French

Synopsis wrote:
Honoré Panisse is dying, cheerfully, with friends, wife, and son at his side. He confesses to the priest in front of his friends; he insists that the doctor be truthful. But, he cannot bring himself to tell his son Cesariot that his real father is Marius, the absent son of César, Cesariot’s godfather. Panisse leaves that to Fanny, the lad’s mother. Dissembling that he’s off to see a friend, Cesariot then seeks Marius, now a mechanic in Toulon. Posing as a journalist, Cesariot spends time with Marius and leaves believing tales he is a petty thief. Only after the truth comes out can Marius, Fanny, César, and Cesariot step beyond the falsehoods, benign though they may be.Read More »

Synopsis:
In the village of Omoye in Gabon’s Haut-Ogooué province, Petit Papa is a young man known for his laziness and desire for easy living. One morning, as he complains about having to work, a mysterious and beautiful woman appears before him — unknowingly, he has been possessed by a demon that travels the world seeking those consumed by envy and idleness. Suddenly blessed with cars, money and women, Petit Papa becomes the envy of his community. But the price his new mistress El Diablo demands will mark the beginning of his descent into hell.Read More »

Quote:
Les Contes Secrets ou les Rohmériens features interviews with 16 actors who have appeared in Rohmer’s films, and they talk on camera about his unusual working methods, his personality, and his spare but evocative signature style. Among the thespians who share their memories are Jean-Louis Trinitignant, Marie-Christine Barrault, Zouzou, Jean-Claude Brialy, Béatrice Romand, Françoise Fabian, and Andre Dussolier; the film also includes rare footage of Rohmer himself at work on the set of his 1978 effort Perceval.Read More »

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A clear-eyed look at how everyday life and the accompanying humdrum tasks go on despite the threat of violence at any moment.Read More »

Synopsis wrote:
Picking up moments after the end of Marius, this film follows Fanny’s grief after Marius’s departure—and her realization that she’s pregnant. Panisse continues courting her and embraces the baby’s impending arrival as a gift, so long as its paternity remains a secret. Fanny and Panisse wed, but after her baby’s birth, Marius returns unexpectedly and demands what he believes is still his.Read More »

Fernand Gravey and Jacques Duby star as a pair of slick race track touts in need of some quick cash. Targetting rural rube Jean Richard as a patsy, the two sharpsters con him into putting up his hard-earned cash on a few sure things. Within what seems like seconds, Richard becomes wealthy by using his instincts, while the “clever” Gravey and Duby come a-cropper by playing the odds. If it’s possible for a French film to be Runyonesque, then Courte Tete is that film.Read More »

SYNOPSIS:
This documentary produced in 1973 is a remarkable document on traditional Islamic culture in Afghanistan before the country met with the disasters of ideological struggles and civil war. To a Muslim sensibility, its importance goes much further. It is an objective and respectful testimony to the profound, essential aspects of the spiritual culture of Islam, captured by a Western filmmaker.Read More »

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If you ever wanted to understand the debate about the independence of Québec, this is likely the best documentary made on the subject. Sadly, it comes without subtitle. A few may find it somewhat demagogical… it mostly is once it enter the popular opinion, the average man take on it. But the politicians are also abhorrent and you hear it loud and clear. Those against it are very vocal, screaming anger and anguish, always yelling. Using the same scare tactics that always are used to defeat the opposition. Showing it to be dangerous, irrealistic, etc. Even, as a testament to how little have changed, taking the oil price as a measure of achievement, saying Canada have it the cheapest and that the independence of Québec would double it’s price.Read More »

Handsome young general Armand de Montriveau has searched across the seas for the woman he fell madly in love with five years ago. He finally finds Antoinette, the Duchess of Langeais, living chastely in a Majorcan convent… It was love at first sight for Montriveau upon meeting Antoinette, a married coquette who frequents the most extravagant balls of 1820s Restoration Paris, where hypocrisy and vanity reign. Flattered by his attentions, the alluring Antoinette orchestrates a calculating game of seduction, but she repeatedly refuses Montriveau. Despite his sincere romantic declarations, Montriveau’s passion remains unfulfilled. When the humiliated Montriveau eventually seeks his revenge, Antoinette’s love awakens. But it may well be too late for the star-crossed lovers.Read More »