Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2022: #62. Felix Van Groeningen & Charlotte Vandermeersch’s The Eight Mountains

The Eight Mountains (Le otto montagne)

After a slight detour to English language film terrain with 2018’s addiction drama Beautiful Boy, Felix van Groeningen adapts his second consecutive book to film project but swerves back to Euro countryside to split directing duties with his wife Charlotte Vandermeersch – the actress who has appeared in some of Groeningen’s previous films and who helped shape portions The Broken Circle Breakdown. With The Eight Mountains we appear to have a more complex shooting schedule perhaps involving for seasonal passage of time transitions and what we imagine is another first with shooting with an Italian team. Reuniting with cinematographer Ruben Impens, Groeningen has received critical praise from his 2004 debut Steve+Sky to 2009’s The Misfortunates (Directors’ Fortnight) and his most famous title to date in 2012’s The Broken Circle Breakdown. His latest stars Martin Eden‘s Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghii, Filippo Timi, and Elena Lietti.

Gist: Based on the bestselling novel by Paolo Cognetti, this is a coming-of-age tale set over three decades about two young Italian boys – one the son of a chemist, the other of a stonemason – who spend their childhoods together in a secluded Alpine village roaming the surrounding peaks and valleys, before their paths diverge. Many years later they reconnect in the same place.

Release Date/Prediction: This is a complex production so we’re thinking the earliest we might see this would be at the Venice Film Festival – competing for the Golden Lion.