Four French productions and Oscar favourite in line-up

by Aurore Engelen

04/02/2009 - Lauded by critics, the much-awaited The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is being released this week on over 50 screens. Meanwhile, Les Films de l’Elysée are launching a French offensive with three Gallic productions.

King Guillaume [trailer] – the second feature by Pierre-François Martin-Laval of former TV series Robin des Bois (“Robin Hood”) – is being released in Belgian theatres on a nine-print run. In her first major big-screen role, Florence Foresti appears alongside the director as a dreamy young woman whose horizons broaden when she finds out that her husband has inherited an unknown kingdom.

The film was produced by Mact Productions (who recently co-produced Private Lessons [trailer, film focus]) and Antoine de Clermont Tonnerre, who has just been elected president of Unifrance.

Les Films de l’Elysée are also launching two rather more limited-audience films, both on a two-print run. Fans of Lebanese directorial duo Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige will be delighted to discover their documentary-style feature I Want to See [trailer], which was presented in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes.

Produced by Mille et Une Productions, the film stars a remarkable Catherine Deneuve, who is plunged into the chaos of a Lebanon devastated by the 2006 war.

Also produced by Mille et Une Productions, The Joy of Singing [trailer] is the third and final title released by Les Films de L’Elysée this week. Ilan Duran Cohen directs this anti-romantic spy comedy which is set to music and stars an unusual trio (Lorànt Deutch, Marina Foïs and Jeanne Balibar) who battle with unlikely spies and difficult lyrical arias.

Finally, the last European film on this week’s line-up also hails from France. Lisa Azuelos resurrects Vic, the eternal teenager of The Party, who is now confronted with motherhood and a new incarnation of adolescence, the SMS generation, in LOL [trailer], starring Sophie Marceau. The title is being launched on a 14-print run by Alternative Films.

(Translated from French)