Spring Break Staff Picks

Staying in New York for Spring Break? It’s the perfect time for Francophiles and cinephiles to enjoy the 17-film retrospective at Walter Reade Theater. Spec Film picks three of most promising in the series.

Walter Reade Theater—West 65th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam

36 Quai des Orfevres

A murky love triangle, two rapidly diverging careers, and a mutual distaste for the rules are the key ingredients of Olivier Marchal’s gritty cop thriller, 36 Quai des Orfèvres. When a Parisian criminal gang makes another violent hit, the outgoing police boss dispatches his two top men after rival crime squads—tragic hero and general badass Leo Vrinks (Daniel Auteuil) and hulking, sulking bastard Denis Klein (Gerard Depardieu)—promising his job to the man able to bring down the gang.

The tense competition leads to liberal use of dirty tactics. When asked about the ethics code, Klein responds with “I’ve wiped my ass with that for years.” Dirty tricks and gripping action sequences capture the audience’s interest, but Marchal fails to elucidate the relationship between the two leading men (supposedly former friends), as well as their shared affection for Vrinks’ wife. As a result, the film begins to stall halfway through, and sputters across the finish line despite convincing efforts by Auteuil and Depardieu. Fri March 11, 1 p.m.; Sat March 12, 9:15 p.m.; Sun March 13, 4 p.m.

Me and My Sister

In Alexandre Leclère’s Me and My Sister, Louise (Catherine Frot), a beautician from the countryside, arrives in Paris to visit her wealthy sister Martine (Isabelle Huppert). Louise is painfully oblivious to her sister’s resentment, for beneath her perfected sheen of sophistication, Martine suffers from a profound and hysteric lack of purpose—a purpose which the plain Louise suddenly has found by writing a novel.

As poignant as it is delightful, Me and My Sister does not merely create a comedic setup for outrageous theatrics, but rather, Leclère chooses to add layer upon layer to the story’s initial premise. The more time in which Martine and Louise suffer the other’s presence, the more the deeply disquieting ghosts from their shared past resurface.

Subtly playing with the genre’s convention, Leclère relies not only on the film’s punchy dialogue, but also on the silences portrayed by the mute yet emotionally articulate faces of two remarkable actresses. Wed March 16: 8:45; Thurs March 17: 1; Sat March 19: 1:30

The Bridesmaid

Director Claude Chabrol, a master of the French New Wave cinema, succeeds yet again with his newest film The Bridesmaid.

Both sinister and erotic, The Bridesmaid is the story of Philippe Tardieu (Benoît Magimel) who, at his sister’s wedding, instantly becomes enchanted with the bridesmaid, Senta (Laura Smet). Philippe and Senta believe that they have an instant connection, and in order to prove their love is real, Senta requests that Philippe commit a murder. Philippe’s initial refusal to carry out such a deed infuriates Senta, a move that sends their relationship spiraling in an unexpected direction. The visibly steamy affair that takes place on screen indeed merits some physical display of love, but certainly not murder. If anything, Philippe’s reaction toward Senta appears to be one of lust or fear, rather than love.

The strongest element of the film is Chabrol’s clever use of symbols. The central representative item is the head of a garden statue, which becomes the inanimate object of Philippe’s secret infatuation. Even Senta is a symbol­, a caricature of herself, portraying tumult, power, and hypnotic obsession. Thurs March 17: 6:15; Sat March 19: 6:45; Sun March 20: 9:15