OKCMOA speaks the language of love with French Film in July

OKLAHOMA CITY — The air, the pavement, and the politics aren’t the only things heating up out there this month.

Each summer, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Sam Noble Theater presents a full, multi-week slate of Francophile cinema with their French Film in July, and this year’s lineup offers a selection as wildly diverse as ever.

There’s political bio-comedy, family tensions, oddball sci-fi deconstruction, and – as one would imagine of the French – plenty of romance.

However, the French Film in July program is also a little different this year, featuring a multi-film retrospective of late New Wave auteur Jacques Rozier, as well as cramming no fewer than five films into one week to accommodate all of the museum’s other cinematic offerings.

So without further adieu, let’s check out what this year’s French Film in July has in store.

‘Adieu Phillippine’ – July 10th 

The 1962 debut feature of Jacques Rozier appropriately kicks off OKCMOA’s embedded retrospective of the filmmaker as the “Chronicler of Summer.”

Combining the classic French love triangle with the New Wave approach of doc-like camera work and improvisational performance, “Adieu Phillippine” follows a TV cameraman and two actress friends as they embark on a spontaneous holiday to retrieve some stiffed pay and explore the energy of youth.

‘When Fall is Coming’ – July 11th & 12th 

Modern master François Ozon examines the strained and volatile relationship between a retired mother living and cooking in the countryside and her tempestuous adult daughter.

A visit from her grandson and a “culinary mishap” offer a way to plot and scheme the family back into something like good graces in this tense yarn that reunites Ozon with Ludivine Sagnier, star of his stylish crossover hit “Swimming Pool.”

‘Holy Cow’ – July 11th 

A coming-of-age for the ages, and a specially recognized entry at last year’s Cannes, “Holy Cow” tracks the emotional, often comedic journey of late-teen wild child Totone as he falls for a local love interest and struggles to provide for his family after his father’s death.

But Totone’s plan to provide isn’t all about hard work and tenacity. It all hinges on winning a major cash prize for producing the town’s very best cheese.

‘The President’s Wife’ – July 12th & 13th 

Indisputable French cinema icon Catherine Deneuve stars as Bernadette Chirac, media lightning rod and wife of longtime French President Jacques Chirac.

In her feature directorial debut, Léa Domenach presents Bernadette’s true-life journey from overlooked political wife to spotlight-seizing national celebrity with comedy, wit, and all of Deneuve’s seemingly infinite charisma.

‘The Empire’ – July 12th 

How about an endless war between extraterrestrial forces of good and evil, rebellion and iron-fisted control, and light and darkness that’s been waged for generations with spaceships and laser swords? 

Sure, we all know that story. But what if that battle was all taking place in the aloof French countryside among a very confused and disinterested Earthbound population?

Well, that’s a deconstructionist comedy take on the “space opera” that could only come from left-field French iconoclast Bruno Dumont.

‘Suspended Time’ – July 13th 

The COVID pandemic era of 2020 already feels like another lifetime to many, and it’s quickly becoming a rich thematic playground of a time for storytellers around the world.

In “Suspended Time,” writer/director Olivier Assayas takes us back to that time and into the crowded home being shared by a neurotic filmmaker (perhaps Assayas himself) and his laid-back music journalist brother, along with both of their partners, as they all shelter in place.

What follows is all of the rising tensions, comedy, family drama, and turmoil both interpersonal and deeply internal that we all remember, but also a look into the ways that the shutdowns affected the heart and mind of a communal artist like a film director.

‘Near Orouët’ – July 17th 

Another classic from Jacques Rozier, 1971’s “Near Orouët” was his second feature, a full nine years after “Adieu Phillippine.”

Here, a group of vacationers soak up the European sun while trading affections, embarrassments, dramas, and attempts at romance with three friends, a boss, and a neighbor all treading the waters – and the relationships – around the town of Orouët.

‘Maine-Océan Express’ – July 24th 

The final installment of the museum’s “Jacques Rozier: Chronicler of Summer” mini-program-within-a-program during the French Film in July slate, “Maine-Océan Express,” stands as the director’s wildest and wackiest comedy.

Following the screwball misadventures of a full ensemble of travelers as they ride, fly, sail, and dance from Paris to Saint-Nazaire, the action centers on a Brazilian dancer, along the way crossing and re-crossing paths with plenty of odd characters and personalities.

‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’ – July 25th through 27th 

Closing out OKCMOA’s French Film in July lineup is another buzzworthy directorial debut, this time from newcomer Laura Piani, who offers a charmingly modern deconstruction of classic high-class Euro-romance.

In “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,” a daydreaming bookstore clerk and aspiring novelist takes a holiday to an all-Austen writing retreat, where she finds herself torn between the affections of her longtime friend back home and the intriguingly handsome descendant of Austen herself.

It’s all very “Jane Austen,” of course, and it leads to all manner of misadventurous romantic shenanigans as the expectations of classic English romance collide with the realities of the real, modern world.

For showtimes, tickets, and more information about OKCMOA’s full French Film in July schedule, visit okcmoa.com.

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Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

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