Catherine Martin Movies

An aspiring writer falls under the spell of an aloof millionaire with designs for the young scribe's unhappily married cousin in director Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's celebrated novel. It's the spring of 1922, and wide-eyed Midwesterner Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) has just moved to New York City in pursuit of the American Dream. Settling into a home next door to wealthy Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), Carraway grows increasingly fascinated by the elaborate parties held at his new neighbor's estate. Meanwhile, across the bay, Carraway's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) flounders in her marriage to philandering aristocrat Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Inspired by the debauchery on display at Gatsby's wild parties and the lives of the wealthy elite, Carraway begins putting pen to paper as it gradually becomes clear that his cousin and the millionaire share a complicated romantic past that remains unresolved. Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Elizabeth Debicki co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In 1975, 30-year-old Mi'kmaq activist Annie Mae Aquash was found dead in rural South Dakota -- the victim of an execution-style murder. Fellow tribeswoman and noted filmmaker Catherine Anne Martin turned her attention toward Aquash's dramatically short life and unsolved murder with her 2002 biographical documentary entitled The Spirit of Annie Mae. The Canadian-born Aquash led a life of relative obscurity until moving to the U.S. in order to find work. After spending a number of years in various states of financial need, Aquash began taking an interest in working for Native American rights. As her first marriage began to fall apart, she met another man, Nogeeshik Aquash, who introduced the young Mi'Kmaq woman to the American Indian Movement and the movement's radical ideology. Quickly ascending the ranks within the organization, Aquash became a high-ranking leader of AIM, as well as an intelligence target on the part of the FBI, and thereby made her a target of suspicion by both organizations. Martin's look into Aquash' life includes a number of interviews with many of the activist's friends and family members, as well as speculation into the perpetrators of her murder. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Quebec filmmaker Catherine Martin makes her feature debut with this drama about a 19th century woman struggling against oppressive Victorian social norms. A born sensualist, 20-year-old Yvonne loves nothing more than the beauty of the forest, the smell of mountain air, and the bracing crispness of stream water against her naked skin. Her elder sister, Helene, could not be more different -- strict, prudish, and proud of her virtuous manners. Yvonne's penchant for skinny-dipping particularly scandalizes Helene, and she tries to forbid her from partaking in such unseemly activities. One day while swimming in her favorite spot, Yvonne is seen by Charles, the rakish scion of a wealthy local. As she desperately tries to hide and cover herself, Charles strips and takes a dip himself. Immediately, Yvonne is in love. Unfortunately, Yvonne soon learns that Charles is promised to none other than her sister. Demanding the passion that she craves, Yvonne sets out to make Charles hers. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy is updated by director Baz Luhrmann to a post-modern Verona Beach where swords are merely a brand of gun and bored youths are easily spurred toward violence. Longtime rivals in religion and business, the Montagues and the Capulets share a page from the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story when they form rival gangs. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) is aloof toward the goings-on of his Montague cousins, but after he realizes that Juliet (Claire Danes) is a Capulet at the end of one very wild party, the enmity between the two clans becomes the root of his angst. He relies heavily -- and with serious consequences -- on his rebel gender-bender of a friend, Mercutio (Harold Perrineau Jr.), and Father (not Friar) Lawrence (Pete Postlethwaite) for protection and support. Romeo is, of course, exiled, and it looks like Juliet will be forced into an arranged marriage with the bland Paris (Paul Rudd). It ends, as Romeo and Juliet must, when Romeo hears a tragic piece of misinformation and brings his suicide wish to what was meant to be Juliet 's temporary tomb. This time, though, the turf and the weapon of choice have taken a turn toward the surreal. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Fishermen plying the perilous, Arctic waters off Canada's northeastern seaboard are the sole focus of this captivating documentary by cinema-verite filmmaker Georges Dufaux. Dufaux records the work of the fishermen as they head out to sea for ten days of trawling. When not busy with catches of cod, they mend nets and tend to their boats and pray that sudden squalls will not cut off their shoreline communication. After the ten-day period is completed, the fishermen return home for two days of rest. The camera follows them at home and at sea, capturing the rhythm of their hardy lifestyle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi