France

Synopsis: Francis arrives in Venice seeking peace and quiet to write his next novel. Looking to rent a small apartment, he meets Judith a real estate broker. For Francis, it’s love at first sight. Judith insists that he should see a remote house on Sant’ Erasmo island. Taking the plunge, Francis says “if we move in together, I’ll sign right away”. So begins their life as a couple. Totally euphoric, Francis can’t set his mind to writing. But, is his happiness so secure? While he isn’t working, what does Judith do with her day? Francis hires Jeremie, a young offender fresh out of jail, to tail her. What will Jeremie find out?Read More »

Synopsis:
The Marquis de Villemaur reunite stranges visitors in his Castle, to meet a survivor of the 3rd Reich. There is an Italian fascist ; Heinrich, a German ; Matthias, a russian ; and Dromard, a blind French war hero, with a black monocle.Read More »

PLOT DESCRIPTION
French filmmaker Jean Renoir would later remark that he directed the sensual dance fantasy Charleston because he’d “just discovered American jazz.” He also had some stock footage left over from his previous silent success Nana, and decided it would be provident to fashion a new film from these leavings. Even without the benefit of sound, one can hear the jazzy rhythms of Charleston through the exuberant gyrations of an African-American dancer whom Renoir and his star, actress Catherine Hessling, had discovered for this picture. Originally titled Sur un air de Charleston, the film was also released as Charleston Parade in English-speaking countries. In some areas of the US and Europe, the film was greeted with protests from censorship boards who simply couldn’t appreciate the aesthetic value in Catherine Hessling’s near-nude dance numbers.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »

“A strikingly atmospheric work – intense, dark and at times extremely disturbing… ~FrenchFilms

Synopsis:
A few weeks into a preparatory course for entry to the prestigious École Normale Supérieure, Delphine witnesses the suicide of a fellow student, Claude. Traumatised by the experience – which is made more acute by the fact that Claude spoke to her a short while before she killed herself, Delphine finds herself drawn to unravel the mystery of the tragic death. She is attracted to Claude’s charismatic boyfriend, Axel, in spite of his cruelty and extreme political views. Axel agrees to have sex with Delphine if she first manages to sleep with Claude’s brother, Bertrand, a cadet who hopes to enter the elite military academy, St. Cyr. Through Bertrand, Delphine finds out more about Claude’s life and the reason for her suicide…Read More »

Synopsis: Fernand de Kéranic wants to eliminate his cousin and ward in order to receive her inheritance.Read More »

Synopsis:
‘His criminal activities exposed, a crooked financier named Géraudy takes flight and intends to make his escape across the alpine border with the help of a young smuggler, Manu. When his wife Florence declines to join him, Géraudy hangs himself, thus depriving her of his life insurance. Florence persuades Inspecteur Nansen that Géraudy’s death was murder not suicide, and Manu is soon arrested as the obvious suspect. Manu’s only hope is a suicide note written by Géraudy just before he killed himself, but this he has entrusted to his girlfriend. The latter cannot forgive Manu when she sees him with Florence and so it appears that an innocent young man will be condemned for Géraudy’s supposed murder…’
– James TraversRead More »

Recapturing a spontaneous moment in time witnessed by the director, when a couple of free wheeling youths on their scooters in the summer of the Riviera try to pick up a girl or two.Read More »

Quote:
A death in the family. Patrick dies and his three sisters gather at their parents’ home in Normandy. Anne, the oldest, is steady, married with two children, showing little emotion. Isabelle, who’s cut herself off from her family for eight years, returns from Paris. Claude, Patrick’s twin and still a student, grieves for her other half. Along with their parents, each must face family grievances first before they can grieve together for Patrick. Then comes the revelation of how he died, and new feelings come to the fore. Can a death help a family to heal, coax an aging mother back to sanity, bring a couple into each other’s arms, and enable two sisters to grow?Read More »

Quote:
First part of a “trilogy of modern times” (the second one is La Blessure, and third – La question humaine).

Paria follows the path of two characters, Momo and Victor. Momo –remarkably played by Gérald Thomassin– lives in the streets, while Victor, on the edge of poverty, loses his apartment when he loses his job. Their destinies will come across during the night of the “millennium” which will be celebrated in a social pick-up bus. By a brilliant inversion of the points of view, the opening sequence, shot form the bus, in which the city night is threatening, takes a totally different aspect in the middle of the film. The events take another relief as the outcast have been given a face, taking back their humanity. In the wonderful sequence that follows, Blaise, one of the homeless is taken care of in a refuge where the outcast are healed and washed, far away in the suburbs, away from the good society. Victor and Momo, thanks to love, will find hope in a better future. Filmed in a documentary way, in DV under the cold urban lights, Paria catches the dark side of the city, the space between the spaces, the left-overs, and frees the speech of the outcast the society don’t know what to do with.Read More »