2 Best Movies to Watch by Arnaud Viard

Staff & contributors

In Lyon, the second biggest city in France after Paris, a man confronts the church about a prominent priest who sexually assaulted him and his friends when they were young.

The man, being religious, wanted to keep the issue within the church. He only asked that the pedophile’s priesthood be revoked so that he doesn’t assault more children.

When it becomes clear that the church will not act, he considers legal action, even though the statute of limitations has expired. But, as is usual in these cases, he was far from being the only victim.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Éric Caravaca, Alexandre Steiger, Amélie Daure, Amélie Prevot, Arnaud Viard, Aurélia Petit, Aurelia Petit, Baya Rehaz, Bernadette Le Saché, Bernard Verley, Chloé Astor, Christian Sinniger, Damien Jouillerot, David Geselson, Denis Ménochet, Denis Ménochet, Denis Simonetta, Éric Caravaca, Fayçal Safi, Fejria Deliba, Frédéric Pierrot, François Chattot, François Marthouret, François Chattot, François Marthouret, Frédéric Pierrot, Hélène Vincent, Hélène Vincent, Jeanne Rosa, John Sehil, Josiane Balasko, Jules Gauzelin, Julie Duclos, Juliette Moreaud, Laurence Roy, Lilly Rose Debos, Martine Erhel, Martine Schambacher, Max Libert, Melvil Poupaud, Nicolas Bauwens, Nicolas Bridet, Patrick Zimmermann, Pauline Ziadé, Philippe Legros, Pierre Lottin, Sébastien Lozach, Sébastien Pouderoux, Serge Flamenbaum, Stanislas Stanic, Stéphane Brel, Swann Arlaud, Timi-Joy Marbot, Vincent Berger, Xavier de Guillebon, Zuri François

Director: François Ozon, François Ozon

The humor, oh the humor! It's a breath of fresh air to be laughing with a Woody Allen film and not at it. He is so good at capturing the cheekiness in meet-cutes, secrecies, and lies, all powdered with exaggerated Frenchness. Forgive my surprised tone, but Coup de Chance surpasses all expectations in the way it turns a rather banal plot into an entertaining game of cat and mouse, without overstepping the boundaries of good taste. In developing a story about female infidelity (or all infidelity, for that matter), one can be overly moralistic just to squeeze out laughs and empathy from the viewer, but Allen refrains from all those cheap tricks. His script is tight and at times ridiculously funny. Whether or not you get behind Fanny and her convoluted ways of seeking happiness, Coup de Chance will offer you plenty of instances to better understand the character in a constellation of other people, who are equally affected by her decisions. In a way, the film is a comedy of ethics as well — something the American director hasn't successfully done in a long, long while.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller

Actor: Anne Loiret, Arnaud Viard, Benoît Forgeard, Bruno Gouery, Christophe Kourotchkine, Constance Dollé, Elsa Zylberstein, Emilie Incerti-Formentini, Éric Frey, Grégory Gadebois, Guillaume de Tonquédec, Isabelle De Hertogh, Jamel Elgharbi, Jeanne Bournaud, Juliette Plumecocq-Mech, Lou de Laâge, Melvil Poupaud, Naidra Ayadi, Niels Schneider, Philippe Uchan, Sâm Mirhosseini, Samantha Fuller, Sara Martins, Valérie Lemercier, William Nadylam

Director: Woody Allen