OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s annual French Film in July series has become something of an OKC cinephile institution.
Each year, OKCMOA’s Sam Noble Theater is invaded by the French, with a month-long showcase of French-made films spanning a wide range of styles, genres, moods, and often even decades, with 2023’s slate featuring a quartet of 50s, 60s, and 70s classics from New Wave master Francois Truffaut.
But things are looking a bit different – and a bit fresher – with 2024’s French Film in July lineup.
Rather than looking back in time to highlight the most classic and influential French filmmakers of yesteryear, this season’s slate is packed with the forward-thinking, boundary-smashing auteurs of today, with five of the six scheduled offerings hailing from just the past two years.
Even the sole French classic in the bunch is itself a decidedly modern, deeply influential film among the current crop of young creatives, both French and beyond.
‘The Crime is Mine’ – Thursday, July 11th
Who doesn’t love a big, costumed, period farce? No one, that’s who. Especially no one French.
Set in the rich, bustling, pre-war Paris of the 1930s, director Francois Ozon’s ensemble satire sends up everything from celebrity culture to media bloodlust to high society itself.
When a decadently rich and notably creepy theatre producer dies, a struggling actress is put on trial in front of the entire country, represented by her own best friend and roommate.
The resulting media circus captures the nation and then threatens to come crashing down on the friends’ heads when the unfortunate, potentially fame-ending truth comes out that she may in fact be innocent.
Openly inspired as much by Old Hollywood screwball comedy classics as by French masters Truffaut and Renoir, this is a raucous way to kick off the French Film in July series for this year.
‘Amélie’ – Friday, July 12th through Sunday, July 14th
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 modern classic “Amélie” remains endlessly charming and absolutely irresistible even after more than twenty years, and its influence and presence in modern cinema has only risen over that time.
Starring the delightful Audrey Tatou in the role that propelled her to international stardom, “Amélie” follows the titular young daydreamer as she attempts to personally orchestrate better lives for the lost, lonely people of modern Paris.
As her secret schemes and her imagination both continue to build and swell, Jeunet gets to stretch his visual skills and show off the visionary eye that made him one of the most important French filmmakers of his generation, and one of the most inspirational to the next.
‘Coma’ – Friday, July 12th
With a head-spinning, idiosyncratic mix of live-action, archival footage, animation, stop-motion, cell phone cameras and Zoom calls, director Bertrand Bonello’s reality-bending “Coma” is a contender for the most psychologically accurate “COVID movie” yet made.
Exploring the life and mind of one teenage girl stuck alone in her room during France’s pandemic lockdowns of 2020, the constantly morphing styles, tones, and visuals mimic the increasingly fracturing imaginations and mental states of the quarantine era, inspired by Bonello’s own daughter.
Louise Labeque stars as a young woman attempting to traverse her own isolation and anxiety from the confines of her apartment by letting her mind and creativity run wild around her own devolving sense of self and place.
Things take on an even more current and concerning element when she becomes enamored with a strange, potentially dangerous YouTuber that may be preying on the loneliness and isolation of young, locked-down fans across the country.
‘Toni’ – Saturday, July 13th
A heartfelt portrait of parenthood and purpose in mid-life, Nathan Ambrosioni’s “Toni” from 2023 follows a one-time young pop star now living more simply as a single mother of five teenagers, her stardom long in the past and her present defined by her family.
With her children all on the cusp of moving on to begin their own new lives, Toni is wrestling with the natural questions and concerns of what the next, later chapters of her own life may bring.
It’s common to see film after film about teenagers on the edge of adulthood, but surprisingly rare to see the same story told from a parent’s perspective, shining a spotlight on the outset of a life’s third act and the unique challenges of single parenting and raising teens.
‘Chicken for Linda!’ – Sunday, July 14th
A sketchy, colorful, and altogether endearingly French animation style brings to life this charming 2023 story of a mother’s harrowing quest to simply cook a chicken dinner for her daughter.
When she realizes she’s unfairly punished her daughter for something she didn’t do, a single mother attempts to make it up to her by cooking anything she wants for dinner. The problem is that the girl wants her favorite chicken with peppers that her sadly departed father used to make, and also that the mother can’t cook.
And then things go way off the rails when it turns out that a citywide strike has shuttered every grocery store, leaving the pair to try tracking down a chicken in some less traditional and increasingly hilarious ways.
It’s a comedic romp, and an unexpected little adventure film, but more than anything, it’s a shockingly deep and poignant look at the parent/child dynamic and the unique mother/daughter bond.
‘On the Adamant’ – Thursday, July 18th through Friday, July 19th
The sole documentary in this year’s French Film in July slate, Nicolas Philibert’s “On the Adamant” from 2023 takes an inside look at the guests and crew of a Parisian barge that serves as a care facility and creative gathering place for adults with mental illness.
Offering and encouraging all forms of art, music, and creativity, the Adamant is a floating testament to the transformative power of art in the hearts and minds of both those living with mental disabilities and those who have dedicated their lives to caring for them.
It’s only natural that the series should wrap up with a true-life look into the power and potential of art itself in the modern age, and the importance of maintaining access to artforms and encouragement of creativity and imagination in a time dominated by fast paces and dehumanizing technology.
For showtimes, tickets, and more information, including an in-depth look at each film in the French Film in July series, visit okcmoa.com.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
