Patrick Rameau Movies

Arthouse favorite Olivier Assayas followed up his critical darling L'Heure d'Été (2008) with this wildly different chronicle -- a biopic of the ultra-left-wing Venezuelan terrorist-cum-mercenary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, popularly known as "Carlos the Jackal." As co-written by Assayas and scenarist Dan Franck, the account spans the years 1973-1994 -- or the period that witnessed Sanchez at his most violent and relentless. Narrative touchstones include the 1974 bomb attack at the Publicis Drugstore on Paris' Left Bank and the 1975 abduction of 11 OPEC officials from Vienna, as well as a torrent of assassinations that Carlos and his cronies planned but didn't carry out. As produced by Daniel Leconte, this telling of Sanchez's life stars Edgar Ramirez as the terrorist, as well as Alexander Scheer, Aljoscha Stadelmann, and Julia Hummer; it was predominantly shot in Germany, France, and Lebanon. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck, who later went on to become the nation's Minister of Culture, directed this drama that examines the violence and instability of his country's darkest days. In the early 1960s, the corrupt Francois "Baby Doc" Duvalier rose to power in Haiti, and his private army, the Tontons Macoutes, enforced his bidding with an iron fist. Sarah (Jennifer Zubar) is an eight-year-old girl whose father gains the enmity of Janvier (Jean-Michel Martial), a despotic local official who has long responded with torture and violence to those who oppose his tyranny. Now that Duvalier rules Haiti, Janvier has become an associate of the Tontons Macoutes, giving him the power to inflict punishment with impunity. Sarah's parents flee the country in fear of their lives, leaving Sarah and her two sisters behind; the children are left in the care of their grandmother (Toto Bissainthe), a brave woman who refuses to bend to Janvier's will. L'Homme Sur Les Quais received a nomination for the Golden Palm award at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi