It's no secret that New York has many fine festivals to choose from, but the Film Society of Lincoln Center's Rendez-Vous with French Film may very well be my favorite. It's an orgy of French films. The festival offers new works by both masters and emerging filmmakers; many of Rendez-Vous' offerings will screen here and nowhere else in the U.S.

This year's especially fine 14th edition marks the reopening of Alice Tully Hall, with the opening night selection of Christophe Barratier’s Paris 36.

Thursday night's gala event will kick off the North American premiere of 18 films, including new work by Agnès Varda, Claude Chabrol, Benoît Jacquot, André Téchiné, and Claire Denis. This exciting offering of French cinema naturally features a terrific sampling of France's most luminous stars -- Gerard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve, Ludivine Sagnier, Isabelle Huppert, and Mathieu Almaric. The festival also introduces newcomer Nora Arnezeder and Vincent Cassel, who won the Cesar award for Best Actor for his performance as bank robber Jacques Mesrine in Jean-François Richet's two part-biopic about the notorious criminal.

Mesrine

The opening night selection of the musical comedy Paris 36, an uncomplicated crowd pleaser, is unfortunately one of Rendez-Vous' weaker offerings. Without a doubt, the giddy delight is Richet's Mesrine. Divided into L'Instinct de mort (Part One) and L'Ennemi public n°1 (Part 2), the four hours fly by. Not only is Cassel fantastic and his breathtaking escapes from high security prisons almost impossible to believe, but we're also treated to the sight of Sagnier in a red afro carrying a beloved toy poodle and Almaric at his mischievous best.

Villa Amalia

Benoît Jacquot's brooding Villa Amalia is another highlight of the festival.

The ethereal and unnervingly regal Isabel Huppert stars as Ann Hidden, an enigmatic and accomplished pianist who decides to disappear from the life she painstakingly created, relinquishing all possessions in the process: long time lover, well appointed apartment, three pianos, beautiful clothes, and finally, her cell phone. Jacquot follows Ann in her determined quest for solitude, a cinematic travel diary that revels in breathtaking images of the snow-covered Alps and an extraordinary vista of the Italian seaside. The film frequently abstains from dialogue and Huppert does not work for the audience's sympathy. She does what she wants -- often at a cost to others -- and her journey is both troubling and strangely enviable.

The Beaches of Agnès

Also worthy of envy is the life of Agnes Varda. Her film The Beaches of Agnes offers an intimate look at the filmmaker's remarkable career. She travels from the beaches of her childhood and all over the world to relive the important events of her existence. Varda, also an accomplished photographer, fills the frame with unexpected and often glorious images.

Stella

A smaller but equally worthy film, Sylvie Verheyde's Stella offers a complicated look at childhood. In a performance that heralds future stardom, young Léora Barbara brings the eleven-year-old protagonist to life. Stella is a complicated, likable girl at the cusp of adolescence whose double life can go either way: potential pool shark or bright young thing. The girl is more comfortable in her working class parents' rowdy cafe than at school - the place she ostensibly belongs. Stella lies with disarming ease to her smart new friend (the also terrific red-haired Mélissa Rodriguez), but is less successful fooling her teachers. Verheyde's film is also notable for the unnerving presence of Guilliame Depardieu, a welfare client at the bar, win one of his last appearances before his untimely death from pneumonia.

Bellamy

His father, the surprisingly portly Gerard Depardieu, still exudes enormous charm. He appears for the first time in a Claude Chabrol film, starring as the titular Bellamy, a role Chabrol wrote in in his honor. A police chief on vacation in the French countryside, Bellamy is unable to stop working, investigating the local murder of a homeless man by a duplicitous insurance salesman. He constantly and crudely paws his wife, but his marriage is threatened by the intrusive presence of his resentful half brother. The plot builds slowly and steadily as the case Bellamy takes on begins to infect his own idyllic world.

Seraphine

Also screening is Seraphine, a biopic of Gallic painter Seraphine de Senlis which took top honors at France's 34rd Cesar Awards, winning seven awards, including Best Film and Best Actress for Yolande Moreau.

More Rendez-Vous With French Film Information

Presented by The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance, Rendez-Vous runs from March 5- 15, 2009. After opening night at Alice Tully Hall, screenings will be held the Walter Reade Theater and IFC Center. Tickets for all Walter Reade Theater screenings may be purchased online and at the box office.