ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2020

Following its premature closure due to the COVID-19 health crisis, the Alliance Française French Film Festival will be resuming its 31st season on Bastille Day, from 14 July to 4 August, at Palace Cinemas and associated venues.

The SWITCH team got swept up in this year's program, and have collected our reviews from the festival below - and don't forget to check back throughout the event as we add even more!

LES MISÉRABLES

A remarkably thrilling act of cinematic protest

A remarkable, electrifying and ultimately shattering film, a stellar debut for Ladj Ly, and most importantly, a work that feels necessary. It's a thrilling act of cinematic protest.

LA BELLE ÉPOQUE

Crowd-pleasing French romantic comedy

The romance is so pure, and there are genuine laugh-out-loud moments. It doesn't quite reach the heights of some of its cinematic predecessors, but you will leave with warm fuzzy feelings inside.

THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL

Unflinching and gorgeously animated

In Afghanistan, simply drawing a human being is forbidden. This makes this film an even more aesthetically and narratively beautiful example of the affecting power that animation offers.

ZOMBI CHILD

A subtle riff on the zombie genre

An absorbing, often perplexing story in which a religion with a healthy respect for death crosses paths with a lovesick French schoolgirl.

NOTRE DAME

Offbeat French comedy about rebuilding your life

The style overshadows the substance, but this is a lighthearted and often very funny insight into overcoming failure, something that everyone can appreciate to some degree.

PROXIMA

An earthbound drama about motherhood

It isn't a visually flashy film, but this only enhances the intimacy of this earthbound drama about a high-achieving woman's reeling at the thought of leaving her young daughter behind her.

THE MYSTERY OF HENRI PICK

A charming literary detective story

For a film about a man destroying his life over (possibly) a huge literary fraud, this is a surprisingly light-hearted crowd-pleaser.