution [trailer] in three cinemas), and two documentaries:Gerhard Richter Painting by German filmmaker Corinna Belz (Pretty Pictures) and Le Serment de Tobrouk by Bernard-Henri Lévy, which was shown during a special screening in Cannes (Rezo Film - Studio 37).

(Translated from French)