Jacques Bidou Movies

A filmmaker is attempting to complete an ambitious project in the midst of a family tragedy in this self-referential drama from writer and director Tsai Ming-Liang. Hsaio-Kong (Lee Kang-Sheng) is a director from Taiwan who is soon to begin shooting his next picture, a stylized adaptation of Salome, in France, though first he has to help his elderly mother (Lu Yi-Ching) with some plumbing problems. Hsaio-Kong arrives in Paris to discover his producers have cast a well-known model with no acting experience (Laetitia Casta) in the leading role, which adds to the challenge of working in a language in which he's not fluent and having a leading man (Jean-Pierre Leaud) who seems to have lost his memory. Hsaio-Kong's troubles with the shoot are at once exacerbated and made insignificant when he learns of the death of his mother. Featuring guest appearances from Fanny Ardant, Nathalie Baye and Jeanne Moreau, Face was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman confronts the realities of life in the occupied Palestinian territories in this drama. While she was born and raised in New York, Soraya (Suheir Hammad) is of Palestinian heritage and has long dreamed of returning to the land of her ancestors. When Soraya learns that her grandfather bequeathed her a bit more than 15,000 dollars that he left in a bank account in Ramallah, she decides it's time to make a pilgrimage, especially since the inheritance can pay for a long stay in the country. However, Soraya arrives in Israel to find that immigration personnel and border guards are not helpful to tourists of Palestinian blood, and it takes no small amount of determination before she arrives in Ramallah. There, Soraya meets Emad (Saleh Bakri), a handsome Palestinian student who has a scholarship waiting for him at a university in Canada, but Israeli immigration authorities refuse to grant him a visa. Soraya and Emad bond over their frustrations at the injustice they see around them, and when she learns that the money in her grandfather's account (and all other Palestinian accounts at the bank) was forfeited after the establishment of the nation of Israel, they decide to take action. Soraya, Emad, and his friend Marwan (Riyad Ideis) plan to stage a bank robbery, in which they'll take only the amount deposited by her grandfather as a protest against the discriminatory policies that have become a part of daily life under occupation. Milh Hadha Al-Bahr (aka Salt of This Sea) was the first feature film from writer and director Annemarie Jacir. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An unexpected tragedy drives a wedge between an idyllic young husband and wife in this impressionistic Belgian drama. Des Plumes Dans la Tete concerns the relationship between the amorous Jean-Pierre (Francis Renaud) and Blanche (Sophie Museur), leading a life of pastoral bliss in the small town of Genappe with their precocious son Arthur (Ulysse de Swaef). Mother and child spend their days interacting with the townspeople or going on nature walks; the latter endeavor proves tragic when Arthur wanders off on his own one afternoon, and is never seen from again. Both parents are devastated in different ways: Jean-Pierre grows cynical and reticent, while Blanche retreats into a naïve state, pretending that her son is still very much alive. As the couple grows further and further apart, Blanche devolves into madness, spending days on end exploring the fields and trails surrounding Genappe; it's there that she meets a reclusive, curious teenager (Alexis Den Doncker) who helps her escape her fantasy existence. Des Plumes dans la Tete premiered in the Director's Fortnight section of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival before screenings at the Toronto and Tokyo festivals. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

The harsh realities of prison life are parallelled with the day-to-day drone of factory work in director Bénédicte Liénard's dramatic study in compromise. Serving time in prison for an unspecified violent crime related to her employment at the factory, Joanna (Séverine Caneele) experiences the dehumanization of the penal system while her old friends on the assembly line suffer the exploitations of the working class. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Patrice Lumumba was a passionate advocate for freedom in colonial Africa, and when the Belgian Congo was granted independent (and was later renamed Zaire), Lumumba was the new nation's first prime minister. However, Lumumba's dream of freedom and dignity for the people of the Congo made him a controversial and dangerous figure, and this biographical drama explores his short, tumultuous life. We first encounter Lumumba (Eriq Ebouaney) in the late 1950's, when his National Congo Movement is gaining widespread public support, despite opposition from the nation's political leaders. Hoping to avoid a violent overthrow, the Belgian government begins negotiations with the NCM to turn rule of the Congo over to the citizens, and Lumumba and his political party are swept into power during the nation's first independent election. However, Lumumba's desire to bring a peaceful and orderly transfer of power soon earns him enemies of all political stripes. Militant advocates for freedom demand that white Belgian officers of the nation's military be replaced with African soldiers at once, while Belgian colonists are met with violence, sparking a revolt by the white settlers that leads to a bloody civil war. Lumumba was directed and co-written by Raoul Peck, who previously directed the acclaimed documentary Lumumba: Death of a Prophet. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A bleak drama about street children abandoned by the Portuguese juvenile system, Os Mutantes/The Mutants was immediately controversial in Portugal, where it inspired nationwide debate over reform of the nation's youth authorities. Os Mutantes examines the lives of Pedro, Ricardo and Andreia, three kids in their early teens who have rejected life in juvenile homes or with foster families to take their chances on their own. They drift into petty crime and are exploited by sexual predators; the two boys end up working in a pornographic film, while Andreia becomes pregnant. When Andreia turns to her mother for help, the mother turns her away, telling her she can barely support herself, let alone a new baby. Os Mutantes was filmed with a largely non-professional cast; director Teresa Villaverde had originally planned to make a documentary about homeless children, but when government authorities refused to cooperate, she used her research as the basis for this screenplay, giving many of the children she met in her travels roles in the film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rithy Panh directed this neo-realist French-Cambodian social drama set amid Southeast Asian poverty. In the early '90s, soldiers return to civilian life in Phnom Penh. Living with his uncle, kickboxer Savannah (Narith Roeun) begins a romance with 19-year-old bar girl Srey Poeuv (Chea Lyda Chan), who is trapped by her debts to the bar's owner. Savannah makes the mistake of teaming with an ex-soldier pal for a crime that he hopes will raise money to clear Srey's debt. Shown in the Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This UK-German drama has a completely Indian cast and setting. Successful classical Indian singer Pallavi (Kaushalya Gidwani) has been coached in the Hindi musical traditions by her mother, singer Kalruna Devi (Kapila Vatsyayan). When Kalruna dies, Pallavi suffers a trauma that results in the loss of her voice. In quick succession, she then loses her career, her students, and her husband (Bhaveen Gosain). On the brink of madness, Pallavi learns to sing again by imitating a voice channeled through a child. Shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival, this film's English title is Dance of the Wind. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This entry in the British Film Institute-sponsored international centenary celebration of cinema -- in which noted directors make a film that exemplifies their country or region's cinematic history -- represents continental Africa. Unlike many other series filmmakers, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, a native of the Cameroons, chose not to make a creative documentary, but rather a satirical narrative debate between the characters Cinema and Cineaste about the movie preferences of African audiences. Do viewers prefer to see serious African art films (the kind that populate international festivals) or American action features? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Two modern Zimbabwean women reminisce about their time as freedom fighters twenty years before. The story of Florence and Nyasha is told via flashback. It begins in Mozambique where the women have come to train as soldiers. At first the men reject their presence, making it plain that the two are second class citizens. One day though, Florence and Nyahsa who take on the names 'Flame' and 'Liberty' respectively are called to fight. They prove themselves courageous and determined. Flame is pregnant and loses her baby during a Rhodesian air strike, but this does not stop her. Eventually the story returns to the present where the two friends attend a reunion on Hero's Day. It is there that they realize that most of the freedom fighters, especially the women have been basically forgotten. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A poor, rural Cambodian family slowly disintegrates during the cycle of a single rice crop in this moving, and beautifully photographed European drama adapted from a novel by Shahnon Ahmad. Pouev, his wife Om, and his seven children, live in a small rural village in Cambodia. Their whole precarious life depends upon the success of their rice crop. Both husband and wife are worried, but for different reasons. Pouev is concerned because their acreage is shrinking. Om worries about Pouev; what would happen to her and the children if he died or was injured? Her worst fear is manifest after Pouev steps upon a poisoned thorn and dies. Om finds herself heavily burdened with the responsibilities of maintaining the crop and caring for seven youngsters. She suffers paranoia from worrying about whether the children are doing their share and the other villagers lock her up leaving eldest daughter Sokha to bring in the crop. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi