May 22, 2006

Cannes. Avida.

Avida "If Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern's take-notice debut Aaltra was cinema of the absurd, their sporadically exhilarating Avida heads toward the heights of experimental theater," writes Deborah Young in Variety. "Somewhere between Monty Python, Jacques Tati and a slideshow of New Yorker cartoons, this critique of life's cruel inconsistency confirms the French co-directors' gift for reinterpreting surrealism in a humorously modern key."

The Hollywood Reporter's Duane Byrge: "Much brainier than a John Waters opus, Avida eructs with deadpan hilarity through a series of nonsequential comic set pieces. Shot in black-and-white (befitting its metaphysic), Avida is highlighted by cinematographer Hugues Poulain's mordantly funny compositions, fractured oddity most resembling a Gary Larson cosmos."

For Time Out's Geoff Andrews, it "certainly stands out as one of the most genuinely out-there efforts in the Festival so far."

Screening Out of Competition.



Bookmark and Share

Posted by dwhudson at May 22, 2006 7:02 AM

Comments

Besides this movie, the great Kervern and Delepine can be seen each week on french tv (canal+).
They co-write and act in "7 jours au Groland" (Groland's week). It's sadly one of the only funny tv show made by french people on french tv (the others are "Le Zapping" and "Les Guignols", again on Canal+.

More info on this page for those who want to know more:
http://www.canalplus.fr/pid38.htm

Posted by: Steack at May 22, 2006 7:16 AM

Many thanks, Steack. I hope some of their work appears on Arte as well - that I could catch.

Posted by: David Hudson at May 22, 2006 8:15 AM

Maybe this praise for their latest will help get Aaltra in U.S. theaters (though I'd settle for a DVD import). Definitely one of the best comedies I saw on the fest circuit last year.

Posted by: Aaron Hillis at May 22, 2006 11:27 AM

AALTRA IS AVAILABLE IN THE US!!! Film Movement released the film in March as part of their "DVD-of-the-month" subscription service. The DVD will be available to the public in the coming months - simultaneously with the theatrical release! The film will open in Chicago on June 2nd and roll out to other cities following the Chicago premiere!

So, check us out! www.filmmovement.com

Posted by: Film Movement at May 24, 2006 1:03 PM