Julia Kassar Movies
- 2008
A one hit wonder and a woman who lives for his lone hit song meet three decades after he dropped off the hit parade in this comedy drama. Bruno Caprice (Patrick Chesnais) had a brief fling with fame in the Seventies; he was a singer whose lone hit single "Quand tu t'en vas" hit the top of the charts across Europe. But after a couple years, Bruno's career dried up and today he's all but forgotten, working as a clerk at a hotel in Paris. But Bruno has at least one loyal fan left -- Randa Hafouche (Julia Kassar), who grew up in Lebanon while the nation was being torn apart by civil war. Bruno played a concert in Beirut which is one of the few joyous memories of Randa's youth, and now that she's married to a man who has made a fortune in the coffee trade, Randa still can't get "Quand tu t'en vas" out of her head. When her husband plans a lavish party for Randa's birthday, she makes a special request -- invite Bruno to perform at the affair. Bruno, in need of an ego boost, is more than happy to accept the gig, but while Randa is clearly drawn to the one-time star and shares with him the story of the concert that changed her life, he can't recall ever playing a show in Lebanon. Une chanson dans la tete (aka Melodrama Habibi) is the first feature film from writer and director Hany Tamba. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Pierette Katrib, (more)
An anguished mother's hope that her long-lost husband will return is dashed when after 15 years he is officially reported as dead by the government, and her frustrated, narcoleptic son struggles to catch up with a life he sees as passing him by in this meditative family drama from filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. It's been 15 years since Claudia's (Julia Kassar) husband went marching off to war, and through it all she has never lost hope that one day he would walk through their door and she would once again feel his warm embrace. As Claudia clings to the love of her 26-year-old son Malek (Ziad Saad) as a reminder of happier days, Malek's frustration over the breakup with his ex-girlfriend Zeina (Alexandra Kahwagi) threatens to boil over into violence at any moment. Only when these two lost souls unbind themselves from the tragic burdens of the past will they be able to truly live free, but what does it take to ease the pain of the past when uncertainly and grief is all one has ever known? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ziad Saad, Julia Kassar, (more)
