France

France (2021) is a cool, deadpan drama about the price of fame that you can watch online on iFILM. Léa Seydoux plays France de Meurs, a star of French television who anchors a hit talk show, parachutes into war zones for the perfect shot, and needles the president at press conferences.

Then she hits a delivery courier with her car. The accident is minor, but it cracks something open. The cameras, the applause and her own rehearsed compassion start to feel hollow, and France tries to step out of the spotlight. The trouble is that audiences who build an idol enjoy tearing it down just as much, so the predator becomes the prey of the tabloids.

Director Bruno Dumont shapes this into a glassy satire of media and celebrity, where long takes of Seydoux's face carry more than any line of dialogue. Slow and ironic, it suits viewers who like a heroine they can't quite warm to. Stream France (2021) online on iFILM.