In April, cinema is more than ever in the spotlight, with several events dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the creation of the seventh art. The ideal month to perfect your cinephilia!

And because Mademoiselle Bon Plan wants to celebrate this anniversary in style, she went to meet Hollywood glamour, with artists who need no introduction: Ryan Gosling, Charlize Theron, or even Russell Crowe. In April, don’t uncover yourself… or your movie!

Lost River: Ryan Gosling joins the big leagues

We remember Ryan Gosling from The Notebook, his devastating silence in Drive, or his lessons in seduction in Crazy, Stupid, Love. But today, Ryan Gosling takes on a new role: that of director, and the least we can say is that with Lost River, he makes a smashing debut.

We went to meet him to better understand his strange, abyssal epic.

Ryan Gosling‘s arrival in Paris unleashed crowds and fans of his mysterious good looks. He was there, and he made sure everyone knew it (and we’re not complaining). But he came to defend a cinema far removed from the narrow paths of big Hollywood—a cinema of freedom, where the director enjoys unhindered expressiveness.

He asserts: his intention was to film social misery, what lies behind this so-fantasized “American dream.” It was by going to Detroit that he confronted reality, those destitute men and women, and what is hidden behind those dilapidated walls. A deep, dark, and cruel America that consumes the humanity of sleeping cities, as if forgotten and left abandoned.

Lost River takes the form of a fairy tale, an interesting approach that allows it to move beyond reality and draw universal questions and concerns out of the timelessness. Lost River is a cursed city, haunted by a curse buried beneath the waves. From the depths, redemption must rise again—an opening toward the future for these inhabitants led to destruction by emotional and physical distress.

A single mother wants to save her home; she will follow the evil into its lair to change her destiny. Two teenagers want to break the curse and end the reign of fear and violence. A taxi driver (the excellent Reda Kateb), a modern-day prince in his yellow carriage, observes this evil with a benevolent gaze.

Throughout this strange and enigmatic experience, you can almost hear a whisper of “Silencio!”, as the morbid dreamlike quality of David Lynch takes hold of the atmosphere.

Ryan Gosling bets everything on an oppressive and fascinating aesthetic that we observe meticulously with a sense of déjà vu: Gaspar Noé, Nicolas Winding Refn, Dario Argento, just to name a few. The student is inspired by the masters to the point of fading into the background.

But we applaud a directorial work that is polished and inspired, creating a feeling of suffocation, unease, guilt, and pity in the audience.

We enter this cabaret of horrors like the mysterious theater in Mulholland Drive, spectators of violence and the unspeakable. A descent into hell perfectly orchestrated! Silencio!

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By Ryan Gosling, with Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Reda Kateb, Eva Mendes

Runtime: 1h35

In theaters since April 8, 2015

The Water Diviner: Russell Crowe lost in translation…

Whether he’s in a skirt in the heart of the Colosseum, a schizophrenic genius, Superman’s dad, or a darts enthusiast in Sherwood Forest, Russell Crowe lights up the screen and deserves a thumbs up for every one of his appearances. Yes, but here’s the thing: this time, driven by the desire to get behind the camera, Maximus risks being eaten alive.

With The Water Diviner, Russell Crowe improvises as a patriotic spokesperson, paying tribute to the Australian soldiers who fell in the infamous “Battle of Gallipoli”, which pitted Ottoman Empire troops against Allied forces during the First World War in Turkey.

As “Anzac Day” (a national holiday) was just celebrated on April 25 in Australia (in commemoration of the battle), Russell Crowe brought out his camera and found a strong subject there, and the ideal opportunity to give credit where credit is due.

A film directed by an Australian, about Australian history, and filmed in Australia. This deserved (of course) recognition from his peers who recently awarded him the “AACTA Award” (Australian Oscars) for Best Film. A national hero was born… Yes, but is it deserved…

Well, on the other side of the globe, we are more skeptical about the true value of the film. Russell Crowe came to Paris, full of good intentions toward the public and pleasantly playing the Q&A game. He offers his film to the world, like Simba presented to the crowd in “The Lion King.” It’s his firstborn, his work, his tribute, but the magic doesn’t happen.

The ambition is palpable… The story of this father who promised his wife to bring back the bodies of his three sons who fell 5 years earlier in the Battle of Gallipoli had everything to become one of those great historical epics that cinema cherishes. The first scene alone symbolizes the identity of the film: a large well in a desert, in which the character gets stuck until he takes on water.

That perfectly summarizes the film, whose historical scope settles into the trenches of a war that is likely little understood, or even limited to a few pretty battle moments, drowned in unbearable pathos.

The director observes history with a naive look and blinding patriotism, which prevent him from seeing his vision through to the end.

Olga Kurylenko simpers and forms with Russell Crowe one of those pseudo-romantic duos that we don’t believe for a second. Having missed the mark with his story, Russell Crowe multiplies the errors and makes a debut feature that is clumsy throughout. Feverish first steps, which we forgive him for! He is Maximus, after all!

By and starring Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan

Runtime: 1h51

In theaters since April 15, 2015

Dark Places: Charlize Theron lost in memories

After Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, it is the divine Charlize Theron who did us the honor of her presence to present “Dark Places,” based on a novel by Gillian Flynn, best-selling author of “Gone Girl”.

It was in a packed theater that silence fell, as the anticipation was unbearable. The sublime Dior muse was going to tread, with her glass slippers, the floor of a Parisian cinema—the center of all attention that night. The gentlemen held their breath, the ladies didn’t hide their jealousy.

Then she arrived, accompanied by director Gilles Paquet-Brenner, author Gillian Flynn, and the new in-vogue actor, Nicholas Hoult. Yes, she is tall, yes she is superb, yes she sparkled, and what’s more, she excels in comedy. Not to mention that the lady is now the partner of Sean Penn. In short, Charlize Theron seems to do everything to annoy the entire female gender.

It’s just that that night, the pressure was high for Miss “J’adore”! She carries the film “Dark Places” from start to finish. And it is a difficult task to do as well as Rosamund Pike in “Gone Girl” by David Fincher, also adapted from a Gillian Flynn novel.

Charlize Theron imposes her legendary coldness, her gaze lost toward a painful past, with entirely respectable ease.

She embodies Libby Day, a young woman who made headlines 30 years earlier, witnessing the murder of her sisters and mother on the family farm. Her brother Ben was then identified as the murderer and sent behind bars.

Except the case resurfaces when a group of true-crime fans looks into the file to bring the truth to light. Libby must, much to her regret, push open the doors of the past to bring its darkest secrets back to the surface.

Following the success of David Fincher‘s film, “Dark Places” was expected to be the new “Gone Girl”: a well-crafted story, breathless suspense, and tortured characters we love.

Yes, but here, the chemistry just doesn’t work! By playing too much with the viewer’s nerves, waiting for an outcome they hope will be “spectacular,” the film drags on and eventually becomes tiresome.

However, the direction, which is quite inspired, opens different drawers in order to grasp all the darkness of a totally lost America. Charlize Theron, imperturbable, makes the connection with this troubled past and imposes a confusing classicism.

Special mention also goes to Christina Hendricks (Mad Men), who brilliantly embodies this lost mother, whose delusions echo the backdrop of this sordid and insipid family farm. A social painting that is rather successful but does not mask the flaws of a poorly mastered rhythm.

By Gilles Paquet-Brenner, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Christina Hendricks

Runtime: 1h53

In theaters since April 8, 2015

Harry Potter, The Exhibition: Welcome to Hogwarts!

After creating the event with the “Star Wars Identities” exhibition, Luc Besson‘s Cité du Cinéma welcomes the most famous little wizard in the world with open arms. “Harry Potter, The Exhibition” or the return of J.K. Rowling‘s enchanted world, 4 years after the last installment was released in theaters.

It is with an almost childlike enthusiasm that we pass through the grand entrance of the exhibition, where we only have one goal: to discover all the magic of Harry Potter that is hidden on the other side.

The first surprise whets the appetite: a young witch seats young children on a stool and places the Sorting Hat on their heads. Gryffindor! Slytherin! For us, as for these young visitors, it’s back to school at Hogwarts.

Very playful and focusing on the behind-the-scenes of the successful franchise, the tour moves from set to set, from the Hogwarts Express to the moving portraits on the castle walls, through the students’ dormitory, not forgetting the dark Forbidden Forest and the Great Hall for banquets, illuminated by its enchanted candles floating in the air.

Who wouldn’t want to shout Expelliarmus! or Wingardium Leviosa!, seeing the wands of Harry, Hermione, or Ron used for the films? Hundreds of objects exhibited before our eyes, plunging us back into the extremely rich imagination of a saga that never ceases to fascinate.

The Marauder’s Map, the Horcruxes, magic books, enchanted creatures, costumes from the Yule Ball, the Triwizard Cup, the Golden Snitch—it’s all there! Hogwarts holds no more secrets for the visitor who, in front of every object or costume, gets a little closer to the heroes they admired so much.

For the few lucky ones who had the chance to go to the Warner Studio Tour in London, the visit will seem short. Hence the interest in getting the audio guides, which are teeming with additional information about the creation process of the sets, objects, costumes, or even the creatures in the films.

But whatever, what a pleasure to enter Hagrid‘s hut, to throw a Quaffle through the rings of a Quidditch stadium, to hear a mandrake scream, or the Fat Lady of Gryffindor sing. It’s a good Proustian madeleine moment that we swallow with intense pleasure.

JK Rowling knew how to create a unique world populated by unforgettable characters, an empire that has come to us today. “Mischief managed!”