Dominic Gould Movies

In the wake of screen adaptations by such acclaimed filmmakers as Andrzej Zulawski and Manoel de Oliveira, director Christophe Honoré updates Madame de Lafayette's novel La Princesse de Clèves while placing the story in a contemporary setting. Junie (Léa Seydoux) is new in Paris, and there isn't a man in the city that hasn't noticed. Chief among her admirers are teacher Nemours (Louis Garrel) and gauche fellow student Otto (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet). As passions flare, it becomes readily apparent that Nemours maintains a rather liberal approach to student-teacher relationships. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Writer and director Sofia Coppola puts a new spin on the life and times of one of Europe's most infamous monarchs in this lavish historical drama which fuses a contemporary sensibility with painstaking recreations of the look of the 18th century. Born to Austrian nobility, Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst) is only 14 years old when she's pledged to marry Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman), the 15-year-old king of France, in an alliance that has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with love. Sent to France and literally stripped of her former life, Marie weds Louis, but to the consternation of the royal court, he seems either unwilling or unable to consummate the marriage while their advisors clamor for an heir to the throne. Young and more than a bit out of step with the new life that's been thrust upon her, Marie gives herself over to the pleasures of life in Versailles, knowing and caring little of the political intrigue that surrounds her. In time, Marie's trusted older brother, Joseph (Danny Huston), is brought in to coach Louis on the finer points of marital relations, and before long the couple is finally blessed with a child. However, as Marie tends to her children in the gilded cage of her palace and enjoys an affair with a Swedish nobleman, political power plays are throwing France into chaos, and the growing ranks of the poor rebel against the royals and their life of privilege. Also starring Rip Torn, Judy Davis, Steve Coogan, and Asia Argento, Marie Antoinette was given a controversial reception when it premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Directed and written by Philippe Muyl, the family-friendly Le Papillon (The Butterfly) concerns a search for the title creature. Often lonely because of her single mother's busy work schedule, eight-year-old Elsa (Claire Bouanich) befriends an elderly neighbor man named Julien (Michel Serrault), eventually joining him on a trek to find a rare butterfly that lives for only 72 hours. As the relationship between the two teaches them both a few things about themselves, Elsa's mother (Nade Dieu) worries that her daughter has been kidnapped. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This French drama, adapted from the novel Playback by Didier Daeninckx, centers on small-town girl Johanna (Virginie Ledoyen) who dreams of becoming a rock star. Johanna and her shy friend Jeanne (Maidi Roth) perform in a small mining town when Parisian Luc (Marc Duret), on a visit to close the mine, catches their act. When Luc loses his job, he becomes their representative. At a talent show for solo performers, Jeanne sings backstage while Johanna lip-syncs onstage. Fame follows, but Johanna's promiscuous activities and drug use create frictions with her friends. As Pierre Montgolfier, a friend of Jeanne's mother, veteran performer Serge Reggiani offers a rendition of the 1943 tune "Douce France." Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Two men with seemingly nothing in common become unlikely friends in this drama from France. Harry (Daniel Auteuil) is a salesman working for a large but faceless corporation, where he's become a success at the expense of his personal life. His wife Julie (Miou-Miou), frustrated by his lack of concern for his family, has divorced him, and while he still has visitation rights to his children, he manages to forget when it's his weekend with his daughters, and he neglects to pick them up at the train station. Harry is depressed and nearly suicidal; while driving late one rainy night, he accidentally hits a dog who is walking with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a personable young man with Down's Syndrome. Georges lives in a mental institution, where he's happy and well cared for, but when several of the other patients leave for a weekend visit, Georges decides that he should leave too, and he sets out to visit his mother. Harry can't bring himself to leave Georges behind, so after burying the dog, he offers to drive him to his mother's home, which becomes the start of a complicated odyssey for the two of them, especially after Harry finds out that Georges' mother is no longer alive. Actor Pascal Duquenne actually does have Down's Syndrome; he and co-star Daniel Auteuil shared the Best Actor award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Anton is a Polish sailor on shore leave in New York City. He is not only clueless about the city but is irritatingly obtuse about many things. He has struck up an acquaintance with two of the city's foreign residents and has moved into their tiny apartment with them, missing his ship in the process. He doesn't have a visa to stay in the U.S. but seemingly doesn't care. However, when Barbara, a French native, runs into immigration difficulties, Anton goes out of his way to find her a husband. Typically, he does this by dragging Barbara around New York and asking practically every man he meets whether they're willing to marry her. Not only does this unlikely ploy succeed, but he snares a pleasant and wealthy man as his friend's new husband. One can only imagine what that does for her relationship with her hyperactive and domineering male roommate Wadeck, another Pole. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A lusty executive for a high-tech company tries to juggle his life between two disparate wives and his mistress. He is also in the Army Reserves and it is while serving his annual two weeks that he gets into big trouble. Actually, he is not actually serving; instead, he convinced his buddy to pretend to be him and go in his stead. The problems begin when the stand-in is arrested for being a spy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide