Brigitte Catillon Movies

Three couples wrestle with temptation and fidelity in this tart romantic comedy from France. Anne (Karin Viard) is a producer at a local television station in Lyons; she's edging into her forties and is wound a bit tighter than she needs to be. As Anne struggles to get ahead at work, she finds herself growing tired of her husband Thomas (Sam Karmann, who also directed the film), a laid-back academic. Before she met Thomas, Anne was married to Marc (Francois Cluzet), a workaholic real estate man who left her to wed younger and prettier Caroline (Julie Delarme). But now that Caroline is pregnant with his child, Marc finds he's not as attracted to her, and begins having disloyal thoughts about other women. And Vincent (Andre Dussollier) is a successful writer who is involved with a man who is young and handsome; however, Vincent's lover doesn't always trust him, and is convinced Vincent will be playing the field when he goes out on a promotion tour for his next book and researches a biography of once-famous jazz singer Pauline Anderton (Ginette Bellue). True Enough (aka La Verite ou Presque) was based on a novel by author Stephen McCauley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Fabienne Berthaud's gentle psychodrama Frankie probes the events that led to emotional crisis, mental breakdown, and psychiatric hospitalization for a fashion model. Nearing the age of 30, the titular ex-cover girl (Diane Krüger) is neither particularly young nor thin. She instead resides in an asylum in Blois, France, drugged out and in a semi-catatonic state. In flashback, Berthaud dramatizes the events that led to this predicament. Once active before the cameras and highly sought-after by agents, Frankie experienced a series of minor calamities including an on-set fight with a fashion photographer and the experience of accidentally hearing agents make disparaging remarks about her appearance, that collectively propelled her over the edge. Amid this world of grotesque artifice, the one bright spot seemed to be her ere-evolving friendship with the kindly driver of the modeling agency. Now, Frankie contents herself with institutional life and resists the thought of leaving and returning to the scabrousness of the real world. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

One of France's most respected filmmakers, Claude Berri here brings viewers the story of Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) a middle-aged sound engineer whose wife has just left him. Living on his own for the first time in years, Jacques decides it's high time to clean up his life, literally and figuratively. In short order he hires Laura (Emilie Dequenne, a bright, vivacious young housekeeper, to bring order to his apartment. Laura's presence makes Jacques realize what has been missing from his life, and as their relationship evolves over the subsequent months, both Jacques and Laura gain uncomfortable knowledge of one another, and of themselves. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Agnes Jaoui co-writes and directs this romantic comedy of manners set in France's rustic Provence. Unpolished and ultra-pragmatic industrialist Jean-Jacques Castella (co-scripter Jean-Pierre Bacri) reluctantly attends Racine's tragedy "Berenice" in order to see his niece play a bit part. He is taken with the play's strangely familiar-looking leading lady Clara Devaux (Anne Alvaro). During the course of the show, Castella soon remembers that he once hired and then promptly fired the actress as an English language tutor. He immediately goes out and signs up for language lessons. Thinking that he is nothing but an ill-tempered philistine with bad taste, Clara rejects him until Castella charms her off her feet. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This historical drama is based on the true story of Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman to achieve success as a painter. In 17th century Italy, noted artist Orazio Gentileschi (Michel Serrault) is a portrait artist enjoying a certain degree of success and acclaim. His 17-year-old daughter Artemisia (Valentina Cervi) would like to follow the same path as her father, but women are not allowed to pursue careers in the arts, and the convent where she attends school forbids students to sketch nude models. Eager to learn, Artemisia begins posing for herself by use of a mirror; her father discovers her secret but is enthusiastic about her work, and he takes her out of school so he can tutor her in painting and drawing. Orazio forbids her to draw male nudes, but curious Artemisia persuades local men to serve as her models, and her work steadily improves. In time, Artemisia and her work come to the attention of Agostino Tassi (Miki Manojovic), a friend of her father who is a well-known painter and something of a rake. Tassi is impressed by both the art and the artist, but when he and Artemisia begin a love affair, he finds himself on trial for rape. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

History buffs will glory in the riches of Louis, Enfant Roi, others will perhaps find this complex story of intrigues and betrayals in the court of the young king tough sledding. When Louis the Fourteenth (1638-1715) was born, the power of government was shared between the monarchy, the church, the nobility, and the Parlement. His predecessor had greatly centralized the powers of government following the advice of Cardinal Richelieu. Louis XIV (often called "The Sun King" for the brilliance of his rule) followed the advice of Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin (Paolo Graziosi), and brought the powers of government under the sole sway of the monarch. He expanded the territory and influence of France in a series of wars throughout his reign. How he came to be so autocratic and ruthless both personally and politically is the subject of this biographical drama. When Louis (Maxime Mansion) was just ten years old, the Parlement of France refused to ratify a tax measure, and the disagreements between the various powers ruling the country came to a head in a long civil war known as "The Fronde," which lasted from 1648 to 1653. This movie tells how the intrigues and battles of this period appeared from the perspective of the young monarch. At first they are highly confusing for him, but gradually they become clearer, and he begins to emerge from the regency of his mother, Anne of Austria (Carmen Maura), to assert some of his own authority, making some grim and unpleasant decisions in the process. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Set in the 1950s, Voyager concerns the travels of an American construction engineer (Sam Shepard) who is wandering throughout Europe, recounting his life story through a series of flashbacks while meeting a variety of new characters. At first, he meets a man whom he knew during his time as a student in Europe in the days before World War II. Shortly afterward, he meets a beautiful young German woman (Julie Delpy), whom he accompanies on a journey to her home in Athens, Greece. Voyager is a slowly-paced and well-performed with a surprising, tragic conclusion. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Based on the real-life assassination of a judge in Marseilles in 1981, this fictionalized account of how he came to die lacks the substance and drama that must have characterized the actual story as it happened. Judge François Müller (Jacques Perrin) was transferred from Vosges in northwest France to preside at the court in Marseilles, and when he arrives, he soon finds out what everyone else already knows: a certain Antoine Rocca (Daniel Duval) is the head of a large drug cartel centered in the city. The judge joins forces with a local police inspector, and manages to arrest Rocca for a short time for carrying an unlicensed weapon. Intent on eliminating the drug lord, Judge Müller goes to Palermo to search out evidence. With more dramatic build-up and an in-depth probing of the judge's own fears and motivations, this re-creation of a recent tragedy would have had more of an impact on audiences, especially in France where the details of the story were already known. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide