Credits normally withheld for a closing crawl open director Aleksandr Sokurov’s (Russian Ark), latest self-important hymn to the importance of art museums. Listen as the disembodied voice of the documentarian expresses disappointment over his latest production. He’s not the only one. Borrowing a page from the Michael Moore playbook, Sokurov’s surrenders to the urge to inject himself in the proceedings – he could learn a lot from Werner Herzog when it comes to delivering narration – a move which adds appearance, if nothing more. When not padding the running time with poetically staged dramatic recreations or taking us on a virtual reality tour of the collection, he does present compelling material that draws attention to the point in the Louvre’s history when the museum was ordered to partner with the Nazis. But given how well this ground has been covered of late (Stealing Klimt, The Rape of Europa), Francofonia frequently feels like little more than a fanciful footnote. (2015) — Scott Marks
This movie is not currently in theaters.