French Cinema in the USA
Parlez-vous Francais? Do you own a beret (lol)? Mais oui?
The French have longed for many years to duplicate the success of AMELIE over here but continue to operate solely on the arthouse circuit due to subtitle-phobic mainstream Americans.
French stars are as talented and attractive as their Hollywood counterparts, and it's a shame to pass them by for a little extra "reading." If your local theater is amenable you can read the subtitles the first time through and then remain for a second viewing of relaxed moviewatching 9or tey the same at home for practice).
In any case, cinephilia was born in the Parisian cinematheques and many of their fiercest film critics (Godard, Truffaut, etc.) have gone on to challenge the status quo by creating their own films. Now when's the last time you saw Ebert in the director's chair, eh?
Give the crazy French their due, you will be rarely disappointed. Oui oui!
MORE/Older French ARCHIVES can be searched at:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?p=16136754#post16136754
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Parlez-vous Francais? Do you own a beret (lol)? Mais oui?
The French have longed for many years to duplicate the success of AMELIE over here but continue to operate solely on the arthouse circuit due to subtitle-phobic mainstream Americans.
French stars are as talented and attractive as their Hollywood counterparts, and it's a shame to pass them by for a little extra "reading." If your local theater is amenable you can read the subtitles the first time through and then remain for a second viewing of relaxed moviewatching 9or tey the same at home for practice).
In any case, cinephilia was born in the Parisian cinematheques and many of their fiercest film critics (Godard, Truffaut, etc.) have gone on to challenge the status quo by creating their own films. Now when's the last time you saw Ebert in the director's chair, eh?
Give the crazy French their due, you will be rarely disappointed. Oui oui!
MORE/Older French ARCHIVES can be searched at:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/vine/showthread.php?p=16136754#post16136754
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
POLISSE
Opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, May 18, 2012!
On behalf of Sundance Selects, Maïwenn’s richly textured crime drama POLISSE. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, nominated for 13 César Awards, and featured at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, this smash hit from France follows the daily lives of a tight-knit team of men and women working in the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian police.
POLISSE will open theatrically in New York (and Los Angeles) on May 18 at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and IFC Center, with a national roll-out to follow. On Friday, May 25, it will be available nationwide on Sundance Selects’ video-on-demand, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Basing her script on real child investigation cases, writer-director-actor Maïwenn has gathered an accomplished ensemble cast of French actors—including Karin Viard, Marina Foïs, Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicolas Duvauchelle, and rapper-turned-actor Joeystarr—who convey the emotional strain of the unit's work with gritty realism (the director herself plays the role of
a photographer embedded with the unit).
They not only deal with the stress of their jobs but the inevitable fall-out in their personal lives—breakdowns, divorce and adulterous relations within the force. In between, there are frequent flashes of humor as the team attempts to diffuse daily realities.
As the cases, confessions and interrogations pile up, the squad members have only each other as support as they face an uphill battle against both criminals and bureaucracy.
127 minutes (In French with English subtitles)
A Sundance Selects release. Not rated.
USA website-http://www.sundanceselects.com/films/polisse
French website-http://www.polisse-lefilm.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
POLISSE
Opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday, May 18, 2012!
On behalf of Sundance Selects, Maïwenn’s richly textured crime drama POLISSE. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, nominated for 13 César Awards, and featured at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival, this smash hit from France follows the daily lives of a tight-knit team of men and women working in the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian police.
POLISSE will open theatrically in New York (and Los Angeles) on May 18 at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and IFC Center, with a national roll-out to follow. On Friday, May 25, it will be available nationwide on Sundance Selects’ video-on-demand, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Basing her script on real child investigation cases, writer-director-actor Maïwenn has gathered an accomplished ensemble cast of French actors—including Karin Viard, Marina Foïs, Sandrine Kiberlain, Nicolas Duvauchelle, and rapper-turned-actor Joeystarr—who convey the emotional strain of the unit's work with gritty realism (the director herself plays the role of
a photographer embedded with the unit).
They not only deal with the stress of their jobs but the inevitable fall-out in their personal lives—breakdowns, divorce and adulterous relations within the force. In between, there are frequent flashes of humor as the team attempts to diffuse daily realities.
As the cases, confessions and interrogations pile up, the squad members have only each other as support as they face an uphill battle against both criminals and bureaucracy.
127 minutes (In French with English subtitles)
A Sundance Selects release. Not rated.
USA website-http://www.sundanceselects.com/films/polisse
French website-http://www.polisse-lefilm.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
Gaumont Thrillers:
From Fantômas to A Gang Story
August 15–September 4, 2012
From Louis Feuillade’s epic criminal adventure Fantômas (1913) to Olivier Marchal’s decade-spanning A Gang Story
(2011), Gaumont-produced tales of heists, chases, murder, wicked women, and questionable men have kept audiences in suspense the world over.
To add a bit of chill to the New York summer heat, we pay tribute to a century of subtle, violent, earnest, and even comic thrillers with a selection of films from the Gaumont archives in France and from the vaults of American distributors.
Noted filmmakers like Luc Besson, Claude Chabrol, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jules Dassin, Jean-Luc Godard, Georges Franju, Sacha Guitry, Marcel Hazanavicius, and Robert Siodmak are included.
Organized by the late Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film, in association with Gaumont France.
The exhibition is supported in part by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.
Film Screenings
Àbout portant (Point Blank)
2010. France. Written and directed by Fred Cavaye.
With Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin.
Like a well-aimed bullet speeding furiously along, Point Blank is a breathless race-against-time thriller in which an innocent man (a doctor in this case) is given a short time to do something awful or, well, no spoilers here. Courtesy Magnolia Pictures. 84 min.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, September 2, 2012, 5:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Serie noire
1979. France. Directed by Alain Corneau. Screenplay by Georges Perec from a novel by Jim Thompson.
With Patrick Deware, Myriam Boyer, Marie Trintignant.
An errant husband and a femme fatale plot a murder in this gritty adaptation of an American novel published as part of the serie noire of pulp crime fiction in France. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 111 min.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Pieges (Traps)
1939. France. Directed by Robert Siodmak.
With Maria Dea, Maurice Chevalier, Erich von Stroheim.
Eleven young women disappear and another sets out to investigate. A genuine film noir made before Siodmak came to
America and further developed the genre. 109 min.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Friday, August 17, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Le rideau rouge (The Red Curtain)
1952. France. Directed by Andre Barsacq. Written by Jean Anouilh.
With Michel Simon, Pierre Brasseur, Monelle Valentin.
This neat whodunit, written by a famous playwright and cast with some of France’s great actors, begins with a backstage murder. 84 min.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Friday, August 17, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
OSS 117: le Caire, nid d’espions! (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies)
2006. France. Directed by Marcel Hazanavicius. Screenplay by Jean-François Halin.
With Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo.
Before Ian Fleming’s 007 James Bond there was Jean Bruce’s OSS 117 Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, who debuted in 1949 and has appeared in over 200 books. In this incarnation, the French secret agent is as ostensibly debonair as James Bond—and as maladroit as Inspector Clouseau.
The most recent collaboration between this film’s director and star is the Academy Award–winning The Artist. Print courtesy Music Box Films. 99 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
La poison (Poison)
1951. France. Written and directed by Sacha Guitry.
With Michel Simon, Jean Debucourt, Jacques Varennes.
In a town where everybody knows everybody else, a man murders his wife. He admits his crime in court, but is acquitted through a series of extraordinary circumstances. In French; English subtitles. 85 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 4:45 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, August 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Bande à part (Band of Outsiders)
1964. France. Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
With Anna Karina, Claude brasseur, Sami Frey.
A robbery is intricately planned, so naturally it goes wrong. There’s some comedy, and some dance, in a thriller as only Godard could imagine it. Courtesy Rialto Pictures. 95 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
L’assassin habite au 21 (The Murderer Lives at 21)
1942. France. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Screenplay by Clouzot, based on the novel by Stanislas-André Steeman. With Suzy Delair, Pierre Fresnay, Jean Tissier.
A detective poses as a clergyman to investigate mysterious murders at a boarding house. True to form, Clouzot’s L’Assassin is a film of counterpoints—not surprising for a murder mystery made under the German occupation. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 84 min.
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les rivieres pourpres (Crimson Rivers)
2000. France. Written and directed by Matthieu Kassovitz. From a novel by Jean-Christoph Grange.
With Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel.
In two remote French villages two detectives investigate separate incidents—a murder and a disappearance—and soon discover both crimes may be related. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 105 min.
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 5:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Rififi
1955. France. Directed by Jules Dassin. Screenplay by Auguste Le Bréton, Dassin, René Wheeler
Source: based on the book by Bréton. With Jean Servais, Carl Möhner.
Dassin’s second European feature is the most stylish of heist pictures. Deemed by contemporary critics to be the perfect mix of American toughness and French sophistication, the film centers on a carefully executed jewelry store heist In French; English subtitles. 115 min.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, August 26, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
2 SHORT features
Fantômas Books 1 & 2
Between 1911 and 1914, Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain wrote 12 “pulp” novels about the master criminal, Fantômas, who appears all over Paris, causing fear and destruction.
The great French film pioneer Louis Feuillade adapted five of the novels into a series of feverish and fluid feature-length fantasies. Shot all over Paris, the Fantômas films were adored by the public and the Surrealists alike.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles.
Fantômas
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the first Fantômas novel. 55 min.
Juve contre Fantômas
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the second Fantomas novel. 62 min.
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 1:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 3
La mort qui tue (The Murderous Corpse)
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the third Fantômas novel.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 90 min.
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 3:45 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 6
Fantômas contre Fantômas
1914. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the sixth Fantômas novel, Le policier apache.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 60 min.
Friday, August 24, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 6:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 12
Le faux magistrate (The False Judge)
1914. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the 12th Fantômas novel, Le magistrate cambrioleur.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 71 min.
Friday, August 24, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les yeux sans visage (Eyes without a Face)
1959. France/Italy. Written and directed by Georges Franju.
With Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob, Claude Brasseur.
A seminal “horror” film about a doctor driven mad by devotion to his facially disfigured daughter. Courtesy Rialto Pictures. 88 min.
Monday, August 27, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Police
1985. France. Directed by Maurice Pialat. Screenplay by Catherine Breillat, Jacques Fieschi, Sylvie Pailat, Maurice Pialat. With Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau.
In this tough, realistic portrayal of the police under stress, passions rise when a rough cop becomes involved with the sister of a criminal. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 113 min.
Monday, August 27, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Peril en la demeure (Death in a French Garden/Peril)
1984. France. Written and directed by Michel Daville. From a novel by Rene Belletto.
With Christoph Malavoy, Nicole Garcia, Michel Piccoli, Anémone.
When a well-off couple hire a guitar teacher for their daughter, strange things, including death, happen at home. 100 min.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les cousins (The Cousins)
1959. France. Directed by Claude Chabrol. Screenplay by Paul Gegauff.
With Jean-Claude Brialy, Gérard Blain, Juliette Mayniel.
With his second feature, former French film critic Chabrol not only established an international reputation, but drew attention to the entire nouvelle vague movement. The Cousins, like virtually all of Chabrol’s 55-plus subsequent films, deals with moral mayhem…and a killing. 112 min.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Thursday, August 30, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Nikita (La femme Nikita)
1990. France/Italy. Written and directed by Luc Besson.
With Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Jeanne Moreau, Tcheky Karyo.
In this lively, violent fiction a murderous young woman is turned into a “sleeper” assassin by a mysterious government agency. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 117 min.
Thursday, August 30, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Friday, August 31, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Leon (The Professional)
1994. France/USA. Written and directed by Luc Besson.
With Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello.
In this moody action picture, a lonely professional hit man rescues a 12-year-old girl, and together they fight against just about everybody. Director’s cut. In English. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 134 min.
Friday, August 31, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, September 2, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
36, quai des orfeveres (36th Precinct)
2004. France. Directed and cowritten by Olivier Marchal. Based on actual events.
With Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu.
Marchal was a police officer for many years before becoming a filmmaker, and his action melodramas are populated by cops and robbers with and without their own moral codes. In 1980s Paris, two detectives vie, rather brutally, for the position of Chief Investigator. 110 min.
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, September 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les Lyonnais (A Gang Story)
2011. France. Written and directed by Olivier Marchal. From the autobiography of Edmund “Momon” Vidal.
With Gérard Lanvin, Tchéky Karyo, Daniel Duval.
This decade-hopping crime epic tells the story of the “Lyonnais” gang, who committed many robberies in the 1970s—until they were betrayed. Courtesy The Weinstein Company. 102 min. [French website: http://les-lyonnais.gaumont.fr/]
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, September 3, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Gaumont Thrillers:
From Fantômas to A Gang Story
August 15–September 4, 2012
From Louis Feuillade’s epic criminal adventure Fantômas (1913) to Olivier Marchal’s decade-spanning A Gang Story
(2011), Gaumont-produced tales of heists, chases, murder, wicked women, and questionable men have kept audiences in suspense the world over.
To add a bit of chill to the New York summer heat, we pay tribute to a century of subtle, violent, earnest, and even comic thrillers with a selection of films from the Gaumont archives in France and from the vaults of American distributors.
Noted filmmakers like Luc Besson, Claude Chabrol, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jules Dassin, Jean-Luc Godard, Georges Franju, Sacha Guitry, Marcel Hazanavicius, and Robert Siodmak are included.
Organized by the late Laurence Kardish, Senior Curator, Department of Film, in association with Gaumont France.
The exhibition is supported in part by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States.
Film Screenings
Àbout portant (Point Blank)
2010. France. Written and directed by Fred Cavaye.
With Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin.
Like a well-aimed bullet speeding furiously along, Point Blank is a breathless race-against-time thriller in which an innocent man (a doctor in this case) is given a short time to do something awful or, well, no spoilers here. Courtesy Magnolia Pictures. 84 min.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, September 2, 2012, 5:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Serie noire
1979. France. Directed by Alain Corneau. Screenplay by Georges Perec from a novel by Jim Thompson.
With Patrick Deware, Myriam Boyer, Marie Trintignant.
An errant husband and a femme fatale plot a murder in this gritty adaptation of an American novel published as part of the serie noire of pulp crime fiction in France. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 111 min.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Pieges (Traps)
1939. France. Directed by Robert Siodmak.
With Maria Dea, Maurice Chevalier, Erich von Stroheim.
Eleven young women disappear and another sets out to investigate. A genuine film noir made before Siodmak came to
America and further developed the genre. 109 min.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Friday, August 17, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Le rideau rouge (The Red Curtain)
1952. France. Directed by Andre Barsacq. Written by Jean Anouilh.
With Michel Simon, Pierre Brasseur, Monelle Valentin.
This neat whodunit, written by a famous playwright and cast with some of France’s great actors, begins with a backstage murder. 84 min.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Friday, August 17, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
OSS 117: le Caire, nid d’espions! (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies)
2006. France. Directed by Marcel Hazanavicius. Screenplay by Jean-François Halin.
With Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo.
Before Ian Fleming’s 007 James Bond there was Jean Bruce’s OSS 117 Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, who debuted in 1949 and has appeared in over 200 books. In this incarnation, the French secret agent is as ostensibly debonair as James Bond—and as maladroit as Inspector Clouseau.
The most recent collaboration between this film’s director and star is the Academy Award–winning The Artist. Print courtesy Music Box Films. 99 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 2:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 8:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
La poison (Poison)
1951. France. Written and directed by Sacha Guitry.
With Michel Simon, Jean Debucourt, Jacques Varennes.
In a town where everybody knows everybody else, a man murders his wife. He admits his crime in court, but is acquitted through a series of extraordinary circumstances. In French; English subtitles. 85 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 4:45 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, August 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Bande à part (Band of Outsiders)
1964. France. Written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
With Anna Karina, Claude brasseur, Sami Frey.
A robbery is intricately planned, so naturally it goes wrong. There’s some comedy, and some dance, in a thriller as only Godard could imagine it. Courtesy Rialto Pictures. 95 min.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, 7:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
L’assassin habite au 21 (The Murderer Lives at 21)
1942. France. Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot. Screenplay by Clouzot, based on the novel by Stanislas-André Steeman. With Suzy Delair, Pierre Fresnay, Jean Tissier.
A detective poses as a clergyman to investigate mysterious murders at a boarding house. True to form, Clouzot’s L’Assassin is a film of counterpoints—not surprising for a murder mystery made under the German occupation. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 84 min.
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les rivieres pourpres (Crimson Rivers)
2000. France. Written and directed by Matthieu Kassovitz. From a novel by Jean-Christoph Grange.
With Jean Reno, Vincent Cassel.
In two remote French villages two detectives investigate separate incidents—a murder and a disappearance—and soon discover both crimes may be related. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 105 min.
Sunday, August 19, 2012, 5:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, September 4, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Rififi
1955. France. Directed by Jules Dassin. Screenplay by Auguste Le Bréton, Dassin, René Wheeler
Source: based on the book by Bréton. With Jean Servais, Carl Möhner.
Dassin’s second European feature is the most stylish of heist pictures. Deemed by contemporary critics to be the perfect mix of American toughness and French sophistication, the film centers on a carefully executed jewelry store heist In French; English subtitles. 115 min.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, August 26, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
2 SHORT features
Fantômas Books 1 & 2
Between 1911 and 1914, Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain wrote 12 “pulp” novels about the master criminal, Fantômas, who appears all over Paris, causing fear and destruction.
The great French film pioneer Louis Feuillade adapted five of the novels into a series of feverish and fluid feature-length fantasies. Shot all over Paris, the Fantômas films were adored by the public and the Surrealists alike.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles.
Fantômas
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the first Fantômas novel. 55 min.
Juve contre Fantômas
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the second Fantomas novel. 62 min.
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 1:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 3
La mort qui tue (The Murderous Corpse)
1913. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the third Fantômas novel.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 90 min.
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 3, mezzanine, Education and Research Building
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 3:45 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 6
Fantômas contre Fantômas
1914. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the sixth Fantômas novel, Le policier apache.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 60 min.
Friday, August 24, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 6:00 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Fantômas Book 12
Le faux magistrate (The False Judge)
1914. France. Directed by Louis Feuillade. Adapted from the 12th Fantômas novel, Le magistrate cambrioleur.
With René Navarre, Breon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl.
Digital restorations at 18fps. Silent, with simultaneous English translation of French intertitles. 71 min.
Friday, August 24, 2012, 6:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Saturday, August 25, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les yeux sans visage (Eyes without a Face)
1959. France/Italy. Written and directed by Georges Franju.
With Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob, Claude Brasseur.
A seminal “horror” film about a doctor driven mad by devotion to his facially disfigured daughter. Courtesy Rialto Pictures. 88 min.
Monday, August 27, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Police
1985. France. Directed by Maurice Pialat. Screenplay by Catherine Breillat, Jacques Fieschi, Sylvie Pailat, Maurice Pialat. With Gérard Depardieu, Sophie Marceau.
In this tough, realistic portrayal of the police under stress, passions rise when a rough cop becomes involved with the sister of a criminal. Courtesy Cultural Services of the French Embassy. 113 min.
Monday, August 27, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Peril en la demeure (Death in a French Garden/Peril)
1984. France. Written and directed by Michel Daville. From a novel by Rene Belletto.
With Christoph Malavoy, Nicole Garcia, Michel Piccoli, Anémone.
When a well-off couple hire a guitar teacher for their daughter, strange things, including death, happen at home. 100 min.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les cousins (The Cousins)
1959. France. Directed by Claude Chabrol. Screenplay by Paul Gegauff.
With Jean-Claude Brialy, Gérard Blain, Juliette Mayniel.
With his second feature, former French film critic Chabrol not only established an international reputation, but drew attention to the entire nouvelle vague movement. The Cousins, like virtually all of Chabrol’s 55-plus subsequent films, deals with moral mayhem…and a killing. 112 min.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Thursday, August 30, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Nikita (La femme Nikita)
1990. France/Italy. Written and directed by Luc Besson.
With Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Jeanne Moreau, Tcheky Karyo.
In this lively, violent fiction a murderous young woman is turned into a “sleeper” assassin by a mysterious government agency. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 117 min.
Thursday, August 30, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 2, T2
Friday, August 31, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Leon (The Professional)
1994. France/USA. Written and directed by Luc Besson.
With Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello.
In this moody action picture, a lonely professional hit man rescues a 12-year-old girl, and together they fight against just about everybody. Director’s cut. In English. Courtesy Sony Pictures. 134 min.
Friday, August 31, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Sunday, September 2, 2012, 2:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
36, quai des orfeveres (36th Precinct)
2004. France. Directed and cowritten by Olivier Marchal. Based on actual events.
With Daniel Auteuil, Gérard Depardieu.
Marchal was a police officer for many years before becoming a filmmaker, and his action melodramas are populated by cops and robbers with and without their own moral codes. In 1980s Paris, two detectives vie, rather brutally, for the position of Chief Investigator. 110 min.
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, September 3, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Les Lyonnais (A Gang Story)
2011. France. Written and directed by Olivier Marchal. From the autobiography of Edmund “Momon” Vidal.
With Gérard Lanvin, Tchéky Karyo, Daniel Duval.
This decade-hopping crime epic tells the story of the “Lyonnais” gang, who committed many robberies in the 1970s—until they were betrayed. Courtesy The Weinstein Company. 102 min. [French website: http://les-lyonnais.gaumont.fr/]
Saturday, September 1, 2012, 7:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
Monday, September 3, 2012, 4:30 p.m., Theater 1, T1
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
Kino Lorber presents
THE FAIRY (2011)
OPENS ON FEBRUARY 24, 2012
AT THE QUAD CINEMA IN NEW YORK CITY
New York, NY - January 30, 2012 - Kino Lorber is proud to announce the theatrical release of The Fairy (2011), a "deliriously droll" (Peter Debruge, Variety) and whimsical comedy written and directed by the Belgo-Canadian-French trio of
Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, and Bruno Romy (L'iceberg and Rumba). All three also star in the film.
Set to open in New York City on February 24, at The Quad Cinema, The Fairy will expand to major urban markets during March and April of 2012, before a VOD and home video release during the Fall of 2012.
The Fairy tells the story a man (Dom, played by Dominique Abel) who works the night shift in a small hotel near the industrial seaport of Le Havre. One night, a woman named Fiona (Fiona Gordon) arrives, with no luggage and no shoes - and she tells Dom that she is a fairy.
After granting him two wishes (i.e. a scooter and unlimited gas), Fiona mysteriously disappears, leaving the shy and soft-spoken Dom with a broken heart. In love, and determined to find Fiona, Dom goes on a quest to find his fairy and ends up in a series of slapstick misadventures that defy the laws of physics - and the very conventions of slapstick cinema.
With The Fairy, gifted physical comedians Abel, Gordon and Romy continue to pay homage to and build upon the tradition of French comedies.
The Fairy (2011)
90 Minutes
35mm Print from HD Cam - 2.35:1
In French with English subtitles
MOVIE website-http://www.kinolorber.com/film.php?id=1226
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kino Lorber presents
THE FAIRY (2011)
OPENS ON FEBRUARY 24, 2012
AT THE QUAD CINEMA IN NEW YORK CITY
New York, NY - January 30, 2012 - Kino Lorber is proud to announce the theatrical release of The Fairy (2011), a "deliriously droll" (Peter Debruge, Variety) and whimsical comedy written and directed by the Belgo-Canadian-French trio of
Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, and Bruno Romy (L'iceberg and Rumba). All three also star in the film.
Set to open in New York City on February 24, at The Quad Cinema, The Fairy will expand to major urban markets during March and April of 2012, before a VOD and home video release during the Fall of 2012.
The Fairy tells the story a man (Dom, played by Dominique Abel) who works the night shift in a small hotel near the industrial seaport of Le Havre. One night, a woman named Fiona (Fiona Gordon) arrives, with no luggage and no shoes - and she tells Dom that she is a fairy.
After granting him two wishes (i.e. a scooter and unlimited gas), Fiona mysteriously disappears, leaving the shy and soft-spoken Dom with a broken heart. In love, and determined to find Fiona, Dom goes on a quest to find his fairy and ends up in a series of slapstick misadventures that defy the laws of physics - and the very conventions of slapstick cinema.
With The Fairy, gifted physical comedians Abel, Gordon and Romy continue to pay homage to and build upon the tradition of French comedies.
The Fairy (2011)
90 Minutes
35mm Print from HD Cam - 2.35:1
In French with English subtitles
MOVIE website-http://www.kinolorber.com/film.php?id=1226
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2011 ARCHIVES
Press release
SUNDANCE SELECTS Presents
MY PIECE OF THE PIE
A Film by Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Karin Viard and Gilles Lellouche
Opens on DECEMBER 9, 2011
at the IFC CENTER in NEW YORK CITY, National rollout to follow!
(Available on VOD NATIONWIDE on DECEMBER 7TH )
Writer/director Cédric Klapisch (L'auberge Espagnole) returns with the energetic and insightful My Piece of the Pie, a contemporary drama with a comedic edge, a timely social bent, and a surprising twist.
Actress Karin Viard (Time Out, Avenue Montaigne) is mesmerizing as fiery single mother France, a blue-collar worker who loses her job when the local factory in her French seaside town closes down.
Faced with having to support her three children, with no job prospects in sight, France enrolls herself in a housekeeper training program and lands a position cleaning the Paris apartment of handsome but cocky power broker Steve (Gilles Lellouche, Mesrine, Point Blank).
France strikes more gold as the perpetual bachelor also hires her to watch his son for a few weeks. Being a part of the millionaire lifestyle, however servient, is not so bad. But what really lies behind Steve's bullish business ways and brash demeanor? Is he as innocent as France would like him to be? Is she?
Boldly intertwining the theme of personal accountability in today's money-driven world and a witty odd-couple story, Klapisch steadily unravels how seemingly harmless decisions in business and in life have broader consequences than what one would ever imagine.
Also featuring: Audrey Lamy ("Heartbreaker") and Jean-Pierre Martins ("La Vie en Rose")
**OFFICIAL SELECTION: TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL**
About the Filmmaker:
Cédric Klapisch is one of today's most popular French directors and his movies have regularly been hits at the French box office. Born in 1961, he worked on his first short films in the United States from 1983 to 1985. He started out as a DP to finally become a film director.
In 1989, his short film "Ce qui me meut" won several prizes, including the Perspectives of French Cinema Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. He then directed his first feature in 1992, "Little Nothings," which was nominated for a Cesar Award. His second, "Good Old Daze," won the 1993 Golden FIPA and Grand Prize at the 1994 Chamrousse Humour
Film Festival.
In 1996, "When the Cat's Away" was released, followed by "Family Resemblances," his fourth feature which was awarded numerous prizes including three Cesar Awards and the 1997 Lumière for Best Screenplay and Best Director. "Maybe,"
starring Romain Duris and Jean-Paul Belmondo, was released in French cinemas in 1999.
In 2002, Klapisch returned to social comedy with "L'Auberge Espagnole," another hit with critics and audiences, and received three nominations for the 2003 César Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Film of the Year). Cédric Klapish followed that film up with "Not for, or Against (Quite the Contrary)", a gangster movie released in March 2003 in France. The French and foreign success of "L'Auberge Espagnole" drove him to direct a sequel in 2004, "Russian Dolls."
His most recent success was "Paris" starring Juliette Binoche, Melanie Laurent, Romain Duris and Fabrice Lucchini. "My Piece of His Pie" is his current film.
Directed/Written By: Cedric Klapisch
Starring: Karin Viard, Gilles Lellouche, Audrey Lamy, and Jean-Pierre Martins
Distributor: Sundance Selects
TRT: 109 minutes
Genre: Drama/Comedy
The film opens on Friday, December 9, 2011 at the IFC Center in New York and on VOD Nationally Wednesday, December 7th. National rollout to follow.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
SUNDANCE SELECTS Presents
MY PIECE OF THE PIE
A Film by Cédric Klapisch
Starring: Karin Viard and Gilles Lellouche
Opens on DECEMBER 9, 2011
at the IFC CENTER in NEW YORK CITY, National rollout to follow!
(Available on VOD NATIONWIDE on DECEMBER 7TH )
Writer/director Cédric Klapisch (L'auberge Espagnole) returns with the energetic and insightful My Piece of the Pie, a contemporary drama with a comedic edge, a timely social bent, and a surprising twist.
Actress Karin Viard (Time Out, Avenue Montaigne) is mesmerizing as fiery single mother France, a blue-collar worker who loses her job when the local factory in her French seaside town closes down.
Faced with having to support her three children, with no job prospects in sight, France enrolls herself in a housekeeper training program and lands a position cleaning the Paris apartment of handsome but cocky power broker Steve (Gilles Lellouche, Mesrine, Point Blank).
France strikes more gold as the perpetual bachelor also hires her to watch his son for a few weeks. Being a part of the millionaire lifestyle, however servient, is not so bad. But what really lies behind Steve's bullish business ways and brash demeanor? Is he as innocent as France would like him to be? Is she?
Boldly intertwining the theme of personal accountability in today's money-driven world and a witty odd-couple story, Klapisch steadily unravels how seemingly harmless decisions in business and in life have broader consequences than what one would ever imagine.
Also featuring: Audrey Lamy ("Heartbreaker") and Jean-Pierre Martins ("La Vie en Rose")
**OFFICIAL SELECTION: TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL**
About the Filmmaker:
Cédric Klapisch is one of today's most popular French directors and his movies have regularly been hits at the French box office. Born in 1961, he worked on his first short films in the United States from 1983 to 1985. He started out as a DP to finally become a film director.
In 1989, his short film "Ce qui me meut" won several prizes, including the Perspectives of French Cinema Prize at the Cannes International Film Festival. He then directed his first feature in 1992, "Little Nothings," which was nominated for a Cesar Award. His second, "Good Old Daze," won the 1993 Golden FIPA and Grand Prize at the 1994 Chamrousse Humour
Film Festival.
In 1996, "When the Cat's Away" was released, followed by "Family Resemblances," his fourth feature which was awarded numerous prizes including three Cesar Awards and the 1997 Lumière for Best Screenplay and Best Director. "Maybe,"
starring Romain Duris and Jean-Paul Belmondo, was released in French cinemas in 1999.
In 2002, Klapisch returned to social comedy with "L'Auberge Espagnole," another hit with critics and audiences, and received three nominations for the 2003 César Awards (Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Film of the Year). Cédric Klapish followed that film up with "Not for, or Against (Quite the Contrary)", a gangster movie released in March 2003 in France. The French and foreign success of "L'Auberge Espagnole" drove him to direct a sequel in 2004, "Russian Dolls."
His most recent success was "Paris" starring Juliette Binoche, Melanie Laurent, Romain Duris and Fabrice Lucchini. "My Piece of His Pie" is his current film.
Directed/Written By: Cedric Klapisch
Starring: Karin Viard, Gilles Lellouche, Audrey Lamy, and Jean-Pierre Martins
Distributor: Sundance Selects
TRT: 109 minutes
Genre: Drama/Comedy
The film opens on Friday, December 9, 2011 at the IFC Center in New York and on VOD Nationally Wednesday, December 7th. National rollout to follow.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
Yvan Attal stars in RAPT
Timely Drama of a French Politico's Scandalous Life Exposed Has US Theatrical Premiere
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at Film Forum
This Chabrolian crime thriller is based on the 1978 kidnapping of the French industrialist/playboy, Baron Edouard-Jean Empain. In RAPT, the victim spends a harrowing nine weeks in the hands of a criminal band, but the experience proves less life-threatening than the scandalous revelations of his secret life -- uncovered by the tabloids in the course of these events.
The parallels with recent news accounts of the sexual crimes and misdemeanors of French (former) IMF leader, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, give the film added resonance (and relevance) for American audiences.
Yvan Attal stars as a wildly attractive businessman and political mover and shaker who hops effortlessly from one chauffeured Mercedes to another, as he trades boardrooms for bedrooms.
But following a brutal kidnapping, he is handcuffed, terrified, unshaven, hungry and in desperate need of 50 million euros. News of his massive gambling losses and multiple mistresses leaves his picture-perfect Parisian wife, two svelte teenage daughters and elegant grand-dame maman to consider just how much his life and liberté are worth to them.
Film Forum is pleased to present the US theatrical premiere of Lucas Belvaux's RAPT, beginning Wednesday, July 6.
The film was nominated for four César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (for Yvan Attal). Oscar-winning filmmaker Susanne Bier (IN A BETTER WORLD) will direct an English-language remake of RAPT later this year.
RAPT (2009, 126 mins.) Written and Directed by Lucas Belvaux. Produced by Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum, Sébastien Delloye. Cinematographer: Pierre Milon. Editor: Danielle Anezin) Cast: Yvan Attal (Stanislas Graff), Anne Consigny (Françoise Graff), Alex Descas (Graff's attorney), André Marcon (André Payrac), Françoise Fabian (Marjorie). France / Belgium. In French with English subtitles. A Lorber Films Release.
RAPT will have a 2-week engagement, July 6-19, at Film Forum, West Houston Street (W. of 6th Avenue), with screenings daily at 1:15, 4:00, 6:40 and 9:10.
French website-http://www.rapt-lefilm.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yvan Attal stars in RAPT
Timely Drama of a French Politico's Scandalous Life Exposed Has US Theatrical Premiere
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at Film Forum
This Chabrolian crime thriller is based on the 1978 kidnapping of the French industrialist/playboy, Baron Edouard-Jean Empain. In RAPT, the victim spends a harrowing nine weeks in the hands of a criminal band, but the experience proves less life-threatening than the scandalous revelations of his secret life -- uncovered by the tabloids in the course of these events.
The parallels with recent news accounts of the sexual crimes and misdemeanors of French (former) IMF leader, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, give the film added resonance (and relevance) for American audiences.
Yvan Attal stars as a wildly attractive businessman and political mover and shaker who hops effortlessly from one chauffeured Mercedes to another, as he trades boardrooms for bedrooms.
But following a brutal kidnapping, he is handcuffed, terrified, unshaven, hungry and in desperate need of 50 million euros. News of his massive gambling losses and multiple mistresses leaves his picture-perfect Parisian wife, two svelte teenage daughters and elegant grand-dame maman to consider just how much his life and liberté are worth to them.
Film Forum is pleased to present the US theatrical premiere of Lucas Belvaux's RAPT, beginning Wednesday, July 6.
The film was nominated for four César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (for Yvan Attal). Oscar-winning filmmaker Susanne Bier (IN A BETTER WORLD) will direct an English-language remake of RAPT later this year.
RAPT (2009, 126 mins.) Written and Directed by Lucas Belvaux. Produced by Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum, Sébastien Delloye. Cinematographer: Pierre Milon. Editor: Danielle Anezin) Cast: Yvan Attal (Stanislas Graff), Anne Consigny (Françoise Graff), Alex Descas (Graff's attorney), André Marcon (André Payrac), Françoise Fabian (Marjorie). France / Belgium. In French with English subtitles. A Lorber Films Release.
RAPT will have a 2-week engagement, July 6-19, at Film Forum, West Houston Street (W. of 6th Avenue), with screenings daily at 1:15, 4:00, 6:40 and 9:10.
French website-http://www.rapt-lefilm.com/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DVD Press release (offers may no longer be valid)
JULY 14, 2011 - Today is La Fête Nationale (i.e. Bastille Day), a French holiday commemorating the day in 1789 when a group of very cross Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, giving birth to the French Revolution. And since Bastille Day always falls during the Tour de France, French cyclists traditionally move heaven and earth to win this day's stage of the Tour.
In celebration of these two special events, a selection of our French and cycling films will be 35% off through the end of the month (July 2011). We've included a sampling here, but be sure to check our website for the complete sale.
CHABROL: Two Thrillers
The Bridesmaid, a thriller starring Benoît Magimel and Laura Smet, and Merci Pour le Chocolate, a delectable mystery starring Isabelle Huppert.
YELL FOR CADEL (Documentary)
Yell for Cadel goes behind the scenes at the Tour de France to reveal how a world class cyclist – Australian Cadel Evans, the winner of the World Championships – prepares for the world’s toughest bike race.
HELL ON WHEELS (Documentary)
Academy Award Winner Pepe Danquart shows us the torture and the pain, the fear and the courage of the riders of Le Tour de France, the toughest bicycle race of all. Featuring Lance Armstrong, Eric Zabel,Tyler Hamilton & more!
BLOOD, SWEAT & GEARS (Documentary)
This riveting documentary is the story of a unique American professional cycling team devoted not only to cleaning up the sport of cycling but to succeeding in the Tour de France.
THE HEART OF THE PELOTON (Documentary - BOX SET)
This DVD box set includes three unforgettable films about the sport of professional bike racing: Hell on Wheels, Blood, Sweat & Gears, and Yell for Cadel.
ETOILES: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet (Documentary)
Celebrated filmmaker Nils Tavernier celebrates the legacy of the famed Paris Opera Ballet by weaving together rehearsals and tour snapshots of classical ballets as well as contemporary works.
YVES SAINT LAURENT (Documentary)
Two feature documentaries about the man who re-imagined women’s fashion.
LA PETITE LILI
Ludivine Sagnier, the sexy siren from Swimming Pool, stars as Lili, the love and muse of an idealistic young filmmaker in this modern adaptation of Chekov’s classic play The Seagull, directed by French master Claude Miller (Alias Betty).
KINGS OF PASTRY (Documentary)
When D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus turn their sights on the competition for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), France’s top pastry prize, there is edge-of-the-seat drama as the chefs deliver their desserts to the table.
MONSIEUR N.
After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died a few years later. Or did he? This intricate thriller posits an amazing secret: Napoleon escaped from St. Helena.
www.firstrunfeatures.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JULY 14, 2011 - Today is La Fête Nationale (i.e. Bastille Day), a French holiday commemorating the day in 1789 when a group of very cross Parisians stormed the Bastille prison, giving birth to the French Revolution. And since Bastille Day always falls during the Tour de France, French cyclists traditionally move heaven and earth to win this day's stage of the Tour.
In celebration of these two special events, a selection of our French and cycling films will be 35% off through the end of the month (July 2011). We've included a sampling here, but be sure to check our website for the complete sale.
CHABROL: Two Thrillers
The Bridesmaid, a thriller starring Benoît Magimel and Laura Smet, and Merci Pour le Chocolate, a delectable mystery starring Isabelle Huppert.
YELL FOR CADEL (Documentary)
Yell for Cadel goes behind the scenes at the Tour de France to reveal how a world class cyclist – Australian Cadel Evans, the winner of the World Championships – prepares for the world’s toughest bike race.
HELL ON WHEELS (Documentary)
Academy Award Winner Pepe Danquart shows us the torture and the pain, the fear and the courage of the riders of Le Tour de France, the toughest bicycle race of all. Featuring Lance Armstrong, Eric Zabel,Tyler Hamilton & more!
BLOOD, SWEAT & GEARS (Documentary)
This riveting documentary is the story of a unique American professional cycling team devoted not only to cleaning up the sport of cycling but to succeeding in the Tour de France.
THE HEART OF THE PELOTON (Documentary - BOX SET)
This DVD box set includes three unforgettable films about the sport of professional bike racing: Hell on Wheels, Blood, Sweat & Gears, and Yell for Cadel.
ETOILES: Dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet (Documentary)
Celebrated filmmaker Nils Tavernier celebrates the legacy of the famed Paris Opera Ballet by weaving together rehearsals and tour snapshots of classical ballets as well as contemporary works.
YVES SAINT LAURENT (Documentary)
Two feature documentaries about the man who re-imagined women’s fashion.
LA PETITE LILI
Ludivine Sagnier, the sexy siren from Swimming Pool, stars as Lili, the love and muse of an idealistic young filmmaker in this modern adaptation of Chekov’s classic play The Seagull, directed by French master Claude Miller (Alias Betty).
KINGS OF PASTRY (Documentary)
When D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus turn their sights on the competition for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), France’s top pastry prize, there is edge-of-the-seat drama as the chefs deliver their desserts to the table.
MONSIEUR N.
After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died a few years later. Or did he? This intricate thriller posits an amazing secret: Napoleon escaped from St. Helena.
www.firstrunfeatures.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER
Opens on April 8, 2011
On behalf of Sundance Selects, THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER, a gripping and gorgeously mounted 16th-century romantic drama by veteran filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (SAFE CONDUCT, 'ROUND MIDNIGHT) starring Lambert Wilson (OF GODS AND MEN), Gaspard Ulliel (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT), Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet (ARMY OF CRIME), and introducing radiant young actress Mélanie Thierry.
First seen in competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and a selection of the Telluride Film Festival, the film will open theatrically on April 8. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on Sundance Selects’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
France, 1562.
Against a background of the savage Catholic/Protestant wars, Marie de Mézières (Mélanie Thierry), a beautiful young aristocrat, and the rakish Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel), fall in love, but Marie's father has promised her hand in marriage to the Prince of Montpensier (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet).
When he is called away to battle, her husband leaves her in the care of Count Chabannes (Lambert Wilson), an aging nobleman with a disdain for warfare. As he experiences his own forbidden desire for Marie, Chabannes must also protect her from the dangerously corrupt court dominated by Catherine de Medici.
Director Tavernier translates Madame de Lafayette’s 1622 novella into a bracingly intelligent and moving evocation of the terrible conflict between duty and passion. Though the themes are classic, Tavernier, with the cinematographer Bruno de Keyzer’s vivid landscapes and Philippe Sarde’s pulsing score, makes them feel passionately, urgently contemporary.
140 mins. In French with English subtitles.
A Sundance Selects release. Not rated.
IFC webpage-http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-princess-of-montpensier
French website--http://www.laprincessedemontpensier-lefilm.com/enseignants/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER
Opens on April 8, 2011
On behalf of Sundance Selects, THE PRINCESS OF MONTPENSIER, a gripping and gorgeously mounted 16th-century romantic drama by veteran filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier (SAFE CONDUCT, 'ROUND MIDNIGHT) starring Lambert Wilson (OF GODS AND MEN), Gaspard Ulliel (A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT), Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet (ARMY OF CRIME), and introducing radiant young actress Mélanie Thierry.
First seen in competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival and a selection of the Telluride Film Festival, the film will open theatrically on April 8. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on Sundance Selects’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
France, 1562.
Against a background of the savage Catholic/Protestant wars, Marie de Mézières (Mélanie Thierry), a beautiful young aristocrat, and the rakish Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel), fall in love, but Marie's father has promised her hand in marriage to the Prince of Montpensier (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet).
When he is called away to battle, her husband leaves her in the care of Count Chabannes (Lambert Wilson), an aging nobleman with a disdain for warfare. As he experiences his own forbidden desire for Marie, Chabannes must also protect her from the dangerously corrupt court dominated by Catherine de Medici.
Director Tavernier translates Madame de Lafayette’s 1622 novella into a bracingly intelligent and moving evocation of the terrible conflict between duty and passion. Though the themes are classic, Tavernier, with the cinematographer Bruno de Keyzer’s vivid landscapes and Philippe Sarde’s pulsing score, makes them feel passionately, urgently contemporary.
140 mins. In French with English subtitles.
A Sundance Selects release. Not rated.
IFC webpage-http://www.ifcfilms.com/films/the-princess-of-montpensier
French website--http://www.laprincessedemontpensier-lefilm.com/enseignants/
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
LORBER FILMS ANNOUNCES THE DVD RELEASE OF
KORKORO (2011)
A FILM BY TONY GATLIF
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON June 14, 2011
New York, NY - May 2, 2011 - Lorber Films is proud to announce the DVD release of Tony Gatlif's Korkoro (2011). This acclaimed film, which was an Official Selection at the Montreal World Film Festival, arrives on DVD priced at $29.95. It is available on June 14, 2011.
In this passionate WWII drama, a tightly-knit family of Gypsies journeys through occupied France, trying to avoid the violent Vichy patrols. Directed with wit and vigor by Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom), Korkoro unearths the hidden story of the Romany people's joys and struggles during the war.
Along the way a young French orphan named Claude (Mathias Laliberté) joins their ranks, and is initiated into their culture. Under the tutelage of acrobatic wild man Taloche (James Thiérrée), Claude learns to love his adoptive family. As the Vichy government passes a law restricting their movement, they avoid capture with the help of a local mayor and schoolteacher, who also have ties to the Resistance. But the longer they avoid arrest, the more dangerous their lives become.
With free-spirited humor and soaring emotion, Korkoro is a revelatory movie about a little known chapter in WWII history. The phenomenal performances, especially Thiérrée's intensely physical efforts, truly make history come alive.
KORKORO
Director: Tony Gatlif
Genre: Drama
SRP: $29.95
Street date: June 14, 2011
France / 2011 / 111 mins. / Color / Not Rated / 2.35:1 (16x9) / French w/English subtitles
About Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is the newly formed company that combines the resources, staffs and libraries of Lorber Films, Alive Mind and Kino International, bringing together industry pioneers Richard Lorber and Donald Krim to create a new leader in independent film distribution.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LORBER FILMS ANNOUNCES THE DVD RELEASE OF
KORKORO (2011)
A FILM BY TONY GATLIF
AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ON June 14, 2011
New York, NY - May 2, 2011 - Lorber Films is proud to announce the DVD release of Tony Gatlif's Korkoro (2011). This acclaimed film, which was an Official Selection at the Montreal World Film Festival, arrives on DVD priced at $29.95. It is available on June 14, 2011.
In this passionate WWII drama, a tightly-knit family of Gypsies journeys through occupied France, trying to avoid the violent Vichy patrols. Directed with wit and vigor by Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom), Korkoro unearths the hidden story of the Romany people's joys and struggles during the war.
Along the way a young French orphan named Claude (Mathias Laliberté) joins their ranks, and is initiated into their culture. Under the tutelage of acrobatic wild man Taloche (James Thiérrée), Claude learns to love his adoptive family. As the Vichy government passes a law restricting their movement, they avoid capture with the help of a local mayor and schoolteacher, who also have ties to the Resistance. But the longer they avoid arrest, the more dangerous their lives become.
With free-spirited humor and soaring emotion, Korkoro is a revelatory movie about a little known chapter in WWII history. The phenomenal performances, especially Thiérrée's intensely physical efforts, truly make history come alive.
KORKORO
Director: Tony Gatlif
Genre: Drama
SRP: $29.95
Street date: June 14, 2011
France / 2011 / 111 mins. / Color / Not Rated / 2.35:1 (16x9) / French w/English subtitles
About Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is the newly formed company that combines the resources, staffs and libraries of Lorber Films, Alive Mind and Kino International, bringing together industry pioneers Richard Lorber and Donald Krim to create a new leader in independent film distribution.
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DVD promo from Distrib
KINO-LORBER FILMS RELEASES
GAUMONT TREASURES 2
KINO RELEASES GAUMONT TREASURES 2 ON DVD, FEATURING MORE THAN 10 HOURS OF EARLY FILMS FROM THE GAUMONT FILM COMPANY
New York, NY - March 3, 2011 - Following the success of Gaumont Treasures, 1897-1913, Kino International is proud to announce the DVD release of Gaumont Treasures Vol. 2, 1908-1916, featuring more early films from the Gaumont Film Company.
These restorations (finished in 2009) have been virtually unseen in the U.S., and Kino International is proud to introduce them to the North American market. Now, this splendid three-disc DVD set showcases the pioneer filmmakers who shaped the art of animation, slapstick, drama, and even the Western! During its second decade of existence, the Gaumont Film Company continued to prove itself an indomitable force in cultivating and advancing the fledgling art of cinema. It was also a place of great technical innovation. Included in this collection are some of Gaumont's revolutionary experiments in color (the Trichromie process) and synchronized sound (the Phonoscenes).
DVD 1 showcases the work of animator Emile Cohl, DVD 2 focuses on Jean Durand (who specialized in slapstick and innovated the "French Western"), and DVD 3 highlights the romantic comedies of Jacques Feyder, while paying tribute to some of French cinema's lesser-known pioneers. The set is priced at $79.95, and is available for prebook on March 22, 2011. The street date is April 19.
HIGHLIGHTS OF EACH DVD INCLUDE:
DVD 1 - EMILE COHL: Fantasmagoria (1908), The Puppet's Nightmare (1908), The Living Fan (1909), Comic Mutations (1909), The Twelve Labors of Hercules (1910), Petit Faust (1910), Bébé's Masterpiece (1910), and more!
DVD 2 - JEAN DURAND: Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy (1911), Onésime Goes to Hell (1912), Onésime, Clockmaker (1912), Onésime Loves Animals (1913), Zigoto Drives a Locomotive (1912), The Railway of Death (1912), Burning Heart: An Indian Tale (1912), Under the Claw (1912), and more!
DVD 3 - JACQUES FEYDER and the Early Masters of French Cinema: Heads...and Women Who Use Them (1916, Jacques Feyder), The Barges (1911, George-André Lacroix), La Marseillaise (1912, Etienne Arnaud), Child's Play (1913, Henri Fescourt), Feet and Hands (1915, Gaston Ravel).
DVD #1
Emile Cohl
On August 17, 1908, history was made at the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, when the first pen-and-ink animated film by Emile Cohl had its premiere: FANTASMAGORIA. It was not the invention of animation. Others, including Emile Reynaud and Stuart Blackton, had experimented with certain techniques, but it was Cohl who dedicated himself to it and expanded the possibilities of the fledgling art form.
He explored the effects of various forms of two-dimensional animation, pixillation, puppetry, and double-exposure, occasionally blending live action with animation, paving the way for other innovators - such as Winsor McCay and Walt Disney - who followed in his wake.
But Cohl was more than a great technician. His films are infused with his unique personality. His tableaux vivants films, including CROWNS and THE LIVING FAN, reveal an affinity for Symbolist art. He was also a member of the 19th-century art rebels known as the Incoherents. As such, Cohl delighted in skewering all varieties of pomp and pretension, with a wit and irreverence that was a significant influence upon the Surrealist movement of the 1920s.
Fantasmagoria (1908, 2 min.)
The Puppet's Nightmare (1908, 2 min.)
Drama at the Puppets' House (1908, 3 min.)
The Magic Hoop (1908, 5 min.)
The Little Soldier Who Became a God (1908, 4 min.)
The Boutdebois Brothers (1908, 2 min.)
Transfigurations (1909, 6 min.)
Let's Be Sporty (1909, 5 min.)
Japanese Fantasy (1909, 1 min.)
The Happy Microbes (1909, 4 min.)
Modern Education (1909, 3 min.)
The Living Fan (1909, 4 min.)
Spanish Clair de Lune (1909, 4 min.)
The Next Door Neighbors (1909, 4 min.)
Crowns (1909, 5 min.)
Delicate Porcelains (1909, 3 min.)
Monsieur Clown Among the Lilliputians(1909, 4 min.)
Comic Mutations (1909, 3 min.)
Matrimonial Shoes (1909, 5 min.)
The Enchanted Spectacles (1909, 5 min.)
Affairs of the Heart (1909, 4 min.)
Floral Frameworks (1910, 5 min.)
The Smile-o-Scope (1910, 5 min.)
Childish Dreams (1910, 5 min.)
En Route (1910, 6 min.)
The Mind of the Café Waiter (1910, 5 min.)
Master of a Fashionable Game (1910, 4 min.)
Petit Chantecler (1910, 7 min.)
The Twelve Labors of Hercules (1910, 7 min.)
Petit Faust (1910, 5 min.)
The Neo-Impressionist Painter (1910, 6 min.)
The Four Little Tailors (1910, 7 min.)
Art's Infancy (1910, 4 min.)
The Mysterious Fine Arts (1910, 5 min.)
The Persistent Salesman (1910, 8 min.)
A History of Hats (1910, 5 min.)
Nothing Is Impossible for Man (1910, 6 min.)
Mr. Crack (1910, 5 min.)
Bébé's Masterpiece (1910, 4 min.)
Music-mania (1910, 5 min.)
Curated by Pierre Philippe
Total running time: 190 Min.
Full-frame (1.33:1)
Original music by Bernard Lubat
American edition produced by Bret Wood
DVD #2
Jean Durand
Between the years 1904 and 1914, Jean Durand was considered one of the masters of the form, both for the quality of his films and the wider influence he had upon film style. He joined Gaumont in 1911 and there he directed some 168 films, specializing in comedies and adventure dramas (including a number of especially fascinating American-style Westerns), shot on the wetlands of southeastern France.
While at Gaumont, Durand assembled a bestiary of supporting players and delighted in introducing elephants, lions, camels, snakes, and dogs into his farces and thrillers. Frequently menaced by the more deadly varieties was Durand's wife and leading lady Berthe Dagmar. Durand also commanded a squadron of acrobatic actors -- known simply as Les Pouittes -- who specialized in the comic destruction of bourgeois interiors, but who just as effectively served as the cowboys and Indians with which Durand populated his Wild West landscape.
COMEDIES
Calino's Baptism (1911, 3 min.)
Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy (1911, 6 min.)
Zigoto and the Affair of the Necklace (1911, 8 min.)
Calino the Love Tamer (1912, 6 min.)
Zigoto's Outing With Friends (1912, 5 min.)
Oxford vs. Martiques (1912, 4 min.)
Onésime Goes to Hell (1912, 7 min.)
Calino, Station Master (1912, 6 min.)
Onésime, Clockmaker (1912, 5 min.)
Onésime vs. Onésime (1912, 8 min.)
Zigoto Drives a Locomotive (1912, 6 min.)
Onésime Gets Maried... So Does Calino (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime: Calino's Inheritance (1913, 1 min.)
Onésime Loves Animals (1913, 6 min.)
Onésime, Tamer of Men and Horses (1913, 13 min.)
Onésime and the Heart of a Gypsy (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime, You'll Get Married...or Else! (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime's Theatrical Debut (1913, 10 min.)
Onésime's Family Drama (1914, 7 min.)
DRAMAS
The Railway of Death (1912, 17 min.)
Burning Heart: An Indian Tale (1912, 13 min.)
Under the Claw (1912, 25 min.)
SPECIAL FEATURE
Jean Durand 1882-1946
This mini-documentary, written by Pierre Philippe, recounts the career of filmmaker Jean Durand through photographs and film clips.
Curated by Pierre Philippe
Total running time: 203 Min.
Full- frame (1.33:1)
Music by Patrick Laviosa
American Edition produced by Bret Wood
DVD #3
Jacques Feyder and the Early Masters of French Cinema
Jacques Feyder enjoyed a long, fruitful career as director, celebrated for such films as The Kiss (1929, starring Greta Garbo) and Knight Without Armor (1937, with Marlene Dietrich). Feyder cultivated his talents in the 1910s at the Gaumont Studios, where a carefully-curated stable of innovative directors were advancing the artistic finesse of the adolescent art form.
In addition to Feyder's sophisticated comedies, this volume showcases a wide variety of other forms, impeccably executed: slapstick (THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW), realism (THE BARGES), and experimental film (FEET AND HANDS). This disc also presents samples of the astounding technical achievements that Gaumont had mastered, years before they became standard practice, such as the Phonoscéne, a synchronized sound process presented to the public via the Chronomégaphone sound-on-disc system.
JACQUES FEYDER
Heads...and Women Who Use Them (1916, 36 min.)
Friendly Advice (1916, 16 min.)*
Biscot on the Wrong Floor (1916, 15 min.)*
ROMÉO BOSETTI
The Long Arm of the Law (1909, 7 min.)
GEORGES-ANDRÉ LACROIX
The Barges (1911, 10 min.)**
ETIENNE ARNAUD
La Marseillaise (1912, 10 min.)
RENÉ LE SOMPTIER
A Drama of the Air (1913, 17 min.)
HENRI FESCOURT
Child's Play (1913, 12 min.)
GASTON RAVEL
Feet and Hands (1915, 17 min.)
ANONYMOUS FILMS
A Factory Drama (1912, 13 min.)
The Pavements of Paris (1912, 13 min.)
The Fairy's Farewell (n.d., 25 sec.)
Music by Patrick Laviosa, Ben Model (*), and Didier Goret (**)
SPECIAL FEATURES
PHONOSCENES (6 min.)
Three early synchronized-sound musical shorts: "Anna qu'est-ce quet'attends?," "Chemineau chemine," and "Le Mouchoir rouge de Cholet"
GAUMONT ACTUALITIES (14 min.)
Actualities that reveal the workings of Gaumont, including footage of founder Leon Gaumont demonstrating the operation of a motion picture camera, a hand-crank viewing device, a zoetrope, and dignitaries touring the Gaumont Studios
TRICHROMIE FILMS (12 min.)
Excerpts of Gaumont's revolutionary full-color film process
(1913-1919)
About Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is the newly formed company that combines the resources, staffs and libraries of Lorber Films, Alive Mind and Kino International, bringing together industry pioneers Richard Lorber and Donald Krim to create a new leader in independent film distribution.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
KINO-LORBER FILMS RELEASES
GAUMONT TREASURES 2
KINO RELEASES GAUMONT TREASURES 2 ON DVD, FEATURING MORE THAN 10 HOURS OF EARLY FILMS FROM THE GAUMONT FILM COMPANY
New York, NY - March 3, 2011 - Following the success of Gaumont Treasures, 1897-1913, Kino International is proud to announce the DVD release of Gaumont Treasures Vol. 2, 1908-1916, featuring more early films from the Gaumont Film Company.
These restorations (finished in 2009) have been virtually unseen in the U.S., and Kino International is proud to introduce them to the North American market. Now, this splendid three-disc DVD set showcases the pioneer filmmakers who shaped the art of animation, slapstick, drama, and even the Western! During its second decade of existence, the Gaumont Film Company continued to prove itself an indomitable force in cultivating and advancing the fledgling art of cinema. It was also a place of great technical innovation. Included in this collection are some of Gaumont's revolutionary experiments in color (the Trichromie process) and synchronized sound (the Phonoscenes).
DVD 1 showcases the work of animator Emile Cohl, DVD 2 focuses on Jean Durand (who specialized in slapstick and innovated the "French Western"), and DVD 3 highlights the romantic comedies of Jacques Feyder, while paying tribute to some of French cinema's lesser-known pioneers. The set is priced at $79.95, and is available for prebook on March 22, 2011. The street date is April 19.
HIGHLIGHTS OF EACH DVD INCLUDE:
DVD 1 - EMILE COHL: Fantasmagoria (1908), The Puppet's Nightmare (1908), The Living Fan (1909), Comic Mutations (1909), The Twelve Labors of Hercules (1910), Petit Faust (1910), Bébé's Masterpiece (1910), and more!
DVD 2 - JEAN DURAND: Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy (1911), Onésime Goes to Hell (1912), Onésime, Clockmaker (1912), Onésime Loves Animals (1913), Zigoto Drives a Locomotive (1912), The Railway of Death (1912), Burning Heart: An Indian Tale (1912), Under the Claw (1912), and more!
DVD 3 - JACQUES FEYDER and the Early Masters of French Cinema: Heads...and Women Who Use Them (1916, Jacques Feyder), The Barges (1911, George-André Lacroix), La Marseillaise (1912, Etienne Arnaud), Child's Play (1913, Henri Fescourt), Feet and Hands (1915, Gaston Ravel).
DVD #1
Emile Cohl
On August 17, 1908, history was made at the Théâtre du Gymnase in Paris, when the first pen-and-ink animated film by Emile Cohl had its premiere: FANTASMAGORIA. It was not the invention of animation. Others, including Emile Reynaud and Stuart Blackton, had experimented with certain techniques, but it was Cohl who dedicated himself to it and expanded the possibilities of the fledgling art form.
He explored the effects of various forms of two-dimensional animation, pixillation, puppetry, and double-exposure, occasionally blending live action with animation, paving the way for other innovators - such as Winsor McCay and Walt Disney - who followed in his wake.
But Cohl was more than a great technician. His films are infused with his unique personality. His tableaux vivants films, including CROWNS and THE LIVING FAN, reveal an affinity for Symbolist art. He was also a member of the 19th-century art rebels known as the Incoherents. As such, Cohl delighted in skewering all varieties of pomp and pretension, with a wit and irreverence that was a significant influence upon the Surrealist movement of the 1920s.
Fantasmagoria (1908, 2 min.)
The Puppet's Nightmare (1908, 2 min.)
Drama at the Puppets' House (1908, 3 min.)
The Magic Hoop (1908, 5 min.)
The Little Soldier Who Became a God (1908, 4 min.)
The Boutdebois Brothers (1908, 2 min.)
Transfigurations (1909, 6 min.)
Let's Be Sporty (1909, 5 min.)
Japanese Fantasy (1909, 1 min.)
The Happy Microbes (1909, 4 min.)
Modern Education (1909, 3 min.)
The Living Fan (1909, 4 min.)
Spanish Clair de Lune (1909, 4 min.)
The Next Door Neighbors (1909, 4 min.)
Crowns (1909, 5 min.)
Delicate Porcelains (1909, 3 min.)
Monsieur Clown Among the Lilliputians(1909, 4 min.)
Comic Mutations (1909, 3 min.)
Matrimonial Shoes (1909, 5 min.)
The Enchanted Spectacles (1909, 5 min.)
Affairs of the Heart (1909, 4 min.)
Floral Frameworks (1910, 5 min.)
The Smile-o-Scope (1910, 5 min.)
Childish Dreams (1910, 5 min.)
En Route (1910, 6 min.)
The Mind of the Café Waiter (1910, 5 min.)
Master of a Fashionable Game (1910, 4 min.)
Petit Chantecler (1910, 7 min.)
The Twelve Labors of Hercules (1910, 7 min.)
Petit Faust (1910, 5 min.)
The Neo-Impressionist Painter (1910, 6 min.)
The Four Little Tailors (1910, 7 min.)
Art's Infancy (1910, 4 min.)
The Mysterious Fine Arts (1910, 5 min.)
The Persistent Salesman (1910, 8 min.)
A History of Hats (1910, 5 min.)
Nothing Is Impossible for Man (1910, 6 min.)
Mr. Crack (1910, 5 min.)
Bébé's Masterpiece (1910, 4 min.)
Music-mania (1910, 5 min.)
Curated by Pierre Philippe
Total running time: 190 Min.
Full-frame (1.33:1)
Original music by Bernard Lubat
American edition produced by Bret Wood
DVD #2
Jean Durand
Between the years 1904 and 1914, Jean Durand was considered one of the masters of the form, both for the quality of his films and the wider influence he had upon film style. He joined Gaumont in 1911 and there he directed some 168 films, specializing in comedies and adventure dramas (including a number of especially fascinating American-style Westerns), shot on the wetlands of southeastern France.
While at Gaumont, Durand assembled a bestiary of supporting players and delighted in introducing elephants, lions, camels, snakes, and dogs into his farces and thrillers. Frequently menaced by the more deadly varieties was Durand's wife and leading lady Berthe Dagmar. Durand also commanded a squadron of acrobatic actors -- known simply as Les Pouittes -- who specialized in the comic destruction of bourgeois interiors, but who just as effectively served as the cowboys and Indians with which Durand populated his Wild West landscape.
COMEDIES
Calino's Baptism (1911, 3 min.)
Calino Wants to Be a Cowboy (1911, 6 min.)
Zigoto and the Affair of the Necklace (1911, 8 min.)
Calino the Love Tamer (1912, 6 min.)
Zigoto's Outing With Friends (1912, 5 min.)
Oxford vs. Martiques (1912, 4 min.)
Onésime Goes to Hell (1912, 7 min.)
Calino, Station Master (1912, 6 min.)
Onésime, Clockmaker (1912, 5 min.)
Onésime vs. Onésime (1912, 8 min.)
Zigoto Drives a Locomotive (1912, 6 min.)
Onésime Gets Maried... So Does Calino (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime: Calino's Inheritance (1913, 1 min.)
Onésime Loves Animals (1913, 6 min.)
Onésime, Tamer of Men and Horses (1913, 13 min.)
Onésime and the Heart of a Gypsy (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime, You'll Get Married...or Else! (1913, 7 min.)
Onésime's Theatrical Debut (1913, 10 min.)
Onésime's Family Drama (1914, 7 min.)
DRAMAS
The Railway of Death (1912, 17 min.)
Burning Heart: An Indian Tale (1912, 13 min.)
Under the Claw (1912, 25 min.)
SPECIAL FEATURE
Jean Durand 1882-1946
This mini-documentary, written by Pierre Philippe, recounts the career of filmmaker Jean Durand through photographs and film clips.
Curated by Pierre Philippe
Total running time: 203 Min.
Full- frame (1.33:1)
Music by Patrick Laviosa
American Edition produced by Bret Wood
DVD #3
Jacques Feyder and the Early Masters of French Cinema
Jacques Feyder enjoyed a long, fruitful career as director, celebrated for such films as The Kiss (1929, starring Greta Garbo) and Knight Without Armor (1937, with Marlene Dietrich). Feyder cultivated his talents in the 1910s at the Gaumont Studios, where a carefully-curated stable of innovative directors were advancing the artistic finesse of the adolescent art form.
In addition to Feyder's sophisticated comedies, this volume showcases a wide variety of other forms, impeccably executed: slapstick (THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW), realism (THE BARGES), and experimental film (FEET AND HANDS). This disc also presents samples of the astounding technical achievements that Gaumont had mastered, years before they became standard practice, such as the Phonoscéne, a synchronized sound process presented to the public via the Chronomégaphone sound-on-disc system.
JACQUES FEYDER
Heads...and Women Who Use Them (1916, 36 min.)
Friendly Advice (1916, 16 min.)*
Biscot on the Wrong Floor (1916, 15 min.)*
ROMÉO BOSETTI
The Long Arm of the Law (1909, 7 min.)
GEORGES-ANDRÉ LACROIX
The Barges (1911, 10 min.)**
ETIENNE ARNAUD
La Marseillaise (1912, 10 min.)
RENÉ LE SOMPTIER
A Drama of the Air (1913, 17 min.)
HENRI FESCOURT
Child's Play (1913, 12 min.)
GASTON RAVEL
Feet and Hands (1915, 17 min.)
ANONYMOUS FILMS
A Factory Drama (1912, 13 min.)
The Pavements of Paris (1912, 13 min.)
The Fairy's Farewell (n.d., 25 sec.)
Music by Patrick Laviosa, Ben Model (*), and Didier Goret (**)
SPECIAL FEATURES
PHONOSCENES (6 min.)
Three early synchronized-sound musical shorts: "Anna qu'est-ce quet'attends?," "Chemineau chemine," and "Le Mouchoir rouge de Cholet"
GAUMONT ACTUALITIES (14 min.)
Actualities that reveal the workings of Gaumont, including footage of founder Leon Gaumont demonstrating the operation of a motion picture camera, a hand-crank viewing device, a zoetrope, and dignitaries touring the Gaumont Studios
TRICHROMIE FILMS (12 min.)
Excerpts of Gaumont's revolutionary full-color film process
(1913-1919)
About Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber is the newly formed company that combines the resources, staffs and libraries of Lorber Films, Alive Mind and Kino International, bringing together industry pioneers Richard Lorber and Donald Krim to create a new leader in independent film distribution.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
DVD promo from Distrib
LORBER FILMS RELEASES
MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON
ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
New York, NY - November 24, 2010 - Lorber Films is proud to release on DVD and Blu-ray one of the year's most talked-about love stories: Stéphane Brizé's Mademoiselle Chambon (2009).
Starring Vincent Lindon (La Moustache) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Très Bien, Merci), once a real off-screen couple, this film was a theatrical hit in the United States and won the César (the French Oscar) for best Adapted Screenplay in 2010 - written by Stéphane Brizé and Florence Vignon.
Vincent Lindon plays Jean, a burly and happily married housing contractor. One fateful afternoon, he picks up his son (Arthur Le Houérou) from school and meets the teacher, a willowy beauty named Mademoiselle Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain).
Their flirtation slowly builds over lingering glances and an impromptu violin solo in Chambon's apartment. Like the classical music they swoon over, their relationship builds through subtle movements: the tilt of a head, or an inadvertent brush of the cheek, fills their hearts with longing. Jean soon comes to a crossroads, having to choose between the intensity of his bond with Chambon or the responsibility and care he feels for his wife (Aure Atika) and child.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions come with a never-before-seen interview with director Stéphane Brizé as well as deleted scenes, each with an introduction by film critic Stéphane Goudet. Mademoiselle Chambon's DVD will be priced at $29.95, while the film's Blu-ray edition comes with a SRP of $34.95; the street date for both editions is December 7, 2010.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LORBER FILMS RELEASES
MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON
ON DVD AND BLU-RAY
New York, NY - November 24, 2010 - Lorber Films is proud to release on DVD and Blu-ray one of the year's most talked-about love stories: Stéphane Brizé's Mademoiselle Chambon (2009).
Starring Vincent Lindon (La Moustache) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Très Bien, Merci), once a real off-screen couple, this film was a theatrical hit in the United States and won the César (the French Oscar) for best Adapted Screenplay in 2010 - written by Stéphane Brizé and Florence Vignon.
Vincent Lindon plays Jean, a burly and happily married housing contractor. One fateful afternoon, he picks up his son (Arthur Le Houérou) from school and meets the teacher, a willowy beauty named Mademoiselle Chambon (Sandrine Kiberlain).
Their flirtation slowly builds over lingering glances and an impromptu violin solo in Chambon's apartment. Like the classical music they swoon over, their relationship builds through subtle movements: the tilt of a head, or an inadvertent brush of the cheek, fills their hearts with longing. Jean soon comes to a crossroads, having to choose between the intensity of his bond with Chambon or the responsibility and care he feels for his wife (Aure Atika) and child.
Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions come with a never-before-seen interview with director Stéphane Brizé as well as deleted scenes, each with an introduction by film critic Stéphane Goudet. Mademoiselle Chambon's DVD will be priced at $29.95, while the film's Blu-ray edition comes with a SRP of $34.95; the street date for both editions is December 7, 2010.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(2010) Pascal Chaumeil’s HEARTBREAKER Opens in the USA on September 10th!!!
Press release
IFC films presents
HEARTBREAKER
Opens on September 10, 2010
Pascal Chaumeil’s HEARTBREAKER, an action-packed romantic comedy starring rising talent Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, PARIS) and actress-singer Vanessa Paradis (GIRL ON THE BRIDGE). A smash hit in France, where it’s taken in over 4 million admissions, the film was also featured at the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals.
HEARTBREAKER will open theatrically on September 10. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Charming, funny and effortlessly cool, Alex (Romain Duris) is a professional Don Juan who makes a living breaking up couples with his sister Mélanie (Julie Ferrier of MICMACS). Because business is slow, they go against their principles to break up only unhappy couples and agree to work for M. Van Der Bercq.
Alex has only one week to stop the wealthy man’s daughter Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) from marrying the man she is madly in love with. Alex is soon thrown into his own hilarious seduction “mission impossible” that risks him being caught by his ruthless personal creditors, angry exes, and the beautiful and independent Juliette herself.
But worst of all, will he discover to his own cost that when it comes to love, the perfect plan doesn’t exist?
..........................................................................
104 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
An IFC Films release. Not yet rated.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IFC films presents
HEARTBREAKER
Opens on September 10, 2010
Pascal Chaumeil’s HEARTBREAKER, an action-packed romantic comedy starring rising talent Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, PARIS) and actress-singer Vanessa Paradis (GIRL ON THE BRIDGE). A smash hit in France, where it’s taken in over 4 million admissions, the film was also featured at the Berlin and Tribeca film festivals.
HEARTBREAKER will open theatrically on September 10. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Charming, funny and effortlessly cool, Alex (Romain Duris) is a professional Don Juan who makes a living breaking up couples with his sister Mélanie (Julie Ferrier of MICMACS). Because business is slow, they go against their principles to break up only unhappy couples and agree to work for M. Van Der Bercq.
Alex has only one week to stop the wealthy man’s daughter Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) from marrying the man she is madly in love with. Alex is soon thrown into his own hilarious seduction “mission impossible” that risks him being caught by his ruthless personal creditors, angry exes, and the beautiful and independent Juliette herself.
But worst of all, will he discover to his own cost that when it comes to love, the perfect plan doesn’t exist?
..........................................................................
104 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
An IFC Films release. Not yet rated.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Press release
NOTHING PERSONAL
(RIEN DE PERSONNEL)
On Demand (until 12/31/10)
On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home.
Today’s review:
Eurocinema On Demand's NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) from France:
On a cold, rainy night, a pharmaceutical company in France throws a gala for its employees at a local museum. As the company’s staff mingles and sips champagne, rumors begin to circulate that the company is being acquired and
layoffs are imminent. People’s true colors emerge when they start to panic and anticipate a survival of the fittest.
Told in three parts, each with a Rashomon-like shift in perspective, we ultimately find out that this rumor is part of a game planned by the boss. Apparently the corporation has hired actors to attend the party, in order to test their employees and get them to reveal their anxieties.
Why the company feels compelled to do this is never made clear, but that is not the point. The main action is watching the company’s staff squirm as they are played by their bosses.
Links:
http://ondemandweekly.com/blog/article/nothing_personal_rien_de_personnel_on_demand?utm_source=On+Demand+Weekly+List&utm_campaign=b2179f4133-NOTHING_PERSONAL_RIEN_DE_PERSONNEL_10_6_2010&utm_medium=email
http://ondemandweekly.com/blog/entries?utm_source=On+Demand+Weekly+List&utm_campaign=b2179f4133-NOTHING_PERSONAL_RIEN_DE_PERSONNEL_10_6_2010&utm_medium=email
NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) is Available via Eurocinema On Demand until 12/31/10
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTHING PERSONAL
(RIEN DE PERSONNEL)
On Demand (until 12/31/10)
On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home.
Today’s review:
Eurocinema On Demand's NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) from France:
On a cold, rainy night, a pharmaceutical company in France throws a gala for its employees at a local museum. As the company’s staff mingles and sips champagne, rumors begin to circulate that the company is being acquired and
layoffs are imminent. People’s true colors emerge when they start to panic and anticipate a survival of the fittest.
Told in three parts, each with a Rashomon-like shift in perspective, we ultimately find out that this rumor is part of a game planned by the boss. Apparently the corporation has hired actors to attend the party, in order to test their employees and get them to reveal their anxieties.
Why the company feels compelled to do this is never made clear, but that is not the point. The main action is watching the company’s staff squirm as they are played by their bosses.
Links:
http://ondemandweekly.com/blog/article/nothing_personal_rien_de_personnel_on_demand?utm_source=On+Demand+Weekly+List&utm_campaign=b2179f4133-NOTHING_PERSONAL_RIEN_DE_PERSONNEL_10_6_2010&utm_medium=email
http://ondemandweekly.com/blog/entries?utm_source=On+Demand+Weekly+List&utm_campaign=b2179f4133-NOTHING_PERSONAL_RIEN_DE_PERSONNEL_10_6_2010&utm_medium=email
NOTHING PERSONAL (RIEN DE PERSONNEL) is Available via Eurocinema On Demand until 12/31/10
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(3-DVD-BOX SET/Silent-AND-Sound) FANTOMAS available in the USA on Sept. 21, 2010!
Press release
KINO INTERNATIONAL RELEASES A 3-DVD BOX SET WITH FIVE FEATURE FILMS STARRING THE FRENCH CHARACTER ...
FANTÔMAS
New York, NY - August 4, 2010 - Kino International, in a special arrangement with Gaumont Films in France, is proud to release for the first time in the United States a 3-DVD box set with a total of seven previously unreleased films featuring the French character FANTÔMAS, created by Marcel Allain (1885-1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874-1914).
Kino's FANTÔMAS DVD box set brings the following five feature films (which combined form a 5 1/2-hour epic):
Fantomas in the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913 - 54 Min.)
Juve vs. Fantômas (1913 - 62 Min.)
The Murderous Corpse (1913 - 90 Min.)
Fantômas vs. Fantômas (1914 - 60 Min.)
The False Magistrate (1914 - 71 Min.).
In addition, this Kino box set brings as special features two rare Feuillade short films, The Nativity (1910 - 14 Min.) and The Dwarf(1912 - 17 Min.), as well as an exclusive audio commentary track by film historian David Kalat and the 10-minute documentary Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms.
Kino International's FANTÔMAS Five Film Collection release date is September 21, 2010. In early 2011, Kino will continue its partnership with Gaumont Films by releasing the second volume of its Gaumont Treasures collection.
Fantômas, a fictional villain notorious for terrorizing Paris, was created in 1911 by French writers Marcel Allain (1885-1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874-1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, he appeared in almost 50 crime novels and eventually served as the inspiration for an unprecedented film series.
Over the course of the five features listed above, the lethal assassin Fantômas (played by actor René Navarre) and his accomplices, are pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon) and journalist Jerôme Fandor (Georges Melchior), making these films an essential part of one of the seminal and most influential serial crime franchises in the history of world cinema.
The 'The Lord Of Terror,' as he was also called, quickly became the vehicle for a new style in horror fiction - and the connecting link for the best of early 1900s French pulp novellas.
As Fantômas replaced perfume dispensers in department stores with sulphuric acid, or ordered one of his victims to face upwards in the guillotine, so that he could see his own execution, French spectators were exposed to a new and level of narrative thrill and cruelty.
Eventually, Louis Feuillade's outrageous FANTÔMAS series became the gold standard of espionage serials in pre-WWI Europe, and laid the foundation for such immortal works as Feuillade's own Les Vampires and Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse films.
Please, visit Kino's trailers page for a quick preview of the films in this box set.
THE FILMS
· Fantomas in the Shadow of the Guillotine (Fantômas-À l'ombre de la guillotine, 1913, 54 Min.)
· Juve vs. Fantômas (Juve contre Fantômas, 1913, 62 Min.)
· The Murderous Corpse (Le Mort qui tue, 1913, 90 Min.)
· Fantômas vs. Fantômas (Fantômas contre Fantômas, 1914, 60 Min.)
· The False Magistrate (Le Faux magistrat, 1914, 71 Min.)
SPECIAL FEATURES
· Two audio commentaries by film historian David Kalat
· Two rare Feuillade films: The Nativity (La Nativité, 1910, 14 Min.) and The Dwarf (Le Nain, 1912, 17 Min.)
· Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms, a ten-minute documentary*
· Gallery of images
France / 1913-14 / Color Tinted / 1.33:1
Directed by Louis Feuillade
Based on the novels of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
With René Navarre, Edmund Bréon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl, Jane Faber
Restored by Jacques Champreux in association with Gaumont and the Cinématheque Française
Music: Catalogue Sonimage
© 1998 Gaumont · English intertitle version © 2010 Kino International Corp.
· *Previously released as part of Gaumont Treasures 1897-1913
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KINO INTERNATIONAL RELEASES A 3-DVD BOX SET WITH FIVE FEATURE FILMS STARRING THE FRENCH CHARACTER ...
FANTÔMAS
New York, NY - August 4, 2010 - Kino International, in a special arrangement with Gaumont Films in France, is proud to release for the first time in the United States a 3-DVD box set with a total of seven previously unreleased films featuring the French character FANTÔMAS, created by Marcel Allain (1885-1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874-1914).
Kino's FANTÔMAS DVD box set brings the following five feature films (which combined form a 5 1/2-hour epic):
Fantomas in the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913 - 54 Min.)
Juve vs. Fantômas (1913 - 62 Min.)
The Murderous Corpse (1913 - 90 Min.)
Fantômas vs. Fantômas (1914 - 60 Min.)
The False Magistrate (1914 - 71 Min.).
In addition, this Kino box set brings as special features two rare Feuillade short films, The Nativity (1910 - 14 Min.) and The Dwarf(1912 - 17 Min.), as well as an exclusive audio commentary track by film historian David Kalat and the 10-minute documentary Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms.
Kino International's FANTÔMAS Five Film Collection release date is September 21, 2010. In early 2011, Kino will continue its partnership with Gaumont Films by releasing the second volume of its Gaumont Treasures collection.
Fantômas, a fictional villain notorious for terrorizing Paris, was created in 1911 by French writers Marcel Allain (1885-1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874-1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, he appeared in almost 50 crime novels and eventually served as the inspiration for an unprecedented film series.
Over the course of the five features listed above, the lethal assassin Fantômas (played by actor René Navarre) and his accomplices, are pursued by the equally resourceful Inspector Juve (Edmund Bréon) and journalist Jerôme Fandor (Georges Melchior), making these films an essential part of one of the seminal and most influential serial crime franchises in the history of world cinema.
The 'The Lord Of Terror,' as he was also called, quickly became the vehicle for a new style in horror fiction - and the connecting link for the best of early 1900s French pulp novellas.
As Fantômas replaced perfume dispensers in department stores with sulphuric acid, or ordered one of his victims to face upwards in the guillotine, so that he could see his own execution, French spectators were exposed to a new and level of narrative thrill and cruelty.
Eventually, Louis Feuillade's outrageous FANTÔMAS series became the gold standard of espionage serials in pre-WWI Europe, and laid the foundation for such immortal works as Feuillade's own Les Vampires and Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse films.
Please, visit Kino's trailers page for a quick preview of the films in this box set.
THE FILMS
· Fantomas in the Shadow of the Guillotine (Fantômas-À l'ombre de la guillotine, 1913, 54 Min.)
· Juve vs. Fantômas (Juve contre Fantômas, 1913, 62 Min.)
· The Murderous Corpse (Le Mort qui tue, 1913, 90 Min.)
· Fantômas vs. Fantômas (Fantômas contre Fantômas, 1914, 60 Min.)
· The False Magistrate (Le Faux magistrat, 1914, 71 Min.)
SPECIAL FEATURES
· Two audio commentaries by film historian David Kalat
· Two rare Feuillade films: The Nativity (La Nativité, 1910, 14 Min.) and The Dwarf (Le Nain, 1912, 17 Min.)
· Louis Feuillade: Master of Many Forms, a ten-minute documentary*
· Gallery of images
France / 1913-14 / Color Tinted / 1.33:1
Directed by Louis Feuillade
Based on the novels of Pierre Souvestre and Marcel Allain
With René Navarre, Edmund Bréon, Georges Melchior, Renée Carl, Jane Faber
Restored by Jacques Champreux in association with Gaumont and the Cinématheque Française
Music: Catalogue Sonimage
© 1998 Gaumont · English intertitle version © 2010 Kino International Corp.
· *Previously released as part of Gaumont Treasures 1897-1913
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THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN Opens in the USA on May 28, 2010!
Press release
THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN
Opens in New York and Chicago on Friday, May 28th!
THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN (LE PERE DE MES ENFANTS), the extraordinarily perceptive new drama from emerging young talent Mia Hansen-Løve (ALL IS FORGIVEN).
A deeply moving portrait of a family undergoing a dramatic rupture, the film was the winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was featured at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival and the 2010 New Directors/New Films Festival.
THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN will open in Los Angeles on May 21 and in New York (and Chicago) on Friday, May 28 at the IFC Center, with a national roll-out to follow. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Paris-based film producer Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) has it all — a wife and three daughters he adores and a stimulating job that he's devoted to. On the surface he seems invincible, maintaining humor and charm as he tirelessly juggles the never-ending demands of his production company with his domestic responsibilities.
But when Grégoire's reserves — both financial and emotional — reach a dramatic breaking point, his wife Sylvia (Chiara Caselli) and children are forced to cope with the profound repercussions.
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110 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
An IFC Films release. Unrated.
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THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN
Opens in New York and Chicago on Friday, May 28th!
THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN (LE PERE DE MES ENFANTS), the extraordinarily perceptive new drama from emerging young talent Mia Hansen-Løve (ALL IS FORGIVEN).
A deeply moving portrait of a family undergoing a dramatic rupture, the film was the winner of the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was featured at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival and the 2010 New Directors/New Films Festival.
THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN will open in Los Angeles on May 21 and in New York (and Chicago) on Friday, May 28 at the IFC Center, with a national roll-out to follow. It will simultaneously be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
Paris-based film producer Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) has it all — a wife and three daughters he adores and a stimulating job that he's devoted to. On the surface he seems invincible, maintaining humor and charm as he tirelessly juggles the never-ending demands of his production company with his domestic responsibilities.
But when Grégoire's reserves — both financial and emotional — reach a dramatic breaking point, his wife Sylvia (Chiara Caselli) and children are forced to cope with the profound repercussions.
.........................................................................................................
110 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
An IFC Films release. Unrated.
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(2009 USA release)-PARIS 36 ends theatrical run - On DVD now in the USA!
Paris 36
Written & Directed by
Christophe Barratier
Co-Writers: Julien Rappeneau and Pierre Philippe
Source: From an original idea by Frank Thomas & Reinhardt Wagner & Jean-Michel Derenne
Cast:
Gérard Jugnot ... Pigoil
Clovis Cornillac ... Milou
Kad Merad ... Jacky
Nora Arnezeder ... Douce
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu ... Galapiat
Maxence Perrin ... Jojo
François Morel ... Célestin
[Faubourg 36/(2008)France-Germany-Czech Republic/SPC/Rated PG-13] - (2 hrs)
Synopsis: A man is charged with murder. He is Pigoil, the aging stage manager at Chansonia, a music hall in a Paris faubourg. His confession is a long flashback to New Year's Eve, 1935, when he discovers his wife is unfaithful and Galapiat, the local mobster, closes the music hall. Over the next few months, Pigoil loses custody of his beloved son, Jo-Jo, and must find work. Pigoil and his pals take over the Chansonia as a co-op; Galapiat is momentarily benign. Their star is the young Douce, a girl from near Lille for whom Galapiat lusts. She in turn falls in love with Milou, a local Red. There are ups and downs, but mostly ups - but what about Jo-Jo and what about the murder? (From IMDbPRO.com/written by jhailey)
MOVIE website-http://www.sonyclassics.com/paris36/
French website-http://www.faubourg36-lefilm.com/
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Claire Denis’ 35 SHOTS OF RUM Opens Wed, Sept. 16th in NYC!!! (2009/Toronto'08)
Press release
Claire Denis’ Tender New Drama
35 SHOTS OF RUM
U.S. Theatrical Premiere
Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009
at Film Forum - NYC
Film Forum is proud to present the U.S. theatrical premiere of French director Claire Denis’ 35 SHOTS OF RUM, beginning Wednesday, September 16.
Denis, acclaimed for her subtle, fluid and intriguing movies (BEAU TRAVAIL is best known to U.S. audiences), sets her story in a Paris suburb: a widowed metro conductor, approaching retirement, lives with his beautiful grown daughter, a college student — the object of a neighbor’s romantic interest.
The man’s former girlfriend also lives in their building and continues to play a role in their closely-knit lives. 35 SHOTS OF RUM considers the mysterious complexities that surround evolving relationships, whether romantic or parental.
It is the rare movie whose plot is driven both by what people say and what they hold back, by the meaningful pauses between words, the significant glance, the sexy outfit, or thoughtful gift.
It is a film that, refreshingly, holds a mirror up to life as it is actually led.
35 SHOTS OF RUM will have a 2-week engagement, September 16-29, at Film Forum, West Houston Street (W. of 6th Avenue), with screenings daily at 1:15, 3:30, 5:40, 7:50, 9:50.
35 SHOTS OF RUM (2008, 100 mins.) Directed by Claire Denis. Written by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau. Director of Photography: Agnès Godard. Produced by Bruno Pesery. Cast: Alex Descas (Lionel), Mati Diop (Joséphine), Grégoire Colin (Noé), Nicole Dogue (Gabrielle), Ingrid Caven (German aunt).
France/Germany. In French with English subtitles.
A Cinema Guild release.
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NOW PLAYING in select USA theaters!!!
... check local listings for a theater near you ...
March, 2010
HELD OVER
TBA
++++++++++++++++++++++Unconfirmed venues:
UPCOMING screenings:
April 2, 2010 -
The Screen, Santa Fe, NM
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(2010 USA release)-André Téchiné'sThe Girl on the Train is Now Playing in the USA!
The Girl on the Train
Dir. by André Téchiné
[La Fille du RER/(2009)France/Strand Releasing] - (1 hr 50 min)
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Emilie Dequenne, Michel Blanc,& Nicolas Duvauchelle
Synopsis: Based on a play by Jean-Marie Besset, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN is inspired by one of the most media-blitzed and polarizing events in recent French history: a young woman’s lie about being the victim of an anti-semitic attack on a Paris suburban train.
Jobless, soul-searching and rollerblading Jeanne (Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Winner Emilie Dequenne, for 'Rosetta') lives in a Paris suburb with her widowed mother Louise, (Catherine Deneuve) who makes a living as a baby-sitter.
Louise helps her daughter get a job with her old flame Samuel Bleistein (Michel Blanc from 'Monsieur Hire'), now a famous lawyer and Jewish activist. When Jeanne’s budding relationship with aspiring wrestler Franck (Nicolas Devauchelle) is shattered by a violent turn of events, Jeanne and Bleistein’s opposite worlds get set on a collision course, as the film becomes a complex psychological drama raising issues of race, religion and identity.
Distrib website-http://www.strandrel.com/films/film_details.asp?BusinessUnitID={7533CDA9-E7C5-4586-AAA5-14ABF2E3F6B2}&ProjectID={3A9B94DB-AC77-4687-BCED-9C100102586A}
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NOW PLAYING in select USA theaters!!!
... check local listings for a theater near you ...
April 9, 2010
Apex Village 8 (Louisville,KY)
Nickelodeon 4 Theatres (Santa Cruz,CA)
HELD OVER
Landmark Midtown Art Cinema (Atlanta,GA)
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Anne Fontaine's "Coco Before Chanel" starring Audrey Tautou is ON DVD in the USA now!
Coco Before Chanel
Dir. by Anne Fontaine
Synopsis: Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar both. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats. When she falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel further opportunities open up, though life becomes ever more complicated. Summary written by Jeremy Perkins
USA Movie website-http://www.sonyclassics.com/cocobeforechanel/
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Dir. by Anne Fontaine
Synopsis: Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar both. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats. When she falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel further opportunities open up, though life becomes ever more complicated. Summary written by Jeremy Perkins
USA Movie website-http://www.sonyclassics.com/cocobeforechanel/
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(2009 USA release)-Cédric Klapisch’s PARIS gets a USA DVD release on March 10, 2010!!!
PARIS
Opens on September 18, 2009
French box office hit PARIS, Cédric Klapisch’s (L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY) generous and delicately funny homage to one of the most vibrant cities on earth, starring Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE) and Academy Award-winner Juliette Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON).
Featuring a fine ensemble cast that also includes François Cluzet (TELL NO ONE), Fabrice Luchini (MOLIERE), Albert Dupontel (IRREVERSIBLE), Karin Viard (TIME OUT), and Melanie Laurent (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), PARIS will open in New York on September 18, with a national release to follow.
It will also be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
A professional chorus dancer, Pierre (Duris, in his sixth collaboration with writer-director Klapisch), is forced to quit when he is diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart disease.
As he awaits a heart transplant, Pierre must reassess his life’s priorities with the help of his sister Elise (Binoche) who moves in with him, along with her three children.
As the young man reflects on his life, he observes the city and its people with a new outlook, learning to cherish even the smallest details and everyday things.
Below his balcony, life in his beloved city hums along. Elise flirts with the fishmonger (Dupontel) at a nearby open-air market; a snooty shopkeeper (Viard) reluctantly hires a North African assistant; a neighboring university professor (Luchini) develops an obsession with a beautiful student (Laurent); while his architect brother (Cluzet) anxiously awaits the birth of his first child.
All of these stories vividly play out to surprising conclusions in the expansive backdrop of the true star of the film—the city of Paris.
124 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
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Opens on September 18, 2009
French box office hit PARIS, Cédric Klapisch’s (L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, WHEN THE CAT’S AWAY) generous and delicately funny homage to one of the most vibrant cities on earth, starring Romain Duris (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, L’AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE) and Academy Award-winner Juliette Binoche (THE ENGLISH PATIENT, FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON).
Featuring a fine ensemble cast that also includes François Cluzet (TELL NO ONE), Fabrice Luchini (MOLIERE), Albert Dupontel (IRREVERSIBLE), Karin Viard (TIME OUT), and Melanie Laurent (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), PARIS will open in New York on September 18, with a national release to follow.
It will also be available nationwide on IFC Films’ video on demand platform, available to over 50 million homes in all major markets.
A professional chorus dancer, Pierre (Duris, in his sixth collaboration with writer-director Klapisch), is forced to quit when he is diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart disease.
As he awaits a heart transplant, Pierre must reassess his life’s priorities with the help of his sister Elise (Binoche) who moves in with him, along with her three children.
As the young man reflects on his life, he observes the city and its people with a new outlook, learning to cherish even the smallest details and everyday things.
Below his balcony, life in his beloved city hums along. Elise flirts with the fishmonger (Dupontel) at a nearby open-air market; a snooty shopkeeper (Viard) reluctantly hires a North African assistant; a neighboring university professor (Luchini) develops an obsession with a beautiful student (Laurent); while his architect brother (Cluzet) anxiously awaits the birth of his first child.
All of these stories vividly play out to surprising conclusions in the expansive backdrop of the true star of the film—the city of Paris.
124 minutes. In French with English subtitles.
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Séraphine
Dir. by Martin Provost
[(2008)France-Belgium/2009 USA release/MusicBox] - IMDb rating: 7.4 (out of 10)
Synopsis: In 1914, Wilhelm Uhde, a famous German art collector, rents an apartment in the town of Senlis, forty kilometers away from Paris, in order to write and to take a rest from the hectic life he has been living in the capital. The cleaning lady is a rather rough-and-ready forty-year-old woman who is the laughing stock of others. One day, Wilhelm who has been invited by his landlady, notices a small painting lying about in her living room. He is stunned to learn that the artist is no other than Séraphine. [Written by: Guy Bellinger]
Distrib website-http://www.musicboxfilms.com/seraphine
French website-http://www.seraphine-lefilm.com/">
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NOW PLAYING in select USA theaters!!!
November 20, 2009
HELD OVER
Regal Downtown West Cinema 8 (Knoxville,TN)
Cedar Lee Theatres (Cleveland Heights,OH)
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Dir. by Martin Provost
[(2008)France-Belgium/2009 USA release/MusicBox] - IMDb rating: 7.4 (out of 10)
Synopsis: In 1914, Wilhelm Uhde, a famous German art collector, rents an apartment in the town of Senlis, forty kilometers away from Paris, in order to write and to take a rest from the hectic life he has been living in the capital. The cleaning lady is a rather rough-and-ready forty-year-old woman who is the laughing stock of others. One day, Wilhelm who has been invited by his landlady, notices a small painting lying about in her living room. He is stunned to learn that the artist is no other than Séraphine. [Written by: Guy Bellinger]
Distrib website-http://www.musicboxfilms.com/seraphine
French website-http://www.seraphine-lefilm.com/">
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NOW PLAYING in select USA theaters!!!
November 20, 2009
HELD OVER
Regal Downtown West Cinema 8 (Knoxville,TN)
Cedar Lee Theatres (Cleveland Heights,OH)
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Premiering on video-on-demand as part of the
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT and IFC IN THEATERS programs from IFC Films
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT is an electronic film festival which allows on-demand viewers to choose from up to six new films that have premiered at major film festivals from around the world right from their own living room. IFC IN THEATERS brings critically-acclaimed independent films both to on-demand viewers and movie theater audiences.
Whether you are a fan of independent movies or a lover of genre films, IFC on-demand is your destination for the world's most essential cinema! Please check out the current lineup below.
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT and IFC IN THEATERS programs from IFC Films
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT is an electronic film festival which allows on-demand viewers to choose from up to six new films that have premiered at major film festivals from around the world right from their own living room. IFC IN THEATERS brings critically-acclaimed independent films both to on-demand viewers and movie theater audiences.
Whether you are a fan of independent movies or a lover of genre films, IFC on-demand is your destination for the world's most essential cinema! Please check out the current lineup below.
IFC FESTIVAL DIRECT
JOY OF SINGING (LE PLAISIR DE CHANTER) is a delightful, funny and refreshingly unpredictable sexy comic caper. Muriel (Marina Fois) and Philippe (Lorant Deutsch), both secret service agents, form an improbable couple. Their new mission is to get their hands on a USB key hidden by Constance (Jeanne Balibar), the widow of a uranium trafficker who has recently been killed. This strange ingénue leads the duo to an opera singing class that is a veritable spies nest. In this spy comedy, vocal chords are set free, bodies let loose, and souls chase one another.
ANGEL OF MINE (L'EMPREINTE DE L'ANGE) stars two of France’s finest actors, Catherine Frot and Sandrine Bonnaire, in a thriller of constantly building tension and suspense. One day, at a children’s birthday party, Elsa (Frot) notices a little 6-year-old girl. Immediately, she is convinced that Lola is the daughter she lost during a fire years earlier. Obsessed by this feeling, she manipulatively inches her way into Lola’s life. Claire (Bonnaire), Lola’s mother, doesn’t have any reason to suspect this woman at first. Yet, gradually she becomes fearful of Elsa’s unnatural behavior, and soon insists that she stop intruding in their lives. An intense psychological face-off soon develops between the two women leading to a surprising conclusion.
These films will be available for 3 months on demand on the following cable systems: BRIGHTHOUSE, CABLEVISION, COMCAST, COX and TIME WARNER.
http://www.ifcfilms.com/ifc-festival-direct
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2009 USA Premieres on Festival Direct
FRENCH GIGOLO
FRENCH GIGOLO, the French box office hit, continues the long tradition of exploring female desire and sexuality with sharp wit and insight. The film caused much discussion in France for it's frank depiction of female sexuality in a country that's never been shy on the matter.
Directed, written and co-starring Josiane Blasko (FRENCH TWIST), the film stars Nathalie Baye (VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE, TELL NO ONE) and Eric Caravaca (MONSIEUR IBRAHIM) and premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Baye stars as an elegant and mature TV personality who believes she's found a way to have a satisfying sexual life amidst her chaotic professional life: instead of messy relationships, she opts instead for straightforward sexual servicing through a series of male escorts she chooses on the internet. Her sister Irene (Balasko) and next-door neighbor couldn't disagree more, but Judith is adamant this laissez-faire arrangement works.
And it does work for her until unconventional and handsome escort Patrick (Eric Caravaca) enters her life. As their arrangement escalates, Judith's frozen emotional state begins to thaw, but all is thrown into chaos when Patrick's wife discovers that his days are not spent on a construction site.
FRENCH GIGOLO is a classy, thoroughly enjoyable film with terrific performances.
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ANGEL OF MINE (L'EMPREINTE DE L'ANGE) stars two of France’s finest actors, Catherine Frot and Sandrine Bonnaire, in a thriller of constantly building tension and suspense. One day, at a children’s birthday party, Elsa (Frot) notices a little 6-year-old girl. Immediately, she is convinced that Lola is the daughter she lost during a fire years earlier. Obsessed by this feeling, she manipulatively inches her way into Lola’s life. Claire (Bonnaire), Lola’s mother, doesn’t have any reason to suspect this woman at first. Yet, gradually she becomes fearful of Elsa’s unnatural behavior, and soon insists that she stop intruding in their lives. An intense psychological face-off soon develops between the two women leading to a surprising conclusion.
These films will be available for 3 months on demand on the following cable systems: BRIGHTHOUSE, CABLEVISION, COMCAST, COX and TIME WARNER.
http://www.ifcfilms.com/ifc-festival-direct
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2009 USA Premieres on Festival Direct
FRENCH GIGOLO
FRENCH GIGOLO, the French box office hit, continues the long tradition of exploring female desire and sexuality with sharp wit and insight. The film caused much discussion in France for it's frank depiction of female sexuality in a country that's never been shy on the matter.
Directed, written and co-starring Josiane Blasko (FRENCH TWIST), the film stars Nathalie Baye (VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE, TELL NO ONE) and Eric Caravaca (MONSIEUR IBRAHIM) and premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Baye stars as an elegant and mature TV personality who believes she's found a way to have a satisfying sexual life amidst her chaotic professional life: instead of messy relationships, she opts instead for straightforward sexual servicing through a series of male escorts she chooses on the internet. Her sister Irene (Balasko) and next-door neighbor couldn't disagree more, but Judith is adamant this laissez-faire arrangement works.
And it does work for her until unconventional and handsome escort Patrick (Eric Caravaca) enters her life. As their arrangement escalates, Judith's frozen emotional state begins to thaw, but all is thrown into chaos when Patrick's wife discovers that his days are not spent on a construction site.
FRENCH GIGOLO is a classy, thoroughly enjoyable film with terrific performances.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
DISENGAGEMENT
Director: Amos Gitai
Nationality: French/Israel/Festivals: Venice/Toronto
Juliette Binoche stars as a mother who will do anything to reunite with a daughter she once abandoned.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
NOW PLAYING on VOD
LA BELLE PERSONNE (THE BEAUTIFUL PERSON) Director: Christophe Honore
Nationality: France/Festivals: San Sebastian
A high school teacher finds himself attracted to a sexy new student, in this tale of forbidden passion starring Louis Garrel (THE DREAMERS). From the director of LOVE SONGS and DANS PARIS.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
LA BELLE PERSONNE (THE BEAUTIFUL PERSON) Director: Christophe Honore
Nationality: France/Festivals: San Sebastian
A high school teacher finds himself attracted to a sexy new student, in this tale of forbidden passion starring Louis Garrel (THE DREAMERS). From the director of LOVE SONGS and DANS PARIS.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
2009 USA release awaiting DVD date?
Shall We Kiss?
(click title for Movie website)
[Un baiser s'il vous plaît/(2007)France/2009 USA release/MusicBox]
Director: Emmanuel Mouret
Synopsis: While traveling to Nantes for one evening, Emilie meets Gabriel. Equally seduced by one another, but both otherwise committed, they know they will probably never see each other again. He would like to kiss her. She as well, but a story prevents her from doing so: that of a married woman and of her best friend who were surprised by the effects of a kiss. Of a kiss that should have born no consequences.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
(click title for Movie website)
[Un baiser s'il vous plaît/(2007)France/2009 USA release/MusicBox]
Director: Emmanuel Mouret
Synopsis: While traveling to Nantes for one evening, Emilie meets Gabriel. Equally seduced by one another, but both otherwise committed, they know they will probably never see each other again. He would like to kiss her. She as well, but a story prevents her from doing so: that of a married woman and of her best friend who were surprised by the effects of a kiss. Of a kiss that should have born no consequences.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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Archive review: À tout de suite/Right Now (2005 USA release)
À tout de suite
Period film (shot in B&W) based on a true story shows how a teenage girl begins to live in the moment - with somewhat disastrous results!
2-1/2 stars (out of 4) [B&W/aka 'Right now'/(2004)France] - (1 hr. 36 min.)
USA distrib: Cinema Guild / 2005 USA release / In French (subtitled) & English
Written & directed by Benoît Jacquot
Source: adapted from Eisabeth Fanger's memoirs ('When I was 19')
Characters/Cast
Lili (blonde heroine) - Isild Le Besco
Bada ( her Moroccan lover) - Ouassini Embarek
Alain (his French partner) - Nicolas Duvauchelle
Joelle (Alain's moll) - Laurence Cordier
Laurence - Emmanuelle Bercot
With: Forini Kodoukaki & Léonor Graser
Review:
The good news (for guys) is that rising French actress Isild Le Besco ("The Cost of Living") is shaping up to be France's answer to American starlet Scarlett Johansson. Both actesses are alike physically with their long blonde hair and full lips, but Isild is far less shy when it comes to full back and/or frontal nudity.
The bad news is that this practically dialogue-free excursion into the life of criminals on the run is only compelling if you remind yourself that this film is based on a true story. Otherwise, the coupling of Le Besco's unnamed character with a young Moroccan has little chemistry if any (the character names listed above are not used in the film).
Set in the 70's, director Benoit Jacquot has shot in B&W to make his use of archive footage seem less obtrusive, but the marked contrast between the worn newsreels as his crystal clear photography negates that subterfuge. Plus none of the actors seems to have any sensiblility of the period either, probably since many of them weren't even born in the 70's.
Story revolves around a 19 year old art student (Le Besco) who meets a guy in a bar and falls immediately for his Moroccan friend. She learns later (on the TV news) that both men are bank robbers so she does what any teenager in love would do - she goes with them. Action moves from France to Spain, then Morocco and Greece. On paper you'd think this film would move along fluidly but depending on your identification with the characters this could be the longest 96 min. of your life.
The film does get interesting in the last reel when the heroine realizes the error of her ways just after a sexual spree revealed in some explicit sex scenes with both a lesbian and two men in a 'menage a trois'.
Unfortunately for me, it was too little too late. However, if you do add this one to the list , be patient and prepare yourself for a non-traditional theatrical experience. You've been warned.
TRAILER
Website synopsis: A TOUT DE SUITE, based on a true story, stars Isild Le Besco (SADE, GIRLS CAN'T SWIM) as "Lili," an impulsive, free-spirited art student who lives a staid existence with her father in Paris in the mid-Seventies. When she meets a mysterious young Moroccan man at a night club, she instantly falls in love. Shortly after they meet, he is involved in a bank robbery in which a man is killed and, without hesitation, Lili allows him and his accomplice to hide out in her father's apartment. Soon they all flee Paris and embark on a dizzying cross-continental escape through Spain, Morocco and Greece. As the police draw closer and tensions within the group rise, Lili's adventure takes a sudden and unexpected turn.
Based on the real-life experiences of Elisabeth Fanger as recounted in her memoir, "When I was 19," A TOUT DE SUITE, directed by Benoit Jacquot (A SINGLE GIRL, SADE, SCHOOL OF FLESH), is filmed in stunning widescreen black & white, evoking the mood and feel of the 1970s, and the freedom felt by the first generation to come of age after the sexual revolution. Jacquot’s tale of young lovers on the run recalls classic crime dramas such as BONNIE AND CLYDE, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, BADLANDS and PIERROT LE FOU, but feels completely contemporary in its focus on the female half of the fugitive couple. A TOUT DE SUITE premiered at the 2004 Cannes Festival and was featured at the 2004 Toronto International Film festival .
WEBSITE
Period film (shot in B&W) based on a true story shows how a teenage girl begins to live in the moment - with somewhat disastrous results!
2-1/2 stars (out of 4) [B&W/aka 'Right now'/(2004)France] - (1 hr. 36 min.)
USA distrib: Cinema Guild / 2005 USA release / In French (subtitled) & English
Written & directed by Benoît Jacquot
Source: adapted from Eisabeth Fanger's memoirs ('When I was 19')
Characters/Cast
Lili (blonde heroine) - Isild Le Besco
Bada ( her Moroccan lover) - Ouassini Embarek
Alain (his French partner) - Nicolas Duvauchelle
Joelle (Alain's moll) - Laurence Cordier
Laurence - Emmanuelle Bercot
With: Forini Kodoukaki & Léonor Graser
Review:
The good news (for guys) is that rising French actress Isild Le Besco ("The Cost of Living") is shaping up to be France's answer to American starlet Scarlett Johansson. Both actesses are alike physically with their long blonde hair and full lips, but Isild is far less shy when it comes to full back and/or frontal nudity.
The bad news is that this practically dialogue-free excursion into the life of criminals on the run is only compelling if you remind yourself that this film is based on a true story. Otherwise, the coupling of Le Besco's unnamed character with a young Moroccan has little chemistry if any (the character names listed above are not used in the film).
Set in the 70's, director Benoit Jacquot has shot in B&W to make his use of archive footage seem less obtrusive, but the marked contrast between the worn newsreels as his crystal clear photography negates that subterfuge. Plus none of the actors seems to have any sensiblility of the period either, probably since many of them weren't even born in the 70's.
Story revolves around a 19 year old art student (Le Besco) who meets a guy in a bar and falls immediately for his Moroccan friend. She learns later (on the TV news) that both men are bank robbers so she does what any teenager in love would do - she goes with them. Action moves from France to Spain, then Morocco and Greece. On paper you'd think this film would move along fluidly but depending on your identification with the characters this could be the longest 96 min. of your life.
The film does get interesting in the last reel when the heroine realizes the error of her ways just after a sexual spree revealed in some explicit sex scenes with both a lesbian and two men in a 'menage a trois'.
Unfortunately for me, it was too little too late. However, if you do add this one to the list , be patient and prepare yourself for a non-traditional theatrical experience. You've been warned.
TRAILER
Website synopsis: A TOUT DE SUITE, based on a true story, stars Isild Le Besco (SADE, GIRLS CAN'T SWIM) as "Lili," an impulsive, free-spirited art student who lives a staid existence with her father in Paris in the mid-Seventies. When she meets a mysterious young Moroccan man at a night club, she instantly falls in love. Shortly after they meet, he is involved in a bank robbery in which a man is killed and, without hesitation, Lili allows him and his accomplice to hide out in her father's apartment. Soon they all flee Paris and embark on a dizzying cross-continental escape through Spain, Morocco and Greece. As the police draw closer and tensions within the group rise, Lili's adventure takes a sudden and unexpected turn.
Based on the real-life experiences of Elisabeth Fanger as recounted in her memoir, "When I was 19," A TOUT DE SUITE, directed by Benoit Jacquot (A SINGLE GIRL, SADE, SCHOOL OF FLESH), is filmed in stunning widescreen black & white, evoking the mood and feel of the 1970s, and the freedom felt by the first generation to come of age after the sexual revolution. Jacquot’s tale of young lovers on the run recalls classic crime dramas such as BONNIE AND CLYDE, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, BADLANDS and PIERROT LE FOU, but feels completely contemporary in its focus on the female half of the fugitive couple. A TOUT DE SUITE premiered at the 2004 Cannes Festival and was featured at the 2004 Toronto International Film festival .
WEBSITE
Archive review: Blame it on Fidel/La Faute à Fidel (2007 USA release)
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
Wonderful political dram-edy taken from the unusual perspective of a conservative, middle-class, 9 yr. old girl who can't relate to the Marxist emigres that are upsetting her privileged existence!
3-1/2 years (out of 4) [La Faute à Fidel/(2006)Italy-France] - (1 hr. 39 min.)
Co-written & directed by Julie Gavras
Source: Domitilla Calamai's novel "Tutta colpa di Fidel"
Script collaborators: Arnaud Cathrine, Jacques Fieschi, & Olivier Dazat
Original Music by Armand Amar
Cinematography by Nathalie Durand
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Lead character/Cast
'Anna' de la Mesa (ages 9-10) - Nina Kervel
Review:
Well, they say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and first-time feature director Julie Gavras follows exactly in the politically dramatic footsteps of her father, director Costa Gavras ("Missing," "The Ax").
But thankfully, with a lighter brand of humor (of the 'non-black' variety) blended into the proceedings. Best of all, Julie shows the audience the politically turbulent 70's through the eyes of an extremely conservative (& spoiled) nine year old girl, 'Anna' (Nina Kervel), lending itself to much comic relief.
The film's title refers to the 'stereoypical' notion of communists as evil-doers, but there is quite a bit of pro-socialist goings on within the de la Mesa family. Consequently, the political divisions occur at each generational level inside and outside Anna's world.
Now the plotline may sound like a knock-off of the TV show 'Family Ties' with Michael J. Fox as the right-wing child of liberal parents, but the political situations referred to in "Blame it on Fidel" are much more serious than righties vs. lefties. Anna's parents root "for" Communist Party-leader Allende's election in Chile and "against" the fascists in Spain, while Anna's nanny and grandparents are strictly anti-communist and pro-Franco (fascist).
Meanwhile Anna's kid brother 'François' (Benjamin Feuillet) is totally apolitical as long as he gets fed on time, and yes, he does provide much of the comic relief in the film.
Being a liberal myself, I found Anna's reactions to her parents socialist friends to be completely hilarious, but your mileage my vary based on your political leanings. While both sides of the question are presented evenly, it's the filtering of the information from a little girl's perspective that adds warmth and humor to a normally incendiary subject.
The story also shows how parents can't truly change their kids views of the world, and that it's best to let them decide for themselves which side to be on. In any case, I'm on the side of anyone who will distribute this very well done film to as many USA theaters as possible, cause when it comes to movies dealing with social change, you can number the great ones on one hand (if it all).
"Blame it on Fidel" is extra special for this reason alone, and should be added to the top of your viewing list. Check this one out - NOW!!!
Supporting characters/Cast
Marie de la Mesa (Anna's mother) - Julie Depardieu
Fernando de la Mesa (Anna's father) - Stefano Accorsi
François de la Mesa (Anna's kid brother) - Benjamin Feuillet
Anna's grandmother - Martine Chevallier
Anna's grandfather - Olivier Perrier
Cécile - Gabrielle Vallieres
Filomena (Anna's nanny #1) - Marie-Noelle Bordeaux
Isabelle (Anna's aunt/Marie's sister) - Marie Kremer
Mathieu (Isabelle's new husband) - Raphael Personnaz
Marga - Mar Sodupe
Panayota - Christiana Markou
Maï-Lahn (Vietnamese nanny) - Thi Thy Tien N'Guyen
MOVIE website (French trailer)
Additional cast (info from IMDb.com in French & English):
Raphaëlle Molinier ... Pilar (Fernando's niece/Spanish emigre)
Lucienne Hamon ... Suzanne
Francisco López Ballo ... Emilio (pro-Allende activist)
Francisco Pizarro Saenz de Urtury ... Pierre (pro-Allende activist)
Carole Franck ... Geneviève's sister
Marie Llano ... Anne-Marie's mother
Sylvia Lasfargeas ... Female MLF member
Alexandre Gavras ... Le barbu 'dinette'
Marie Payen ... Poule's mother
Synopsis:Set in 1970, Blame It on Fidel is a wry and engaging look at how personal the political becomes in the life of one nine-year-old girl. Fernando (Stefano Accorsi) and Marie (Julie Depardieu) are left-leaning and very comfortably upper middle class when a trip to Latin America convinces both to dedicate themselves full-time to the many causes they have only verbally supported. Soon they have moved out of their large house and into a small apartment, to the consternation of their daughter, Anna. Moreover, the girl fails to understand the late-night presence in her home of so many strangers, why her father forbids her to read Mickey Mouse, or why the nuns at school regard her strangely. Full of wonderful historical asides and period detail, Blame It on Fidel is about that moment when parents realize that their children are their own separate selves—and the moment when children discover the same thing about their parents. In the crucial role of Anna, Nina Kervel is a revelation.
Wonderful political dram-edy taken from the unusual perspective of a conservative, middle-class, 9 yr. old girl who can't relate to the Marxist emigres that are upsetting her privileged existence!
3-1/2 years (out of 4) [La Faute à Fidel/(2006)Italy-France] - (1 hr. 39 min.)
Co-written & directed by Julie Gavras
Source: Domitilla Calamai's novel "Tutta colpa di Fidel"
Script collaborators: Arnaud Cathrine, Jacques Fieschi, & Olivier Dazat
Original Music by Armand Amar
Cinematography by Nathalie Durand
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Lead character/Cast
'Anna' de la Mesa (ages 9-10) - Nina Kervel
Review:
Well, they say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and first-time feature director Julie Gavras follows exactly in the politically dramatic footsteps of her father, director Costa Gavras ("Missing," "The Ax").
But thankfully, with a lighter brand of humor (of the 'non-black' variety) blended into the proceedings. Best of all, Julie shows the audience the politically turbulent 70's through the eyes of an extremely conservative (& spoiled) nine year old girl, 'Anna' (Nina Kervel), lending itself to much comic relief.
The film's title refers to the 'stereoypical' notion of communists as evil-doers, but there is quite a bit of pro-socialist goings on within the de la Mesa family. Consequently, the political divisions occur at each generational level inside and outside Anna's world.
Now the plotline may sound like a knock-off of the TV show 'Family Ties' with Michael J. Fox as the right-wing child of liberal parents, but the political situations referred to in "Blame it on Fidel" are much more serious than righties vs. lefties. Anna's parents root "for" Communist Party-leader Allende's election in Chile and "against" the fascists in Spain, while Anna's nanny and grandparents are strictly anti-communist and pro-Franco (fascist).
Meanwhile Anna's kid brother 'François' (Benjamin Feuillet) is totally apolitical as long as he gets fed on time, and yes, he does provide much of the comic relief in the film.
Being a liberal myself, I found Anna's reactions to her parents socialist friends to be completely hilarious, but your mileage my vary based on your political leanings. While both sides of the question are presented evenly, it's the filtering of the information from a little girl's perspective that adds warmth and humor to a normally incendiary subject.
The story also shows how parents can't truly change their kids views of the world, and that it's best to let them decide for themselves which side to be on. In any case, I'm on the side of anyone who will distribute this very well done film to as many USA theaters as possible, cause when it comes to movies dealing with social change, you can number the great ones on one hand (if it all).
"Blame it on Fidel" is extra special for this reason alone, and should be added to the top of your viewing list. Check this one out - NOW!!!
Supporting characters/Cast
Marie de la Mesa (Anna's mother) - Julie Depardieu
Fernando de la Mesa (Anna's father) - Stefano Accorsi
François de la Mesa (Anna's kid brother) - Benjamin Feuillet
Anna's grandmother - Martine Chevallier
Anna's grandfather - Olivier Perrier
Cécile - Gabrielle Vallieres
Filomena (Anna's nanny #1) - Marie-Noelle Bordeaux
Isabelle (Anna's aunt/Marie's sister) - Marie Kremer
Mathieu (Isabelle's new husband) - Raphael Personnaz
Marga - Mar Sodupe
Panayota - Christiana Markou
Maï-Lahn (Vietnamese nanny) - Thi Thy Tien N'Guyen
MOVIE website (French trailer)
Additional cast (info from IMDb.com in French & English):
Raphaëlle Molinier ... Pilar (Fernando's niece/Spanish emigre)
Lucienne Hamon ... Suzanne
Francisco López Ballo ... Emilio (pro-Allende activist)
Francisco Pizarro Saenz de Urtury ... Pierre (pro-Allende activist)
Carole Franck ... Geneviève's sister
Marie Llano ... Anne-Marie's mother
Sylvia Lasfargeas ... Female MLF member
Alexandre Gavras ... Le barbu 'dinette'
Marie Payen ... Poule's mother
Synopsis:Set in 1970, Blame It on Fidel is a wry and engaging look at how personal the political becomes in the life of one nine-year-old girl. Fernando (Stefano Accorsi) and Marie (Julie Depardieu) are left-leaning and very comfortably upper middle class when a trip to Latin America convinces both to dedicate themselves full-time to the many causes they have only verbally supported. Soon they have moved out of their large house and into a small apartment, to the consternation of their daughter, Anna. Moreover, the girl fails to understand the late-night presence in her home of so many strangers, why her father forbids her to read Mickey Mouse, or why the nuns at school regard her strangely. Full of wonderful historical asides and period detail, Blame It on Fidel is about that moment when parents realize that their children are their own separate selves—and the moment when children discover the same thing about their parents. In the crucial role of Anna, Nina Kervel is a revelation.
Archive review: Blame it on Fidel/La Demoiselle D'Honneur (2006 USA release)
THE BRIDESMAID
French director Claude Chabrol's thrillers tend to either intrigue or bore, but this one falls somewhere in the middle ... though male members of the viewing audience may appreciate Laura Smet's clothing-optional interludes!
2-1/2 stars (out of 4)
[La Demoiselle D'Honneur/(2004)France-Germany-Italy/2006 USA release] - (1 hr. 50 min.)
Co-written & directed by Claude Chabrol
Co-writer: Pierre Leccia
Source: based on the novel by Ruth Rendell
Lead characters/Cast
Philippe - Benoit Magimel
Senta - Laura Smet
Review:
Normally a wedding scene in a film indicates a comedy is at hand, but director Claude Chabrol ("La Cérémonie") has much darker intentions in mind.
First reel of the film sets up 'Philippe' (Benoit Magimel) as a young head of household who is beginning to feel threatened by his mother's attentions to a new man in her life. To make matters worse, his tight rein on the family is being loosened by the older sister's upcoming marriage and the younger sister's rebellious activities (she wears a nose-ring, dreadlocked hair, smokes cigs, etc.).
Second reel introduces the thoroughly enamored bridesmaid 'Senta' who immediately seduces Phillippe after coming in from the rain soaking wet. Senta is played by rising French starlet Laura Smet ("Eager Bodies") who oozes sensuality like a young Deneuve with a body to die for.
Laura Smet
As the relationship between Senta & Philippe deepens he begins to wonder that her 'crazy stories' may have a psychotic basis, especially when she talks about he must prove his love by 'planting a tree, writing a poem, sleeping with a man, and killing someone'. A local homeless man that Senta detests makes the papers as murder victim and Philippe gladly takes credit to stay in Senta's good graces, but what he fails to realize is that she might try to return the favor (shades of "Strangers on a Train").
Based on Ruth Rendell's novel, you would hope that this film would have plenty of thrills and depth, but alas it is not so. Chabrol's reduction of the novel fails in this respect by spending too much time on a subplot involving the shenanigans of the Phillippe's youngest sister.
Not a comedy, not a true thriller, but still worth watching if you care to track the development of perhaps France's next great export - the lovely & talented actress Laura Smet (and she's not shy when it comes to nudity either). 'Guys-night-out' at the movies - hint hint!
Supporting characters/Cast
Christine Tardieu (Philippe's mom) - Aurore Clement
Gérard Courtois - Bernard Le Coq
Sophie (older sister/bride) - Solene Bouton
Jacky (her fiance/husband) - Eric Seigne
Patricia (youngest sister) - Anna Mihalcea
Nadeau (Philippe's boss) - Pierre-François Dumeniaud
Lieutenant José Laval - Thomas Chabrol
MOVIE website
As the relationship between Senta & Philippe deepens he begins to wonder that her 'crazy stories' may have a psychotic basis, especially when she talks about he must prove his love by 'planting a tree, writing a poem, sleeping with a man, and killing someone'. A local homeless man that Senta detests makes the papers as murder victim and Philippe gladly takes credit to stay in Senta's good graces, but what he fails to realize is that she might try to return the favor (shades of "Strangers on a Train").
Based on Ruth Rendell's novel, you would hope that this film would have plenty of thrills and depth, but alas it is not so. Chabrol's reduction of the novel fails in this respect by spending too much time on a subplot involving the shenanigans of the Phillippe's youngest sister.
Not a comedy, not a true thriller, but still worth watching if you care to track the development of perhaps France's next great export - the lovely & talented actress Laura Smet (and she's not shy when it comes to nudity either). 'Guys-night-out' at the movies - hint hint!
Supporting characters/Cast
Christine Tardieu (Philippe's mom) - Aurore Clement
Gérard Courtois - Bernard Le Coq
Sophie (older sister/bride) - Solene Bouton
Jacky (her fiance/husband) - Eric Seigne
Patricia (youngest sister) - Anna Mihalcea
Nadeau (Philippe's boss) - Pierre-François Dumeniaud
Lieutenant José Laval - Thomas Chabrol
MOVIE website
Archive review: Flanders/Flandres (2007 USA release)
FLANDERS
One of director Bruno Dumont's most accessible films to date, for minimalist and non-arthousers alike (not to mention some of the best non-professional actors to grace the big screen)!
3 stars (out of 4/1st view-2006) / 3-1/4 stars (out of 4/2nd view-2007)
[aka 'Flandres'/(2006)France/2007 USA release] - (1 hr. 31 min.)
[In French (subtitled) / USA distrib: International Film Circuit]
Written & Directed by Bruno Dumont
Cinematography by Yves Cape
Editor: Guy Lecorne
Characters / Cast
Barbe (woman farmer) - Adélaïde Leroux
Demester (her lover/farmer/later a soldier) - Samuel Boidin
Blondel (Barbe's new lover/later a soldier) - Henri Cretel
Briche - Jean-Marie Bruveart
Leclercq - David Poulain
Mordac - Patrice Venant
Lieutenant - David Legay
France - Inge Decaesteker
Review:
If there's one adage that applies directly to minimalist cinema, it's this: Good things come to those who wait ... so be patient and you just may appreciate this growing genre of moviemaking.
Director Bruno Dumont's ("Twentynine Palms") latest effort, "Flanders," is not only one of his most accessible films, but could also be his most personal movie since it was filmed in the place of the director's birth (with exception of several war scenes which were shot in Tunisia).
I should also note that I am not big fan of minimalist movies and last year I wrote a scathing review after suffering though Stephen Soderbergh's "Bubble." But that film, like this one, did improve markedly with a second viewing. Therefore, my advice is to so not walk away disgruntled the first time through because this type of filmmaking may take a second viewing to fully appreciate it's non-Hollywoodness.
Plus the first viewing prepares you for what to watch and listen for, and gets you acquainted with the very self-contained characters. I will say the non-professional actors in "Flanders" are light years ahead of the yokels used in "Bubble" (Adélaïde Leroux won the actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006).
Female audience members should note that there are several graphic scenes of violence including a gang rape and a male castration torture sequence. Parents should leave the kids at home with a babysitter unless they like full frontal nudity with their war violence.
Anyway, that's it for the warnings, now you can head to the theater adult minimalists and soak up the natural CGI-free surroundings absent of ogres, spider-men, or pirates (and if you don't like it the first time, see it again).
French website
International Film Circuit (USA distrib) -www.internationalfilmcircuit.com
Synopsis: Always controversial, director Bruno Dumont (La vie de Jesus) once again brings us into a very human heart of darkness with Flanders, one of the most heatedly debated films at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Moving from the sprawling, tilled farmlands of the northern reaches of France to battlefields in a distant desert land and back again, the film develops a seasonal feeling, as if the war he is depicting—in all its horror—is part of a very natural cycle of life.
One of director Bruno Dumont's most accessible films to date, for minimalist and non-arthousers alike (not to mention some of the best non-professional actors to grace the big screen)!
3 stars (out of 4/1st view-2006) / 3-1/4 stars (out of 4/2nd view-2007)
[aka 'Flandres'/(2006)France/2007 USA release] - (1 hr. 31 min.)
[In French (subtitled) / USA distrib: International Film Circuit]
Written & Directed by Bruno Dumont
Cinematography by Yves Cape
Editor: Guy Lecorne
Characters / Cast
Barbe (woman farmer) - Adélaïde Leroux
Demester (her lover/farmer/later a soldier) - Samuel Boidin
Blondel (Barbe's new lover/later a soldier) - Henri Cretel
Briche - Jean-Marie Bruveart
Leclercq - David Poulain
Mordac - Patrice Venant
Lieutenant - David Legay
France - Inge Decaesteker
Review:
If there's one adage that applies directly to minimalist cinema, it's this: Good things come to those who wait ... so be patient and you just may appreciate this growing genre of moviemaking.
Director Bruno Dumont's ("Twentynine Palms") latest effort, "Flanders," is not only one of his most accessible films, but could also be his most personal movie since it was filmed in the place of the director's birth (with exception of several war scenes which were shot in Tunisia).
I should also note that I am not big fan of minimalist movies and last year I wrote a scathing review after suffering though Stephen Soderbergh's "Bubble." But that film, like this one, did improve markedly with a second viewing. Therefore, my advice is to so not walk away disgruntled the first time through because this type of filmmaking may take a second viewing to fully appreciate it's non-Hollywoodness.
Plus the first viewing prepares you for what to watch and listen for, and gets you acquainted with the very self-contained characters. I will say the non-professional actors in "Flanders" are light years ahead of the yokels used in "Bubble" (Adélaïde Leroux won the actress award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2006).
Female audience members should note that there are several graphic scenes of violence including a gang rape and a male castration torture sequence. Parents should leave the kids at home with a babysitter unless they like full frontal nudity with their war violence.
Anyway, that's it for the warnings, now you can head to the theater adult minimalists and soak up the natural CGI-free surroundings absent of ogres, spider-men, or pirates (and if you don't like it the first time, see it again).
French website
International Film Circuit (USA distrib) -www.internationalfilmcircuit.com
Synopsis: Always controversial, director Bruno Dumont (La vie de Jesus) once again brings us into a very human heart of darkness with Flanders, one of the most heatedly debated films at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Moving from the sprawling, tilled farmlands of the northern reaches of France to battlefields in a distant desert land and back again, the film develops a seasonal feeling, as if the war he is depicting—in all its horror—is part of a very natural cycle of life.
Archive review: La Vie en Rose/La Môme (2007 USA release)
LA VIE EN ROSE
Actress Marion Cotillard perfectly captures the manners and attitude of France's most famous chanteuse, Edith Piaf! (MUST-SEE viewing for music bio-pic fans)!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4 stars/1st view) / 4 stars (out of 4 stars/2nd view)
[La Môme/(2007)France-UK-Czech Republic] - (2 hrs. 20 min.)
Co-written & directed by Olivier Dahan
Co-writer: Isabelle Sobelman
Original Music by Christopher Gunning
Cinematography by Tetsuo Nagata
Editor: Richard Marizy
[In French (subtitled) w/ some English / USA distrib: Picturehouse
Lead character/Cast
Edith Piaf (from age 20-47) - Marion Cotillard
Edith, age 5 - Manon Chevallier
Edith, age 8 - Pauline Burlet
Edith Piaf singing voice - Edith Piaf (digitally restored archive recordings)
Edith Piaf singing voice for select early songs - Jil Aigrot**
Supporting characters/Cast
Anetta Gassion(Edith's mother/Street singer) - Clotilde Courau L
ouis Gassion (Edith's father/contortionist) - Jean-Paul Rouve
Momone (Edith's longtime best friend/alcoholic) - Sylvie Testud
Louis Barrier (Edith's longtime mgr.) - Pascal Greggory
Marcel Cerdan (Edith's lover/Married boxing champ) - Jean-Pierre Martins
Titine (Edith's surrogate mother/prostitute) - Emmanuelle Seigner
Louis Leplee ('discovered' Edith) - Gerard Depardieu
Louise (Edith's grandmother/Brothel madam) - Catherine Allegret
Marlene Dietrich - Caroline Sihol
Charles Aznavour - Alban Casterman
Raymond Asso - Marc Barbe
Actress Marion Cotillard perfectly captures the manners and attitude of France's most famous chanteuse, Edith Piaf! (MUST-SEE viewing for music bio-pic fans)!
3-1/2 stars (out of 4 stars/1st view) / 4 stars (out of 4 stars/2nd view)
[La Môme/(2007)France-UK-Czech Republic] - (2 hrs. 20 min.)
Co-written & directed by Olivier Dahan
Co-writer: Isabelle Sobelman
Original Music by Christopher Gunning
Cinematography by Tetsuo Nagata
Editor: Richard Marizy
[In French (subtitled) w/ some English / USA distrib: Picturehouse
Lead character/Cast
Edith Piaf (from age 20-47) - Marion Cotillard
Edith, age 5 - Manon Chevallier
Edith, age 8 - Pauline Burlet
Edith Piaf singing voice - Edith Piaf (digitally restored archive recordings)
Edith Piaf singing voice for select early songs - Jil Aigrot**
Supporting characters/Cast
Anetta Gassion(Edith's mother/Street singer) - Clotilde Courau L
ouis Gassion (Edith's father/contortionist) - Jean-Paul Rouve
Momone (Edith's longtime best friend/alcoholic) - Sylvie Testud
Louis Barrier (Edith's longtime mgr.) - Pascal Greggory
Marcel Cerdan (Edith's lover/Married boxing champ) - Jean-Pierre Martins
Titine (Edith's surrogate mother/prostitute) - Emmanuelle Seigner
Louis Leplee ('discovered' Edith) - Gerard Depardieu
Louise (Edith's grandmother/Brothel madam) - Catherine Allegret
Marlene Dietrich - Caroline Sihol
Charles Aznavour - Alban Casterman
Raymond Asso - Marc Barbe
Review:
Three reasons why you should see this film: Marion Cotillard, Marion Cotillard, and Marion Cotillard.
The veteran French actress gives an Oscar-worthy performance that perfectly captures the spirit and unique style of legendary singer Edith Piaf, the little woman with the big voice. I am so glad that this film will be getting a theatrical release in America since it so clearly showcases Edith Piaf's immense talent.
American audiences may not have 'gotten' Piaf in person during her 1959 U.S. visit, but this bio-pic is sure to persuade many future generations to give Piaf's talent a second look (& listen). It's too bad she died just four years after coming to America the first time, a great great loss.
My only caveat with this film production is its over-reliance on flashbacks and its continual bouncing around from the end of Piaf's life to the beginning and back again. Sadly, this seems to be de rigeur for bio-pics of late (re: "Ray," "Walk the Line," etc.), since today's directors fail to trust the chronological events that created the legends they are depicting.
Contriving drama by mixing the past with the present seems a vain endeavour to my mind, if only we could go back to the good old days when a biographical motion picture started with the birth of the character and ended 2 hours later with their death. The 'life' stood for itself with nary a flashback in between.
Still all-in-all, even the filmmaker's contrivances cannot diminish the Oscar caliber performance of Marion Cotillard or the legendary life of the street singer turned international star - Edith Piaf, the legend lives again! So run, don't walk, to the nearest theater playing this in your area unless you live in France where it is in theaters right now (USA theatrical release skedded for June 8, 2007)!
NOTE: I did have an opportunity to see the film again very recently and all of the flash-forwards and flashbacks fell together a lot better the second time through. I still think they should have left out the leaps to the end of her career when she was an old, old woman. Just pay attention to the scenery and you should be able to distinguish the NYC and California scenes from Parisian and provincial scenes. This film is so loaded with characters and great music that it's worth seeing twice to guage it's potential as a bonafide Oscar contender.
Watch the Trailer
Additional cast:
William Armstrong ... Clifford Fisher
Félix Belleau ... Robert Juel
Chantal Bronner ... Josette
Elisabeth Commelin ... Danielle Bonel
Nathalie Dahan ... Yvonne
Nathalie Dorval ... Mireille
Aubert Fenoy ... Michel Emer
Marc Gannot ... Marc Bonnel
Mario Hacquard ... Charles Dumont
Harry Hadden-Paton ... Douglas Davis
Lana Likic ... Mr. Jameson's Assistant
Cylia Malki ... Philipo
Valérie Moreau ... Jeanne
Jean-Paul Muel ... Bruno Coquatrix
Laurent Olmedo ... Jacques Pills
Dominique Paturel ... Roup
André Penvern ... Jacques Canetti
Nicholas Pritchard ... Mr. Jameson
Caroline Raynaud ... Ginou
Laurent Schilling ... Claude
Ashley Wanninger ... Assistant to Leplée
Three reasons why you should see this film: Marion Cotillard, Marion Cotillard, and Marion Cotillard.
The veteran French actress gives an Oscar-worthy performance that perfectly captures the spirit and unique style of legendary singer Edith Piaf, the little woman with the big voice. I am so glad that this film will be getting a theatrical release in America since it so clearly showcases Edith Piaf's immense talent.
American audiences may not have 'gotten' Piaf in person during her 1959 U.S. visit, but this bio-pic is sure to persuade many future generations to give Piaf's talent a second look (& listen). It's too bad she died just four years after coming to America the first time, a great great loss.
My only caveat with this film production is its over-reliance on flashbacks and its continual bouncing around from the end of Piaf's life to the beginning and back again. Sadly, this seems to be de rigeur for bio-pics of late (re: "Ray," "Walk the Line," etc.), since today's directors fail to trust the chronological events that created the legends they are depicting.
Contriving drama by mixing the past with the present seems a vain endeavour to my mind, if only we could go back to the good old days when a biographical motion picture started with the birth of the character and ended 2 hours later with their death. The 'life' stood for itself with nary a flashback in between.
Still all-in-all, even the filmmaker's contrivances cannot diminish the Oscar caliber performance of Marion Cotillard or the legendary life of the street singer turned international star - Edith Piaf, the legend lives again! So run, don't walk, to the nearest theater playing this in your area unless you live in France where it is in theaters right now (USA theatrical release skedded for June 8, 2007)!
NOTE: I did have an opportunity to see the film again very recently and all of the flash-forwards and flashbacks fell together a lot better the second time through. I still think they should have left out the leaps to the end of her career when she was an old, old woman. Just pay attention to the scenery and you should be able to distinguish the NYC and California scenes from Parisian and provincial scenes. This film is so loaded with characters and great music that it's worth seeing twice to guage it's potential as a bonafide Oscar contender.
Watch the Trailer
Additional cast:
William Armstrong ... Clifford Fisher
Félix Belleau ... Robert Juel
Chantal Bronner ... Josette
Elisabeth Commelin ... Danielle Bonel
Nathalie Dahan ... Yvonne
Nathalie Dorval ... Mireille
Aubert Fenoy ... Michel Emer
Marc Gannot ... Marc Bonnel
Mario Hacquard ... Charles Dumont
Harry Hadden-Paton ... Douglas Davis
Lana Likic ... Mr. Jameson's Assistant
Cylia Malki ... Philipo
Valérie Moreau ... Jeanne
Jean-Paul Muel ... Bruno Coquatrix
Laurent Olmedo ... Jacques Pills
Dominique Paturel ... Roup
André Penvern ... Jacques Canetti
Nicholas Pritchard ... Mr. Jameson
Caroline Raynaud ... Ginou
Laurent Schilling ... Claude
Ashley Wanninger ... Assistant to Leplée
<--The 'real' Edith Piaf!
Songs include:
"Mon legionnaire" (**sung by Jil Aigrot)
"Mome de la cloche" (**sung by Jil Aigrot)
Archive recordings (Film includes 11 Songs Recorded by Piaf):
"La Foule"
"Les amants d'un jour"
"Milord"
"L'hynmne a l'amour (Hymn to Love)"
"Non, je ne regrette rien (No regrets)"
"La Vie en rose" and many others
USA MOVIE website: http://www.edithpiafmovie.com/
Synopsis: La Vie en Rose, Olivier Dahan’s fascinating, deeply moving portrait of the great Edith Piaf. One of the iconic figures and voices of 20th century France, Piaf (Marion Cotillard) was born into poverty, abandoned by her mother and shuttled between her brothel-keeper grandmother and circus-performer father. Singing on street corners for pennies, she one day attracts the attention of Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), owner of one of the most posh nightclubs in town. Soon she’s the toast of Paris, with friends ranging from Jean Cocteau to Marlene Dietrich to boxer Marcel Cerdan and a soaring, deep-throated voice that came to symbolize a certain kind of tenacious humanity, a willingness to go on no matter what the odds. Despite her fame and fortune, she would suffer more than her share of tragedies: the loss or abandonment of loved ones, as well as her own devastating abuse of her own body with drink and eventually drugs. Cotillard (A Good Year, A Very Long Engagement, Big Fish) gives one of the most remarkable performances seen anywhere in years; she brilliantly captures Piaf’s fragility, the constant, nagging fear that everything around her could disappear in an instant, leaving her back on the streets. A powerful supporting cast includes Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner and Marc Barbé. US Distributor: Picturehouse
Songs include:
"Mon legionnaire" (**sung by Jil Aigrot)
"Mome de la cloche" (**sung by Jil Aigrot)
Archive recordings (Film includes 11 Songs Recorded by Piaf):
"La Foule"
"Les amants d'un jour"
"Milord"
"L'hynmne a l'amour (Hymn to Love)"
"Non, je ne regrette rien (No regrets)"
"La Vie en rose" and many others
USA MOVIE website: http://www.edithpiafmovie.com/
Synopsis: La Vie en Rose, Olivier Dahan’s fascinating, deeply moving portrait of the great Edith Piaf. One of the iconic figures and voices of 20th century France, Piaf (Marion Cotillard) was born into poverty, abandoned by her mother and shuttled between her brothel-keeper grandmother and circus-performer father. Singing on street corners for pennies, she one day attracts the attention of Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), owner of one of the most posh nightclubs in town. Soon she’s the toast of Paris, with friends ranging from Jean Cocteau to Marlene Dietrich to boxer Marcel Cerdan and a soaring, deep-throated voice that came to symbolize a certain kind of tenacious humanity, a willingness to go on no matter what the odds. Despite her fame and fortune, she would suffer more than her share of tragedies: the loss or abandonment of loved ones, as well as her own devastating abuse of her own body with drink and eventually drugs. Cotillard (A Good Year, A Very Long Engagement, Big Fish) gives one of the most remarkable performances seen anywhere in years; she brilliantly captures Piaf’s fragility, the constant, nagging fear that everything around her could disappear in an instant, leaving her back on the streets. A powerful supporting cast includes Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner and Marc Barbé. US Distributor: Picturehouse
Oscar results for 2007 movie year
THE FINAL CUT
THE 80th Annual Academy Awards
La Vie En Rose (3 noms/2 WINS)
THE 80th Annual Academy Awards
La Vie En Rose (3 noms/2 WINS)
- Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - WINNER!!!
- Achievement in Makeup - WINNER!!!
TELL NO ONE 2008 USA release
"Tell no one. They're watching." [email sent to Alex]
TELL NO ONE
A title that might stifle word-of-mouth advertising, but really doesn't matter since anyone catching this convoluted thriller on the big screen will end up going back to see it at least one more time (perhaps twice)!
3-1/4 stars (2nd view) // 2-1/2 stars (1st view)
[Ne le dis à personne/(2006)France/2008 USA release] - (2 hrs 5 min)
[In French (subtitled) / USA distrib: Music Box]
Co-writer, Co-star, & Director: Guillaume Canet
Co-writer: Philippe Lefebvre
Source: Novel by Harlan Coben
Original Music by "M"
Cinematography by Christophe Offenstein
Cast ... Lead characters:
François Cluzet ... Dr. Alexandre 'Alex' Beck (Pediatrician)
Robin Marmisse ... Young Alex (Flashback scenes only)
Marie-Josée Croze ... Margot Beck (Alex's wife)
Marie Martin ... Young Margot (Flashback scenes only)
Cameos:
Guillaume Canet (director of film) ... Philippe Neuville (Gilbert's son)
Harlan Coben (author of novel) ... Singer in the gare
Philippe Canet (director's real-life father) ... François Beck (Alex's father)
Review (2nd view):
Well, if you've ever wondered what the benefit of a "second viewing" is, this film is the proof. The first time through I admired the acting, got lost in the plotting (with its multiple "red herrings"), and ended up walking out of the theater a little more than disgruntled.
This time around I was able to pick up on the subtle clues planted early in the movie and spent more time "watching" the action and less time reading subtitles. I'm still not in total agreement with the five-minute "answer monologue" at the end of the story that not-so-neatly wraps up all of the loose ends.
Still, there was a moment about halfway into the film where the hair on my arms stood on end, an element I completely missed on the first viewing. So my advice to you is: SEE THIS ONE TWICE to maximize your thrills and understanding of the convoluted plotllines.
I also want to point out that actor François Cluzet (France's Dustin Hoffman) is absolutely brilliant as "Alex," the wrongly accused pediatrician. Cluzet (check him out in 'Round Midnight' too) appears in 90% of the scenes and makes every one pay off dramatically. "Tell no One" is definitely worth the price of admission (or double) for his performance alone.
Actor-turned-director Guillaume Canet makes a giant leap from his weak debut "Whatever You Say," due in no small part to a cast consisting of international stars and even a few legends. Most recognizable (to American auds) is Brit-born/French resident Kristin Scott Thomas who continues to grow as a screen (& stage) star, be sure to check out her latest French-speaking role in "I've Loved You So Long" (she coud be Oscar-bound).
French cinema fans will also recognize rising stars Marina Hands ("Lady Chatterly") as Alex's sister, and French-Canadienne Marie-Josée Croze ("The Diving Bell & the Butterfly") as Alex's very memorable wife, 'Margot'. Not so recognizable, but definitely on their "A-game" are Gilles Lellouche ("Love Me If You Dare") as a helpful thug and actress Florence Thomassin (narr, "A Very Long Engagement") as Margot's best friend & pro photographer.
On the "legend" side, there's solid supporting work from a number of France's senior actors (no "age-ism" here): 60-yr. old actress Nathalie Baye (80 films incl. "The Flower of Evil"); 56-yr. old actor François Berléand (over 170 films incl. "A Girl Cut in Two"); 62-yr. old actor André Dussollier (over 120 films incl. the narrator in "Amelie"); and 78-yr. old actor Jean Rochefort (over 140 films incl. "Man on the Train").
And if the enigmatic storytelling and Oscar-caliber cast aren't enough to motivate your interest, how about a soundtrack mix of R&B classics, U2, and more. This film challenges the mind and is a treat for the ears. Seriously, if you see one (or two) French films all year, then let "Tell No one" be the 1.
[Note to PARENTS: Okay arthousers, be advised that there is full-frontal (male & female) nudity very early in the film and a nude dead body later on. Some of the violence is quite brutal but the bloodloss is held to a minimum.]
Cast ... Supporting characters:
André Dussollier ... Jacques Laurentin (Ex-police Capt./Alex's father-in-law)
Nathalie Baye ... Elysabeth Feldman (Alex's high-powered attorney)
Kristin Scott Thomas ... Hélène Perkins (Lesbian friend to the Becks)
Marina Hands ... Anne Beck (Alex's sister/Hélène's "wife")
François Berléand ... Eric Levkowitch (Detective)
Florence Thomassin ... Charlotte Bertaud (photographer/Margot's best friend)
Jean Rochefort ... Gilbert Neuville (Wealthy horse owner/dressage shows)
Gilles Lellouche ... Bruno (Thug/father of Alex's patient)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soundtrack info (IMDbPRO.com & Amazon.com/UK):
Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "For Your Precious Love" - Performed by Otis Redding
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Huit Ans Plus Tot [instrumental]
3. Huit Ans Plus Tard [instrumental]
4. Anniversaire Morbide [instrumental]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. "Lilac Wine" - Performed by Jeff Buckley
Written by James Shelton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. M + A [instrumental]
7. Cent Kilometres D'ici [instrumental]
8. Adagio [instrumental]
9. 22 [instrumental]
10. Stratos [instrumental]
11. Zac [instrumental]
12. Agenda [instrumental]
13. L'Ombre [instrumental]
14. Bye Charlotte
15. Rendez Vous [instrumental]
16. Hands Of Time
17. 17 Heures Parc Monceau [instrumental]
18. Depart Buenos Aires [instrumental]
19. Feldman [instrumental]
20. Mystere Lorantin [instrumental]
21. Apaisement [instrumental]
22. Ce Soir-La [instrumental]
23. Ne Le Dis A Personne [instrumental]
24. Le Secret
25. La Face B [instrumental]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLUS:
"With Or Without You" - Written Performed by U2
Published by Blue Mountain Music Ltd./Courtesy of Island Records Limited
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOVIE website-http://www.tellnoonemovie.com/
TELL NO ONE
A title that might stifle word-of-mouth advertising, but really doesn't matter since anyone catching this convoluted thriller on the big screen will end up going back to see it at least one more time (perhaps twice)!
3-1/4 stars (2nd view) // 2-1/2 stars (1st view)
[Ne le dis à personne/(2006)France/2008 USA release] - (2 hrs 5 min)
[In French (subtitled) / USA distrib: Music Box]
Co-writer, Co-star, & Director: Guillaume Canet
Co-writer: Philippe Lefebvre
Source: Novel by Harlan Coben
Original Music by "M"
Cinematography by Christophe Offenstein
Cast ... Lead characters:
François Cluzet ... Dr. Alexandre 'Alex' Beck (Pediatrician)
Robin Marmisse ... Young Alex (Flashback scenes only)
Marie-Josée Croze ... Margot Beck (Alex's wife)
Marie Martin ... Young Margot (Flashback scenes only)
Cameos:
Guillaume Canet (director of film) ... Philippe Neuville (Gilbert's son)
Harlan Coben (author of novel) ... Singer in the gare
Philippe Canet (director's real-life father) ... François Beck (Alex's father)
Review (2nd view):
Well, if you've ever wondered what the benefit of a "second viewing" is, this film is the proof. The first time through I admired the acting, got lost in the plotting (with its multiple "red herrings"), and ended up walking out of the theater a little more than disgruntled.
This time around I was able to pick up on the subtle clues planted early in the movie and spent more time "watching" the action and less time reading subtitles. I'm still not in total agreement with the five-minute "answer monologue" at the end of the story that not-so-neatly wraps up all of the loose ends.
Still, there was a moment about halfway into the film where the hair on my arms stood on end, an element I completely missed on the first viewing. So my advice to you is: SEE THIS ONE TWICE to maximize your thrills and understanding of the convoluted plotllines.
I also want to point out that actor François Cluzet (France's Dustin Hoffman) is absolutely brilliant as "Alex," the wrongly accused pediatrician. Cluzet (check him out in 'Round Midnight' too) appears in 90% of the scenes and makes every one pay off dramatically. "Tell no One" is definitely worth the price of admission (or double) for his performance alone.
Actor-turned-director Guillaume Canet makes a giant leap from his weak debut "Whatever You Say," due in no small part to a cast consisting of international stars and even a few legends. Most recognizable (to American auds) is Brit-born/French resident Kristin Scott Thomas who continues to grow as a screen (& stage) star, be sure to check out her latest French-speaking role in "I've Loved You So Long" (she coud be Oscar-bound).
French cinema fans will also recognize rising stars Marina Hands ("Lady Chatterly") as Alex's sister, and French-Canadienne Marie-Josée Croze ("The Diving Bell & the Butterfly") as Alex's very memorable wife, 'Margot'. Not so recognizable, but definitely on their "A-game" are Gilles Lellouche ("Love Me If You Dare") as a helpful thug and actress Florence Thomassin (narr, "A Very Long Engagement") as Margot's best friend & pro photographer.
On the "legend" side, there's solid supporting work from a number of France's senior actors (no "age-ism" here): 60-yr. old actress Nathalie Baye (80 films incl. "The Flower of Evil"); 56-yr. old actor François Berléand (over 170 films incl. "A Girl Cut in Two"); 62-yr. old actor André Dussollier (over 120 films incl. the narrator in "Amelie"); and 78-yr. old actor Jean Rochefort (over 140 films incl. "Man on the Train").
And if the enigmatic storytelling and Oscar-caliber cast aren't enough to motivate your interest, how about a soundtrack mix of R&B classics, U2, and more. This film challenges the mind and is a treat for the ears. Seriously, if you see one (or two) French films all year, then let "Tell No one" be the 1.
[Note to PARENTS: Okay arthousers, be advised that there is full-frontal (male & female) nudity very early in the film and a nude dead body later on. Some of the violence is quite brutal but the bloodloss is held to a minimum.]
Cast ... Supporting characters:
André Dussollier ... Jacques Laurentin (Ex-police Capt./Alex's father-in-law)
Nathalie Baye ... Elysabeth Feldman (Alex's high-powered attorney)
Kristin Scott Thomas ... Hélène Perkins (Lesbian friend to the Becks)
Marina Hands ... Anne Beck (Alex's sister/Hélène's "wife")
François Berléand ... Eric Levkowitch (Detective)
Florence Thomassin ... Charlotte Bertaud (photographer/Margot's best friend)
Jean Rochefort ... Gilbert Neuville (Wealthy horse owner/dressage shows)
Gilles Lellouche ... Bruno (Thug/father of Alex's patient)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Soundtrack info (IMDbPRO.com & Amazon.com/UK):
Please note that songs listed here (and in the movie credits) cannot always be found on CD soundtracks. Please check CD track details for confirmation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "For Your Precious Love" - Performed by Otis Redding
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Huit Ans Plus Tot [instrumental]
3. Huit Ans Plus Tard [instrumental]
4. Anniversaire Morbide [instrumental]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. "Lilac Wine" - Performed by Jeff Buckley
Written by James Shelton
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. M + A [instrumental]
7. Cent Kilometres D'ici [instrumental]
8. Adagio [instrumental]
9. 22 [instrumental]
10. Stratos [instrumental]
11. Zac [instrumental]
12. Agenda [instrumental]
13. L'Ombre [instrumental]
14. Bye Charlotte
15. Rendez Vous [instrumental]
16. Hands Of Time
17. 17 Heures Parc Monceau [instrumental]
18. Depart Buenos Aires [instrumental]
19. Feldman [instrumental]
20. Mystere Lorantin [instrumental]
21. Apaisement [instrumental]
22. Ce Soir-La [instrumental]
23. Ne Le Dis A Personne [instrumental]
24. Le Secret
25. La Face B [instrumental]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLUS:
"With Or Without You" - Written Performed by U2
Published by Blue Mountain Music Ltd./Courtesy of Island Records Limited
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MOVIE website-http://www.tellnoonemovie.com/
"Be careful. I love you." [email sent to Alex]
First view/Mini-review:
What can you say about a movie plotted so complexly that a five minute monologue near the end of the proceedings is the only way for it to make any sense at all ... and even then it's dubious! Rendezvous synopsis: Popular American mystery writer Harlan Coban finally makes it to the silver screen in this powerful French adaptation of his novel Tell No One.
Eight years after his wife’s murder, Dr. Alex Beck (François Cluzet) has done what he could to rebuild his world. On the anniversary of her death, evidence suddenly appears that may link Alex directly to the murder, while Alex receives an e-mail with a subject heading that only his dead wife could know!
Actor Guiullaume Canet (Merry Christmas), whose directorial debut Mon Idole was presented in Rendez-Vous 2003, expertly orchestrates the various themes and subplots of this complex thriller.
An extraordinary cast includes Nathalie Baye, Andre Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thompson, Jean Rochefort, François Berleand, and Marina Hands.
French website
First view/Mini-review:
What can you say about a movie plotted so complexly that a five minute monologue near the end of the proceedings is the only way for it to make any sense at all ... and even then it's dubious! Rendezvous synopsis: Popular American mystery writer Harlan Coban finally makes it to the silver screen in this powerful French adaptation of his novel Tell No One.
Eight years after his wife’s murder, Dr. Alex Beck (François Cluzet) has done what he could to rebuild his world. On the anniversary of her death, evidence suddenly appears that may link Alex directly to the murder, while Alex receives an e-mail with a subject heading that only his dead wife could know!
Actor Guiullaume Canet (Merry Christmas), whose directorial debut Mon Idole was presented in Rendez-Vous 2003, expertly orchestrates the various themes and subplots of this complex thriller.
An extraordinary cast includes Nathalie Baye, Andre Dussollier, Kristin Scott Thompson, Jean Rochefort, François Berleand, and Marina Hands.
French website