Ending annual culture shock with optimism

   Fullerton College and FACE (French American Culture Exchange) is saying "au revoir" for now, ending their French Film Festival with a psychological thriller that kept audiences guessing till the end. 

   Throughout the four weeks of March FC students and festival attendees have been delighted with artistically unique movies that provided cultural insight on the style of French films and also broadened outlooks on the language itself. The last film, "Ne le dis á personne" or "Tell No One" was shown the last week of March at the Wilshire Auditorium. Directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the novel of the same name "Tell No One," is a mystery that was begging to be solved. This movie was a perfect ending to the festival. Not only did this cover the last type of genre to be explored, it was done in a style that left you at the edge of your seat the entire time. 

   Most thriller/ mystery films provide a little too much detail and can have you guessing the ending by the first half hour of the film. However "Tell No One" was such a fast-paced movie it gave the audience only time to react and not solve it right on the spot. "I honestly didn't know what was going to happen in the end," said Jonathan Sayers, a Fullerton resident.

   "I only knew when the movie was over!" It was done with an impressive style that although you are focusing on the main thrill of the movie, it still makes your heart ache when it portrays the relationship between Beck and his wife. Those moments actually provoked tears. The last film gave the Fullerton College French Film committee another success and one more step towards reaching their goals of becoming an independent film festival.

   They sold more tickets than last year by 6.5 percent which helped the committee increase their profit and proved the event is becoming quite a success. As for the surveys that were handed out after each film, around 45 people answered them with suggestions on how the committee could improve on all the external factors. Things such as making the screen bigger and providing food and drinks were mentioned. 

   "It all depends mostly on the available funds," Guthmann addressed. "Food is also a negative because we are using one of the Fine Arts auditoriums and we've been asked expressly not to bring food or drink. In a way yes, we met our goals," said Violette Vornicel-Guthmann. 

   "I was hoping though, to have even better attendance. All in all, we are rather pleased with the way the festival went."