Simon Blount (Bernard Giraudeau) is a weary cop who takes solace in the bottle after his wife leaves him for another man. His spirit is lifted when he meets Violet (Fanny Bastien), the wispy, mysterious female he considers somewhat of an angel. Simon is unaware she has systematically murdered the police, attorneys, and officials who were linked to the death of her prostitute mother. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie GuideRead More »
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The Pope has died. Cardinal Lawrence must lead the Conclave to select the new leader of the Catholic world. But as high-ranking cardinals gather, he discovers sides have been drawn and secrets that might destroy a future pope, perhaps even the Church itself, threaten to be revealed. Following his Oscar-winning success with All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger presents us with another tale of conflict, albeit one where battles are waged in hushed tones in hallowed hallways. Fiennes, Tucci and John Lithgow make the most of Peter Straughan’s (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) screenplay, based on Robert Harris’ 2016 novel, albeit with Isabella Rossellini almost stealing the film as the formidable Sister Agnes.Read More »
A documentary about the Holocaust and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising based on contemporary German film footage and survivor testimony.Read More »
This three hour long French documentary chronicles the life and personality of famed French poet, actor and intellectual Antonin Artaud who passed away in 1948 when he was only 50-years old. His last two years were characterized by his insanity, and terrible pain. Though a famed actor and poet, Artaud is best remembered for his musings upon the true significance and power of words. The documentary includes archival footage, readings of his poems, examples of his art, and interviews with close friends.Read More »
A strict father imposes impossible guidelines on his disabled daughter which reflect his secret, tortured life.Read More »
Made for TV and the French Bicentennial celebrations, this is an extreme case of Peter Greenaway’s obsession with cataloguing and classification. Comprising 23 case histories of corpses fished out of the Seine between 1795 and 1801, it forms a kind of micro-reprise of his monumental The Falls, piling up its narratives, Holmesian speculations and slow, clinical tracking shots over corpses, in a rigidly uniform structure. But within this forbidding system, Greenaway breaks up the frame, much as in Prospero’s Books, using Paintbox graphics to play on the comparative textures of television and paper. Death in the Seine is a pedantic film, because it’s about pedantry and the systematic collecting of facts which might or might not constitute evidence. It wasn’t taken up by British TV, which considering the film’s sign-off comments about the transience of memory and recorded knowledge, is a rather sour irony.Read More »
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… 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 Bertrand 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.Read More »
Episodic portrait of a criminal, from 1934 until after the war. Roberto Borgo is tough, cool, sardonic, loyal, and deadly. He comes to Marseilles to help his friend Xavier Saratov get out of jail, first killing a local brothel and casino boss to take over the businesses, and, with the help of Xavier’s sister, Georgia, amass money for Xavier’s defense. Xavier loses in court, so Roberto gets himself thrown in prison to be with his friend. Escape proves futile, but they are pardoned in exchange for working as sappers. After the war, Xavier is a bitter cripple, but Roberto remains detached, extorting ownership of a casino, which puts his friends at risk. Does he care?Read More »
Professor Marrot obtains the secret documents containing evidence of the illegal weapon transactions between the French government, in the face of its high official Leroi, and two African countries. Before making the public statement, Marrot finds himself under surveillance. In the critical circumstances his Italian friend and partner Angela takes action and the game continues.Read More »