Laurence Ferreira Barbosa Movies

A couple's marital woes lead to a terrifying ordeal in director Cédric Kahn's Red Lights. Co-written by Gilles Marchand (Who Killed Bambi?) and Kahn's frequent writing partner Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, Red Lights is based on a novel by Georges Simenon. In the film, Antoine (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) seems to be looking forward to taking his wife, Hélène (Carole Bouquet), for a long drive. The plan is to leave Paris and pick up their children at camp that evening, then spend a couple of weeks in the country relaxing. But when Hélène keeps him waiting, Antoine begins to drink. After several beers and a scotch, the couple hit the road, and immediately run into traffic leaving the city. Antoine has been hearing stories of horrible accidents on the road all evening, but that doesn't stop him from driving like a madman. When Hélène complains about his erratic driving, things just get worse. When they're not bickering, they're glaring silently out at the dark road. Eventually, Antoine decides to pull over for another drink, and when Hélène threatens to take the car and continue on without him, he takes the keys with him into the bar. When he gets out, he finds that Hélène has gone, leaving a note on the car saying she's continuing on by train. Antoine races to the train station, but he's too late, so he wanders into a nearby bar. There, he buys a drink for a sullen young man (Vincent Deniard), who later approaches him in the parking lot, asking for a ride. The two soon come to a police roadblock, and Antoine begins to suspect that his traveling companion is the escaped fugitive for whom the cops are looking. Red Lights had its U.S. premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Noted French filmmaker Laurence Ferreira Barbosa directs this loosely-structured triptych about a trio of unconnected people who struggle through the loneliness of their lives. Impetuous 17-year-old Marguerite (Lolita Chammah), who feels cut off from both her family and classmates, passes the time by talking to God. Eventually, she decides to enter a convent. Meanwhile, housewife Claire (Isabelle Hubbert) is frustrated after ten years of childless marriage. While going to visit a fertility expert in Paris, she happens upon an old lover, gets picked up by some guy at a bar and has a bizarre encounter with an America singer (Robert Kramer). Meantime, Jacques (Frederic Pierrot) is divorced, unemployed, and loathed by his daughter. Just as his life looks one long exercise in desperate futility, he meets comely Eva (Juliette Andrea). Suddenly, he transforms himself into a private dick, trying to track down a missing associate. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Taking a droll look at modern love, this complex, dark comedy centers on the relationships between Parisian doctor Annie Simonin and two very different male patients. Thirty-four years old and divorced, she has just been temporarily abandoned by her vacationing receptionist and doesn't quite know what to do with herself. At a dinner party she meets egocentric actor Richard Piotr who is starring in a dreadful experimental version of Richard III. She accepts his invitation for a drink after the party and he spends most of their time discussing the idiosyncrasies of his last girlfriend. Annie is not blind to Richard's glaring faults, but still finds him interesting. A bit of a hypochondriac, he makes an appointment to see her professionally so that he can get a check-up and a flu shot, even though it is not flu season. Soon they are mixing business with pleasure in her office. As it is the slow season for doctors, Annie has only one other regular patient, Laurent Blondel. A former drug addict, he is coping with AIDS by refusing to allow her to treat him. As time passes, Richard shows symptoms of something far more disturbing than hypochondria and Laurent's cavalier attitude towards his deadly disease causes problems for Annie. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This French drama takes a gentle poke at the youthful ideologies of the post-hippy 70's. Fabio and Alain are teenagers with widely differing backgrounds and philosophies. Fabio is a rebellious Stalin quoting, left-winger from a lower middle-class family. He dreams of being a rock star even though he can't play a note. Alain, a soft-spoken boy from a middle-class family prefers to quote Plato. Alain is attracted to Fabio's enthusiastic talk on political activism. When the local press accuses them of terrorism after they toss a rock through a window they are initially delighted. Their delight is short-lived when they realize that may be blamed for some of the real terrorism the town has been experiencing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide