Hollywood came to 59th street for a star-studded evening. On Monday night, the Florence Gould Hall at the FIAF (French Institute Alliance Française) hosted a very VIP screening of “Capital”, the latest film by Costa-Gavras.
The Franco-Greek director, who looks much younger than his 82 years, was in very good company. His controversial friend Michael Moore made the trip especially. Kathleen Turner and actor Alan Alda (M.A.S.H., The Aviator, The West Wing) were also present. Although Mr. Gavras did not attend the screening, he participated in a Q & A session with CNN journalist Ashleigh Banfield after the film. “It’s an unusual, disturbing film,” he explained to a packed Florence Gould Hall.

“Capital” recounts the trials and tribulations of Marc Tourneuil (Gad Elmaleh). Recently catapulted to the head of Phenix, a Parisian bank, after his boss was diagnosed with testicular cancer, Marc must face the cut-throat world of an American hedge fund. The young CEO plays the system to the limit: bonuses, lay-offs, insider trading, offshore account, dirty deals, top model and private jet… The creator of “Z” portrays the image of a cynical, brutal and merciless world of finance and shows the strong rise of unbridled American capitalism, as it is faced with the Old World.

Some will say that it is “distorted”, while others will call it “superb”. In any case, it is visionary. Adapted from the novel Le Capital by Stéphane Osmont, Costa-Gavras began working on this film before the the financial crisis even begun. “I wanted to make a film that shows what money does to people,” Mr. Gravas explained to the public. “After the crisis began, we just added a line in the script saying that the worse was yet to come. That’s what I think; the worst part of the crisis has not yet hit us.”
The film will be released in New York on October 25, and in major American cities nationwide on November 1.