The News That’s Fit to Print?

It’s billed as a drama / comedy. But remember, this is a French film.

I found the film, FRANCE, to be uneven and episodic; humorous in parts and quite sobering in other sequences. Some of the cinematography of landscapes were magnificent. But curiosity and questions rose quickly.

Did French President Emmanuel Macron really participate in the lead actor’s interrogation at a press conference? Or was that a piece of cinematic trickery?

Was the satyrical depiction of a beauty queen news journalist’s notoriety necessarily over the top; including taking selfies with guerilla fighters on the front lines of a war zone? Or presuming to mix with boat refugees from the comfortable safety of her yacht?

Or did such extreme foolery accentuate the disastrous personal misfortunes that would befall the woman named after her country and the culture she represents; in a modern day critique of a media frenzy culture not unlike our own?

The extemely long running time of this film -- which Mountain Shadow could likely not have brought to a live audience, given its length -- gives the virtual viewer ample time to consider these and other such questions at home while watching the story unfold.

The deeper, smouldering issues raised by the film about personal identity, self worth and ultimate meaning provide reflective moments to consider such things for ourselves.

In an era of fake news that’s more interested in sensationalism and star ratings than informed reporting separating facts and truth from fakery and untruths, the personal toll taken is on full display in those extremely long reflective poses expressed by the main actor as she descends deeper and deeper into the task of sorting out her own understanding of what is authentically real. - John Bennison, Mountain Shadow director.

NOTE: To read an extensive Q&A interview with the film’s director, click HERE.