Le Bruit des gens autour (2008) Directed by Diastème
Comedy / Drama / Romance
aka: Sunny Spells
Film Review
Le Bruit des gens autour
starts from a promising premise - the complex lives of the participants
in an arts festival becomes a sideshow that is more interesting than
the main event - but fails in the delivery. The film may have a
talented cast, it may have been co-scripted by Christope Honoré,
a scénariste of some standing, but none of this prevents it from
feeling like reheated and unseasoned leftovers - a compendium of
situations that have been done to death by other filmmakers in recent
years, without any real focus or coherence. There are a few
moments when first-time director Diastème takes us by surprise
and appears to offer something new, but these are fleeting and far
between. Despite one or two standout performances (Todeschini is
excellent, as ever), none of the characters gets much beyond the merely
superficial, and the occasional bouts of over-egged histrionic excess
do little for the film's credibility. Although Diastème
shows some promise in his mise-en-scène, which offers one or two
genuinely inspired touches, the film is let down by a mediocre script
and a general feeling of aimlessness.
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Film Synopsis
The Festival d'Avignon, one of the cultural highlights of the French
calendar, is an appropriate meeting point for artists, romantics and
all manner of emotionally disturbed individuals. Two actors who
have just split up have to play a couple who are hopelessly in
love... A young singer is on the verge of killing
herself... Add to this a depressed author, a tyrannical dancer
and a stroppy technician... It takes all sorts to make a show...
In the 1910s, French cinema led the way with a new industry which actively encouraged innovation. From the serials of Louis Feuillade to the first auteur pieces of Abel Gance, this decade is rich in cinematic marvels.
From Jean Renoir to François Truffaut, French cinema has no shortage of truly great filmmakers, each bringing a unique approach to the art of filmmaking.