France (2021)

A superstar television journalist (Lea Seydoux) is career driven. But when she carelessly drives into a young delivery man (Jewad Zemmar) on a busy Paris street, her career and personal life begin to unravel. Directed by Bruno Dumont, what could have been a blistering look at TV journalism is sabotaged by Dumont's lethargic pacing and an unsuccessful balance between satire and reality. The film examines the dichotomy of pure news reporting and the fame a TV journalist finds by "starring" in her news reports. Her popularity makes her the focus of the news she's reporting and it often seems she's exploiting the situation whether it's war or displaced refugees as she stands before the frightened and unfortunate, impeccably made up and camera ready. But she's an unlikable person and though one can have empathy for her (as when she finds herself exploited), the other characters are irredeemable. When two characters die a horrible death, we're supposed to be devastated but I found myself sighing with relief that they would no longer be in the movie. The most annoying character is Seydoux's assistant (Blanche Gardin), who enables her boss and constantly kisses her ass. The best thing about the film is the stunning (and I do mean stunning) cinematography by David Chambille. It's one of the most beautifully shot films of 2021. With Benjamin Biolay and Emanuele Arioli.