Didier Agostini Movies
In this sensitively executed French drama, a young woman befriends a young Down's Syndrome patient and finds his companionship preferable to that of her serious lover the painter. Vero is the lively girlfriend of Alex, an artist who dwells in a remote country manse. He is frustrated with his work and is just finished burning his most recent paintings when Vero arrives. Vero meets 24-year old Leo who is mentally retarded. Leo is supposed to be spending the summer at a special camp, but he keeps sneaking away. Leo begins hanging around the ever-grouchy Alex after Alex sends Vero away so he can create. It is Leo who helps Alex overcome his block. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Didier Agostini, Philippe Ducroizet, (more)
- Starring:
- Mireille Perrier, Jessica Forde, (more)
Sarraounia was co-produced by financiers in both France and the country of Burkina Faso (formerly known as The Upper Volta). Mixing equal parts fact and fiction, this historical epic traces the rise of 19th-century Queen Sarraounia of Azna. Sarraounia holds her place in a traditionally patriarchal society by sheer physical strength -- and, according to legend, she is also an accomplished sorceress. In 1899, two xenophobic French officers go on a mission to thwart the uprising of Sultan Rabah in the Cameroon. Ignoring orders from the French government, these renegade officers kill anyone who crosses their path. But then they come face to face with Queen Sarraounia . . . . Lynn Watts plays the title role in this 130-minute adaptation of the popular book by Abdoulaye Mamani. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Watts, Jean-Roger Milo, (more)
This romance is more a series of idyllic, intense sexual encounters between a married woman and her lover than a psychological study or event-filled melodrama. Viviane (Isabelle Otero) has only been married to Antoine (Robin Renucci) for three years when her passion for Vincent (Hippolyte Girardot), the hired hand in her husband's stables, takes over and she leaves Antoine. Viviane and Vincent end up at her brother's cabin on the beach, where they hope to spend as much time in carnal embrace as possible. Interrupting their plans is Vincent's horse, who suffers a wound that demands the care of a vet and changes the situation entirely. Excellent cinematography captures the sensual, evocative natural backdrops that provide a setting for the lovers' encounters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Renucci, Isabel Otero, (more)
Femmes De Personne is a French "feminist" film that comes off as slightly misogynistic (not to mention misanthropic) at times. Is it possible to be happy in business and still be happy in bed? The four leading ladies, all successful career women, don't seem particularly blissful. On the contrary, their boudoir activity seems to be as much a trial as going to work each morning. Femmes De Personne was directed by novelist Christopher Frank, most of whose books are variations on the theme "It's miserable at the top". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marthe Keller, Caroline Cellier, (more)
In a simple story engagingly and carefully unveiled before one's eyes, director and co-writer Aline Issermann focuses on Juliette (Laure Duthilleul), a young woman who has grown up on a farm that is now under economic siege. In order to save her farm and her family, Juliette is forced into a marriage of convenience with Marcel (Richard Bohringer), a morose and laconic railway worker whom she does not even know. Now that her own life is permanently changed, her sacrifice does not ultimately help her family and with that sorrow added to her lonely existence, she is trapped into remaining married because of social pressures and soon enough, the birth of a child. There must surely be a way out for her at some point, but when and how that will happen seems completely up to fate alone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laure Duthilleul, Richard Bohringer, (more)
This is a minimalist interrogation drama about a wealthy, influential attorney (Michel Serrault) in a small French town falls under suspicion in a double rape/murder case. The police bring the lawyer in for questioning; at first politely, and then less so, the interrogation team (Lino Venture, Guy Marchand) chips away at the suspect's alibi. An expertly wrought surprise ending makes up for the clumsiness of the English-language dubbing. This French film was based on the British novel Brainwash, by John Wainwright. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Michel Serrault, (more)








