Irène Jacob Movies
An actress whose classic beauty and thoughtful, almost melancholic style of acting have established her as a cinematic representative of European sophistication, Irène Jacob is one of the preeminent French actresses of her generation. First becoming known through her association with Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski, who cast her as his heroine in both La Double Vie de Véronique and Trois Couleurs: Rouge, Jacob has gone on to work with a number of well-known directors on both sides of the Atlantic.Born in Paris on July 15, 1966, Jacob moved to Geneva with her family when she was three years old. The daughter of a psychologist mother and physicist father, she made her stage debut in Switzerland at the age of 11. She went on to study drama at the Geneva Conservatoire and the prestigious Rue Blanche (the French national drama academy) in Paris and also trained for a time in London. It was while she was working in the theatre that Jacob was spotted by director Louis Malle, who cast her in his Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) -- her first screen role. In 1991, after making a few more French films, Jacob shot to stardom as the lead of Kieslowksi's La Double Vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Véronique). Cast in a dual role as the Polish Veronika and the French Véronique, two women who lead different but indelibly interconnected lives, Jacob drew raves for her performance and won the Cannes Festival's Best Actress Award.
Although she was subsequently flooded with offers to star in a number of American films -- including Indecent Proposal -- Jacob largely focused her talents on small French films, again earning international plaudits in 1994 as the protagonist of Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs: Rouge. Much of her work since then has been for a variety of European directors, including Oliver Parker (for Othello, 1995, which required her, as Desdemona, to read all of her lines in English), Wim Wenders and Michelangelo Antonioni (for Par-Dela Les Nuages, 1995), and Hugh Hudson] (for My Life So Far, 1999). Jacob has appeared in the occasional American film, most notably George Hickenlooper's The Big Brass Ring (1999), a political drama that cast her as a journalist on the prowl for campaign scandal. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- 1993
- R
Claude is a landscaper who is having a terrible day. He has been abandoned by his girl friend, humiliated by his boss, and just vented his rage on an innocent girl scout selling cookies. Later he is burning pictures of his girlfriend when something goes amiss and he ends up torching his apartment building. He is then arrested and released twice. On his way home from the police station he meets the charming Beatrice, an illegal French immigrant who is caring for a Cambodian orphan and trying to avoid the police who may want her for murder. Feeling sorry for her, Claude invites her to move in with him and his strange family. She ends up having a positive effect on all of them, especially the heretofore aimless Claude. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mark Jacobs, Irène Jacob, (more)
The 1993 remake of The Secret Garden is a rendition of the classic Frances Hodgon Burnett novel about a young girl (Kate Maberly) who discovers an abandoned garden on her uncle's large Victorian country estate, as well as an invalid cousin she didn't realize she had. With the help of a local boy, the girl sets out to restore the garden and, once it is blooming again, she discovers it has magical powers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, (more)
- 1993
To say that the renowned Impressionist artist, Vincent Van Gogh (1853-90) had a dysfunctional family is likely to do a disservice to ordinary dysfunctional families everywhere. In this unusual drama, the family (and one friend) of the troubled artist gather together to participate in the customary ceremonies that are performed when a close relative, in this case, Vincent, dies. While Vincent's brother Theo (Jean-Pierre Lorit) and his three sisters are genuinely grief-stricken, his mother (Maria Meriko) seems to be a truly stony character, and her cold contempt and disregard for her sensitive son appears to be just as great in death as it was in life. Fans of Vincent's art will be particularly appalled by the woman's attitude to her son's vocation, and more so by at her actions. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Irène Jacob, Jean-Pierre Lorit, (more)
The Double Life of Véronique is the story of two young women who are -- in some mysterious and irresolvable way -- the same woman leading two different yet interconnected lives. Those familiar with Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's later "Three Colors" trilogy of Blue, White, and Red will recognize his fascination with accidental happenings and chance encounters, as well as Irène Jacob (from Red) whose performance as both Veronika and Veronique won the 1991 Cannes Film Festival award for best actress. Veronika and Véronique are born on the same day in 1966, one in Poland, the other in France. They grow up separately, unaware of each other's existence, but with the vague and rarely expressed feeling that they are "not alone." The story begins in Poland, where Veronika (like Véronique) is a talented vocalist and music student who wins a prestigious singing competition and is given the chance to perform with a local symphony. On the night of the concert, while singing a duet onstage, Veronika loses consciousness and dies. Véronique is emotionally wounded by the loss of her double and decides to end her singing career. The film charts the effect of Veronika's death on Véronique and on her dispassionate and unsatisfying relationships with men, especially her father. She is led to puppeteer and children's book author Alexandre Fabbri (Philippe Volter), whose puppet shows and stories are dramatic variants on her own mysterious problem. While looking through photographs of Véronique's trip to Poland, Fabbri discovers a picture of Veronika walking through a student demonstration in Kracow. He shows the picture to Véronique, who intuits the significance of Veronika's perfect likeness to herself. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi
- Starring:
- Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Gaspard Manesse plays Julien, an 11-year-old Catholic boarding-school resident during the Nazi occupation of France. He is witness to the courage of his instructors, who defy the German's anti-Semitic policies and quietly enroll Jewish children into the school under assumed names. Manesse befriends Jean (Raphael Fejto), one of these "instant Catholics." The refugee children are betrayed by a hostile ex-employee of the school, forcing Julien once more to be a bystander to history as Jean and the teachers are arrested. For this return to the French film industry after several years in the US, Louis Malle purged himself of his own bitter memories of life under the thumbs of the Nazis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gaspard Manesse, Raphaël Fejtö, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.