Arguably the most anticipated movie of the year comes out shortly before its 2022 expiration date to take us back to the magical world of Pandora and James Cameron. The American director, 13 years after the first highly impressive installment, is back with one of 4 (?) possible sequels that aim to model the Avatar franchise on other successful film series. Now a decade has passed since the events of the original film, and our acquaintances Jake and Neytiri now have to take care of a large family, their own and adopted children. A new invasion of people, however, will force them to migrate in search of refuge to the places of a kindred race of amphibians who live in harmony with ocean creatures. Their pursuers, however, do not retreat far, and now the battle will be transferred to the seascape. Cameron clearly seeks to captivate the viewer with the incomparable brightness and beauty of the world he created, and he succeeds in many ways. Everything here is sharper, more padded, more “natural,” if you can use that term for a story set on a fictional planet. The technological advances that allow us, especially in 3D, to be transported to the watery realm of Pandora are unprecedented even for the most expensive modern productions.

In short, James Cameron has done his miracle again, at least on a picture level, since things are pretty miserable from there. And that’s because the new Avatar painstakingly tests every action-adventure cliché with a script that, aside from its (acclaimed) environmental considerations, deals with a dichotomy of safety and family that feels more American than… Texas.

The great Charlotte Gainsbourg stars in a family story set in the distant – by today’s standards – 1980s and begins in 1981, when people take to the streets of Paris to celebrate political change. However, Elizabeth’s marriage has just ended and she now needs to find work to support her two teenage children. In the end, she will find a place in the production of a late-night radio show, which will begin a new chapter in her life. Michael Hers (Amanda) here is not content to take us back to the 80s through his story, but also adapts his film’s aesthetic to that particular decade. Its main characters, young and old, go through different stages of their lives, trying, although not always successfully, to move forward with optimism. Altogether, Hers’s bittersweet film is charming, but lacks the climax and pacing to keep the viewer’s attention at its best.

The incomparable Meltem Kaptan deservedly won an award at the latest Berlin Film Festival for her performance as Rabie Kurnaz, a Turkish mother from Bremen who learns that her eldest son has been detained in Pakistan by the US government. From there, he even goes straight to Guantanamo on charges of terrorism. This is where Rabier steps in and, with the help of a human rights lawyer, begins a marathon legal battle that will take them to the Supreme Court. Sometimes funny in its spontaneity, and sometimes extremely dramatic, Andreas Dresen’s film achieves its goal while highlighting the unjust detention and torture of hundreds of people by systems that otherwise glorify the principles of freedom and self-awareness. -decisiveness of a person.

The creator of the famous “Magnetic Fields” Giorgos Goussis again turns to his favorite documentary, in particular the one that tells about the life of his brother Panagiotis. The latter, an arm wrestler – the well-known bra de fer – decides to move from the province where he lives to Athens in search of a new beginning, away from the shackles of small society. But there he will discover that the real enemy is (mostly) himself. Gussy captures a special hero up close and sensitive, with whom at least the 30-something generation has plenty of reason to identify with.

The historical character is combined with the gastronomic, in an elegant film that excites … the appetite. We are in 1789, on the threshold of the French Revolution, a time when haute cuisine was reserved exclusively for aristocrats. However, the cook, unfairly dismissed by such a duke, takes refuge in a local hotel. There, with the help of his son and a mysterious woman, he creates the first restaurant, a place where anyone can come and, for a relatively small price, enjoy a well-prepared meal from the menu of choice. Eric Besnard’s film takes a touching approach to the idea of ​​hospitality and food, but does not lose sight of the political-class commentary that is appropriate to the era.