Alex Descas Movies

A man struggling with a failing romantic relationship now has to deal with an admirer he doesn't want in this drama from French filmmaker Patrice Chereau. Daniel (Romain Duris) is a successful self-employed businessman who has been dating Sonia (Charlotte Gainsbourg) for nearly three years. Daniel deeply loves Sonia, and while she feels the same way about him, he often has his doubts; Daniel is irrationally jealous and suspects that Sonia has lost her desire for him, no matter what she does to convince him otherwise. One day, while riding home on the subway, he sees a woman being attacked and tries to come to her aid, to no avail. Afterwards, a stranger (Jean-Hugues Anglade) approaches Daniel and shares his opinions about the incident; Daniel doesn't think much of it until the stranger begins appearing on a regular basis, talking an uncomfortably strong interest in him. The man's interest quickly becomes full-blown staking, and no matter how hard Daniel tries to persuade him that he's not interested in him --including resorting to violence -- the stranger will not believe that Daniel doesn't return his affection. Persecution was an official selection at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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

Director Bertrand Bonello adapts the Greek myth of Tiresias to a modern day setting with this unforgiving tale of a transsexual prostitute held captive by a man obsessed with her ethereal beauty. Bound in her lonely prison and deprived of the hormones that keep her from reverting back to manhood, Tiresia's increasingly obvious masculine traits slowly begin to repulse her captor until he brutally blinds her and leaves her to die. Tiresia's will to live is strong, however, and though the bizarre beauty lives on devoid of her sense of sight and trapped in an indefinable twilight zone somewhere between man and woman, her power of second sight gradually emerges until Tiresia becomes more in tune with the world than ever before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Eight master directors of world cinema combine forces for this omnibus film that focuses cumulatively on the subject of time. Bookended by cello interludes, Ten Minutes Older: The Cello presents just one parameter to each of its filmmakers: no final entry can be more or less than ten minutes long. The resulting films run the gamut of styles and moods, beginning with Bernardo Bertolucci's Histoire d'Eaux, which presents an Indian fable about a mentor's impatience. In Mike Figgis' entry About Time 2, the director continues with the experimental structure he pioneered in Timecode; similarly, Jean-Luc Godard uses his time allotment to present a fractured series of clips on youth, death, and love. Another non-narrative entry, Volker Schlöndorff's The Enlightenment presents a series of images on racism. Claire Denis' effort Vers Nancy chronicles a philosophical discussion on time between a teacher and student on a train ride; in Jirí Menzel's Ten Minutes After, the effects of time on aging Czech actor Rudolf Hrusinsky are documented. In perhaps the film's most narrative-oriented segment, director Michael Radford offers up a sci-fi vision of an astronaut returning to earth to find that his son has aged faster than he has. Ten Minutes Older: The Cello is a companion piece to 2002's Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet, which aired in the U.S. on the Showtime cable network. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Patrice Lumumba was a passionate advocate for freedom in colonial Africa, and when the Belgian Congo was granted independent (and was later renamed Zaire), Lumumba was the new nation's first prime minister. However, Lumumba's dream of freedom and dignity for the people of the Congo made him a controversial and dangerous figure, and this biographical drama explores his short, tumultuous life. We first encounter Lumumba (Eriq Ebouaney) in the late 1950's, when his National Congo Movement is gaining widespread public support, despite opposition from the nation's political leaders. Hoping to avoid a violent overthrow, the Belgian government begins negotiations with the NCM to turn rule of the Congo over to the citizens, and Lumumba and his political party are swept into power during the nation's first independent election. However, Lumumba's desire to bring a peaceful and orderly transfer of power soon earns him enemies of all political stripes. Militant advocates for freedom demand that white Belgian officers of the nation's military be replaced with African soldiers at once, while Belgian colonists are met with violence, sparking a revolt by the white settlers that leads to a bloody civil war. Lumumba was directed and co-written by Raoul Peck, who previously directed the acclaimed documentary Lumumba: Death of a Prophet. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Following the success of Hamam, Turkey-born, Italy-based Ferzan Ozpetek delivers another exotic film that delves into the traditions of his origin. Once again, the exotic city of Istanbul is the place of intrigue. But, unlike Hamam, which was a contemporary story, Harem Suare takes place at the turn of the century in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. The locale of this ornate story of love, power, and fear is the magnificent Yildiz Palace, where Sultan Abdulhamit whiles away the time listening to the finale of La Traviata as rebellions rage all over the country. The Sultan cannot stand unhappy endings, so he has asked Safiye, his favorite concubine, who is Italian, to rewrite the libretto so that Violetta does not die. Nadir, one of the black eunuchs, has plans for Safiye, whom he thinks should become the official wife. Nadir's plans take a different turn when he and Safiye fall in love. In the harem, which is isolated from the rest of the world, life goes on with its plots and subplots, loyalties and betrayals, happiness and tragedies as if time did not exist. The story is told from the point of view of Safiye, concentrating more on human relations than on palace politics. The director plays with mirror images to reflect the two faces of personalities and the complexities of intercultural relations. Mythology is blended with sexuality, emphasizing the delicate nuances of language. The exotic element is not abused and historical details are used sparingly and only when necessary. Acting by young French actress Marie Gillain, who plays Safiye, and Lucia Bose, who plays her in old age, as well as Alex Descas as the eunuch Nadir and famous Turkish actor Haluk Bilginer as Sultan Abdulhamid are all commendable. 52nd Cannes Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

A pair of French detectives enter a different world after they are assigned to solve a puzzling double homicide that occurred in an African neighborhood in Paris. The corpses of the two masked Malian women were discovered ritually mutilated and hanging from a ceiling. The detectives' search leads them to a Malian father and his 18-year-old daughter. The father confesses to the crime, but further investigation reveals that he is lying. Even more puzzled than before, the two investigators consult a noted professor who tries to help them understand the true nature of the crime. The story is based on a book by controversial French academic Tobie Nathan, a self-proclaimed "ethno-psychiatrist," who has been researching the problems experienced by France's many immigrants, particularly African ones, as they wrestle with the clash between their native beliefs and their new culture. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Like its predecessor Few of Us, Lithuanian cult film director Sarunas Bartas's The House is highly abstract and nearly silent but for a pair of narrators. Whereas the first film was primarily centered on life in a remote mountain village in Lithuania and had loose plot, this one pays tribute to a huge, and aging lakeside manor and is plotless. The narrators speak to an unseen mother and the house may or may not be the fantasy or dream of one of its many diverse residents. For much of the film's two-hour running time, these inhabitants, who reflect people of varying races, shapes, sizes, degrees of attractiveness and ages, are seen aimlessly wandering about looking sad and exhausted. Sometimes, some of the prettier female residents will doff their clothing. Meal times are particularly morose as no one speaks or pays each other any mind at all. It is only toward the end of the film that anything substantial occurs. It happens during a masked ball and is a commentary on the Soviet takeover of Lithuania and a heartfelt prayer for the preservation of Lithuanian local cultures. While there is not much of interest in the story, the beautiful cinematography, which utilized a palette of pale colors and natural lighting and employed largely stationary imagery punctuated by the occasional slow tracking shot, helps maintain viewer interest. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Nenette (Alice Houri) is a 14-year-old girl with an attitude problem who runs away from her boarding school only to knock on the door of her older brother Boni (Gregoire Colin). Boni has his own problems most of which center around an erotic fixation with the baker's sexy wife (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi). He is very reluctant to take Nenette in. Then he finds out she is pregnant. As their relationship grows and adjusts, each begins to understand what maturity it takes to bring a new life into the world. Claire Denis, best known for her film Chocolat, directed. This French film won top honors at the 1996 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This African comedy takes a sharp, satiric poke at one of the white colonialist's most sacred cows--the humanitarian work of Dr. Albert Schweitzer. The film was shot beside Ganon's Ogooue River in Lambarene, where the real Schweitzer did most of his work, and the settings are more realistic than romanticized. The story covers the last 25 years in the Great White's African stay, and observes the changing African attitudes towards the good doctor's frequently condescending ministrations. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi