Eva Ionesco Movies

A young sound engineer whose mother has recently been murdered uses her expertise in audio to launch her own investigation into the case, only to find that the sounds of the past could prove key to solving a mystery of the present in director Alanté Kavaïté's poetic thriller. Charlotte's mother has been mysteriously murdered, but the grieving daughter isn't about to let the investigations stall due to the simple incompetence of the local police force. When Charlotte travels back to the house that her mother lived in at the time of the murder and makes an audio recording that seems to be of supernatural origins, the surreal events that follow lead the once-skeptical girl down a darkened path that threatens to consume her own soul with each new terrifying revelation. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A wealthy but dysfunctional family teeters on the brink of collapse in this emotional drama leavened with a strong dose of dark comedy. Federica (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) is the daughter of a wealthy Italian business magnate (Roberto Herlitzka) who relocated himself and his family to France in the 1970s, after a wave of kidnappings among the rich and prominent led him to fear for their safety. Years later, Federica and her siblings -- brother Aurelio (Lambert Wilson) and sister Bianca (Chiara Mastroianni) -- still feel lost and disconnected, and with their father on his death bed, they each confront their feelings in their own way. Emotionally distant Aurelio plans a long and expensive vacation, while Bianca is in a sour mood that refuses to lift. Federica, who is attempting to establish herself as a playwright, tries to focus on her work, but she finds herself romantically torn between her current beau, down to earth Pierre (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and her former lover Philippe (Denis Podalydes), who despite his infatuation with her can't tear himself away from his wife and child. Il Est Plus Facile Pour un Chameau... was the first feature film from Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, who wrote and directed the film as well as playing Federica. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Sixteen passengers aboard a Paris tour bus bound for Normandy provide the framework for this French ensemble drama. The trip takes 48 hours; in that time the disparate passengers begin forming a unique bond. Among the riders are a pair of snobs who have decided to "slum it" and take the bus; a country rube; a Jewish electrician and his beautiful black lover; a Romanian woman who wants to see a special mountain; a Japanese student researching dragons; a boorish middle-class couple, and "Mademoiselle Kleenex," so dubbed by the others because she never stops crying. En route, they begin to get to know each other, and almost immediately begin showing their character flaws. That night they are robbed on a lonely road and this brings them together on their shared odyssey. The next day they stop to see a sight, and there, one of them tries to kill himself leaving the others to wonder why as they are carted down to the police station to make their statements. During the evening, the passengers have a picnic on the grounds of a great chateau. There they hold a makeshift talent show. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This affectionate little drama captures the last summer before graduation, when these assorted film students and drama students must leave the protected world of college and venture out into the chaotic currents of everyday life. All of them are working together to prepare a revue which spoofs and celebrates their work together. Each student has his own style and character - often chosen for maximum dramatic impact. For instance, Paul (Pierre Berriau) is permanently gloomy, and mopes around, invariably wearing a long coat. The others make fun of him, because he is so serious. Charly (Nathalie Richard) loyally helps a male friend of hers rid himself of the insistent attentions of a former girlfriend. Caroline (Charlotte Leo) is the romantic one of the bunch, and her adventures along those lines keep her fully occupied. Several of them insist that they will not compromise the purity of their cinematic and theatrical aspirations for mere monetary comfort, but when Luc (Lucas Belvaux) and Nanou (Christine Vouilloz) find that Nanou is pregnant, they reconsider their absolutist stance. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Nine women gather in a seaside home to discuss life, love, and the search for men in this routine comedy. The hostess leaves after her boyfriend calls her up, and one of the others picks up an American tourist at a local bar. She confiscates his passport to keep him for her temporary boytoy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This suavely-fashioned film with an all-female cast focuses primarily on three women and the man who goes in and out of their lives. One member of this trio is a saleswoman (Marie-France Pisier) with an open relationship that suddenly closes when she learns that her lover has been unfaithful. It seems that he has dallied with a book-dealer (her nemesis) who ultimately does not propose as much of a threat to the disillusioned saleswoman as a certain actress (Clementine Celarie). Along with these three are several other females who interact with the main protagonists. Set up more in the manner of a stage play with changing scenes and acts, this drama is still unusual for its all-distaff cast. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

At 25, Helena (Mimsy Farmer) is "middle-aged" for a prostitute. When 15-year-old Julien's callow friends try to pick her up (not knowing that she is a prostitute), she allows Julien (Pascal Sellier) to win her favors. Something about him appeals to her, and she sees him from time to time. Bespelled by his first sexual and romantic experiences with her, he is at first blind to the nature of her profession but gradually understands it. Meanwhile, she has come to care for the boy more than she planned to, and to keep from causing him further harm, she breaks off with him. Even though Julien is devastated, his father, an understanding man, is able to help. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi