The directorial debut of the Frenchwoman Charlene Bourgeois-Taquet, who created a double portrait of a woman, full of dynamism and love of life. However, the main character here is Anais, a thirty-year-old girl trying to make an academic career, but not being completely sure that she really wants it. Her personal affairs are even more complicated, as her peer is replaced by a much older man who instantly falls in love with her. However, when she meets his wife Emily (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), she feels an irresistible attraction, forgetting everything else.

The heroine’s namesake, Anais Demoustier, turns out to be a real force of nature, and this is the main reason for the interest of the film Bourgeois. Motionless, explosive and unpredictable, Anais is an ordinary tornado, sweeping away everything in its path, without thinking about the consequences. Women’s liberation – sexual, but not only – is, of course, at the center of the film, which does not have much to say yet, but it has solid dialogue and an appropriate lightness so that it does not fall into melodrama.

One of the best films in Korean cinema, it comes out this week in a digital re-release. Master Kim Ki Duk sends us here to the misty forests, where two Buddhist monks, an old man and a young disciple, live in the middle of a peaceful lake. Their life goes on peacefully and in harmony with nature, until a young girl comes to the temple to be cured of her mental illness. Somewhere love, lust and all the unpredictability that they carry with them will be born.

The Korean director uses the seasons symbolically to describe the various cycles in a person’s life: childhood innocence, sexual awakening, the realization that comes after trauma, and finally maturity. The main motive is a dialogue with nature, nature is impressive, but not intimidating, to the best of a person, called to live in it with respect and love. Nature, also uniquely captured by the camera of Ki-Duk, who here generally teaches the lessons of simple – but not at all simplified – cinema, philosophical and deeply human, glorifying both the minimal and the infinite, the moment and eternity.

From today on the screens comes another film from France, this time with a much more dramatic overtones. Lisa (Stacey Martin) and Simon (Pierre Ninet) are an inseparable couple, but the latter’s illegal activities will cause him to suddenly disappear. A few years later, they meet again by chance on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, but now she is married to a wealthy businessman. Passion, of course, has not faded away, and soon the three of them will enter a whirlpool full of secrets, lies and deadly threats. The two charismatic protagonists, for their part, help the film, which, however, prefers the convenience of the script and the predictable development of something more complex and risky. The result is a set with a fairly distinctive atmosphere, but without the tension or fast pace that would justify the genre.

Minions 2: Gru Rise ★★½
ANIMATION (2022)
Directed by: Kyle Balda
Cast: Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Julie Andrews

The popular Minions film series continues with a new chapter, which can also be called a prequel, as it takes us back to Gru’s childhood. The 12-year-old version of the latter, of course, aspires to become a supervillain when the opportunity to prove his worth seems almost sky-high. However, he himself will be captured, and now his inexplicable assistants, minions, will have to drag the chestnuts out of the fire. As is the case with other franchises, the creators of this particular one take a nostalgic trip to the 70s, apparently using a similar soundtrack to give new interest to rather banal characters. To some extent, they succeed without being original and without going beyond mere entertainment.

My dinner with Andre ★★★
Directed by: Louis Maul
Interpretations: Wallace Shawn, Andre Gregory

One of Louis Malle’s most special films is being re-released. Playwright Wally and director Andre meet years later at a New York restaurant to share their news. As a result, the conversation turned out to be truly stormy, Andre (mostly) told endless stories with comedic, dramatic and even philosophical content. The two charismatic actors manage to keep the interest in a film that demands the attention and imagination of the viewer.

This summer, the famous and beloved film by Clint Eastwood is released. In rural Iowa, a typical housewife (Meryl Streep), whose husband and children are away for a fair, meets Robert (Clint Eastwood), a traveling photographer, and an instant attraction develops between them. The two will spend four days together that will mark their lives forever.