Five French Films to be Screened at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – Five contemporary French films will be shown at the College of the Holy Cross during its spring French Film Festival. The receipt of a "Tournées" grant from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture makes the screenings possible. Admission is free for Holy Cross students; $3 for all others.

The schedule is as follows:

March 15; Stein Hall, Room 102; 7:30 p.m. Raja Director: Jacques Doillon (2003, 112 min) Starring: Najat Benssallem, Pascal Greggory, Ilham Abdelwahed, Hassan Khissal Frédéric, a rich Frenchman who lives an idle life in contemporary Marrakech, tries to seduce Raja, one of his young servants. The plot progressively unfolds in a context of post-colonial misunderstanding, economic manipulation, and cultural and linguistic gaps (neither speaks the other’s language). In this social and political world strictly divided between rich and poor, master and servant, it seems that any hope of love is doomed to become a matter of bargaining.

March 19; Kimball Theatre; 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:45 p.m.

La Trilogie: Cavale - Un couple épatant - Après la vie (Trilogy: On the Run - An Amazing Couple - After Life) Director: Lucas Belvaux (2002, 117 min, 100 min, 124 min) Starring: Ornella Muti, François Morel, Catherine Frot, Lucas Belvaux, Dominique Blanc, Gilbert Melki In The Trilogy, three different but parallel stories (a thriller, a comedy and a melodrama) unfold and provide the same action from three different angles and perspectives. Each film can be appreciated on its own, but together they form a stunning whole. Cavale. Bruno, an extreme-left revolutionary, has escaped from prison and contacts his former accomplice Jeanne, now a teacher and a mother, in order to restart his political activities. Un couple épatant. Alain has just learned that he has to have routine surgery. A hypochondriac, he is convinced that he will die, and in order not to alarm his wife Cécile, he tells her a series of lies. Après la vie. Pascal, a cop, has been secretly using his connections for years to find morphine for his drug-addicted wife Agnès. His actions catch up with him as he is blackmailed by his sources.

March 29; Stein Hall, Room 102; 7:30 p.m. Son frère (His Brother) Director: Patrice Chéreau (2002, 95 min) Starring: Bruno Todeschini, Eric Caravaca Thomas suffers from an incurable disease that affects his blood, and he may die from a hemorrhage at any time. Although Thomas has not talked to his brother Luc in years, he asks Luc to attend to his medical needs. Luc decides to sacrifice his love and his job to become his brother’s caretaker. Together, Luc and Thomas are forced to examine the meaning of their existence and their relationship. A delicate and deeply moving portrait of human agony, compassion and brotherhood.