Georges Corraface

The historical conflicts between Greece and Turkey and the lives of those caught in between are explored in Tassos Boulmetis' debut feature, the autobiographical drama A Touch of Spice. A box-office smash in Greece, the film won the Audience Award at the 2003 Thessaloniki Film Festival, and had its U.S. premiere in competition at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. After a brief prologue, which introduces its astronomer-chef protagonist, Fanis (Georges Corraface of Escape From L.A.), who lives in Greece and is preparing for a visit from his grandfather, Vassilis (Tassos Bandis), the film flashes back to his boyhood 35 years earlier in Istanbul, where Vassilis, who owns a grocery store, teaches Fanis about the connection of various spices to life and to the universe. The precocious Fanis makes a deal with a girl he likes, Saime (played as an adult by Basak Köklükaya), that he'll cook for her if she dances for him. Eventually, political turmoil intrudes on the family's happiness, and Fanis' father, Savas (Ieroklis Michailidis), a Greek, is forced to take his wife (Renia Louizidou) and son out of the country. They settle in Athens, but never get over the trauma of being deported. In addition to missing his grandfather, Fanis never gets over his connection to Saime. His grandfather repeatedly promises to visit, and to bring the girl along, but always has an excuse for canceling the trip at the last minute. Meanwhile, Fanis grows up despondent and depressed. He quickly develops a great talent for cooking, which his parents strongly discourage. It's not until he's in his forties that Fanis makes the voyage back to Istanbul to resolve his relationship with the two most important people in his life. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Charlotte Silvera's Girls Can Get Away With Anything is about a young girl who acted in a film. Eight-year-old Judith (Thylda Bares) was plucked from everyday life to act in a film that was made in Paris. After returning home from the experience, she finds that her parents' marriage is on the rocks. She makes her way back to Paris with her friend Nora (Nora Rotman), and the two of them do what they can to survive. Girls Can Get Away With Anything was shot on digital video and was screened at the Paris Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Married for five years, Gerard (Patrick Catalifo) and Helene (Dominique Blanc) are at Paris' Orly South airport, where they are planning to take a flight to Buenos Aires to begin a new life in Argentina. However, at the last minute, Gerard informs Helene that he is ending their relationship, and departs for Argentina alone. Helene, distraught, decides to stay at the airport, which has showers and restaurants. When her money eventually runs out, Helene takes a proposition for sex by an older physician (Gamil Ratib) and thus embarks on a new profession as a prostitute. She also becomes stronger and more self-assured, and starts to befriend a number of airport workers, including a stewardess who regularly flies to Buenos Aires and promises to post letters to Helene's family in France. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

In this two-part made-for-TV romantic drama, a neurosurgeon finds difficulty in dealing with the fact that his latest critically ill patient is the woman whom he once wanted to marry. He is married to another woman, but he still has feelings for his patient. ~ Andrew Olthuis, All Movie Guide

Kurdish expert Hiner Saleem (Shero) wrote and directed this French comedy-drama, set inside the 100,000-population Kurdish community in Paris. The original French title translates as "Long Live the Bride...and the Liberation of Kurdistan." Cheto (Georges Corraface) seeks a wife via videotapes while still seeing his French girlfriend, immigration office worker Christine (Stephanie Lagarde). Cheto places an order for a beautiful girl, but he's disappointed when her sister, country girl Mina (Marina Kobakhidze), arrives at the airport as a substitute. Family pressure forces him to marry her. Unhappy with the way she's treated by Cheto, Mina acquires some progressive notions from Leila (Schahla Aalam) and other local feminists, leading to confrontations with Cheto. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Fifteen-year-old Sabine is unusually confident and analytical. She is also extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. This tender romance chronicles her coming-of-age at the hands of a gentle and fun-loving 40-year-old Czech playwright named Jiri. Because she is so bright, Sabine, who lives in a low-income housing project with her unemployed parents and little sister, makes money on the side doing other people's homework. One day Jiri sees her taking money from some thankful young men on a bus and mistakes her for a prostitute. Under this impression, he invites her to his hotel and with her acquiescence gently becomes her first lover. Sabine approached the situation with logic and afterwards remains cool and calculating until she later spies Jiri with another woman. When faced with that, Sabine's cool demeanor disintegrates and trouble follows. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Escape from L.A. finds Kurt Russell once again in the role of Snake, which he played in the 1981 film, Escape from New York. Los Angeles has finally had the really big earthquake everyone was afraid of, and what remains is now an island. Because the country's ultra-righteous President-for-Life (Cliff Roberton) wants it that way, all the weirdos and freaks that previously inhabited New York in large numbers, and the rest of the U.S. in smaller concentrations, have been quarantined on the island of L.A. The president has Snake taken from the nice, decent prison he was living in for a special mission in L.A. The president's daughter has joined the resistance movement determined to overthrow his one-man rule, and has stolen his secret "black box" (a doomsday machine) to boot. Snake is given a poison which will kill him in a few hours unless he returns to the president for the antidote. His mission is to recover the black box and kill the president's daughter. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A young woman's passion forms the basis of this erotic Spanish drama adapted from a popular novel by Antonio Gala. The night before Desideria's marriage, her girl friends give her some valuable advice on sex. The marriage takes place, and while it is generally happy, her husband Ramiro suffers from sexual dysfunction and Desideria is frustrated. The two end up on holiday in Istanbul with two friends. Desideria falls madly in love with the sensual ambiance of the ancient, teeming city. She begins a passionate affair with a handsome Turkish guide, Yaman. Upon her return home, she learns that she is pregnant. Ramiro agrees to support the child, but unfortunately it dies in infancy and the grieving Desideria flees for Istanbul to find her lover. She finds him and they renew their torrid affair. Later she learns some distressing things about Yaman, but this does not stop her from becoming his sexual slave and a call girl for wealthy carpet sellers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two years after losing both her husband and an unborn baby in a single week, Alice (Julie Walters) hopes to satisfy her maternal urges by adopting a baby. Unfortunately, the adoption agencies in Britain and the Continent are unable to match up Alice with her much-coveted newborn child. Dragging her reluctant new boyfriend along, Alice heads to the poverty-stricken inner regions of Venezuela, there to find a baby by whatever means possible, legal or otherwise. First telecast on Britain's BBC1 under its original title Bambino Mio, this 90-minute film has been released to video in Europe as Mon Enfant. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Published in 1830, Stendhal's landmark historical novel Le Rouge et le Noir has long been required reading in college literature courses, but has generally defied most attempts at adaptation to other mediums. Noteworthy exceptions include the 1954 theatrical-film version by director Claude Autant-Lara, and this four-part British miniseries, titled Scarlet & Black. Set in France in the immediate post-Napoleonic era, the series chronicled the exploits of Julian Sorel (Ewan McGregor), a humble carpenter's son who hoped to scale the heights of European society and affluence. Sorel realized his goal faster than he expected through a series of beneficial romantic liaisons, but in the end there was a terrible price to pay. In addition to star Ewan McGregor, the series was a major boost to the career of young actress Rachel Weisz (cast as Mathilde), as well as another feather in the cap for established leading lady Alice Krige (as Mme. de Renal). Scarlet & Black was seen over BBC2 from October 31 to November 4, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

John Glen directed this throwback to the costume dramas of the 1930s and 1940s, but without a smidgen of their energy and verve. George Corraface plays Christopher Columbus as a dynamic and muscular comic-book hero. He has a dream to set sail to find a new passageway to India, but he needs the backing of the Spanish government to do it. First, he must undergo a grilling by Tomas de Torquemada (Marlon Brando in, hands down, his worst performance). After passing muster with Torquemada, he gets the blessing of Queen Isabella (Rachel Ward) and King Ferdinand (Tom Selleck). Columbus then sets sail in a series of picture-postcard travelogue shots as he sails the ocean blue and discovers a new world of wonders -- particularly the Indian chief's well-endowed daughter. As a sop to revisionists, a rat is seen scampering down the plank as Columbus' vessel lands on "undiscovered" turf. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide