Screenings: February 26, 7:15 PM (Rep); March 7, 9:00 PM (Rep)
There’s something about French movies that sets them apart, even from the unusual indie flicks one finds at Cinequest. it can be hard to put your finger on just what it is, but once you’ve seen a few French films, you’ll recognize it. “Another Man” is very French. It’s a quiet, thoughtful film whose main character is frequently very unsympathetic. Francois has just moved to a small town where his girlfriend has landed a job. He finds employment as the sole writer for the town’s newspaper — a position which requires him to review the films that play at the small cinema in town. He knows nothing about cinema, however, and decides to pass another critic’s reviews off as his own. Things get more complicated when he starts an affair with Rosa, a fellow writer he meets at the critics screenings in the city. She is as sadistic and cruel as she is beautiful, and soon the strain of their relationship combines with the strain of pretending to be a critic when he isn’t, and Francois begins to change. Or maybe he just becomes more himself.
This film is unrated but would be NC-17, and is suitable for adults comfortable with sex, kink, vulgarity, and a character study focused on a rather despicable individual. There are plenty of sly nods to film — both film criticism and various films themselves — which make this a good choice for lovers of cinema.