Wednesday January 10th 2018

France  2016  116 minutes
Director: Daniele Thompson
Starring: Guillaume Canet, Guillaume Gallienne, Alice Pol
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Emile Zola and Paul Cezanne met as teenagers in Aix-en-Provence in 1852, and became lifelong friends, despite their very different backgrounds (Zola from a poor fatherless family, Cezanne from a well-off bourgeois one). This historical drama follows (but not chronologically) the ups and downs of the relationship between the two wildly different men, with its love-hate episodes and its domestic turmoils. A major feature is the growing tension generated by Zola’s expanding success as a writer while Cezanne struggles for the recognition which will only come after his death. The beautiful cinematography, with its colourful landscapes, adds to the film’s enjoyment.