The filmmaker reveals the hypocritical mentality of the Nazis who safeguarded the Louvre while they bombed and destroyed hundreds of European cities. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 16, 2023

Categorizing it is nearly impossible, but breaking it down is a rewarding challenge. I think the film could best be called Sokurov’s canvass, and on it he presents a collage of thought, reason, and reflection.

| Original Score: 4.5/5 | Aug 20, 2022

Francofonia is less of a swooning and immersive cinematic experience than a free-range, multi-media essay about the survival of art and culture in an inherently destructive world.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 19, 2020

I will not pretend I understood the meaning of every single image I saw, or that I am fully behind Aleksandr Sokurov's views. But I am very happy to have taken this trip through the Louvre, and he sure is an able and knowledgeable guide.

| Jan 10, 2020

In the grand scheme of things, it's not much, but it's something worth fighting for.

| Aug 2, 2019

"More than a documentary, this is a very personal historical essay about the most famous museum in the world".

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 19, 2019

More meditative than informative, Francofonia is many things, but it's not your run-of-the-mill documentary. Art and history buffs will get a kick, but perhaps not too many others.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 18, 2019

Francofonia (2015) bristles at labeling. The latest whatsit by Russian titan Alexander Sokurov moves comfortably between categories. It stands three paces to the right of the essay film and three paces to the left of the docudrama.

| Oct 25, 2018

This is one of the best films by the great Russian director Alexander Sokurov.

| Aug 22, 2018

Enjoy scoping the things you can never quite get a look at because of the stampede of tourists, and mull over Sokurov's sentiment that the contents of the Louvre are worth more than all of France.

| Jan 2, 2018

While Francofonia has very little to offer on the subject that's new, Sokurov is spry and chatty and keeps things continually engaging.

| Nov 20, 2017

Sokurov raised any number of fascinating questions and unexpected historical perspectives in this engrossing documentary.

| Sep 27, 2017

Francofonia is unusual, sometimes challenging, and always intriguing.

| Aug 29, 2017

Francofonia is beautiful to see, and the big ideas still tug at the heart of viewers and remind contemporary audiences of their place in the world.

| Jun 21, 2017

Highly recommended for people close to art cinema, avid consumers of World War II stories and above all, for those who enjoy art in general. [Full review in Spanish]

| Mar 17, 2017

Using documentary footage and bits and pieces of semi-realist dramatics, [Sokurov] tells of the strange friendship between the Louvre director Jacques Jaujard and the Nazi officer sent to oversee the treasures and possibly relieve France of them.

| Jan 1, 2017

An exhilarating intellectual exercise that packs a ludicrous amount of philosophy into 88 dense minutes.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Dec 5, 2016

There's an unlovely self-importance to Sokurov's droning diatribe that rather distracts from the cultural significance of the subject.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 13, 2016

The Russian director Alexander Sokurov has never been afraid of tackling weighty, often philosophical issues head on, and his latest film Francofonia is as pioneering - and, some might say, unnecessarily uncompromising - as ever.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 11, 2016

In praise of art, but also a reminder that we need to treasure what we have.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 11, 2016