Tania Torrens Movies
One man's wealth, privilege, and power lead him into a world of danger and humiliation in this drama from director Lucas Belvaux. Stanislas Graff (Yvan Attal) is one of Belgium's richest men, a business magnate and trusted confidante of the nation's president. One morning, en route to his office, Graff's limousine is set upon by a handful of kidnappers; they capture the tycoon, throw him in a get-away car, and take him to a cave on the edge of town. The kidnappers, led by a man calling himself Marseillais (Gérard Meylan), contact Graff's wife (Anne Consigny), his lawyer (Alex Descas), and the second-in-command at his firm (André Marcon) and demand a ransom of 50 million Euros for his return -- and to show they mean business, the kidnappers include Graff's severed finger with the ransom note. As Graff's family and associates ponder what to do next, many close to him question if his life or anyone's is worth that much money; meanwhile, as the press rushes the abduction into the headlines, they reveal a number of Graff's personal peccadillos, including affairs with other women and a powerful appetite for gambling, and public opinion about the businessman takes an ugly turn. Inspired by the 1978 abduction of French multi-millionaire Édouard-Jean Empain, Rapt was an official selection at the 2010 Rotterdam International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Yvan Attal, Anne Consigny, (more)
The Lover is director Jean-Jacques Annaud's adaptation of Marguerite Duras' minimalist 1984 novel. Set in French Indochina in 1929, the film explores the erotic charge of forbidden love. Jane March plays a French teenager sent to a Saigon boarding school, while Tony Leung is a 32-year Chinese aristocrat. They look at each and they both see a blinding white flash; it's kismet. He offers her a ride in his limousine and soon they meet in his "bachelor room" where they revel in a wide variety of creative sexual encounters. However, they both realize their love is doomed. She comes from a troubled family that includes a mentally-disturbed mother (Frederique Meininger) and drug-addicted brother (Arnaud Giovaninetti). It also appears that her family would not approve of an interracial tryst. But then neither would his family, since in order to inherit his father's wealth, he must not break from a traditional Chinese arranged marriage. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jane March, Tony Leung Kar-Fai, (more)
L'Argent de Poche (Small Change) is an episodic comedy drama composed of several sequences that explore childhood in director François Truffaut's signature humanistic style. Filmed in Thiers in South Central France, each vignette is seen from the point of view of a kid from two weeks to 14 years old. There is no real plot, just little scenes flowing together dealing with personal joys and pains of the children in a small town. While most of the issues are simple and lighthearted, some of the kids have a harder time growing up. A few choice moments involve a double date at the movies, brothers who give a friend a haircut, and a toddler who falls from a window. Patrick (Georges Desmouceaux) discovers girls and helps care for his father, Sylvie (Sylvie Grizel) rebels against her parents, and Julien (Philippe Goldmann) comes from a painful home life. While mostly focusing on developing the personal perspectives of children, adults get some screen time to share their wisdom. The conclusion consists of a monologue from the schoolteacher, played by Jean-François Stévenin. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-François Stévenin, Geary Desmouceaux, (more)
- 1968
Jean Racine's 17th-century tragedy finds Phedre (Marie Bell) professing her love for her stepson when her husband King Thesee is rumored to be dead. When the king returns very much alive, his son Hippolyte is banished and later is killed in a chariot accident. The irate king makes plans to poison his wife for her alleged infidelities with his son. The feature appears to be a filmed version of the play. Jacques Dacqumine plays the king torn between his love for his son and the woman who chose to love the ill-fated Hippolyte. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie Bell, Jacques Dacqmine, (more)
