Béatrice Dalle Movies
A seductively vampiric French starlet whose unpredictability has gained her almost as much attention off-screen as on, Béatrice Dalle may someday be able to translate her success on the silver screens of France to the multiplexes of America, if she can get back into the country. A native of Brest, France, Dalle (born Béatrice Cabarrou) received her big break in film when spotted by a photographer on the Champs Élysées. Following a cover shoot on Photo magazine, Dalle was introduced to agent Dominique Besnehard, who in turn introduced her to film director Jean-Jacques Beineix. A prime example of being in the right place at the right time, it just so happened that Beineix was looking for an actress to essay the role of a beautiful but increasingly unstable heroine in his upcoming film Betty Blue. Immediately recognized by the French masses for her unmistakable presence and stunning performance as the titular character, Dalle's career was soon on the rise, with a subsequent performance as a woman who claims to be a witch in La Visione del Sabba (1988) cementing her status as an unconventional actress of daring sensibilities.Her star ascending as she appeared opposite actress Isabelle Huppert in the dark drama La Vengeance d'une Femme (1990), American audiences got their first, enticing taste of Dalle when director Jim Jarmusch cast her as a razor-tongued cab fare in his round-the-world comedy Night on Earth (1991). After re-interpreting the life of Jesus in La Belle Histoire, Dalle spent much of the remainder of the 1990s appearing almost exclusively in such French films as À la Folie and director Claire Denis' I Can't Sleep (both 1994), though an appearance in Abel Ferrara's The Blackout proved a disappointing exception to the rule. Arrested for cocaine possession while shooting The Blackout in Miami, the incident would later come back to haunt Dalle by preventing her from appearing in one of the biggest box-office sleepers of all time. Declared an "Undesirable Immigrant" following her arrest, Dalle would later be denied an American work permit that would have allowed her to essay the role of Bruce Willis' wife in The Sixth Sense, leaving the role open for actress Olivia Williams to fill. Given that Dalle had previously had both a drug conviction in France in addition to a prior conviction of stealing jewels from a Paris boutique, her reputation of as a somewhat dangerous starlet was quickly gaining justification. Following yet another incident in which Dalle physically attacked a Parisian meter maid who was writing the actress a ticket for parking in a handicapped space, Dalle's wildly unpredictable reputation was beginning to make it somewhat more difficult for her to find work.
Despite her hardships, the dawn of the new millennium found Dalle once again teaming with director Denis for the controversial, cannibalistic art-house thriller Trouble Every Day (2003). A dark and sexualized tale of primal urges, the film drew mixed reviews, though the interest of international audiences piqued following its much-publicized debut at the Cannes Film Festival. Maintaining her leading-woman status with such subsequent French efforts as Vendetta and The Time of the Wolf (again opposite Huppert), it seemed as if international fame might continue to elude the actress so adored in her home country. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2008
A group of women struggling with their sexuality speak openly with the female counselors who wonder if such a thing as "sexual freedom" is truly possible in this tale of the incredible hidden in mundane, everyday events. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Alvaro, Nathalie Baye, (more)
A pregnant widow awaiting her ride to the hospital must fight for her life against a mysterious woman who comes knocking on her door in directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's daring tale of caesarian terror. It's been four months since Sarah (Alysson Paradis) was involved in the tragic car accident that claimed the life of her husband, yet somehow the couple's unborn child miraculously survived the jarring ordeal. Now it's Christmas Eve and Sarah is sitting alone in her suburban home, still grieving the loss of her beloved. Soon, Sarah's mother will arrive to drive her daughter to the hospital, where the doctors plan to induce labor. Out of nowhere, Sarah hears a knock at the door; on the other side is a stranger (Beatrice Dalle) who calmly asks to use Sarah's telephone. Immediately suspicious of the stranger's motivations, Sarah locks the door and quickly calls the police. Upon searching the grounds, the policemen find no trace of an intruder and Sarah cautiously bolts her doors once again. But unbeknownst to the expectant mother, this time she has unwillingly locked herself into a violent struggle for the one thing that matters most to her. Now, as the scissor-wielding psychopath attempts to forcefully claim the new life within Sarah, the jealous maternal battle is about to get bloody. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alysson Paradis, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 2007
Secret Agents director Frederic Schoendoerffer teams with screenwriter Yann Brion for this violent crime drama concerning a brutal kingpin imprisoned by authorities, and the conflict that arises among his underlings as greed taking precedence over loyalty. Claude Corti (Philippe Caubere) is a ruthless crime lord whose creative use of power drills and metal rods have earned him both the fear and respect of the Paris underworld. When Corti is eventually captured by the police and sentenced to prison, the streets become divided by those who intend to carry on with business as usual, and those who see the departure as a notable opportunity for advancement. Beatrice Dalle, Benoit Magimel, and Olivier Marchal co-star in an unflinching look at a world where the only thing cheaper than life is loyalty. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benoît Magimel, Philippe Caubère, (more)
A woman throws herself into a last-ditch struggle to conquer her demons in this gritty drama from director Olivier Assayas. Lee Hauser (James Johnston) is a faded rock star who lives with his wife, Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung), the former host of a European music video show, in a small town in Western Canada. Both Lee and Emily have been battling drug addiction for years, and when Lee finally dies of an OD, Emily finds herself charged with possession of heroin and ends up spending six months in jail. Lee and Emily's son, Jay (James Dennis), has been living with his paternal grandparents, Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry), and while Emily is eager to see her son after getting out of jail, Albrecht persuades her that she needs to get herself clean before she can reconnect with Jay. Determined to get off methadone, Emily relocates to France, where she scares up a job as a waitress and moves in with her old friend Elena (Béatrice Dalle). Emily's attempts to start a new career and stay off drugs prove to be an uphill battle, and she doesn't appear to be winning her fight when she learns that Albrecht and Jay will be accompanying Rosemary to London for medical treatment when Rosemary contracts a serious illness -- and that Albrecht is considering making a side trip to Paris. Clean was screened in competition at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, (more)
Claire Denis' elliptical drama L'Intrus was inspired by a short book written by philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy about his heart transplant. In the film, Michel Subor (Le Petit Soldat) stars as Louis, who lives fairly self-sufficiently in a small cabin in the snowy wilds near the Swiss border. Louis has a son (Grégoire Colin, who also starred with Subor in the director's Beau Travail) whose wife (Florence Loiret-Caille) is a border guard, and they have two young children, but Louis has a strained relationship with his family. He lives a hard, stoic life out in the cold. Mysterious strangers cross the border at all hours of the day and night, and Louis vigilantly -- sometimes violently -- protects his homestead. It soon comes to pass that he needs a heart transplant. Louis quickly and quietly makes some arrangements, and travels to Pusan for the operation. He makes the demand that he be given a young man's heart, and not a woman's. His health still failing, Louis then travels to Tahiti, hoping for a final reunion with another son, whom he abandoned years before. The footage of the young Subor in Tahiti was taken from an uncompleted adaptation of a Robert Louis Stevenson story directed by Paul Gégauff. L'Intrus also stars Béatrice Dalle, Katia Golubeva, and Alex Descas in smaller roles. The film was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of 2005's Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, (more)
- 2003
Filmmaker C.S. Leigh writes and directs his first feature film with the extreme drama The Process. French actress Béatrice Dalle plays an actress trying to kill herself. Through long, uncomfortable takes, the film explores her tortured existence. After a disastrous on-stage appearance with her estranged husband (Guillaume Depardieu), she engages in a rough sexual three-way with two men (Daniel Duval and Sebastien Viala). She also loses her child to a car accident and her breast to cancer. The Process was screened at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004 with live musical accompaniment by John Cale. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Guillaume Depardieu, (more)
- 2002
Directed by Christo Honore, 17 fois Cecile Cassard stars Beatrice Dalle as Cecile, who is having a terrible time getting over the accidental death of her husband, Thierry (Jerome Kircher). Hoping to find solace, Cecile drives to Toulouse and rents a room in a seamy hotel. Within days, Cecile has succeeded in attracting a bevy of gay men and sexually-charged young boys. Though they succeed in offering Cecile some much needed companionship, it isn't until she meets Matthieu (Romain Duris), who offers to father her child, that she believes herself to have found a second soulmate.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Romain Duris, (more)
- 2001
Following up on his masterful dissection of a relationship gone awry in M/Other, Nobuhiro Suwa directs this postmodern adaptation of Alain Renais' classic Hiroshima, Mon Amour. Suwa plays himself as a director who is seeking to remake the 1959 masterwork and who has cast French actress Beatrice Dalle as the lead in the role originally played by Emmanuelle Riva. Using Suwa's trademark John Cassavetes-like directing style, we see Suwa, his interpreter, Dalle, and writer Kou Machida interact in a manner that seems entirely improvised. This film was screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Ko Machida, (more)
- 2001
Two strangers share a strange and terrible bond in this stylish horror tale that juggles sex and graphic bloodshed. Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) is a strange man with a forbidding nature who has just married lovely but nervous June (Tricia Vessey), and they've decided to go to Paris for their honeymoon. In the City of Lights, a beautiful but dangerous woman named Core (Beatrice Dalle) has been leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake when she's captured by Leo Semeneau (Alex Descas), a mysterious scientist who spirits her away to his estate. As Core is placed under guard, Semeneau leaves to return to the city for an unnamed assignment; we soon learn that one of Shane's reasons for coming to Paris was to find him and retrieve some important information. In time, we also discover that Shane and Core have something rather unusual in common -- both are murderous cannibals who regularly feast on the flesh of their victims, and Semeneau's information may hold the key to the secret behind their deadly appetite. Trouble Every Day generated a certain amount of controversy in its screenings at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where a number of patrons walked out in disgust at the film's intense blend of sensuality and cannibalism. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, (more)
Cult figure Abel Ferrara directed this typically edgy look at an actor whose abuse of alcohol and drugs takes an unexpected toll. Matty (Matthew Modine) is an actor whose career is on the fast track; however, he's not able to handle the pressures of life in Hollywood, so he heads to Miami to recharge his emotional batteries. Given Miami's night life, this might not have been the wisest choice he could have made, as he's soon sunk deep in a sea of drink and drugs. Matty asks his girlfriend Annie (Beatrice Dalle) to marry him, but she turns him down, as she's still bitter about having to have an abortion when he got her pregnant some time back. Matty, however, can barely remember this event. Matty's friend Mickey (Dennis Hopper), a night club owner and video artist, decides that Matty needs to get away from his problems, and they set out for a long night of heavy partying, during which Matty picks up a waitress, also named Annie (Sarah Lassez). Somewhere along the line, Matty drinks so much that he blacks out, and he awakes with no memory of the evening. 18 months later, Matty is clean and sober, living in New York with his new girlfriend Susan (Claudia Schiffer). He can't get Annie out of his mind, and he flies to Miami to visit her, hoping to close some old wounds. But Annie the waitress turns out to have some bad news for him when he arrives in Florida. The Blackout marked the acting debut of model Claudia Schiffer, and, as in several of Ferrara's previous films, seminal hardcore rapper Schooly D contributed several songs to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1997
A young woman in her 20s spends a day visiting Paris. When she misses the last bus home, she finds herself stranded on the outskirts of Paris. While wandering about, she encounters a youth who suggests she hang out at a local club. He then gives her a little of the drug Ecstasy to help pep her up. She goes into the busy establishment and finds it filled with African and Arab immigrants. Eventually, the girl encounters a troubled drug addict. A former boxer suffering from impotence, he becomes attracted to the woman and a relationship begins. This displeases the boxer's girlfriend, a dancer at the club. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Élodie Bouchez, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 1997
This Spanish-French thriller is set in Madrid where latenight radio talk-show host Elena (Beatrice Dalle) gets a call from serial killer Javier Barea (Juanjo Puigcorbe, best-known for his comedy roles) who claims he will kill within the hour. Lawyer Maria Ramos (played by Spanish soap-opera star Lydia Bosch) is listening to the radio and immediately assembles an investigating team that includes Javier himself. Maria begins to suspect he's the killer, but she is simultaneously attracted to him. How long until she becomes the next victim? ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juanjo Puigcorbe, Lydia Bosch, (more)
This French drama uses two plots that occasionally come together. The stories are set within the multiethnic neighborhoods of Paris. In the first, Daiga (Yekaterina Golubeva), a spunky Lithuanian actress, drives into to town to collect on the promise of a director she slept with. He lied to her and now she, who speaks no French, must accept help from friends and relatives who set her up in a small hotel. She gets a job as a chambermaid. The second examines the lives of a large expatriate Caribbean family. Theo ( Alex Descas), a musician, takes small carpentry jobs for wealthy Parisians to support his young daughter. He really wants to go home to Martinique, but his daughter's mother doesn't want to. Theo's brother Camille (Richard Courcet) has real problems. He is the wild one. Dressed in his fishnet stockings and garish makeup, Camille sings at the local gay club. He sleeps with his lover (also his doctor) in the same hotel as Daiga. Camille seems nice enough until it is discovered that he is not only a drug addict and HIV-positive, he also strangles old women to death while a partner robs their homes. Camille seems oddly distant from his actions, which he calmly describes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yekaterina Golubeva, Richard Courcet, (more)
- 1992
It is a commonplace that past actions affect our present circumstances. This ambitious movie attempts to show how truly distant actions from former lives affect the subsequent lives of the protagonists. In the story, beginning in Roman times, a wanderer (Gerard Lanvin) miraculously tames some wild bees for a group of lepers, who are killed shortly after that by Roman soldiers. In modern times, a group of gypsies enjoy their communal life, full of dancing and merriment, and have a strong affinity for horses. At the same time, a genial female con-artist (Beatrice Dalle) is putting her boyfriend on a plane. When a handsome gypsy (the wanderer in his former life) meets the con-artist (one of the lepers in her former life), it is love at first sight. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 1992
Who would have expected Brigitte to marry a prisoner with a long sentence in the first place? In this romantic action movie, that is only the first in a long line of surprising actions by the young woman. Somehow, she manages to get hooked to the young prisoner before realizing that he'll be locked up for another three or four decades. She decides that this is much too long to wait to spend time with her sweetheart and decides to learn how to fly a helicopter. Why? So she can fly in and take him out of his prison yard, which is exactly what she does, thrilling romantics all over France and seriously upsetting the authorities. This award-winning film (it's a 1991 Cannes jury-prize winner) is based on a true incident from 1986. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Thierry Fortineau, (more)
- 1989
Lovers Beatrice Dalle and Wadeck Stanczak can't quite cope with the situation when Dalle becomes pregnant. Stanczak fears that his future as an architect will be scuttled by any parental responsibilities. For her part, Dalle wants to keep the baby, but she also wants to keep Stanczak. Attempting to smooth the waters is the couple's mutual friend Francis Frappat. Chimere was the second feature-film project for director Claire Devers, who rose to prominence on the strength of her award-winning maiden effort Black and White. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Wadeck Stanczak, (more)
- 1989
In this gothic romance based on a 1950s novel by Robert Margerit, after a whirlwind romance, Violette (Beatrice Dalle), a Parisian girl, has married Gustave Dupin (Philippe Volter), a charming aristocrat, and returned with him to live on his country estate. There, she begins to discover that all is not as it seemed, and beneath her groom's charming exterior is an undreamt-of savagery. She forms an alliance with her husband's much saner brother Bastien (Stephane Freiss) which saves her in the end, but not before she must go on trial for the murder of her husband. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Béatrice Dalle, Stéphane Freiss, (more)
- 1989
In this drama, two disparate women are bereaved when the third part of their love triangle dies. After the funeral, the wife decides it is time to get to know her husband's mistress. This frightens the mistress a bit because she suspects the wife has an ulterior motive. The story is taken from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Eternal Husband. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Huppert, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 1988
Davide (Daniel Ezralow) is a young psychiatrist who is tormented by his own dreams in this psychological drama. Maddalena (Beatrice Dalle) is a beautiful but disturbed mental patient who resembles a woman Davide dreamed was burned at the stake after being convicted of witchcraft. Davide soon has trouble dividing fantasy and reality when he falls for Maddalena. A well-orchestrated dance scene and simulated orgy with clothed participants are the big production numbers. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Ezralow
- 1986
Students of film history will appreciate the many tributes to famous films of yore which appear in this first-time feature directed and written by former drama teacher Francis Huster. In the story, a mild-mannered bank clerk has heroic dreams of being a real he-man. Given his diffident, shy nature, it comes as a bit of a surprise that not only does he actually have a girlfriend, but he has managed to get her pregnant. However, she doesn't fit his image of himself, and he can't bring himself to marry her. When the bank he works in is robbed by a daring group which includes a magnetically attractive woman, the clerk throws his lot in with them and becomes an outlaw. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francis Huster, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
On the heels of his award-winning, emotionally devastating 2001 drama The Piano Teacher, German filmmaker Michael Haneke weaves this disturbing tale of a family forced into a harrowing confrontation with a group of strangers set against the backdrop of a global apocalypse. In the aftermath of an unseen but catastrophic global disaster, a shaken family slowly makes their way to the presumed safety of a holiday home in the French countryside. Upon arrival, the family discovers their home inhabited by a woman and a horrified man. When a shot rings out, a life is taken, and time seems to stand still. In the aftermath of unspeakable violence, it appears that the only hope for a band of desperate refugees lies in a nearby train station and a locomotive that -- despite their most optimistic hopes and prayers -- may never actually arrive. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Huppert, Maurice Bénichou, (more)
- 1996
- R
Based on a play by Sacha Guitry this romantic French comedy of manners sparkles and bubbles like freshly uncorked champagne. Set in Paris before the dawn of the Jazz Age and centers on the exploits of sexy, womanizing butler Désiré after he begins working for former actress and current mistress of noted local politico Montignac. For the summer, Désiré and the rest of the staff move the entire household to the seaside town of Deauville. Désiré inadvertently provides his colleagues with much mid-night entertainment with his loudly-voiced dreams of having sexual congress with the comely Odette. Unbeknownst to him, Odette has similarly enacted dreams about him, something Montignac finds more disturbing than funny. Both sides begin looking to a book that explains erotic dreams and the more they learn, the more uncomfortable they become in each other's presence until at last they decide to see if dreams can indeed become reality. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1994
- R
A menage-a-trois between rival sisters and a boyfriend provide the dramatic focus of this French film. The sisters Alice and Elsa have been apart for two years. Alice, a painter, lives in Paris with her lover Franc. Problems for the happy couple ensue when Elsa suddenly appears at their door after leaving her cheating husband and two children. Elsa immediately begins trying to dominate their lives. Alice wants the out-of-control Elsa to leave, but then suddenly changes her mind. To thank her, Elsa destroys her art studio, has sex with Franc, convinces him that Alice is unbalanced, and then ties Alice up in her apartment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anne Parillaud, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
