29/11/2002 - The 12th edition of Courmayeur's Festival delves into the secrets of everyday mysteries, with premieres that include Neil Jordan's The Good Thief and Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful

Secrets and rules are the keywords of the 2002 edition of the Noir in Festival in Courmayeur, scheduled to begin on 10 December. Noir-in-Festival is a perfect showcase for films, TV programmes and books all of which have in common an element of mystery. This year’s edition will draw inspiration from the mysterious current events we read and hear about every day.
”Secrecy is the common thread of contemporary life,” explain the festival’s organisers Giorgio Gosetti and Marina Fabbri. “It is something that is continuously emerging from legal documents and the daily horrors that seem to happen without a reason. An element of secrecy links people in the news, you get the impression there are hidden truths that either nobody wants to admit, or which are hidden in the folds and creases of an increasingly unreliable information service. The filmmakers and writers involved in this year’s festival all share a passion for these subjects in their work.”
“It is our intention to find the rules that are concealed by contemporary chaos. By means of a comparison between fiction and reality, the films in competition as well as those that are special events try to formulate the codes of correct and moral behaviour that we all need so badly,” continues Fabbri.
The 2002 programme is a rich one. Numerous pre-eminent European filmmakers have been invited, including Ireland’s Neil Jordan who will present his latest film, The Good Thief - an Irish/UK co-production with France, Ireland and Canada. Denmark’s Lasse Spang is bringing Old Men in New Cars, French director Doug Headline with Brocéliande, and Italy’s Aldo, Giovanni and Giacomo will make their festival debut with the world premiere of The legend of Al, John and Jack, written, as always, with Giovanni Veronesi.
Noir would not be Noir without a strong American presence. This year’s contingent includes Ron Shelton with Dark Blue and British-but- US-resident Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful, an American remake of Claude Chabrol’s classic La femme infidèle. This film restores the classic filmmaking bond between France and the US since the police genre was born in the States but was developed and consolidated in French cinema and literature where it was also given the name of “Noir”.
The programme also includes a tribute to Jean-Patrick Manchette and, in the “DocNoir” section, to Errol Morris, a competitive section called “Corti di paura” for auteur-driven short films, the premiere of a new noir TV series made after 11 September and the presentation of the Raymond Chandler Award to this year’s winner, John Grisham.
The Noir’s artistic director, Giorgio Gosetti rightly defined the following films as “the jewels in the Film Fest’s crown”, three films that are also Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux’s trilogy: Cavale, Un couple épatant and Après le vie.