Michèle Moretti Movies

Writer/director Xavier Durringer teams up with co-screenwriter Patrick Rotman to chart French President Nicolas Sarkozy's (Denis Podalydes) rise to power, and the gradual deterioration of his marriage to his second wife, Cécilia (Florence Pernel). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In a dramatic setup that recalls the opening act of Robert Wise's chiller Audrey Rose (1977), Sandrine Bonnaire (Monsieur Hire) stars as Claire, a mother terrified by the discovery that a strange woman has begun systematically following her little girl, locked within the grip of obsession. In the mean time, we learn more about the other woman, Elsa (Catherine Frot) - an emotionally imbalanced mother locked in a divorce battle for custody of her young son, who finds herself almost magnetically drawn to Claire's little girl after innocently glimpsing the child at a local birthday party. She's drawn not merely to observe, but to covet and ultimately possess, which sends Claire into a maelstrom of terror as she feels compelled to confront and contend with this threatening new presence, and to obtain an answer that will account for the woman's seemingly irrational behavior. But in time, it is Claire whose behavior begins to seem off-center, as she demonstrates a growing paranoia and a willingness to go to almost any length to protect herself and the little girl. Throughout the film, director Safy Nebbou plunges headfirst into a deceptively innocent and placid domestic realm of subdivisions, nursery schools and children's parks while subtly unveiling the potential for devastation that lies beneath all of it. The title phrase - "mark of an angel" - refers to the tiny indentation above the upper lip of each newborn baby, said to be an angel's thumbprint that makes each child unique. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Jacques Rivette's epic-scale meditation on art, politics and relationships is an eight-part, 740 minute drama that begins as an examination of two Parisian theater companies. Lili (Michele Moretti) is a member of an experimental troupe preparing a radical new interpretation of Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, while Thomas (Michel Lonsdale) is in charge of a state-funded group who are rehearsing another work by the same ancient Greek playwright, Prometheus Unbound. Drifting in and out of the orbit of these two groups are Sarah (Bernadette Lafont), an author and longtime friend of Thomas; Colin (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a deaf street musician; Frederique (Juliet Berto), a sexy confidence woman, and the bohemian owner of a knick-knack shop who often changes her name (Bulle Ogier), among many others. Colin tries to search out the meaning of a strange note handed to him by a mysterious stranger, while Frederique becomes party to a similar message. As it happens, both learn of the possible existence of a secret society of thirteen powerful individuals who are the true rulers of Paris, but neither is sure if the group exists in history or the present day, and they have very different notions of what to do with this information. Jacques Rivette originally screened Out 1 as a work in progress (titled Out 1: Noli Me Tangere) at a pair of screenings in Paris in the fall of 1971; it was originally conceived as a project for television, but became a theatrical film after it was rejected by French broadcasters. While a four-hour version, Out 1: Spectre, began making the rounds of film festivals in 1974, the film didn't appear in its full twelve-hours-plus version until 1989, when a new cut of Out 1 appeared at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The final cut of Out 1 appeared with English subtitles in London in 2006, and has subsequently been screened in Vancouver, New York City and Chicago. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A sexually frustrated husband learns to be careful what he asks for in this French marriage comedy from director Didier Bourdon. Their sex life virtually non-existent after only seven years of marriage, Alain (Didier Bourdon) and Audrey (Catherine Frot) rarely find time for bedroom hanky-panky as a result of Audrey's demanding job and her tireless devotion to their daughter Camille (Gabrielle Lopes Benites). Concerned that their marriage may be in trouble as he increasingly relies on pornography to fulfill his sexual needs, Alain consults a sex therapist for suggestions on how to re-awaken his wife's sexual appetite. Although some subsequent trips to nearby sex stores and steamy nightclubs at first make Audrey uneasy, hapless Alain soon finds himself getting more than he bargained for when his plan starts to work a little too well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

At the request of leading citizen Debbie Fincher (Heidi Swedberg), Lorelai (Lauren Graham), and Luke (Scott Patterson) agree to talk to the Stars Hollow High School students on Career Day. When it turns out the kids are less interested in Lorelai's business advice than in the fact that she'd been an unwed teen mother, she delivers a lecture that no one will ever forget! Elsewhere, Lane defiantly vows to dye her hair purple upon finding out that her mom wants to send her to an ultraconservative religious college; and erstwhile sweethearts Jess (Milo Ventimiglia) and Shane (Jessica Kiper) make public spectacles of themselves, arousing not only Luke's (Scott Patterson) anger but also Rory's (Alexis Bledel) not-so-suppressed feelings toward Jess. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this powerful drama, Yasmine (Marie Brahimi) is a woman of Algerian descent living in France whose husband Rachid (Nazim Boudjenah) is a soldier in the French army. French forces are sent into Algeria, and when Rachid is declared missing, Yasmine travels to her homeland in hopes of finding him. Islamic fundamentalism has swept the country, and Yasmine finds herself caught somewhere between her open-minded attitudes as a modern French woman and the Algerian Muslim traditions with which she was raised; as one cynical friend explains to her, "You can do anything you want, as long as it's not in public." Eventually Yasmine finds Rachid, but not before getting an eye-opening glimpse of the current state of Algerian culture. L'Autre Monde received its North American premier at the 2001 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Can a gay man find happiness with the mother of Jesus Christ? Mario $Gregoire Colin) is a openly homosexual hairdresser who one day meets Marie-Helene (Isabelle Carre) when he sees her singing beside a tree in a park. They get to know each other and Mario discovers Marie-Helene believes she is the Virgin Mary; though obviously pregnant, she says no man had anything to do with her unborn child. Marie-Helene also needs a place to live, so Mario brings her home, which comes as a shock to his step-mother (Carmen Maura) and half-sister, who aren't used to seeing Mario socializing with women, let along pregnant virgins. However, Marie-Helene's kindness and grace soon wins everyone over, even if her story is less than convincing. This surreal fable was the directorial debut for filmmaker Jean-Claude Janer. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Arthur (Mathieu Amalric) is a history teacher who lives alone in Paris after having broken up with Claire (Jeanne Balibar). He is a sensitive man, full of existential doubts and questions. He has to go to Lisbon to meet an eminent historian whose work is the subject of his thesis. Having just made up with Claire, he decides to take her along. She's an ideal travel companion and it seems their relationship has not yet exhausted its potential. But moving from Lisbon to Oporto, their fantasy of a second honeymoon clashes with the reality of a world on the verge of a nightmare. Director Jean-Claude Biette uses the three cities -- Paris, Lisbon and Porto -- for stylistic purposes. There are also three bridges in the film -- Seine, Tejo and Douro. The choice of Porto, which has a bridge constructed by Gustave Eiffel, reminds the viewer of the veteran Portuguese director Manuel Oliveira, although the bridge filmed in Porto is a different one. The figure of the old professor is a variation of a dramatic element seen in all previous films of the director. Trois Ponts sur la Riviére was screened as part of the International Forum of New Cinema section of the 49th Berlin Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

This is a nostalgic French coming-of-age drama from director Andre Techine set in a Provence deeply divided over the war for independence being waged against French colonialism in Algeria. In 1962, Francois (Gael Morel) and Maite (Elodie Bouchez) are best friends and students at a boarding school in southwestern France, where Maite's mother Madame Alvarez (Michele Moretti) is an instructor. Francois is realizing he's gay because of his attraction to his working class roommate Serge (Stephane Rideau). Although Serge seduces Francois one night, he is not gay and is actually attracted to Maite. So is Henri (Frederic Gorny), a radically-politicized Algerian-born Frenchman who supports France in the war, an unpopular position, particularly with Madame Alvarez, a communist. The classroom sparring between Henri and Alvarez galvanizes the school, but then word comes that Serge's older brother has been killed in the war. Madame Alvarez, who loved him but refused to help him desert the military, becomes so unhinged that she must be sent away for treatment. Wild Reeds (1994) won four Cesars (France's equivalent of the Oscar), including the award for that year's Best Picture, beating such other notable films as Red (1994) and Queen Margot (1994). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Young, naive and innocent, Pierre (Manuel Blanc) has dreams of becoming an actor. He is a good-looking and personable boy, and he has just moved to the city to see if he can't accomplish his dreams. He gets a job as an orderly at a hospital and is further supported by an older woman (Helene Vincent), a nurse he has met there, in return for his sexual favors. However, in his acting class, he quickly discovers that he is not overflowing with talent, and his dream of becoming an actor grows dim. Instead, despite the advice of a knowledgeable and worldly older gay man (Philippe Noiret), he becomes a sex worker. It has long been a staple of the movies that certain hustlers and prostitutes maintain a distinction between their work and their lives by not kissing their clients, hence the title of this film, J'embrasse Pas. He grows to love the seedy, degraded lifestyle, and seems to be adapting well to his new profession until he has the poor judgement to fall in love with a high-class prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) and earns the antagonism of her pimp. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Juliette Binoche teams with Lambert Wilson in this erotic drama. Binoche plays Nina, the young lady friend of timid Paulot (Wadeck Stanczak). Though she intends to be true to Paulot, Nina falls hard for his roommate, Quentin (Wilson), a thoroughly self-centered actor who performs in live sex shows. After a torrid affair with Nina, Quentin dies under questionable circumstances. Nina's search for answers to Quentin's sudden death leads her to Scrutzler (Jean-Louis Trintignant), the theater director who'd once cast Quentin in Romeo and Juliet. Scrutzler has likewise suffered a terrible loss in his life: his Juliet was also his wife, who also died unexpectedly. Apparently, it was the wife's death that led to Quentin's demise. On impulse, Scrutzler casts the inexperienced Nina as Juliet -- and before long, both unhappy souls find a common emotional ground. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi