The critics of Hugues Dayez with "Capharnaüm", the emotion of the Cannes Film Festival

At the end of its screening in Cannes, many festival-goers prognosticated the Palme d'Or for "Capharnaüm". On the night of the winners, Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki had to settle for a modest Jury Prize. Mystery of the deliberations …

"Capharnaüm" begins with an intriguing scene whose significance is symbolic: in a court in Beirut, Zain, aged twelve, attacks his parents in court. The judge asks him: "For what motive?" Answer of the little boy: "For giving birth to me". Then begins a long flashback to understand why Zain came to make war against his parents. We discover irresponsible adults, who multiply children without having the means to feed them and raise them properly. Zain leaves this home without love to try, in the street, to build a new destiny …

After a very successful first film ("Caramel") and a second less ("Now where do we go?"), Nadine Labaki changes her style and marries a quasi documentary style to draw this striking portrait of the underprivileged childhood. Zain Alrafeea, authentic street kid, breaks the screen. Because he does not cabotine like too many children-actors … And for good reason, Zain does not play comedy; the situations in which Labaki dives, he knows them. The filmmaker built a canvas for her film, and then accumulated hours of rushes to shoot scenes on the spot, to capture the reactions of street children and non-professional actors. It is this veracity, this camera that marries the eyes of a child that make his film so overwhelming. Certainly, it does not avoid some clumsiness or some lengths, but how important? His film has the sincerity of a scream, and the beauty of Zain's dark and determined look.

In a few films ("Hunger", "Shame", "Twelve Years a Slave"), British director Steve McQueen has established himself as an author in American cinema. For his new film, he was inspired by an English mini-series that had marked in the 80s: "Widows", written by Linda LaPlante (creator of the fabulous series "Prime Suspect" with Helen Mirren).

The argument is this: four women, who do not know each other or very little, find themselves widowed when their husbands, partners, perished in a hold-up that went wrong. But they have left behind a huge debt to thugs who, obviously, claim their due. After a moment of fright, the four widows roll up their sleeves, and go up a hold-up themselves to find the money …

In his remake, McQueen transfers the plot to Chicago and grabs socio-political concerns; in the background, he describes the racial tensions during an election campaign where, of course, all the blows are allowed. This enriches his film, certainly, but it also reduces its effectiveness: where one could hope for a panting narrative, "Widows" follows a path sometimes unnecessarily sinuous, in which McQueen multiplies scenes of atmospheres not essential. As if the man seized a genre, the thriller, but wanted at all costs to bring his "claw" author … Remains, as often in this kind of production, a high-end cast, dominated by Viola Davis and veteran Robert Duvall.

Franck has only one dream: to climb the ladder within the Paris Fire Brigade. He lives with his wife and two twins in an apartment in the barracks; the future seems to be smiling at him. But during a fire in a warehouse, he sacrifices himself to save colleagues and leaves seriously wounded, partially disfigured. In a hospital in Paris, after a long coma, he realizes that his revalidation will be long … But above all, how to mourn the job he loved so much?

Pierre Niney embodies Franck with motivation and an investment that commands respect. But despite his talent and good will, he fails to make "Save or perish" a great movie. Because the director Frédéric Tellier connects clichés; the first part of his feature film looks like a corporate video to the glory of Paris firefighters, the second to an educational film about hospital revalidation services. His story is linear, totally predictable. Faced with such a fictional deficit, we would have preferred a good documentary on the daily work of firefighters today, it would have been more instructive.

"How the Grinch stole Christmas", published in 1957 and signed Dr. Seuss, has become a clbadic of children's literature in the United States. The Grinch, greenish and lonely creature, intends to spoil the Christmas of the inhabitants of Chouville … After an adaptation of this tale in "live action" movie by Ron Howard with Jim Carrey in the title role in 2000, the studios Illumination ("Me , ugly and wicked ") today offer an animated version in computer graphics. Rich idea: despite his sixty years, the story of Dr. Seuss remains tasty and lends itself very well to a treatment in animation. In the French version, it is Laurent Laffitte who lends his voice to the Grinch, and it is very successful … You were looking for a good family entertainment for the coming December? You have it.

There are countless adaptations to the cinema of the legend of the one who stole the rich to give to the poor … In this new version produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Hood is played by Taron Egerton, revealed by "Kingsman". The option is clearly to dust off the myth to give a version "young"! Too bad that "young" is synonymous with "stupid": this "Robin Hood" multiplies the anachronisms and action scenes improbable, so much so that we ask ourselves the question: why seize a clbadic universe if c is to trample on it at this point? Pitiful.