1. Any instruments of peace?
CRESCENDO, by Dror Zahavi, 1 h 51. From 13 years old. Currently in theaters.
Can music soften morals to the point of making people forget about politics? The question inspires Crescendo from start to finish, as does the experience of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Created by pianist Daniel Barenboim, this orchestra has brought together, every summer for more than twenty years, instrumentalists from Israel and its Arab neighbors. Freely adapted from this initiative, Crescendo narrates the stubborn struggle of a German conductor – traumatized by his family’s Nazi past – to put on a concert for peace that would bring together Israeli and Palestinian musicians. Handpicked during a demanding audition, everyone is delighted to have flattered the ear of the prestigious maestro. Will they taste his group therapy, which aims to reconcile two camps too quickly overtaken by an irreducible hatred? A film with powerful accents and an unexpected outcome.
2. Greek holidays, behind the scenes
I LOVE GREECE, by Nafsika Guerry-Karamaounas. 1 h 31. From 13 years old. Currently in theaters.
After an obligatory passage through Athens, where the family of his Franco-Greek sweetheart lives, Jean hoped to spend a dream week with Marina on an island in the Cyclades. But this somewhat condescending Parisian architect will be at his expense: Marina’s entire family soon returns to the island, transforming the idyllic stay into a family psychodrama. Especially since Jean discovers at the same time the other side of the postcard decor usually attributed to Greece. The financial crisis that hit the country in 2008 is still having its effects, even if Marina’s family seems to take things more philosophically than the Parisian couple. Result: a successful bittersweet comedy, carried by both the Stacy Martin-Vincent Dedienne tandem and by Marina’s family, a whimsical but terribly endearing tribe.
3. The dizziness of an investigation
THE NIGHT OF THE 12, by Dominik Moll. 1:54 a.m. From 15 years old. In theaters July 13.
The title of this film refers to the dated but ultimately imprecise moment when the unspeakable took place: the murder of a woman set on fire, in a peaceful housing estate in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (Savoie). Dominik Moll advances both police investigation and psychological introspection, following the investigation led by Marceau and Yohan. Two cops haunted by a double question: Who? Why ? The first (Bouli Lanners) gives free rein to his emotions while the second (Bastien Bouillon) experiences events in a more interior way. Faithful to his trademark since Harry, a friend who wants you well (2000), the filmmaker distills a strange atmosphere that envelops his characters like the spectators. A dizzying feature film, like the mountains serving as its backdrop.
4. Pilgrimage in Covid times
FINDING THE WAY, by Laurent Granier. 1 h 25. From 13 years old. In theaters July 13.
From the road to Santiago de Compostela, which he took in 2018 with his wife and children, Laurent Granier has fond memories. Two years later, he again chooses to rely on him, this time weighed down by a burden: the adventurous fighter, meanwhile separated from his companion, sees his children less, lost his job and contracted the Covid . His film has documentary value. By setting off from Puy-en-Velay on the first day of deconfinement, May 21, 2020, the walker reveals a new face of the path: few pilgrims, inns and lodgings still closed, deserted villages, re-wild paths… A few encounters fortunately illuminate his way, like this calligrapher encountered in Conques. And the sequences filmed with his drone repeat the beauty of the path. Too bad his vision of it, centered on the accumulation of the difficulties he encounters (heat, loneliness, flies…), does not rise more to soul level.