Concrete Playground

The French love of cinema is given vibrant new depth in Mia Hanson-Love's reverent ode. The writer-director's sophomore film follows charming film producer and joyous family man Gregoire Canvel (Louis-Do De Lencquesaing) as he quietly struggles to juggle his raft of projects, each with their unique creative and financial pressures. With one of two phones constantly glued to his ear (and a cigarette forever at his lips), Gregoire's passion for his profession is warmly reflected in his effusive love for his beautiful Italian wife (Chiara Caselli) and their three delightful daughters (Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss), as Hanson-Love captures the chiaroscuro of life in a frank, honest and refreshingly unsentimental fashion.

Hanson-Love also has a clear talent working with young actors, for the performances she realises from the Canvel girls is nothing short of remarkable. So too is De Lencquesaing's larger than life role, and though Caselli is comparatively silent, she is by no means less powerful. Alice de Lencquesaing (acting with her father), who owned the closing scene of Olivier Assayas' luminous Summer Hours, profoundly impresses here again with the awkward grace she brings to the teenager &#151 just watch for a scene in which she attempts to order a coffee. Such fresh-faced performances and tender writing makes for a family who jumps straight off the screen and into your heart.