At Iwanami Hall, an art house cinema hall in Tokyo this film by René Feret was seen by 35,000 Japanese viewers ! ! ! !

Rue du retrait (2001) directed by René Féret

Rue du retrait is a film which is quite unique to René Féret for various reasons.Firstly,it is a film which he shot in his own area,near his own house.Rue de retrait is the name of the street in 20th arrondissement in Paris where Mr.Féret stays.So in a way the location afforded a lot of familiarity in terms of location to the cinéaste. Secondly,the making of this film will always remain a miracle of sorts for René Féret as no big production house was willing to finance such a brave,absolutely uncommon film in France.So this film was finally made due to René Féret's personal intervention and highly individual efforts. Its visual style was applauded by a great French filmmaker named Bertrand Tavernier who has long been one of René Féret's admirers.For this film René Féret decided to use DV mode as it offered him a lot of creative freedom to adapt a difficult and touchy topic involving sad life of an old lady who was excluded from society.Rue de retrait is a must for all those viewers who wish to enter old people's lives and their eccentric world.

One day in the life of a French family ! ! ! !

Les Frères Gravet (1996) directed by René Féret

This is undoubtedly one of the most thought provoking films directed by René Féret.Its presence of stars and actors is so brilliant that one can have a jolly good time watching a host of French cinema's versatile actors that too in a single film.It was truly a veritable family affair for René Féret to direct people like Jacques Bonnaffé, Jean François Stévenin,Julien Féret who are a part of his indispensable family of actors.What is important to watch in this film is a story which starts as a family chronicle but with the passage of time transforms itself into an existentialist drama.Family is an important unit of René Féret's films and the highlight of this film is how brothers of a family come together to know each other better.It is not only brothers who come to know each other better but also their wives and children who learn to appreciate the value of their united,close knit family.It has been felt by certain French critics that this film is more close to Cassavates than Pascal Thomas.This is for those viewers to decide who are familiar with the films of both these authors.