Florence Pernel Movies

Writer/director Xavier Durringer teams up with co-screenwriter Patrick Rotman to chart French President Nicolas Sarkozy's (Denis Podalydes) rise to power, and the gradual deterioration of his marriage to his second wife, Cécilia (Florence Pernel). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The fall of communism in Hungary and the power of the movies to change people's lives provide the backdrop for this drama from Hungarian director Togay Can. Ladu (Matej Matejka) and Radi (David Szabo) are two school-age film buffs living in a tiny Hungarian village -- so small, as the locals like to say, it's "behind God's back." Each and every week, Ladu and Radi eagerly await the arrival of the latest attraction at the town's only movie house, which comes into town via motorcycle delivery man. One week, however, the boys get the bad news: the driver has passed on, which means no more movies for the time being. Ladu takes matters into his own hands; he finds several old reels of film in a storage area at the theater, and patches together a new story from bits and pieces of a stack of screen classics, including Battleship Potemkin, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and La Grande Illusion. Ladu's remarkable collage of images has a profound effect on the townspeople; several find themselves dramatically reassessing their lives, and the audience at one screening is so moved as to defy the bidding of the village's corrupt mayor and party boss. Egy Tel Az Isten Hata Mogott received its premiere at the 1999 Hungarian Film Week Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A teenage boy comes of age at the hands of several older women while searching for his mother. Based on a best-selling novel by Stephen Vizinczey and set during the course of the Spanish Civil War, the drama begins when callow Andre is sent home to rejoin his mother when war breaks out. En route, he is waylaid by Republican soldiers who take him to their camp. There he encounters a coquettish British countess who offers him his first taste of sexual intimacy. Later the countess and her spouse return to England and Andre is sent to the home of Julia where he has his second experience. From there, he is captured by the fascists and only meets his mother after the war ends. Fortunately, for him, he has three more encounters waiting for him after that. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Arthur Rimbaud, the title character of this film, was a noted French poet who at the age 26 abandoned his profession to become a North African trader/wanderer. This epic biopic tells his strange and tragic tale. A rather depressive and tormented soul, Rimbaud began his adventures in the early 1800s in a coastal village in Abysinia (modern-day Ethiopia). He joined an expedition and began an arduous journey across the Sahara. During the entire trip, the morose Rimbaud said nothing. Upon reaching their final destination, Rimbaud is horrified to see that the streets are ruled by packs of wild dogs. He attempts to rectify this by poisoning the beasts, an act that makes him unwelcome amongst the locals. Next, Rimbaud begins working with a gun runner and sets off to sell arms to a powerful African ruler. A double cross spells tragedy for the poet. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Pierre (Laurent Grevill) has somehow managed to retain his job as a rural schoolteacher, despite an addlepated "campaign for decency" by the Vichy government which has targeted practically every halfway offbeat or intellectual facet of French life, including the schools, alleging that they are responsible for a downbeat mood in national affairs. When Mauve (Florence Pernel), a woman he knew as a child, returns from Paris to live with her sister they renew their acquaintance and things quickly progress to the point that the two of them get married. However, whether it is due to ghosts from Maude's past, or his own naturally morose temperament, it soon becomes clear that they are not well suited for one another. This drama is based on a novel by Michel Besnier. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Andre Joeuf (Jean Poiret) is the coldly calculating president of an insurance company who, when faced with the imperative of firing some of his highly paid executives, invites them all over to his country estate for a weekend to indulge in a few games of musical chairs. Anyone left standing after each round will be out his job. The mix of people at the estate and their relationships to each other and their boss, as well as the character of the boss himself, are enough to make most business majors switch to art history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi