Sightlines · reception

How All Your Faces was received

2023 · Jeanne Herry · All Your Faces on Sightlines

The arc

A word-of-mouth hit in France in spring 2023 — warm reviews, strong box office, and eventually nine César nominations — it crossed borders slowly, arriving abroad as a 'why is nobody talking about this?' discovery.

What’s debated

The recurring split: is it a genuinely moving ensemble piece, or a well-intentioned 'dossier film' — an advocacy pamphlet for restorative justice rescued by a murderers' row of French actors?

Its footprint

In France the film became shorthand for restorative justice itself — its release was widely credited with a surge of public interest in the real 2014 program it depicts, a rare case of a drama measurably boosting the practice it portrays.

Where it stands

A quietly high-rated Letterboxd favorite among French-cinema fans — the modern 'trust me, just watch it' ensemble drama passed along in recommendation threads.

Did you know? Director Jeanne Herry is the daughter of French screen icon Miou-Miou — and cast her own mother in the film's ensemble; Adèle Exarchopoulos won the film's sole César, for Best Supporting Actress.

Named by the director

• 12 Angry Men (1957) — Herry cited Lumet's jury-room classic as a reference for building a gripping film out of a closed room, talk, and faces.
• En thérapie (TV series) (2021) — Herry said the Nakache–Tolédano therapy series reassured her she could trust words and acting alone — 'the faces were like landscapes.'