Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #142. Mon cousin – Jan Kounen

Published on December 30, 2019

Mon cousin

It’s been eleven years since Dutch born Jan Kounen has unveiled a new feature, but in 2020 we’ll finally see him return with his fifth film, the comedy Mon cousin. Produced by Richard Grandpierre (Noe’s Irreversible and Climax) and lensed by Guillaume Schiffman (who has shot all of Michel Hazanavicius’ films), Kounen’s latest is co-written by Fabrice Roger-Lacan and actor Vincent Lindon (who also stars). Francois Damiens appears to be the sidekick. Kounen, something of a cult favorite thanks to a pair of oddball Vincent Cassel vehicles (1997’s Dobermann and 2004’s Renegade), closed the 2009 Cannes Film Festival with Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, which starred Anna Mouglalis and Mads Mikkelsen.

Gist: The CEO of an international wine company must meet with his bumbling cousin to renew the contract allowing him to manage the brand. Snafus ensue.

Release Date/Prediction: Kounen’s latest is slated for an April 2020 release date in France, meaning a potential premiere in Berlin.

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.