Ariel Zeitoun Movies

A woman becomes a professional killer in order to seek revenge against the ruthless gangster who murdered her parents in this action thriller from director Olivier Megaton and writer/producer Luc Besson. As a young girl, Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) saw her parents killed in cold blood. Now Cataleya is all grown up, and she's determined to settle the score. Going to work for her uncle, Cataleya methodically begins working her way up through the criminal underworld, taking out every criminal in her path on an obsessive quest to bury the man who single-handedly destroyed her life. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

From Jan Kounen, the French director of the violent cult actioner Dobermann, comes this loose adaptation of Jean "Mobius" Giraud's comic series Blueberry. Vincent Cassel stars as Mike Blueberry, a lawman whose past comes back to haunt him when his town is invaded by the nefarious Blount (Michael Madsen), the man responsible for his first love's murder. Led by a German con man by the name of Prosit (an unrecognizable Eddie Izzard), Blount and his crew search for an ancient treasure buried deep within Indian tribal grounds, while Blueberry and his Indian friend Runi (Temuera Morrison) race to keep the land sacred and stop the thieves by any means possible. Featuring Juliette Lewis and her father, Geoffrey Lewis, in supporting roles, the film sports a solid American cast that boasts an additional performance by Colm Meaney and a rare appearance by none other than Ernest Borgnine. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Directed by Michel Boujenah, Pere et Fils (Father and Son) centers around retired traveling salesman Leo Serano's (Philippe Noiret) decision to become closer to his three children, albeit late in life. Leo's first son, David (Charles Berling), is a longtime overachiever who runs his own plumbing fixtures company and employs his youngest brother, Simon (Pascal Elbe), in the warehouse. Pot-smoking Simon is blissfully unconcerned when it comes to the intricacies of his family, but David hasn't spoken to his unemployed brother Max (Bruno Putzulu) in years, and isn't particularly keen to build a relationship with his long absent father. However, when Leo convinces the trio that he's slated for a risky heart surgery in a couple of weeks -- in fact, Leo's physician had declared him perfectly healthy -- the broken family decides to take a spontaneous trip to Montreal. The film also features Marie Tifo, Genevieve Brouillette, Pierre Lebeau, Jacques Boudet, and Matthieu Boujenah. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

In this broadly comic variation on the old saw of the female scientist who is beautiful when she takes her glasses off, anthropologist Cecile (Judith Godreche) has spent some time tracking what she believes to be a lost tribe only to find out that they're really just the employees of a firm with a lousy record on environmental issues. Stuck for a new project, Cecile gets the brainstorm of a scientific study of the contemporary "bimbo" tribe, and soon starts dressing herself up like a sleaze in short skirts and midriff-baring blouses in order to study the habits of these women. However, Cecile's bimbo disguise is so effective that Laurent (Gerard Depardieu), the head of her department, doesn't recognize her -- and finds himself infatuated with the newly flashy-looking Cecile. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Ariel Zeitoun directed this French comedy depicting Ashkenazic-Sephardic rivalries in the Jewish garment district of Paris. Tunisian-Jewish businessman Alain Berrebi (Michel Boujenah) courts Ashkenazi princess Arlette Stern (Elsa Zylberstein). Her father David (Maurice Chevit) learns of the death of a rural Auvergne peasant who once hid David and his cousin Nathan (Felix Fibich) from the Nazis. Nathan is now a NYC diamond dealer on West 47th Street. David, Nathan, Arlette, and Berrebi head for the funeral in Auvergne. There they encounter the deceased peasant's son, Jean Bourdalou (Gerard Depardieu), who operates the family's restaurants in Paris. Arlette does a romantic take on Bourdalou, which sends the distraught Berrebi off to cry on the shoulder of his mother Gaby (Gina Lollobrigida). Back in Paris, Bourdalou and Berrebi make plans to open a trendy fashion restaurant in Manhattan. The title of this movie is a pun reference not only to shirt size and the central characters' wide scope of ambitions, but also to XXL, a Paris porn channel. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Pierre Lacenaire is among the most notorious killers in French history. This well-wrought drama, tells his story. It begins in 1836 as the icy but somehow charming and intellectual Lacenaire awaits his execution and through a series of flashbacks chronicles the events and reasons why he has ended up on Death Row. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on a novel by Gilbert Tanugi, who co-wrote the screenplay, this noirish French drama is set within the Paris music scene and centers on the attempts of a dangerously indebted record producer to scrounge up a fortune to pay back the vengeful loan shark who is trying to destroy him. Producer Sam Friedman thinks his salvation is finally at hand when he hears Joe and Puppet Bennet, two African American jazz musicians, singing and playing the blues in local night club. Desperate to have them, he pays their manager with money borrowed from his American jazz-addicted stepfather. Unfortunately, the deeply religious Puppet only wants God as her producer and refuses to sign. Friedman finally persuades her to sign, but only after he swears to watch over the flighty sax playing Joe. Unfortunately for poor Friedman, Joe turns out to be a psychopathic killer and has killed a prostitute. Knowing that he will be dead if he does not produce the couple's record and make some quick money, Friedman decides to shoulder the blame for the death himself. Though he is sent to jail, Friedman is at peace because he plans on telling the truth as soon as the Bennets cut their record. Things take a darker turn when the Bennets suddenly vanish, leaving poor Friedman stranded in prison. Desperate once again, Friedman escapes from jail and violent tragedy follows as he tries to save himself and clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This drama attempts to be a film within a film. In the outer story, Andre Dussolier stars as a film director working with drama students at the Paris Conservatory, making a film (the inner story) about a woman's obsession with a foreign desert. Wallowing in maudlin sentimentality, this feature fails to live up to the promise of its probable inspiration, Fame (1980), and was not well-received at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. However, as a medium for instructing director Francis Girod's actual students at the Paris Conservatory about the art and perils of filmmaking, it was undoubtedly a good deal more successful. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this conventional, broadly comic farce of greed and royal matrimony, nearly bankrupt businessman Victor Harris (Roger Hanin) is marrying Maria-Helena (Pauline Lafont), a princess who comes with a dowry that is made up of one half of her island kingdom. Her father, the cowardly King Arnold III (Jean Rochefort) is counting on the money this marriage will bring him. The country is now almost bankrupt because of the king's gambling debts. As Harris and the king look forward to their illusory profits from the royal merger, other characters add some liveliness to the otherwise predictable story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This well-articulated, engaging story about the differing fortunes of two brothers just after Algeria's war for independence is conventional in its outlines, and may have several more characters than can be developed in a short time, but its subtle handling by director Ariel Zeitoun helps to counteract those flaws. Rego (Christophe Malavoy) has just returned from a tour of duty in Algeria where he escaped the demands of his budding musical career. Now that he is back, his former agent does not welcome him with open arms because he is still mad over Rego's sudden departure, just when things were going well. The delinquent, wild teenager Antoine (Pierre-Loup Rajot) is Rego's younger brother, now in love with his new music teacher (Gabrielle Lazure), and his persistence in going after the reserved young woman ends in a brief and forbidden fling -- and trouble for her. As events continue on their course, the fate of the two brothers is vastly divergent, even though they continue to have a strong bond between them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

L'Homme Blesse is known in English-speaking countries as The Wounded Man. Jean-Hughes Anglade is a lonely, isolated young man who lets no one get close to him. He meets a street hustler and comes out of his shell, going 180 degrees into gay Obsession. Though he has yet to physically approach the object of his affection, Anglade builds up so much unrequited lust that it explodes with horrible results. L'Homme Blesse isn't rated, but viewership should definitely be confined to those older than 21--and even some of them may not be ready for it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi