"From Le Dernier Métro to Intouchables, Bissière and Singerman cover the latest trends of French cinema, emphasizing context and analytical method as Singerman did in Apprentissage du cinéma français (Focus 2004). The authors offer a selection of films most French cinephiles will applaud, and they incorporate insights from some of the best critical work on French cinema. Students of French film will also find all the bibliographical pointers they need to dig deeper, and instructors will appreciate the pedagogical components included in the chapters.”
—Jonathan Walsh, Department of French Studies, Wheaton College, Massachusetts
“Ce livre, remarquable à tous points de vue, nous est proposé par deux enseignants et critiques chevronnés. Il offre un excellent complément au précédent ouvrage d’Alan Singerman, Apprentissage du cinéma français. L'époque, ici plus ciblée que dans le texte précédent, est admirablement bien choisie et la répartition en larges catégories, avec multiples options, guide l’enseignant/e tout en lui laissant le choix parmi une pléthore de films intéressants. Les chapitres préliminaires, à la fois succincts et informatifs, donnent aux étudiant/es une parfaite idée de l’ensemble du cinéma français et de la technique nécessaire à l’analyse filmique. Chacun des chapitres suivants propose une introduction indispensable sur l'intrigue, le réalisateur, la genèse, les interprètes, la réception et le contexte du film auquel il est dédié, ainsi qu'une filmographie et bibliographie fort utiles. Quant à chaque dossier pédagogique, il est organisé de telle sorte que l'enseignant/e pourra l'utiliser dans des cours de langue à différents niveaux en réservant l'étude la plus approfondie pour les étudiants plus avancés. Merci à nos éminents collègues de nous avoir tant facilité la tâche avec ce texte exemplaire.”
—Brigitte E Humbert, Department of French and Francophone Studies, Middlebury College
"A great book about French movie analysis that students and instructors can rely on. I appreciate the thematic classification of selected movies, and the variety of movies within each topic. The length of the introduction preceding each section is just right and it didn’t come at the expense of film analysis. We watched four movies listed in this book and two other contemporary movies not listed here, and my approach was inspired by the methodology of this textbook. My students agree that, with all the information and questions provided about each movie, there is no need to get outside sources. I don’t think this textbook has weaknesses."
—Khadija Khalife, International Languages and Cultures, University of Portland
"Teachers of film looking to blend both . . . nuts-and-bolts [and] historical survey [approaches . . . may wish to turn to Alan J. Singerman and Michèle Bissière's impressive new book. Through an examination of twenty prominent post-1980 French films, the authors offer a view of recent French cinema that is microscopic in its focus on each film’s critical and commercial reception, production history, and visual and formal elements.
"The boon for teachers of French film is the impressively conceptualized dossierpédagogique that accompanies each of the twenty films. This is by some distance the book's most compelling quality, with discussion questions, a well-marshalled bibliography that blends critical work with reviews and interviews, and pistes de réflexion. The latter is a magnificent resource that will encourage students to think more reflectively about each work, especially as it breaks down the film into smaller sequence analysis segments (complete with timecode).
"Using Singerman and Bissière's highly recommended 'close watching' approach, films both familiar (Entre les murs (2008 , dir. by Laurent Cantet), Amélie (2001, dir. by Jean-Pierre Jeunet)) and offbeat (Coup de foudre (1983, dir. by Diane Kurys), Gazon maudit (1995, dir. by Josiane Balasko)) reveal not just the stylistic and narrative norms of a specific moment in French film culture, but also their commonalities, divergences, and intertextual influences. University librarians take note."
—Ben McCann, University of Adelaide, in French Studies
