Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2019: #75. C’est Extra – Guillaume Nicloux

Published on January 4, 2019

C’est Extra

France’s Guillaume Nicloux begins his fifteenth feature film C’est Extra by reuniting with two of his previous headliners, Michel Houellebecq (The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq, 2014) and Gerard Depardieu (Valley of Love, 2015; The End, 2016; To the Ends of the World, 2018). Produced by Sylvie Pialat and Benoit Quainon of Les Films du Worso, Nicloux’s title will also be co-produced by Wild Bunch. Nicloux has steadily been directing features since 1991, but has come into international renown over the past five years or so. Previously competing in Locarno with 1992’s La Vie Crevee (The Dead Life), Nicloux competed in Berlin with his 2013 remake of Rivette’s The Nun and took home a Best Screenplay win in Tribeca for The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq. In 2015, he competed in Cannes with Valley of Love, returned to Berlin in the Panorama program with The End and was in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight with the exceptional To the Ends of the World. In the supporting cast of his latest is Luc Schwartz, Maxime Lefrançois and Mathieu Nicourt, while the project is being lensed by Christophe Offenstein, who took home a Cesar for his work on Valley of Love.

Gist: Nicloux’s screenplay focuses on two men (Houellebecq and Depardieu) undergoing treatment at a Thalasso Center in Cabourg. Struggling to succeed with the health plan imposed upon them, their treatment becomes disrupted by extraordinary events.

Release Date/Prediction: Nicloux began his three-week production in December 2018. If he completes post-production in time for Cannes, we’d assume he could potentially readied for a showing in Locarno.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.