Roger Ibanez Movies

Noted Basque-born director Daniel Calparsoro spins this high-octane crime thriller set in Madrid. The film opens with a violent car wreck witnessed by stunning Lucia (Najwa Nimri) and her thuggish boyfriend Chino (Gustavo Salmeron). Just before Chino, Lucia, and their buddy Charly (Juan Diego Botto) rob a wealthy Frenchman at gunpoint, the couple makes noisy love as their pal looks on. The rich man gets shot in the process of the robbery. Thinking that they killed him, the three promptly flee. Meanwhile, Chino's elder cop brother Antonio (Alfredo Villa) tries to steer his rebellious sibling toward the straight and narrow -- until Chino finally gives in and tips off the cops about a drug deal between Charley and a crime boss. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Celebrated blind poet Rene Kermadek (Claude Rich) is married to his former student Sibilla (Valeria Cavalli), who provides his only true connection to the world. Although Sibilla is a faithful and devoted wife, he suspects her of cheating on him -- currently with matador Manuel Fernandez (Gregoire Colin). Since she never succeeds in convincing him of her love, he plans his suicide. A multiple winner at Montreal's 1997 World Film Festival, this film was shot on locations in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, India, and Germany, the English title being Homer - Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This drama concerns a young woman who takes far too long to grow up. Nanou (Imogen Stubbs) skips out of England to bum around Europe and have some adventures. Leaving Geneva behind after a stint at waitressing, she meets and eventually moves in with a roust-about named Luc (Jean-Philippe Ecoffey). Luc is ostensibly a '60s revolutionary, spouting all the right jargon and apparently committed to noble but illegal activities that help the working masses. He involves Nanou in his shenanigans, which include anything from dashing off political grafitti to a plot to blow up a railroad track. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

At the beginning of World War II, while the Germans entered France from the north, many people had reason to believe that the Germans would not treat them kindly, and they fled by train to the south. This French film tells the story of a few of them. Because they were fleeing the best-organized bureaucrats in the world, many of them chose to flee in freight cars, unseen and unnoted. When Meyereu (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is separated from his wife during the escape, he allows a Jewish girl (Romy Schneider) to pose as his wife. As the deception continues, they come to care for each other, but she discreetly disappears when his real wife turns up. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Zita, portrayed by Katina Paxinou, is a Parisian widow who has suffered a stroke. She is cared for by her niece Joanna Shimkus, who chafes under the responsibility and wanders off. Shimkus falls in with thieves and lowlifes, finally ending up in jail. She is bailed out by her family doctor (Paul Crauchet), but soon she's back in her old seedy nightclub haunts. While making love to jazz musician Jose Maria Flotats, Shimkus begins reminiscing about her childhood with her aunt. Somewhat chastened, a more mature Shimkus returns home to resume her duties--but by this time, Aunt Zita has died. The film's sympathies are squarely with the niece, whose "escape" from her aunt is meant to represent her final break from childish dependency. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi