Sylvie Pialat Movies
- 2008
A veteran undertaker has to learn how to keep up with the times in this comedy from France. Gervais (Didier Bourdon) has been working for an upscale funeral home in Paris for years, but the business isn't making as much money as it once did. The owners of the home think Gervais could use some fresh ideas, so Gabriel (Marc-Andre Grondin), a younger man who works for a funeral home owned by the same company, is brought in to educate Gervais about new and innovative ways of dealing with the dead and their families. Not all of Gabriel's ideas click with Gervais and the older man isn't always a quick study; matters become stickier when Gabriel develops a very un-businesslike attraction to Claire (Berenice Bejo), a beautiful woman who is also one of the company's clients. Bouquet Final (aka Final Arrangements) also features guest appearances from Gerard Depardieu and Marthe Keller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
An Alzheimer's-afflicted ex-policeman moves into a special needs residence - only to watch his life erupt into a waking nightmare - in Nicholas Boukhrief's tense psychological thriller Cortex (2008). During the golden years of his retirement, former police superintendent Charles Boyer (André Dussolier) opts to protect himself from the pitfalls of dementia by moving into The Residence, a facility designed to provide for elderly patients with neuro-degenerative disorders. Boyer isn't long in the new building, however, before ominous events begin to occur - including a high number of deaths among the patients. Eschewing the notion that this may be inevitable given the ages and illnesses of the populace, Charles smells a rat; he can never quite waive his sense that the others have been systematically rubbed out by an unknown party. As his investigation of the matter begins, questions linger about whether his suspicions are valid or merely a product of the ex-cop's Alzheimer-driven paranoia. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- André Dussollier, Marthe Keller, (more)
- 2007
This documentary details the life and career of French director Maurice Pialat through interviews with the filmmaker, and excerpts from his own films, as well as those that influenced him. With probing insights into Pialat's hopes, fears, and motivations, the film seeks to understand how each of his films sprung from his unique perspective. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
When her wealthy parents are suddenly motivated to take an overtly political stance as massive political and economical change sweeps through France, the daughter of a wealthy Spanish lawyer and a successful French journalist attempts to make sense of her once-stable world as everything she thought she ever knew is turned upside down.
Anna (Nina Kervel) is a nine-year-old Catholic schoolgirl who excels in catechism class and knows how to hold a knife and fork while cutting her fruit. Her father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi), comes from a prominent Spanish family and her mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), is a well-known writer for a popular French women's magazine. Also sharing the family's sprawling home is Anna's younger brother, François (Benjamin Feuillet). When the increasing militancy of Fernando's communist sister begins to pose a threat to the family, the concerned brother stealthily travels to Spain and successfully smuggles his sister back into France. Fully indoctrinated in the belief that all communists are bad, Anna struggles to understand why, after returning from a trip to Latin America, her parents seem to have developed a strong social conscience. Meanwhile, as the thunderous footsteps of eager revolutionaries begin to echo through the hallways and mom begins to prepare a book protesting the illegality of abortion, Anna does her best to adapt to the strange new environment. The fiction feature debut of filmmaker Julie Gavras (daughter of celebrated filmmaker Costa), Blame It on Fidel! playfully covers the year in which the death of Charles De Gaulle, the election of Salvador Allende, and a landmark petition signed by 300 French women admitting to undergoing illegal abortions altered the way many Europeans viewed the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Anna (Nina Kervel) is a nine-year-old Catholic schoolgirl who excels in catechism class and knows how to hold a knife and fork while cutting her fruit. Her father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi), comes from a prominent Spanish family and her mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), is a well-known writer for a popular French women's magazine. Also sharing the family's sprawling home is Anna's younger brother, François (Benjamin Feuillet). When the increasing militancy of Fernando's communist sister begins to pose a threat to the family, the concerned brother stealthily travels to Spain and successfully smuggles his sister back into France. Fully indoctrinated in the belief that all communists are bad, Anna struggles to understand why, after returning from a trip to Latin America, her parents seem to have developed a strong social conscience. Meanwhile, as the thunderous footsteps of eager revolutionaries begin to echo through the hallways and mom begins to prepare a book protesting the illegality of abortion, Anna does her best to adapt to the strange new environment. The fiction feature debut of filmmaker Julie Gavras (daughter of celebrated filmmaker Costa), Blame It on Fidel! playfully covers the year in which the death of Charles De Gaulle, the election of Salvador Allende, and a landmark petition signed by 300 French women admitting to undergoing illegal abortions altered the way many Europeans viewed the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nina Kervel, Julie Depardieu, (more)
