Julie Baines Movies

In Deepa Mehta's poignant and heartbreaking romance, Emilia Fox plays Fay, a generally content, thirtysomething Torontoite suffering in a relationship of quiet desperation with her boyfriend; Bruce Greenwood is Tom Avery, a loser in the ways of romance with three broken-hearted marriages behind him, who hosts a late-night call-in radio program. The two meet and grow deeply smitten with one another, but must ultimately learn to accept one another unconditionally. Life seems just about perfect, until an unforeseen calamity challenges everything Fay has come to rely on as stable and solid. Mehta adapted the novel of the same title by Canadian author Carol Shields. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A group of friends and mutual acquaintances embark on a number of vacations -- concealed or otherwise -- for relaxation and unexpected romantic hijinks in French actor/director Michel Blanc's fourth directorial effort, the romantic ensemble comedy See How They Run. While hosting a dinner party, the well-to-do Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Bertrand Lannier (Jacques Dutronc) learn that their neighbors Veronique (Karin Viard) and Jerome (Denis Podalydes) -- who used to be successful but are currently hiding their financial woes -- will be vacationing in the same resort town at the same time. Impulsively, Elizabeth invites her friend, and fellow dinner party guest, Julie (Clotilde Courau), to join them and thus make a party out of the event. However, Bertrand backs out of the trip while claiming to have to work -- only to schedule a rendezvous with his lover, his transsexual secretary (Mickael Dolmen), instead. Meanwhile, the Lannier's teenaged daughter, Emilie (Lou Doillon), has been planning a parentally endorsed vacation to the United States with one of her friends, but is in actuality going on a romantic retreat with one of her father's employees, Kevin (Sami Bouajila). As the separate excursions commence, a number of romantic couplings spring up -- as well as a number of new friendships -- that will have long-lasting effects on all of the vacationers' lives. See How They Run received the honor of being selected for inclusion into the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

Mika Kaurismaki directed this British-French-Finnish romantic comedy adapted from Richard Rayner's autobiographical novel about a series of Hollywood misadventures. Vacationing in the North of England, aspiring Los Angeles actress Barbara (Vinessa Shaw) stops briefly in a village where she meets town undertaker and obit writer Richard (David Tennant) -- who just can't stop thinking about her. Flying to California, Richard arrives at the Japanese restaurant where Barbara is a waitress, and a relationship begins -- while Richard learns about Hollywood at the hands of various hustlers and agents. Shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This unsettling variation on Thelma and Louise (1991) is an unusual and often macabre love story/black comedy about two peculiar women, played by Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves, who roam through Northern England on a killing spree. Plummer is Eunice, a tattooed, schizophrenic free spirit who is wandering in search of her recently departed lover, Judith. She leaves one gas station attendant dead when the person admits to not being Judith. But when she meets Miriam (Reeves), another gas station attendant who longs for love and attention, Eunice doesn't ask the fatal question. Strangely captivated by the eccentric woman, Miriam spends the night with Eunice and falls under her peculiar charm, Calling each other "Eu" and "Mi," they hit the road, where they murder anyone who gets in their way. Both women sense that their actions will ultimately bring about a tragic end, but their dedication to their cause (rebelling against men who trivialize and demean women everywhere) and their love for one another gives them the strength to carry on. Though Plummer's Eunice seems to have the upper hand through most of the film, it is the sacrifice that "Mi" makes for "Eu" that catches and holds the viewer at the conclusion of this bizarre little tale. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide

In the fourteenth century, few options were open to women, and anyone showing the slightest degree of independence was likely to be denounced as a witch and summarily burned. In this story, young Christine (Natalie Morse) has a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary, and has asked to be walled up in the church as an anchorite for the rest of her life. This suits her ambitious parish priest (Christopher Eccleston) perfectly, and she is forthwith walled up. Her mother (Toyah Wilcox), an herbalist, midwife and wise-woman, is not of the same mind, but she is not only ignored, but soon runs afoul of the local authorities. Meanwhile, Christine is adapting to her new life in strange ways, and finds ways to transcend her imprisonment through making good use of the completely unusual privacy it affords. In one erotic scene, she even manages to find a physical expression for her mystical marriage. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide