Aurélien Recoing Movies

Immigrants from Quebec travel to the Eastern United States to work for French industrialists in this historical drama. Gratien Gelinas plays a venerable Quebecois who recalls in 1988 the era from 1907 to 1920 in a series of flashbacks. He compares the modern computer age with the steadily growing industrial era of the early 20th century. An all-star cast of French and Canadian thespians participate in this miniseries as the Quebecois deal with love, life, politics, and war. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

On a summer day of 1846, George Sand hosts a large party at her country house in Nohant. Among the celebrities present are the painter Eugene Delacroix, the opera singer Pauline Viardot, and Viardot's lover, the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. As Sand's longtime affair with composer Frederick Chopin is close to an end, Sand's daughter Solange tries to use the situation to win the heart of the ailing musical genius. Filmmaker Andrzej Zulawski irreverently depicted his famous characters as shallow, petty, selfish opportunists, while Chopin is portrayed as a tragic, misunderstood genius. Ultimately a story about destiny, the film seems a personal reflection of Zulawski's experiences, for both he and Chopin were Polish expatriates in France. The film is highly theatrical and occasionally hilarious, but despite its ups and downs, the movie's highlight is Chopin's music, brilliantly performed by Polish pianist Janusz Olejniczak. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Maverick auteur Andrzej Zulawski directs this flamboyant adaptation of classic French novel La Princesse de Cleves, complete with dirt bike races, hot sex, and naked hockey players. Talented Canadian photographer Clelia (Sophie Marceau) lands a financially lucrative job in Paris at a rumor-mongering tabloid called La Verite run by Rupert MacRoi (Michel Subor). Though she finds most of her coworkers to be disillusioned and perverse, she happens upon Cleve (Pascal Greggory), a bumbling middle-aged children's book publisher. Cleve is days away from marrying MacRoi's daughter to bolster his flagging publishing house. Nonetheless, Clelia and Cleve retire to his office to make love almost immediately upon meeting. Though MacRoi has already bought his company, Cleve breaks off his wedding plans and proposes to Clelia. Enter Nemo (Guillaume Canet), a sexy young photographer who promptly propositions her upon their first encounter. In spite of her ferocious sexual attract to Nemo, Clelia marries Cleve and resolutely keeps to her wedding vows in the face of her suitor's continued advances. Madame de la Fayette's novel, from which this film draws inspiration, has already been adapted twice: the 1961 version was directed by Jean Delannoy and starred Marina Vlady, and the 1999 take, entitled The Letter was directed by Manoel de Oliveira and featured Chiara Mastroianni. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This is a dark, sinister second feature from the director of the 1995 film The Rock of Acapulco, featuring Charles Berling and Karin Viard as a married couple in Paris enjoying the fruits of their careers. He works in an executive post and she works out of a spacious Paris apartment she has inherited from her parents. Their son Julien (Alexandre Bongibault) and daughter Aude (Camille Vatel) are mostly in the care of babysitter Daphnee (Ludvine Sagnier). One day, an unkempt older couple (Manuela Gourary and Pierre Julien) ring their doorbell and introduce themselves as "the Worms," a sibling pair that evidently lived in the building years before. Marianne welcomes them in to look around. Their behavior seems courteous at first, but upon their departure, the family is affected. The house begins to do things on its own, Marianne's depression comes back to haunt her, and Daphnee's sweet demeanor turns sour without warning. A moody thriller from France, this is the first production of Bee Movies, a genre-based company known for such fare.
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

A trio of French teens experiences a love that will change their lives forever in this erotic coming-of-age tale from director Anthony Cordier. Mickael's (Johan Libereau) obsession with Judo often helps him to focus his frustrations in life, but when he's alone with longtime girlfriend, Vanessa (Salomée Stevenin), his guard fades, leaving a loving and easygoing boyfriend where the aggressive martial artist used to be. Clément (Pierre Perrier) is the new kid in town with a similar obsession with Judo and a pair of nouveau riche parents who stand in stark contrast to Mickael's working class mother and father. When the pair bond over an upcoming tournament and Clément helps Mickael to lose some weight for the meet, Vanessa is hesitant to accept the outspoken newcomer. As the bond between Mickael and Clément strengthens, Vanessa's increasingly complex role in the pair's friendship leads the trio through a series of sacrifices and emotional revelations that will result in a profoundly affecting sexual encounter for all three conflicted teens. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An aimless 20-year-old with a penchant for following the rules receives a mysterious set of instructions that lead him down a path from which he may never return in director Géla Babluani's tense tale of death and chance. Sébastien has come into possession of a train ticket and a mysterious set of instructions. Though he is unsure of exactly what fate awaits him when he arrives at his destination, one thing is certain: these items were most certainly not meant for him. Bored by his uneventful existence and hungering for something new, Sébastien boards the outbound train and takes his first bold steps into an unknown future. But the world can be a cruel and unforgiving place filled with unfeeling men to whom human life means little more than a lost wager, and if Sébastien is to make it through his harrowing journey alive he must keep his wits about him and pray that luck is on his side. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

French director Dominique Lienhard's gentle, understated chamber drama Muetter observes with great intimacy and delicacy several characters' varied reactions to the impending death of a loved one. Stanislas Merhard portrays Stephane, a young urbanite. Though he originally hails from a rural environment, he much prefers his current metropolitan surroundings to the thought of returning to his family home. Fate comes knocking, however, when Stephane receives the news of his grandmother, Muetter's, impending death - and travels out to the country to be with her at her bedside. Once there, he encounters a sweet, pretty young lady named Marguerite (Sophie Quinton), who is expecting a child but devotes the majority of her time to caring altruistically for Muetter. Upon discovering that the elderly woman's doctor has simply prescribed and administered morphine for her, Stephane is visibly upset, and devotes himself to doing as much as he can - everything from preparing a feast in celebration of Muetter to summoning another physician. Meanwhile, Stephane's cousin, Mathieu (Aurelian Recoing) arrives and struggles with various feelings about Stephane's presence. Lienhard authored the original script; the film co-stars Andree Meyer-Benjamin and Agathe de la Boulaye. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide