L’Alliance Recommends: A French Sci-Fi Film, a Directorial New Book, and a Headline-Making Musician

As the weather turns cooler and the days get shorter, it’s time to curl up under a blanket with something engrossing to read, watch, or listen to. We here at L’Alliance New York are always chatting about our recent favorite French films, novels, music, and more—and we like to share the love widely by highlighting the best of what we’ve seen and heard each season. Read on for three picks that will kick off your fall in Francophone style!

French Film: The Beast (La Bête)

Starring lauded actress Léa Seydoux, this 2023 Sci-Fi movie premiered to accolades at the 80th Venice Film Festival, and was released in France this past February. The film, directed by Bertrand Bonello, is set in 2044 in a world where AI has replaced human workers, who are deemed too emotional—so many choose to undergo a DNA purification process that scrapes feelings associated with their past lives. Gabrielle (Seydoux) is one such person, and through the process she undergoes a time-hopping experience in which she meets and re-meets the same man, Louis (George MacKay), who may hold the key to a deeper mystery within Gabrielle. The Beast is available to stream on the Criterion Channel, or rent via Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video.  

French Book: A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda by Carrie Rickey

The world lost legendary French director Agnès Varda in 2019, but her impact lives on. Described by Martin Scorsese as, “One of the gods of cinema,” she was a founder of the French New Wave, and her visionary, arthouse-style work often straddled the line between fiction and fact. Author and former Philadelphia Inquirer film critic Carrie Rickey’s new release is the first major biography of the iconic director, and it details the three pillars that upheld Varda’s creative life: photography, filmmaking, and installation art. Along with charting Varda’s fascinating filmography, Rickey’s portrait underscores her impact on important contemporary directors, her vibrant social life, and her forty-year marriage to director Jacques Demy.

French Musician: Lucky Love

Viewers of this year’s 2024 Paralympic Games Paris are now well-acquainted with French model, artist, dancer, and musician Luc Bruyère, aka Lucky Love—he made headlines with the opening ceremony performance of his song “Masculinity,” which he reinterpreted into “My Ability.” Love—who was born without his left arm—has become a prominent figure of the Parisian LGBTQ+ community, and his “pop poetry” music confronts issues of gender, sexuality, body norms, and identity. Love says his French roots are incorporated into every song, though he largely sings in English to reach the widest possible audience—case in point: “Masculinity” is at nearly 8.5 million Spotify streams. With a debut album set to release soon, his documentary Lucky recently shown at the Tribeca Film Festival, and his performance of “Now I Don’t Need Your Love” soundtracking a viral Maison Margiela runway show, Love’s star is solidly on the rise. 

If you’d like to expand your cultural curiosity beyond your couch, there’s always something exciting happening at L’Alliance New York—from our four-month-long Crossing The Line programming featuring Francophone art, movies, and performances to our weekly French film screenings to our young audience events.