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Vogue
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Julia Ducournau's Alpha Feels Destined to Become a Cult Classic
It helps that this trio are masterful in their respective roles, too. Boros is a mercurial Alpha, hard-headed and rebellious, though just as likely to sneak out of her window in the middle of the night as she is to call for her mother and be rocked to sleep. Rahim, meanwhile, a powerhouse in everything from A Prophet to The Mauritanian, commits body and soul in a heart-wrenching, staggering turn that is deserving of serious awards attention. However, I was even more impressed by Farahani: as Alpha's razor-sharp mother, she lights up the screen with her fierce intelligence, understanding, compassion, and all-consuming fear of potentially losing the two most important people in her life. Her bonds with both Alpha and Amin have a gentle warmth and a natural, breezy believability. The same is true for their extended family, whom we glimpse at raucous Eid celebrations and at another point when Amin is seriously struggling. Ducournau ought to be given credit here for not only choosing actors with North African and Middle Eastern heritage for the parts of Amin and his sister—still underserved in France—but also for not treating that choice as an instance of colorblind casting. These characters speak Berber as well as French, sing traditional lullabies, and are connected to their culture in a way that makes their world feel textured and fully lived-in. There's a supreme confidence to everything Ducournau does here—from the title card spelling out Alpha's name on dry, cracked earth, to the booming music and the fluidity with which the camera moves—though the film is undoubtedly let down by its final act, a muddle of time jumps that could stand to be around 15 minutes shorter. Still, it's a wild, fascinatingly weird, and worthwhile ride nonetheless. As to be expected with any Julia Ducournau movie, there were several walkouts in the screening I attended, countless people watching through their fingers, and, afterwards, a deluge of negative reviews. Alpha definitely isn't for everyone, but that's the thing about cult-classic status—you don't achieve it without your fair share of detractors. With Alpha, Ducournau has completed quite the trifecta when it comes to portraying the horrors of being a woman, and I, for one, can't wait to see what she does next.
The Advertiser
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Monsieur Aznavour: intriguing portrait of legendary French crooner
Monsieur Aznavour M, 134 minutes 3 Stars It was a long, hard road for Charles Aznavour, the French-Armenian singer-songwriter who became an international superstar. In this story of his private and public journey, showcasing songs for which he became famous, we leave off a few frames short of the peak of his entertainment career. We don't really need to go there. Success as a troubadour is saved for the postscript, with interviews and sellout concerts around the world referenced in archival footage. After all, many people today will still remember him and the impact of his beautiful, soulful songs of regret and loss and times past. Aznavour died seven years ago at 94, not long after a concert in Japan that would be his last performance. The two French writer-directors, Mehdi Idir and slam poet Grand Corps Malade, who courageously took on this formidable task, had to find their way through a massive archive, including two autobiographies, during pre-production. The amiable French-Algerian actor, Tahar Rahim, in the lead role, was also challenged. Although the part of Aznavour is likely closer to type than the hard-headed inmate he played in A Prophet, he had to learn how to sing and dance to master his role. Any which way, Aznavour was a hard act to follow. There is so much to say about the man. The child of refugees who left school early then took to the stage, discovered he could write songs and became one of the biggest names in popular music. He wrote around 1200 songs, many performed by other top artists, and that's more than Dylan. And he also appeared in hundreds of movies, mainly in small parts, that he somehow found the time for. There is a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood that bears his name. It's hardly surprising to learn that the young Aznavour (impish Norvan Avedissian plays him as a child) was a lively boy, who thrived in performance. Despite his parents' struggle to survive during the war in France under the Nazi occupation, he still seemed to retain some of that cheek and humour into his adult life. Aznavour maintained a close relationship with his sister, who was a constant presence throughout his life. They may have been continents apart but he could find reassurance in her confidence in him and her positivity. In the narrative here it becomes a motif, as Aida's voice can be heard reassuring that all will be well. Other relationships, intimate and professional, come and go. The partnership with Pierre Roche (Bastien Bouillon) when they performed at cabaret on a double bill, set Aznavour up. Then Edith Piaf stepped in, urging Aznavour to go solo in his career and to split with his wife, in a single-minded pursuit of career that can also be seen as callous. It's interesting to see the influence Piaf (a terrific Marie-Julie Baup) had on him. She recognised a fellow traveller in Aznavour, someone with hustling ways and singular talent, who had also grown up on the street. He's the "real thing", she declares, praising the raspy voice that some of critics had panned. It was a rich and husky tenor, like an American jazz singer, and if he's short, well so what? It is rather shocking to hear of the treatment Aznavour received at the hands of critics in the early days. Despite being short in stature or unconventionally attractive, it all sounds like genuine qualities from where we stand today. Did it see off his gentle, funny side so engagingly portrayed by Rahim, before the entertainer developed a mechanical determination to write a song a day, proving all the detractors wrong? It's here that Aznavour appears in his least attractive light. Determined to succeed, impatient for fame, to a fault. It leaves a lingering impression, when more attention on his creative qualities would have done better service to this handsome, richly detailed portrait of a legendary French crooner. Monsieur Aznavour M, 134 minutes 3 Stars It was a long, hard road for Charles Aznavour, the French-Armenian singer-songwriter who became an international superstar. In this story of his private and public journey, showcasing songs for which he became famous, we leave off a few frames short of the peak of his entertainment career. We don't really need to go there. Success as a troubadour is saved for the postscript, with interviews and sellout concerts around the world referenced in archival footage. After all, many people today will still remember him and the impact of his beautiful, soulful songs of regret and loss and times past. Aznavour died seven years ago at 94, not long after a concert in Japan that would be his last performance. The two French writer-directors, Mehdi Idir and slam poet Grand Corps Malade, who courageously took on this formidable task, had to find their way through a massive archive, including two autobiographies, during pre-production. The amiable French-Algerian actor, Tahar Rahim, in the lead role, was also challenged. Although the part of Aznavour is likely closer to type than the hard-headed inmate he played in A Prophet, he had to learn how to sing and dance to master his role. Any which way, Aznavour was a hard act to follow. There is so much to say about the man. The child of refugees who left school early then took to the stage, discovered he could write songs and became one of the biggest names in popular music. He wrote around 1200 songs, many performed by other top artists, and that's more than Dylan. And he also appeared in hundreds of movies, mainly in small parts, that he somehow found the time for. There is a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood that bears his name. It's hardly surprising to learn that the young Aznavour (impish Norvan Avedissian plays him as a child) was a lively boy, who thrived in performance. Despite his parents' struggle to survive during the war in France under the Nazi occupation, he still seemed to retain some of that cheek and humour into his adult life. Aznavour maintained a close relationship with his sister, who was a constant presence throughout his life. They may have been continents apart but he could find reassurance in her confidence in him and her positivity. In the narrative here it becomes a motif, as Aida's voice can be heard reassuring that all will be well. Other relationships, intimate and professional, come and go. The partnership with Pierre Roche (Bastien Bouillon) when they performed at cabaret on a double bill, set Aznavour up. Then Edith Piaf stepped in, urging Aznavour to go solo in his career and to split with his wife, in a single-minded pursuit of career that can also be seen as callous. It's interesting to see the influence Piaf (a terrific Marie-Julie Baup) had on him. She recognised a fellow traveller in Aznavour, someone with hustling ways and singular talent, who had also grown up on the street. He's the "real thing", she declares, praising the raspy voice that some of critics had panned. It was a rich and husky tenor, like an American jazz singer, and if he's short, well so what? It is rather shocking to hear of the treatment Aznavour received at the hands of critics in the early days. Despite being short in stature or unconventionally attractive, it all sounds like genuine qualities from where we stand today. Did it see off his gentle, funny side so engagingly portrayed by Rahim, before the entertainer developed a mechanical determination to write a song a day, proving all the detractors wrong? It's here that Aznavour appears in his least attractive light. Determined to succeed, impatient for fame, to a fault. It leaves a lingering impression, when more attention on his creative qualities would have done better service to this handsome, richly detailed portrait of a legendary French crooner. Monsieur Aznavour M, 134 minutes 3 Stars It was a long, hard road for Charles Aznavour, the French-Armenian singer-songwriter who became an international superstar. In this story of his private and public journey, showcasing songs for which he became famous, we leave off a few frames short of the peak of his entertainment career. We don't really need to go there. Success as a troubadour is saved for the postscript, with interviews and sellout concerts around the world referenced in archival footage. After all, many people today will still remember him and the impact of his beautiful, soulful songs of regret and loss and times past. Aznavour died seven years ago at 94, not long after a concert in Japan that would be his last performance. The two French writer-directors, Mehdi Idir and slam poet Grand Corps Malade, who courageously took on this formidable task, had to find their way through a massive archive, including two autobiographies, during pre-production. The amiable French-Algerian actor, Tahar Rahim, in the lead role, was also challenged. Although the part of Aznavour is likely closer to type than the hard-headed inmate he played in A Prophet, he had to learn how to sing and dance to master his role. Any which way, Aznavour was a hard act to follow. There is so much to say about the man. The child of refugees who left school early then took to the stage, discovered he could write songs and became one of the biggest names in popular music. He wrote around 1200 songs, many performed by other top artists, and that's more than Dylan. And he also appeared in hundreds of movies, mainly in small parts, that he somehow found the time for. There is a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood that bears his name. It's hardly surprising to learn that the young Aznavour (impish Norvan Avedissian plays him as a child) was a lively boy, who thrived in performance. Despite his parents' struggle to survive during the war in France under the Nazi occupation, he still seemed to retain some of that cheek and humour into his adult life. Aznavour maintained a close relationship with his sister, who was a constant presence throughout his life. They may have been continents apart but he could find reassurance in her confidence in him and her positivity. In the narrative here it becomes a motif, as Aida's voice can be heard reassuring that all will be well. Other relationships, intimate and professional, come and go. The partnership with Pierre Roche (Bastien Bouillon) when they performed at cabaret on a double bill, set Aznavour up. Then Edith Piaf stepped in, urging Aznavour to go solo in his career and to split with his wife, in a single-minded pursuit of career that can also be seen as callous. It's interesting to see the influence Piaf (a terrific Marie-Julie Baup) had on him. She recognised a fellow traveller in Aznavour, someone with hustling ways and singular talent, who had also grown up on the street. He's the "real thing", she declares, praising the raspy voice that some of critics had panned. It was a rich and husky tenor, like an American jazz singer, and if he's short, well so what? It is rather shocking to hear of the treatment Aznavour received at the hands of critics in the early days. Despite being short in stature or unconventionally attractive, it all sounds like genuine qualities from where we stand today. Did it see off his gentle, funny side so engagingly portrayed by Rahim, before the entertainer developed a mechanical determination to write a song a day, proving all the detractors wrong? It's here that Aznavour appears in his least attractive light. Determined to succeed, impatient for fame, to a fault. It leaves a lingering impression, when more attention on his creative qualities would have done better service to this handsome, richly detailed portrait of a legendary French crooner. Monsieur Aznavour M, 134 minutes 3 Stars It was a long, hard road for Charles Aznavour, the French-Armenian singer-songwriter who became an international superstar. In this story of his private and public journey, showcasing songs for which he became famous, we leave off a few frames short of the peak of his entertainment career. We don't really need to go there. Success as a troubadour is saved for the postscript, with interviews and sellout concerts around the world referenced in archival footage. After all, many people today will still remember him and the impact of his beautiful, soulful songs of regret and loss and times past. Aznavour died seven years ago at 94, not long after a concert in Japan that would be his last performance. The two French writer-directors, Mehdi Idir and slam poet Grand Corps Malade, who courageously took on this formidable task, had to find their way through a massive archive, including two autobiographies, during pre-production. The amiable French-Algerian actor, Tahar Rahim, in the lead role, was also challenged. Although the part of Aznavour is likely closer to type than the hard-headed inmate he played in A Prophet, he had to learn how to sing and dance to master his role. Any which way, Aznavour was a hard act to follow. There is so much to say about the man. The child of refugees who left school early then took to the stage, discovered he could write songs and became one of the biggest names in popular music. He wrote around 1200 songs, many performed by other top artists, and that's more than Dylan. And he also appeared in hundreds of movies, mainly in small parts, that he somehow found the time for. There is a star on the walk of fame in Hollywood that bears his name. It's hardly surprising to learn that the young Aznavour (impish Norvan Avedissian plays him as a child) was a lively boy, who thrived in performance. Despite his parents' struggle to survive during the war in France under the Nazi occupation, he still seemed to retain some of that cheek and humour into his adult life. Aznavour maintained a close relationship with his sister, who was a constant presence throughout his life. They may have been continents apart but he could find reassurance in her confidence in him and her positivity. In the narrative here it becomes a motif, as Aida's voice can be heard reassuring that all will be well. Other relationships, intimate and professional, come and go. The partnership with Pierre Roche (Bastien Bouillon) when they performed at cabaret on a double bill, set Aznavour up. Then Edith Piaf stepped in, urging Aznavour to go solo in his career and to split with his wife, in a single-minded pursuit of career that can also be seen as callous. It's interesting to see the influence Piaf (a terrific Marie-Julie Baup) had on him. She recognised a fellow traveller in Aznavour, someone with hustling ways and singular talent, who had also grown up on the street. He's the "real thing", she declares, praising the raspy voice that some of critics had panned. It was a rich and husky tenor, like an American jazz singer, and if he's short, well so what? It is rather shocking to hear of the treatment Aznavour received at the hands of critics in the early days. Despite being short in stature or unconventionally attractive, it all sounds like genuine qualities from where we stand today. Did it see off his gentle, funny side so engagingly portrayed by Rahim, before the entertainer developed a mechanical determination to write a song a day, proving all the detractors wrong? It's here that Aznavour appears in his least attractive light. Determined to succeed, impatient for fame, to a fault. It leaves a lingering impression, when more attention on his creative qualities would have done better service to this handsome, richly detailed portrait of a legendary French crooner.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
France TV Distribution's Corsica Blood Feud Thriller ‘Vendetta,' from ‘A Prophet' Producer Marco Cherqui, to Launch at Series Mania (EXCLUSIVE)
'Vendetta,' the awaited Corsican blood feud drama-thriller from Marco Cherqui, who produced Jacques Audiard's breakout movie 'A Prophet,' will be brought onto the sales market at Series Mania by France TV Distribution. Set up at CPB Films, behind Rebecca Zlotowski's 2019 Toronto player 'Savages' and the upcoming series expansion of 'A Prophet,' both produced by Cherqui as CPB head of TV drama and cinema, 'Vendetta' is co-produced by public broadcaster France TV, where it will air on France 2. More from Variety Series Mania Program Seriesmakers Unveils New Projects From 'Pusher,' 'Blackport,' 'The Cakemaker' Creatives (EXCLUSIVE) About Premium Content, AMC Board Series Mania Selected 'Requiem for Selina' About First Beauty Influencers (EXCLUSIVE) Series Mania Buyers Upfront: Series From Beta, Fremantle, Mediawan, Erik Barmack, ZDF Studios Make for a Mouthwatering Lineup News of its international distribution launch comes just after 'Vendetta' went into production in the first week of March, shooting in Corsica. Billed as a mafia thriller and family tragedy, the six-part series turns on Anto, a Parisian cop of Corsican origin, who returns to his homeland with wife Vanina, to take over the family vineyard. Ambushed, his father is murdered and Anto, wounded, falls into deep coma. As a child, Anto had sworn to his brother – killed soon after in a vendetta – to break the cycle of vengeance plaguing his family for generations. Awaking 10 years later, he discovers that his now teen son Santu is obsessed with revenge. 'How far will Anto go to protect his son and reclaim his life?' the synopsis asks. 'Vendetta' toplines Thierry Neuvic ('Code Unknown,' 'Hereafter') Vahina Giocante ('Bellamy'), Tchéky Karyo ('The Missing'), Stanley Weber ('Borgia'), Laetitia Eïdo ('Fauda') and Philippe Corti ('Mafiosa'). Cherqui's credits also take in, before joining CPB Films in 2017, comedy series 'Kabul Kitchen,' a Monte Carlo TV Festival top prize winner, and, at CPB, popular crime comedy movie series 'Everyone Lies.' 'Vendetta' is co-written and directed by Ange Baserga ('Dealer'), and also penned by Emmanuelle Michaux ('Master Crimes') and Pierre-Marie Mosconi ('Surf Therapy). The crime drama joins an International distribtion slate at France TV Distribution, the commercial arm of France Télévisions, which also includes renewed comedy series 'Apsergirl' and thriller 'Danger in the Valley,' co-written by bestselling Michel Bussi ('Prison Island'). Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Oscars 2026: First Blind Predictions Including Timothée Chalamet, Emma Stone, 'Wicked: For Good' and More What's Coming to Disney+ in March 2025
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs Claims Feds Are Going After Him Using 'Racist' Law That 'No White Person Has Ever Been Charged With'
'Mr. Combs has been singled out because he is a powerful black man, and he is being prosecuted for conduct that regularly goes unpunished,' declares a Tuesday filing by the incarcerated Sean 'Diddy' Combs to toss out the government's claim the Bad Boy Records founder violated the Mann Act, officially known as the White-Slave Traffic Act. Facing dozens and dozens of civil lawsuits claiming assaults, abuse and retaliation, Combs has been behind bars at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center since his September 16 arrest on criminal charges. The day after the arrest, Combs entered a not guilty plea and has consistently denied he raped or abused anyone — even walking back his apology from the 2016 hotel security footage of him beating then girlfriend Cassie Ventura. Failing on several occasions to get released on $50 million bail, Combs is set to go to trial on racketeering, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution charges starting May 5. More from Deadline The London TV Screenings Hot List: The Lowdown On The Sales Houses Selling 'Suits: LA', Kevin Costner's Doc & 'A Prophet' Remake Sean Hannity's Donald Trump-Elon Musk Sit Down Interview: Plenty Of Softballs And Few Surprises Jay-Z Claims Now Dismissed Rape Case Cost Him $20M In Lost Income; Was Timed To Embarrass Daughter Blue Ivy At 'Mufasa' Premiere It is that last charge that Combs and his Shapiro Arato Bach and Agnifilo Intrater lawyers are claiming is being weaponized by the once-Damian-Williams-run U.S. Attorney's office for the South District of New York against the 'All About the Benjamins' performer because of his race. 'What was racist in its inception has often been racist in its operation,' the 13-page Memorandum of law in support a motion to dismiss Count Three of the superseding indictment. 'The statute's target was black male sexuality, and from Jack Johnson to Chuck Berry, the statute's most notorious prosecutions targeted famous black men accused of deviant sexual behavior,' the February 18th filed document goes on to say. 'This case continues the trend. In Count Three, the government charges a violation of the Act based on allegations that Mr. Combs transported male escorts—from a legal escort service—across state lines to have sex with his girlfriends.' Looking at life in federal prison if found guilty on the current trio of claims and now open about his use of male and female escorts, Combs and his team are requesting a hearing at 'a date and time to be determined by the Court, for an Order dismissing Count Three of the Superseding Indictment.' Nothing is on Judge Arun Subramanian's calendar yet. Once a hearing is granted, there might be some bumps in the road coming from the prosecution. Williams was running the SDNY U.S. Attorney's office when the Combs probe began and indictments came down. The Joe Biden appointee exited his powerful position in the weeks before Donald Trump's return to office on January 20. Once the former Celebrity Apprentice host was back in the White Houses, Danielle Sassoon was named Acting United States Attorney for the so-called 'Sovereign' District. However, Sassoon, former clerk to late SCOTUS Justice Justice Antonin Scalia, resigned last week along with a number of prosecutors in the SDNY office and elsewhere after being order by DC to drop bribery charges against NYC Mayor (for now) Eric Adams. Matthew Podolsky is now the Acting United States Attorney for the SDNY. With that, the office did not respond to request for comment on Combs' move to get Count Three stripped off his indictment. Having called out the feds last month as prudes for going after him on the sex trafficking charge, Combs certainly directly tainted the sprawling SDNY in Tuesday's filing. 'It has gone out of its way to humiliate Mr. Combs and to prejudice the jury pool with pretrial publicity that plays on racist tropes,' the former music mogul and his attorneys said of the U.S. Attorney's office. Sticking with the New York court system, Combs sued NBCUniversal on February 12 for $100 million over what the rapper terms an 'outrageous set of fresh lies and conspiracy theories' stemming from Peacock's Diddy: Making of a Bad Boy documentary. Last week also saw the case that Combs and Jay-Z repeatedly raped a 13-year-old in 2000 dismissed by the Jane Doe plaintiff. The lawyer for that now middle-aged Jane Doe is one Tony Buzbee. The Texas-based lawyer is representing over 100 clients with allegations of extreme misconduct against Combs — many of which looked headed for trial in the next year or so, regardless of what happens in the criminal case. Best of Deadline A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media Everything We Know About Christopher Nolan's Next Film – 'The Odyssey': Release Date, Cast And More 'Poker Face' Season 2: Everything We Know So Far
Los Angeles Times
07-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Jacques Audiard's strong prix game
Jacques Audiard's Spanish-language, French-made musical 'Emilia Pérez' leads all other movies in the 2025 Oscar nominations, adding to the scores of other laurels Audiard's thematically gritty, visually innovative works have collected over the years. The 'Emilia' nominations haul is the biggest ever for a non-English-language movie, and the most for a French film since … 'The Artist' in 2012. Audiard himself is vying for four Oscars for 'Emilia': directing, adapted screenplay, best picture and co-writing 'El Mal,' one of its two nominated songs. He could tie … Walt Disney's long-standing record for most (four) wins in a single year. Directing, screenplay and best picture winner Bong Joon Ho ('Parasite') appeared to tie Disney's record in 2020, but the international feature Oscar he accepted technically belongs to South Korea. It is the same reason … … the Oscar nomination for Audiard's 2009 gangster drama 'A Prophet' is credited to France, not Audiard and his fellow producers. The César Awards, Lumière Awards and Cannes Film Festival have showered Audiard's films with nominations and prizes over the years. He has won … Césars, including twice taking directing, script and picture honors in a single year — for 'The Beat That My Heart Skipped' in 2006 and 'A Prophet' in 2010. Audiard's third directing César was for his criminally underseen (in the U.S.) 2018 English-language action comedy western 'The Sisters Brothers.' Audiard also is appreciated … in England, where he has received six BAFTA nominations (including two for 'Emilia') and won two foreign-language awards ('The Beat That My Heart Skipped,' 'A Prophet') that do count producers as recipients. Audiard — or fellow nominee Coralie Fargeat ('The Substance') — could become the first French person to win a directing Oscar since 'Artist' filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius*. * Weinstein-assisted
