Fabienne Babe Movies

The kidnapping and assassination of Moroccan political activist Mehdi Ben Barka, fictionalized in Yves Boisset's L'Attentat in 1972, gets a more historically accurate treatment in Serge Le Péron's noirish docudrama, the tabloid-headline-titled I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed. The film is narrated by cynical ex-con Georges Figon (Charles Berling), whose dead body is shown at the film's opening. Figon talks about the heady times, as newsreel footage of the civil rights movement and the anti-colonial uprisings of the 1960s is shown. In flashbacks, Figon wants to be a film producer, and has connections to screenwriter Marguerite Duras (Josiane Balasko) who puts him in touch with director Georges Franju (Jean-Pierre Léaud). Figon keeps promising to make his actress girlfriend, Anne-Marie Coffinet (Fabienne Babe), a star. But he still has ties to the underworld, and through them he meets the shady Chtouki (Azize Kabouche), a Moroccan operative who offers him a lot of money to scrap his current filmmaking plans to make a documentary about the worldwide anti-colonial movement. Chtouki's main interest is that the exiled Barka (Simon Abkarian) be hired as a consultant on the doc, so that he'll come to Paris to meet with Figon, Franju, and Philippe Bernier (Mathieu Amalric). On the day of the meeting, Figon watches from the café window as the French police intercept Barka and take him away. After witnessing what becomes of Barka, Figon grows increasingly concerned for his own safety, and goes to the press with a sensationalized version of the events. I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2006 as part of their annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Sylvia (Isabelle Huppert) is a 40-year-old prostitute who works on the streets in Nice. Her teenage daughter Laurence (Maud Forget), whom she had abandoned years before, visits her apartment unexpectedly while Sylvia is being beaten by two thugs. One of the thugs is killed in the resulting melee, and the two women flee to the French countryside. Sylvia tries to find her ex-husband with whom she had a son, and her daughter tries to connect with her despite Sylvia's reluctance. They meet the mysterious fugitive Joshua (Pascal Greggory) who joins them. Meanwhile, Sylvia confronts her troubled past and tries to make sense of her life. ~ Todd Kristel, Rovi

Erotic Tales offers three short films with strong sexual content. Dito Tsintsadze's An Erotic Tale is about a writer attempting to pick up a still-attached woman. Bob Rafelson's Porn.com is about a struggling filmmaker who is hired to make a Nazi-themed pornographic film. Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's dialogue-free On Top Down Under intercuts a woman using an icicle for erotic release while her lover plans an icy death for himself. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In this mock documentary, television journalist Christie (Fabienne Babe) and her camera crew trace the history and nefarious exploits of the new terrors of the French criminal underworld. The "Old School" Gang are four young men who grew up in the same orphanage; led by Letiole (Stephane Soo Mongo), they affect outlandish mid-'70s fashions and a retro-gangster/neo-blaxploitation persona as they rob, loot, and shoot their way through the seamy underbelly of Paris. Old School features a score by French hip-hop stars Joey Starr and DJ Spank. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Noted French director Michel Couvelard creates this bleak, understated drama about midlife crises. Twenty years ago, Robert (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) left his home in the provincial northern town of Boulogne to make it as an actor. His career never amounted to much, as he managed only a couple of acting jobs on TV. Without warning, he returns to his hometown and drops in on his sister (Catherine Frot) who is in the throes of a sordid affair with her married boss. Later, Robert drops in on his younger brother, who is mentally retarded and lives with his elderly mother. As the film progresses, it quietly, sensitively depicts Robert's disruption of the lives of the members of his family. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Algerian-born director Merzouk Allouache helmed this French-Lebanese romantic drama in French and Arabic dialogue. Franco-Lebanese journalist Laurence (Fabienne Babe), who left Beirut in 1975 when the civil war began, returns and runs across Rachid (Georges Corraface), whom she knew in Algiers. They wander about, visit Baalbek, discuss politics, and get romantic. Laurence listens to Rachid's reasons for self-exile and plans to pack him off to Paris. Shown at the 1998 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Filled with references and language that will be most meaningful to those intimate with the French language and culture, this gritty outing attempts to paint a dignified but funny portrait of a poor, dysfunctional family during the winter of 1968. The Jacobs currently reside in a grim industrial junkyard on the outskirts of Paris. Jesus is a bit of a hippy with his long hair, loud, hip clothing and wild man ways. His father is an alcoholic and his mother is utterly passive. His brother Nene fancies himself a '50s-style greaser. Only his stepsister Marie, an early women's libber shows the slightest inclination toward work. Were it not for her income, the family would be destitute. Jesus' brother Ernest is the family star because he earned a scholarship to a university in Paris. Jesus and Nene frequently drink at the grungy Elvis bar with their sex-crazy, paraplegiac friend Levrette. Conflicts arise when Jesus falls for the free-spirited supermarket cashier Mathilde, the sister of the insanely jealous Gerard. He and Jesus immediately become bitter rivals, something that earns the contempt of Mathilde. But the real trouble doesn't begin until someone savagely rapes Marie. Afterwards, Jesus and Nene team up to get revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A reluctant boxer is the focus of this unique French romance. Maurice dreams of becoming a violinist. But his father, a former boxing champion crippled by his bouts, has other dreams for his pudgy but strong 18 year old son. He wants Maurice to become the next Champ. Concerned about his son's lack of machismo, the father arranges a tryst between Maurice and Nora, an aging femme fatale. Unfortunately Nora's jealous husband suddenly interrupts their romantic interlude. Maurice accidently kills the husband in the ensuing scuffle. United by the tragedy, Nora and Maurice eventually fall in love. Maurice is then inspired to become a great fighter. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In modern-day Paris, a cabalist known as the Maharal has created a golem, an artificial being constructed of earth and clay, infused with spirit through the recitation of a special formula. The legendary being he brings to life is known in this instance as "The Spirit of Exile," and the magician's goal in creating her was to create a protector for Jews in need of one. In this movie, the golem is motivated to assist numerous people whose lives are marked by tragedy. In the main story, she must try to help Shemesh, a woman whose many troubles cause her to resemble the Biblical character of Job. She has been evicted from her home after her husband and sons die, and she and her daughter-in-law must find some means for surviving their difficult situation. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Marion is a young unmarried mother who lives in the same wrong-side-of-the-tracks neighborhood as Richard and his mother. Richard is just getting to the point in his adolescence when he is not only interested in women but wants to do something about that. Richard's mother is a seamstress, and Marion is one of her customers. Before long, Marion has fallen in love with Richard, who is too callow to know what's happening between them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A distinguished drama and considered an important entry in French cinema's new naturalism from one of the '80s most promising French filmmakers, this drama presents a shocking but humanistic look at the tragic lives of impoverished children living in the Paris projects. Bruno is a teenaged boy who has just moved into a high-rise project with his hard-working mother. Barely earning enough to support them takes all of her time. She communicates with Bruno via tender notes. Other than those brief missives and his pet bird, Bruno is alone. The apartment is located in one of the city's roughest suburbs and Bruno's involvement with crime seems inevitable. Shortly after he is befriended by the streetwise, battered and deeply troubled Jean-Roger, Bruno is out thieving, destroying property and harming people with a vengeance. These boys are not devoid of humane qualities. One of their teachers, a young idealistic woman, recognizes their potential and tries vainly to save the boys, but by the time she gets involved it is too late for Bruno and Jean-Roger. Though deep down they may have wanted only love, help and guidance, the brutal, unloving world around them consumes them. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi