Bruno Todeschini Movies

The beautiful Nathalie (Audrey Tautou) throws herself into her work after her husband of just three years unexpectedly passes away. One day, she fixates on Markus (Francois Damiens), an unremarkable underling of hers at the office. The two begin a relationship that everyone who knows Nathalie firmly believes will not last, but it's not other people's perceptions as much as their own self-doubt that threatens to split apart this seemingly odd pairing. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Belgian writer/director Fien Trouch follows up her multi-layered 2005 drama Someone Else's Happiness with this nuanced tale of a mother still haunted by the disappearance of her young daughter five years earlier. Ever since her daughter went missing, Grace (Emmanuelle Devos) has lived a life of quiet despair. But as Grace contends with an endless flood of minor absurdities around her apartment complex, her partner Lukas (Bruno Todeschini) has become a helpless victim to his own overwhelming grief. The couple has long since ceased communicating, and when the family dog dies, the despair is too much for Lukas to handle. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

French filmmaker Paolo Franchi's sophomore feature follows a psychologically damaged youth who makes the grim decision to kill his parents. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The relationship between a dutiful wife and her incarcerated husband grows increasingly complicated with the arrival of a curious third party in director Jean-Pascal Hattu's emotional take on a most unusual love triangle. Maïté (Valérie Donzelli)'s imposing Mediterranean husband Vincent (Bruno Todeschini) is currently locked-up behind bars. Though the loving wife does indeed visit her jailed husband on a regular basis, her commitment to a monogamous relationship is drawn into question as Maïté slowly becomes involved in an intimate affair with meek prison guard Jean (Cyril Troley). Though initially put off by the advances of the soft-spoken Jean, Maïté soon finds her motherly instincts taking hold as she earns her keep as a part-time babysitter and eventually allows her fragile emotional guard to be broken. When Maïté learns that her newfound lover is recording their encounters for the benefit of Vincent - who has explicitly enlisted the aid of Jean in doing so - the motivations of all three are drawn into question while Maïté weighs her sense of fidelity against her inherent need for sexual gratification. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

"Fontaine Leglou" (Emmanuelle Devos) is a silly name, and so, perhaps, that is why many silly things keep happening. As Gentille opens, Fountaine is walking down a Paris street, and stops to confront a man whom she suspects is following her. She tells him he looks normal, but she's sorry, she doesn't have time to have coffee with him. When he convincingly protests that he was not following her, she apologizes and asks him to have coffee. Fontaine would seem to have a relatively good life. She works as an anesthetist at a fancy mental hospital, and she's got a live-in Nobel Prize-winning arctic scientist boyfriend, Michel (Bruno Todeschini), who seems to love her. But there's clearly something nagging at her. She walks around in a perpetually distracted state, and frequently mistakes other peoples' identities and their intentions. When Michel proposes to her, she needs some time to digest it before she responds. There's a suave patient -- a doctor himself -- at her job, Philippe (Lambert Wilson), who seems attracted to her, and she clearly feels something in return. Meanwhile, Michel is growing impatient with her indecisiveness. Perhaps a visit from destiny will help her make a choice? Writer/director Sophie Fillières's offbeat romantic comedy, which also features Michael Lonsdale, Bulle Ogier, and Julie-Anne Roth, was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2006 as part of their annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

An orthodox Jewish teen living with her family in France attempts to balance her religious upbringing with her increasingly complex view of the outside world in director Karin Albou's incisive meditation on religion, philosophy, and the weight of romance on the mind of a growing girl. Eighteen-year-old student Laura (Fanny Valette) lives with her widowed mother (Sonia Tahar), her sister (Elsa Zylberstein), and her brother-in-law (Bruno Todeschini) in the suburban Paris neighborhood of Sarcelles. Though her exposure to the world thus far has been culturally limited due to the fact that her family resides in a neighborhood is often referred to as "Little Jerusalem" due to its large Jewish population, Laura's studies have told her that the world is full of interesting and diverse people. An overly serious and self-disciplined girl whose outward maturity defies her youthful age, Laura vows to avoid romance before finding that fate doesn't always play by the rules. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A throwback detective attempts to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of a young Parisian student named Rachel in this noirish mystery from director Guillaume Nicloux. His life a smoky and meaningless haze of women and seedy investigations, private eye François Maneri (Thierry Lhermitte) agrees to take the case of a missing student in an investigation that grows increasingly complex. First speaking to Rachel's family and friends, François soon discovers a dark and complicated past that few of those who were close to Rachel knew about. As François moves ever closer to discovering the truth behind Rachel's disappearance, facts become blurred and the truth a complex maze of sordid details that threatens to envelop the detective in the same darkness that swallowed Rachel. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A romantic comedy from acclaimed French director Jacques Rivette (La Belle Noiseuse), this film centers on three men and three women whose lives converge during the run of a play in Paris. The star of the play, Camille (Jeanne Balibar), is returning to Paris after leaving her stuffy boyfriend Pierre (Jacques Bonaffe) and residing in Italy. Her Italian theater company has brought her to France, where the show is run by her lover, director, and co-star Ugo (Sergio Castellitto). Ugo is concerned with the show's poor attendance, but also busy searching for a long-lost play by an Italian playwright. While on his quest, he discovers the beautiful young Do (Helene De Fougerolles), a student who offers to help him. Do's mother has a library that may contain the lost play, and Ugo runs into her possessive half-sibling Arthur (Bruno Todeschini), a shady man pursuing an affair with Pierre's wife Sonia (Mariane Basler), who also has a questionable past. After a brooding dinner at Pierre and Sonia's home, tensions mount in everybody's relationships and their romantic journeys are similarly tested. A lighter work from the usually dramatic filmmaker Rivette, the film was made by the director at the amazing age of 73.
~ Jason Clark, Rovi

Gabriel Aghion directs this bawdy period romp about a day in the life of 18th century philosopher and sensualist Denis Diderot (Vincent Perez), who produced the first ever encyclopedia while living a life of delicious decadence. Though the Church immediately banned Diderot's opus, which they deemed to be a compendium of forbidden knowledge, copies continued to circulate. Diderot, along with his wife (Francoise Lepine) and daughter, are staying in the country estate of the Baron and Baroness d'Holbach -- who put a pair of illegal printing presses and a legion of typesetters in a chamber beneath the family altar. At the same time that the Church sends a grumpy Cardinal (Michel Serrault) to ferret out the clandestine press, comely Madame Therbouche (Fanny Ardant) shows up to paint Diderot's portrait. While Diderot occupies himself with his artist friend, the Baroness keeps the Cardinal occupied with her laundry list of sordid confessions. Naughty fun soon ensues. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Patrice Chereau (Queen Margot) directed this French drama about a train trip to an artist's funeral. Friends of painter Jean-Baptiste Emmerich (Jean-Louis Trintignant, seen in flashbacks) gather at a Paris railroad station for a four-hour journey to Limoges, where Emmerich wanted to be buried. The dozen travelers include art historian Francois (Pascal Greggory) and his lover Louis (Bruno Todeschini), who develops an interest in teenage Bruno (Sylvain Jacques). Traveling parallel with the train is a station wagon with Jean-Baptiste's body, and this vehicle is driven by Thierry (Roschdy Zem), husband of Catherine (Dominique Blanc), who's on the train with their daughter. Francois plays a taped interview with Jean-Baptiste, revealing his sexual appeal to both men and women. Lucie (Marie Daems) is convinced that she was his main love. Also on board is his nephew, Jean-Marie (Charles Berling) and Jean-Marie's estranged wife, Claire (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), After the funeral in "Europe's largest cemetery," the storyline continues in the mansion of Jean-Baptiste's brother, Lucien (also played by Trintignant). With hand-held camerawork for almost two-thirds of the film, the production involved two extra cars connected to a real scheduled train, headed one way in the morning and returning in the afternoon, with cast and crew logging some 12,000 kilometers over two weeks. Source music runs the gamut from James Brown to Jim Morrison. The title refers to the dying words uttered by the painter -- which actually are the last words spoken by filmmaker Francois Reichenbach who died in 1993 (and appropriated here by his friend, co-scripter Daniele Thompson). One of Francois Reichenbach's best-known films (and subject of an entire book) is the documentary Medicine Ball Caravan (aka We Have Come for Your Daughters,1971), a curious effort to duplicate the success of Woodstock (1970) by simply inviting a large number of musicians, hippies, and counterculture types aboard a cross-country train and filming the result. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In the midst of the danger and destruction of Sarajevo during the Bosnian conflict, a brave, dedicated group of war correspondents from all over the world gathered to bring the terrifying war into the lives of others. In the name of ratings and personal glory, these newshounds regularly risk their lives to get their stories. This war drama centers on three such reporters. Spanish newswoman Laura is more accustomed to doing "puff pieces" than hard news. This is her first time in Sarajevo and the experience is nearly overwhelming. At first the sophisticated veteran newscaster Mikel scoffs at her inexperience, but eventually the two connect and become lovers. Meanwhile, Mikel's fearless cameraman José anxiously awaits the destruction of the city's last remaining bridge. As Laura travels about the ruined town chronicling events and interviewing residents, she begins to lose her innocence and in so doing, gains painful insight into herself. At one point she finds herself entering the marketplace, a particularly dangerous sniper-inhabited location that has been dubbed by the others as "Comanche Territory." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi