Brigitte Sy Movies

A young woman abandons her child out of love in this emotional drama from France. Nina (Judith Chemla) is a single mother who is deeply devoted to her son, five-year-old Enzo (Max Baissette de Malglaive). Nina is also homeless, and has grown weary of dealing with government service agencies that are supposed to help her regain control of her life but instead just make her jump through hoops. One day, Nina happens to meet Damien (Guillaume Depardieu), who lives in an isolated cottage in the forests of Versailles. Damien offers to let Nina and Enzo stay with him for the night, and before the dawn, Nina has run away. Nina's plan is to use some time on her own to put her life back on track and reclaim Enzo once she has a job and a place to stay. However, Damien is a former criminal with a short temper and little use for others, and while he feels genuine compassion for Nina and Enzo, he's convinced he's not cut out to be the child's guardian. The longer Damien is with Enzo, the more he comes to care for the boy, so he sets out to mend fences with his dad (Patrick Descamps), who he hasn't spoken with in years, in hopes of giving the boy the sort of father figure he deserves. Versailles was the first directorial project for veteran screenwriter Pierre Schoeller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Touted in many circles as a response to The Dreamers (2003) -- Bernardo Bertolucci's ode to Paris in May 1968 -- Philippe Garrel's Regular Lovers (aka Les Amants Réguliers) explores the same events cinematically but undertakes a wholly unique aesthetic and temporal approach. The director follows his central characters, a young man named François and his clique of friends, as they experience the aftermath of the events and grapple with their attempts to understand what has just occurred. Garrel's familiarity with The Dreamers came by default; his son, Louis, starred in that earlier work, and plays François in this film. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

As a young man, Gerard was in a relationship with Marianne, a woman he called the love of his life, someone he would love even beyond the veils of death. However, somehow he drifted out of his relationship with her, though they were occasionally in touch with one another. Many relationships later, he is now married and has children by a wonderfully solid and nurturing woman (whom he is not faithful to). When he hears of the death of his first love, it causes him to reevaluate his relationships, and he realizes that Marianne was indeed the one great love of his life. Only his own lack of a real center caused him to lose that precious relationship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The kicker in this black and white film about the director of the film making a film about his life (got that?) is that almost everyone playing a family member of the director (who plays himself, naturally) really is a family member. In the story, director Phillippe Garrel is preparing to make a film about his life. When he informs his wife that her part is to be played by someone else she is understandably offended - after all, she is an actress, isn't she? This leads to all sorts of family arguments and discussions about what their relationship means to each of them. The couple's children, meanwhile, attempt to get on with their own lives in the best way possible, despite the insufferable silliness of their parents. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Marie (Miou-Miou) is a young girl from a working-class family who falls for Gerard (Daniel Duval) before she discovers he is a vicious, sadistic pimp. She is degraded, abused, and beaten regularly by Gerard as she is forced into a life of prostitution. Marie later decides she must leave her pimp to regain control of her body, mind, and soul. Maria Schneider co-stars with Neil Arestrup in this voyeuristic and disturbing story. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide