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In the age of superhero films and TV series, Vincent n'a pas d'écailles is really the anti-superhero story, or, at least, as much of an anti-superhero movie as a movie about a superhero can be, because the true anti-superhero movie is probably something closer to Pride and Prejudice, or really anything directed by James Ivory.

Vincent n'a pas d'écailles, the first film from Thomas Salvador, who also plays Vincent, is the story of an introverted man who doesn't have friends or, we sense, a family that he's particularly close to. He is a loner and has probably been a loner for quite some time. But unlike the countless other lonely men and women out there, Vincent has superpowers, the cause of his loneliness and marginality; superpowers he doesn't want to share with anybody out of fear of ostracism and an aversion to attention. When his skin enters in contact with water, he develops extraordinary physical strength -- he can jump high, hit hard, swim fast. And yet Vincent n'a pas d'écailles, Vincent doesn't have scales.

But it isn't these circumstances that make this film an unusual movie of its kind. Because we have seen superheroes with similar loner backstories, including Bruce Wayne. What makes the story unique and interesting are its clever and enjoyable subversions of the genre, namely expressed in the film through the pacing and action. In its pacing, we find a very slow movie, but a pleasantly slow movie, a bit like a Sunday drive through the countryside, which, granted, no one does anymore but...

In its action, we find a lack thereof, going hand-in-hand with the glacial pacing. Frankly, not that much happens. Superhero movies are rife with action and plot points, from the main character's discovery of their powers, to their testing of these powers, to their decision to use those powers to help people, to their final encounter with the arch-nemesis, who turns out to be that scientist guy nobody took seriously. But not here. We start the movie with Vincent moving to a small village somewhere in Southern France where he takes a job working construction. Boring. And when we're not watching him working his boring job, we're watching him spend his time alone in his bedroom, lying on his bed, drinking a can of Schweppes. Boring + 1. But it's this lack of action, and this James Ivory pacing, that makes this a superhero movie worth watching. Crazy, right?

At last, the story kicks in when one day Vincent meets a local woman, Lucie, played by the charming Vimala Pons. And this is what Vincent n'a pas d'écailles is really about. A man letting a woman in. A woman loving a shy man. That's it. Nothing more. It just so happens that the man can swim as well as a dolphin.

Terre Battue is the story of a department store manager, Jérôme (Olivier Gourmet), and his relationship with his eleven-year-old son, Ugo (Charles Mérienne), a talented tennis player. And, without having seen it, you might think this is probably just another sports movie, in this case one of the rare ones on tennis. But you'd be wrong.

This first feature from Stéphane Demoustier, which surprisingly has not received that much attention, is about way more than just tennis. It is about parents and children. It is about father and son relationships, about how the actions of one might influence, for good or bad, the actions of the other. Demoustier also seems interested in taking a crack at masculinity as both the boy and the father take risks and are highly driven to "succeed" in tennis and business though their ambitions are potentially detrimental to not only those around them, but to themselves as well.

Demoustier and co-writer Gaëlle Macé could have easily turned this film into a cheap romantic comedy as well, and there were plenty of opportunities to do so, namely in cute tennis teacher Vimala Pons, but were able to skilfully avoid the clichés that would have ensnared lesser filmmakers. Instead, what they've created, though not flashy or groundbreaking or sexy, is a well-executed and thoughtful social movie, with sound direction and writing and performances from Gourmet and Mérienne.

Gourmet, who seems capable of playing just about any character that is out there to be played -- smart, dumb, good or evil, and everything between is one of the best actors working in France at the moment. As for Mérienne, it's his first feature film, and he does a wonderful job. Unlike other child actors, he does not appear overly polished or cutesy. He seems like a real boy who really is very interested in tennis. What's more, Charles can actually play the game, which lends the film a realism that other sports-type movies just don't usually have. The scenes where people actually play tennis, though actually quite few in number in the film, are convincing. You really believe that this kid does have a future in tennis.

In summary, the high quality of the filmmaking and the twist at the end will leave you thinking about this movie for days to come. For a more detailed discussion of the film, please visit our eponymous web site.

This movie resonates with current political and social debates in France in complicated and perplexing ways because while it does an excellent job of richly depicting the difficulties that newcomers to France might face -- problems related to the administration, problems with language, problems with finding satisfactory housing, and jobs, all of which makes for a tense and very engaging opening hour or so of the film -- its portrayal of the housing projects in the suburbs of Paris, where our characters end up, isn't so praiseworthy. It resorts to a clichéd and problematic presentation of these places being little more than no-law / "no-go" zones, a contrived setting that ultimately contributes to what we felt was a disappointing and frustrating ending for a filmmaker as good as Audiard.

For a more detailed review of the film, please visit our eponymous web site.

Four years after the excellent "Avant l'Aube," this third film by Raphaël Jacoulot is an intriguing thriller/mystery that takes place in a small village in Southwest France in the heat of the summer, an unusual and interesting back drop for such a story to occur.

There's a good deal to praise in this film, including its detailed, thoughtful, and accurate portrayal of what life is like in a small village in Southern France. You really get a strong sense of the tensions between farmers and non-farmers, of the economic disparity between them and of their conflicting view points. You get to see what it's like to be young and bored in a village, or old and melancholic. Jacoulot also shows, with quasi-ethnographic sensitivity, how a village like this might function at the political level, who has the power and how exactly it's exercised.

Furthermore, at the heart of this film is a mystery that is quite engaging, leaving you wanting to know exactly what's happened and why. As the story progresses, revealing some surprises along the way, the movie never ceases to portray morally complex characters and situations, no small feat.

But, in our opinion, the best part of the film is most likely the fantastic performance by Karim Leklou who plays the main character in the story, the mentally challenged and disturbed Josef.

Leklou is not widely known as an actor yet, but we think he will be. His wonderful and challenging performance reminds us of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," which proved to be a breakout role for the young American actor. It will be interesting to see what roles Leklou goes on to take. For certain -- though we're sure Mr. Leklou is a very nice man -- we believe he will make a wonderful villain at some point down the road.

For a more detailed discussion of the film, check out our eponymous web site.

The inimitable Niels Arestrup plays Jacques, who must leave The Ivory Coast, and the successful hotel he built there thirty years before, when a violent civil war breaks out in the country, threatening his business and survival. He brings his daughter Safi (Julia Coma) with him but must leave behind the girl's mother, an Ivory Coast citizen who disappears a few days before they are to leave for France. Once in Nice, Safi, failing to get into touch with her mother and perturbed by her new environment, looks to her father for comfort but finds him distant, as he is far too busy wrestling his own demons related to his sudden exodus from The Ivory Coast and return to France, which he now finds inhospitable and utterly devoid of opportunity.

Repatriation is an interesting starting ground for a movie and one that you don't encounter often, even though it has a deep resonance in France where the 1962 repatriation of Pieds Noirs from Algeria remains controversial. Furthermore, the story takes place at a kind of emergency housing in Nice for these French citizens of The Ivory Coast, creating a sort of dormitory-like environment for adults and children, and this too is engaging and unique. That said, the highlights of the story are the performances of Arestrup and Coma. Arestrup brings an enjoyable cragginess to the film. It's a lot of fun to watch him suffer, get drunk, dog-sit and express anger. But Ms. Coma's performance, her first in a feature film, is also commendable, as she plays an awkward and conflicted teen with skill, ultimately infusing her with an elegance that is both rare in an actress for her age and a joy to watch on the screen.

However, the film suffers from, at times, static and unnatural writing as well as direction that is unsure of itself. The film often seems slow, and you feel as if you are watching a director's first film, which you are. Simply put, Papa Lumière is not bad, but it's not great either.

For a more detailed review of the film, visit our eponymous web site.