Latest news with #ÉmilieDequenne
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Young Mother's Home review – outstanding return to form for the Dardenne brothers
Gentleness, compassion and love are the keynotes of this quietly outstanding new movie from the Dardenne brothers, Jean-Pierre and Luc, for whom I think it is a return to form after some strained melodrama in their recent work. There is such simplicity and clarity here, an honest apportioning of dignity and intelligence to everyone on screen: every scene and every character portrait is unforced and unembellished. The straightforward assertion of hope through giving help and asking for help is very powerful. The Dardennes have again established their gold standard for social realist cinema at Cannes, and for regular attenders there is another poignant dimension – the memory of their Palme-winning film Rosetta presented at Cannes a quarter of a century ago, starring the then 17-year-old Émilie Dequenne in a very similar role to the characters here; her recent death from cancer was a great sadness. The location here is Liège in Belgium, at a state home for teen mothers or mothers-to-be, who are being helped and counselled in how to have their babies, how to bathe and feed them, how to make contact with prospective adoptive parents (if that is what they want), how to deal with existing issues of addiction and depression and how to find housing. The young mothers live together as a community, with a cooking rota. Perla (Lucie Laruelle) is a young woman of colour who has had her baby, Noé, but finds that the baby's father, who has just been released from a young offenders' institution and got a job in a garage, is testy and distant with Perla and his baby son. Jessica (Babette Verbeek) is pregnant, and – after her baby Alba is born – desperately seeking something like closure by trying to make contact with her own mother, Morgane (India Hair) who gave her up for fostering when she was Jessica's age. Julia (Elsa Houben) has been a homeless drug addict but with baby Mia is turning her life around in the home, with a traineeship at a hairdresser, and a caring boyfriend with whom she has some classic Dardenne scenes on a motor scooter, zooming down the street, that time-honoured movie realist trope for the freedom and vulnerability of the young. But perhaps the most complex figure is Ariane (Janaïna Halloy Fokan), a 15-year-old who wishes to give up baby Lili, to the rage of her own mum Nathalie (Christelle Cornil); in her anguish Nathalie wishes to be a grandma or even replacement mum, if Ariane doesn't want the baby – supposedly determined to quit her drinking and the abusive situations which made Ariane so determined not to go the same route. The babies-having-babies imagery is of course what makes this film so poignant – and also the realisation that the careworn older generation, still conflicted about the question of their own responsibility for all this and encumbered by their mistakes and the consequences of their choices, were in their teen daughters' situation so recently. Then there is the heart-wrenching sweetness of the babies themselves: baby Lili smiles tenderly at Ariane at a terribly ironic moment. What lies ahead for these children? The same thing, or something different? The film boils down to a fundamental question: having decided against abortion, is it more responsible, more loving, more heroically sacrificial in fact, to give up your baby for adoption? Or is it an existential failure of will, of courage, perpetuating a middle-class buyers' market in adoptive parenthood? There is of course no answer to be had, but there is faith in a better future here, and the final scene, involving the poem The Farewell by Apollinaire, is very moving. The Young Mother's Home screened at the Cannes film festival.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
In Pictures: This week in culture
Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated worldwide in more than 200 countries. It is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British overseas territory, Montserrat - both of which have inhabitants with Irish descent. And there's more to this holiday than just an excuse to drink pints of Guinness... We put together a handy guide to everything you didn't know about about the patron saint of Ireland. We lost the wonderful actress Émilie Dequenne this week. The Belgian star who starred in 'Rosetta,' for which she won the Cannes Film Festival's best actress award for her debut performance in 1999, died aged 43. After nine months in space, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams finally arrived back on Earth. Their mission that was supposed to last for just eight days; it was dramatically extended after the spacecraft Butch and Suni had used to travel to the International Space Station suffered technical problems. Their journey home took 17 hours. International politics often feels like unruly kids tussling in a playground... French politician Raphaël Glucksmann made headlines for suggesting that the US should return the Statue of Liberty. His comments went viral and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt retaliated by reminding France "that it's only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now.' You can read all about their sparring match here. A thief who stole a golden toilet from Blenheim Palace - the country mansion where Winston Churchill was born - was convicted this week along with an accomplice who helped cash in on the spoils of the 18-carat work of art insured for nearly £5 million (€5.9m). Here's the full story. A newly opened exhibition in Turin is highlighting the work of 13 artists with intellectual disabilities from the Eisenberg Collection. You can read all about it here. Euronews Culture sat down with Thierry Frémaux for an exclusive interview to discuss the 130-year anniversary of the invention of cinema, his new film honouring the legacy of the Lumière brothers, and the threats cinema faces in its second centenary. You can read and watch the whole interview here. French far-left political party La France Insoumise (LFI) and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon have again been accused of antisemitism. This time it was because of an image (see above, left) that was supposed to promote an anti-racism march happening today (Saturday 22 March). We explained this chronicle of a harmful backfire. On Friday, LFI was condemned for infringement of image rights, with the Nanterre judicial court ordering the party to pay €3,500 and prohibiting the reproduction of the poster. Hundreds of wood and papier-maché sculptures that were painstakingly crafted were burned during Las Fallas, the most important yearly celebration in Valencia, Spain. This year's festival took on special meaning, as it was a moment of catharsis for the city and surrounding villages after over 220 people died in October's flooding. UNESCO, which added Las Fallas to its catalog of intangible cultural heritage in 2016, describes the incineration of the sculptures as 'a form of purification" and "social renewal.' From peeping pigeons to prowling foxes, the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2025 were announced and capture the wild side of Britain in all its unexpected glory. Check out the winners here. Five years on, Euronews Culture reflected this week on the things we miss the most from the March 2020 Covid lockdown and what practices we'd bring back. Read all about it here. London's longest running art fair, the London Original Print Fair (LOPF), celebrates a major milestone with an exciting selection of exclusive editions and specially commissioned contemporary prints. Check out our article on the dynamic programme of classic and contemporary works at Somerset House, which takes place from 20-23 March 2025. After the death of her husband, the great Dolly Parton came back to the stage this week. Such a force for good in this world. Known as 'Chaharshanbe Souri' in Farsi, the fire festival comes in the hours just before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide, Nowruz is a 3,000-year-old tradition cherished in Iran, Afghanistan, throughout Central Asia and beyond. Here's what makes it special. It's the film everyone's talking about this week... We asked: "Magic Mirror on the wall, is the latest cynical Disney live-action remake the shittiest of them all?" We answered here. The next James Bond film – now under the creative control of Amazon – is apparently being 'fast-tracked'. Here's everything you need to know. See you next week and stay tuned to for all your cultural news.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Celebrated Actor Dead at 43 Following Battle With Rare Cancer
Internationally renowned actor Émilie Dequenne has died at 43 following a battle with a rare cancer, The Guardian reported. Dequenne revealed in Oct. 2023 that she was suffering from adrenocortical carcinoma, a cancer which affects the kidney's adrenal glands. She passed away on Sunday night in a hospital outside of Paris. Dequenne was a celebrated actor who appeared in a number of French and Belgian films, which found appreciative audiences in America and Canada, in addition to several English-language features. She broke onto the scene in 1999, winning Cannes' Best Actress award for her role in the Dardenne Brothers' social-realist drama Rosetta, about a woman (Dequenne) living in a trailer park with her alcoholic mother. In addition to Dequenne's award, Rosetta won that year's coveted Palme d' is perhaps best-remembered for her role in the 2001 action-horror-fantasy The Brotherhood of the Wolf, which went on to gross nearly $12 million in the States and became the sixth highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the U.S. She also starred in the 2009 drama The Girl on the Train (not to be confused with the 2016 film of the same name starring Emily Blunt) and the Belgian comedy Not My Type (2014). In 2012, Dequenne returned to Cannes with the drama Our Children, for which she took the best actress prize in the festival's Un Certain Regard bracket. Most recently, Dequenne starred in Lukas Dhont's haunting drama Close, which was nominated for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards. Her final role was in the English-language film Survival, released last year. She is survived by her husband, author Michel Ferracci; and her daughter Milla Savarese, whom she shares with her former husband Alexandre Savarese.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Émilie Dequenne makes heartbreaking cancer admission in interview weeks before death
Belgian actor Émilie Dequenne said her passion for her work helped her forget about her cancer in one of her final interviews before her death at the age of 43. The Missing star died in a hospital near Paris on Sunday (16 March) after being diagnosed with a rare cancer of the adrenal gland in 2023. However, after being given the all-clear in April, she revealed she was undergoing her second round of chemotherapy. 'I'm starting to fight again,' she told Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz during an interview promoting her new film Survive in January. 'When I can do things related to my job, it's like everything else disappears,' she added.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Belgian Actress Émilie Dequenne Passes Away At 43
Reports claim that , a Belgian actress best known for the Dardenne brothers' film Rosetta (1999), has passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer, prompting many to wonder whether the news is true. Besides Rosetta, she also appeared in movies like Brotherhood of the Wolf, The Girl on the Train, Our Children, and Mr. Blake At Your Service! So, here are all the details fans need to know about the actress' tragic demise. Various outlets have reported that the Belgian actress died on Sunday, March 16, 2025, due to complications related to a rare adrenal cancer at the Gustave-Roussy Hospital in Villejuif, a French commune located close to Paris. Émilie Dequenne was 43 years old and is survived by her husband, Michel Ferracci, and daughter, Milla Savarese. As per The Guardian, the reports of her death were confirmed by family members and her agent. Back in October 2023, Dequenne disclosed that she had been diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma and subsequently chronicled her struggles with the disease. The Not My Type actress took to Instagram in August 2024 and posted, 'I obviously keep the immense love that has overflowed after this ordeal. The most beautiful of the sequel.' She continued, 'However, I'd be lying if I said everything was pink all the time. Corticosurenaloma, besides its rarity, transformed me completely. Me, my life, my general state, my morals, my abilities, my freedom, my carelessness… Sometimes I cry for this life before.' Dequenne concluded the post with a hopeful note, 'But I'm here. I want to live. I will survive.' Born in August 1981 in Belœil, Belgium, she broke into the entertainment industry with Rosetta. The movie not only won the Palme d'Or at Cannes but also garnered Dequenne that year's Best Actress accolade at the festival. Additionally, Émilie Dequenne has received the Cannes Film Festival – Un Certain Regard – Best Actress accolade. She won it for her outing as Murielle in the 2012 Belgian-French psychological drama feature, Our Children. Her most recent movies are the comedy-drama TKT and the disaster thriller, Survive, both of which came out in 2024. Originally reported by Tamal Kundu on The post Belgian Actress Émilie Dequenne Passes Away At 43 appeared first on Mandatory.
