Lisa Nesselson
Tomatometer-approved critic
In her capacity as a reviewer for Variety (Variety.com), a columnist for The Paris Free Voice (parisvoice.com) and a contributor to FilmScouts (filmscouts.com) and Eurocinema (eurocinema.com), Paris-based Chicagoan Lisa Nesselson sees 400+ films a year and has contingency plans to make her living by reciting the plots to the good ones if the Millennium Bug makes it impossible to ever watch a movie again.
Paris, France
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Bonnard, Pierre & Marthe (2023) |
There should be at least a small audience in every country with an art museum for Bonnard, Pierre And Marthe, a touching, visually fetching and educational look at the intertwining of art and stubborn romance. - Screen International
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| Posted May 22, 2023
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Goodbye Julia (2023) |
A gut-wrenching and emotionally rewarding tale of religious persecution compounded by entrenched racism, Goodbye Julia may be set in Sudan between 2005 and 2010 but feels deeply pertinent and, unfortunately, timeless. - Screen International
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| Posted May 20, 2023
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The Rapture (2023) |
Hafsia Herzi gives a consistently suspenseful, ever so slightly off-kilter performance. - Screen International
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| Posted May 20, 2023
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Jeanne du Barry (2023) |
This is not great or memorable filmmaking but the power of the story and some of the performances make up for that. - Screen International
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| Posted May 16, 2023
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The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (2023) |
Offers all the sprightly action, jaunty repartee and sumptuous settings a contemporary movie-goer could possibly want. - Screen International
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| Posted Apr 05, 2023
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The Crime Is Mine (2023) |
Several generations of France’s finest thespians are clearly enjoying themselves in this stylish tale of how notoriety — even for presumed murder — need not be the slightest impediment to social and professional rewards. - Screen International
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| Posted Mar 24, 2023
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Simone: Woman of the Century (2021) |
An ambitious, frequently didactic but unquestionably educational look at the truly remarkable French politician Simone Veil. - Screen International
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| Posted Nov 18, 2022
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Our Ties (2022) |
Our Ties is a completely contemporary, obviously personal and ultimately uplifting entry in Zem’s wide-ranging filmography. - Screen International
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Leila's Brothers (2022) |
Excellent performances anchor this gripping family drama about gender and succession in Iran. - Screen International
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| Posted May 25, 2022
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The Super 8 Years (2022) |
[A] bittersweet look at the passage of time, delivered with a compelling blend of personal intimacy and broader societal upheaval... - Screen International
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| Posted May 24, 2022
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Summer Scars (2022) |
Enormous thought obviously went into the way the tale unfolds and the director has visual inspiration to spare. - Screen International
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| Posted May 23, 2022
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November (2022) |
Muscular in execution but frequently messy in its story-telling. - Screen International
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| Posted May 23, 2022
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Brother and Sister (2022) |
The central protagonists are textbook characters from a very entertaining textbook. This should find takers wherever intelligent, serious drama tinged with humour is welcome. - Screen International
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| Posted May 21, 2022
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The Night of the 12th (2022) |
A deft and satisfying police procedural in command of its unusual tone, The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12) is perfectly cast and constructed with quietly thrilling rigour. - Screen International
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| Posted May 20, 2022
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Scarlet (2022) |
[A] leisurely and affecting tale... - Screen International
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| Posted May 18, 2022
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Feathers (2021) |
Less of a feel-good movie, more of a feel-bored movie. Which is unfortunate, because it really does get off to a fetching start in the first 15 minutes or so. - France24
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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Broken Keys (2020) |
Jimmy Keyrouz draws inspiration from true events in Syria for his début feature, while providing a hopeful perspective on the battle between religious extremism and the arts. - France24
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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Vortex (2021) |
Vortex discovers how the gentle decline of an intellectual couple prompts poignant questions about our own existence. - France24
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021) |
It offers terrific insights into the lives of its women characters. - France24
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| Posted Apr 15, 2022
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Notre Dame on Fire (2022) |
Mostly thrilling, despite the occasional groan-worthy line of dialogue or borderline dopey secondary character. - Screen International
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| Posted Mar 19, 2022
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Arthur Rambo (2021) |
I was disappointed to the point of irritation. It should be real food for thought but comes off as didactic and wearisome. - France24
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| Posted Feb 25, 2022
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Maigret (2022) |
In Maigret, Patrice Leconte delivers a wonderfully atmospheric, delectably melancholy portrait of the titular police inspector as he attempts to identify a young murder victim in 1950s Paris. - Screen International
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| Posted Feb 24, 2022
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Persian Lessons (2020) |
Nahuel Pérez Biscayart puts his polyglot talents to good use... - France24
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| Posted Feb 01, 2022
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Playground (2021) |
Belgian filmmaker Laura Wandel paints a troubling portrait of childhood. - France24
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| Posted Feb 01, 2022
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C'mon C'mon (2021) |
A touching adult-child relationship develops in Mike Mills' latest film with a low-key plot and an aesthetic appeal... - France24
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| Posted Feb 01, 2022
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Spencer (2021) |
Stewart captures the essence of being in an oppressive environment. - France24
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| Posted Jan 19, 2022
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Nightmare Alley (2021) |
It's hard to recommend this film when I found the 1947 version (even its poster) to be so much more satisfying. - France24
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| Posted Jan 19, 2022
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West Side Story (2021) |
When Spielberg makes a film, it's a film all the way. - France24
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| Posted Dec 30, 2021
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The Card Counter (2020) |
Intelligent, rich, pertinent, tense storytelling for grownups. The stakes feel real. - France24
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| Posted Dec 30, 2021
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Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) |
I think Holland is incredibly talented... - France24
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| Posted Dec 30, 2021
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A Hero (2021) |
Farhadi, who already made an instant classic...has found enormous success. - France24
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| Posted Dec 30, 2021
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Aline (2021) |
The concept is almost psychedelic, with the matter-of-fact bending of time and space...this shouldn't work, but it does, and in my opinion, beautifully and with humor. - France24
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| Posted Nov 24, 2021
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Magnetic Beats (2021) |
The freedom is extraordinary...intoxicating... - France24
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| Posted Nov 24, 2021
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Cry Macho (2021) |
At 91 years old, actor and director Clint Eastwood is still bringing his quiet intensity to the big screen, in stories that explore the dustier corners of the American experience. - France24
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| Posted Nov 10, 2021
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Three Floors (2021) |
I don't particularly enjoy Moretti's movies, and I don't think this one is very good...but there is one device that really got to me... - France24
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| Posted Nov 10, 2021
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Eiffel (2021) |
Ambitious, handsomely appointed and unapologetically old-fashioned... - Screen International
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| Posted Oct 13, 2021
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No Time to Die (2021) |
It entertains and it's definitely worth a trip to the theater...sampling itself while straddling old and new... - France24
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| Posted Oct 06, 2021
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Flag Day (2021) |
Mysterious is fine, but frustratingly opaque is not. - France24
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| Posted Oct 06, 2021
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City of Lies (2018) |
A complex tale about a still-unsolved homicide. - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Dune (2021) |
The case can be made that it's women who really run this universe... - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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The Night House (2020) |
Rebecca Hall does a very, very good job, and this is genuinely scary. - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Supernova (2020) |
A modest but absolutely loving film that's very involving thanks to wonderful performances... - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Pleasure (2021) |
The involving and edifying tale of a young woman..,. - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021) |
An extremely rigorous and amazingly-interesting film. - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Ahed's Knee (2021) |
Fans who love this director's work really love it. I'm not one of them yet, but he's unquestionably a gifted filmmaker with strong personal ideas to convey... - France24
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| Posted Sep 21, 2021
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Charlatan (2020) |
The acting and production design are both top-notch. - France24
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| Posted Jul 27, 2021
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French Tech (2020) |
Bruno Podalydès skewers the jargon-infested, productivity-obsessed contemporary world of work in French Tech... - France24
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| Posted Jul 27, 2021
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Teddy (2020) |
The brothers are definitely talents to watch... - France24
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| Posted Jul 27, 2021
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Helmut Newton: The Bad and the Beautiful (2020) |
It's clear Newton was a considerate man and a superb collaborator...really entertaining film. - France24
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| Posted Jul 27, 2021
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Titane (2021) |
The film is leveled by its humor... - France24
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| Posted Jul 27, 2021
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