FRANCUZ ( A Frenchman) directed by Andrej Smirnov. (Russia, 2019)
This film was presented on day two of this years Trieste Film Festival of Central and Eastern European cinema. It is set in 1957 and follows the fortunes a handsome young Frenchman Pierre Durand (Anton Rival) after moving from Paris to Moscow for an internship. He is studying literature but is also there to resolve a family mystery. His background means that he is fluent in French and Russian. Director Andrej Smirnov says “I decided to show this moment through a foreigner’s eyes [someone] who would have an objective look at our reality.”
Pierre falls in love with a beautiful but aloof ballerina Kira Galkina and meets a hyperactive photographer Valera Uspenskiy. They show him the underground culture of the city rooted in American models that exists in defiance of rigid state censorship rules that are still dominated by the former Stalinist regime. Continue reading
