Denis Freyd Movies

This French drama, based on an 1850s essay by Thomas De Quincey, examines a brief, fictionalized time period in the life of Professor Kant. The story is set in Kant's hometown, Konigsberg; it chronicles his last few years prior to his death in 1804 at the age of 80. The story looks more at the great thinker's odd, obsessive lifestyle than it does his philosophies. Kant, truly a "mad professor," had himself on a rigid daily schedule. At night he slept in a mummy-wrap. During the day he imbibed tremendous amounts of coffee at rigidly prescribed intervals. The whole town was expected to keep a respectful distance when Kant took his daily walks. Melodrama enters the philosopher's life after his loyal servant for the past thirty years suddenly leaves. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This French-produced documentary from Italian documentarist Daniele Incalcaterra attempts to provide insight into the complicated almost chaotic Italian political system as it follows the 10 month's that Silvio Berlusconi and his cabinet were in power. It was a tumultuous time for post WW II Italy, a time when the media had plenty of power and government corruption ran amok. Rather than try to explain everything and everyone involved in the fiasco that was Berlusconi's government, the filmmakers concentrate on four primary players, Piercamillo Davigo, Antonio Di Pietro, two prominent judges, and two election candidates, Alvaro Superchi, who worked at the Alfa Romeo factory and was affiliated with the Party of the Democratic Left and Gianni Pilo, representing Berlusconi's position. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This historical drama is based on a true story from 17th century France. Madame de Maintenon (Isabelle Huppert) rises from humble beginnings to become a courtesan to the royal court and eventually marries King Louis XIV (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). With the king's indulgence, Maintenon opens a special school for girls, seeking to educate young ladies of distinguished parentage but limited financial means. With the coaching of Maintenon and her staff, the girls learn to speak French with a linguist's precision, in addition to studying philosophy and history. However, when two of Maintenon's charges, Anne (Morgane More) and Lucie (Nina Meurisse), recite material in class that Madame deems inappropriate, it begins a war of wills between the headmistress and her students. The girls begin demanding increasingly greater freedom of both mind and body, as Maintenon turns from espousing beauty and liberty to demanding strict self-denial and enforcing an increasingly narrow set of regulations. Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale composed the film's original score. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Director Sam Garbarski marked his feature film directorial debut in 2003 with the family-comedy drama Le Tango des Rashevski (The Rashevski Tango), a tale of one extended family's struggle to find meaning and identity within their own somewhat dormant Jewish heritage. When 81-year-old family matriarch Rosa Rashevski passes away, her descendants are left unprepared, as they have no idea what traditional Jewish rites they should be practicing. As a result, various Rashevski begin some rather intense periods of spiritual introspection, ranging from Rosa's granddaughter Nina's (Tania Gabarski, daughter of the director) proclamation to start and raise a Jewish family to grandson -- and former Israeli military man -- Rica's (Rudi Rosenberg) turbulent relationship with his Muslim girlfriend, Khadija (Selma Kouchy). To further complicate matters, a non-Jewish family friend named Antoine (Hippolyte Girardot) shows up at the funeral and strikes up a conversation with Nina, whom he used to baby-sit when they were both younger. As he grows more fond of the young woman and becomes intent on making her his wife, he learns of her intentions to have a Jewish family and tries to find a solution that would make the young woman reconsider him as a suitor. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

After learning he has a newborn son, a small-time thief attempts to go straight - but not until his amorality is pushed to its breaking point - in this social-problem drama from writer-directors Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Eighteen-year-old Sonia (Déborah Francois) has just given birth to a baby boy. The baby's father Bruno (Jérémie Renier) is panhandling in the street when Sonia tracks him down, and he shows little interest in fathering the child, or even providing a roof over the heads of the fledgling family. As the new and inexperienced mother navigates the bleak industrial landscape of the small Belgian town they live in, Bruno falls in with a clandestine group that buys and sells healthy children on the black market. He tragically learns that one avaricious decision, made in an instant, can affect the lives of everyone in his orbit. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two athletes look to their sport to help them repair their damaged lives in this psychological drama from Argentine filmmaker Veronica Chen. Goyo (Rafael Ferro) was once a top-ranked competitive swimmer until it was discovered he was using performance-enhancing drugs, leading to a scandal that stalled his career. Looking for a way back into the game, Goyo is coaching Chino (Nicolas Mateo), a promising newcomer who has skills not unlike Goyo, but doesn't have the same appetite for competition. Chino's interest in swimming is pragmatic -- he grew up in severe poverty, and he wants a better life for his girlfriend Luisa (Jimena Anganuzzi) and the child she's carrying. Goyo, however, hasn't found the kind of stability in his personal life that Chino enjoys; even though he's long divorced from his first wife Maria (Gloria Carra), he keeps trying futilely trying to win her back, while shrugging off the attentions of Ana (Leonora Balcarce), who is clearly attracted to him. As Goyo prepares Chino for an important marathon river race, the personal issues that follow the two men become nearly as important as their technique in the water. Agua received its North American premiere at the 2007 San Francisco International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An entire household is caught in traffic thanks to the opening of a new super-highway in this satiric comedy drama from Swiss filmmaker Ursula Meier. Marthe (Isabelle Huppert) and her husband (Olivier Gourmet) live in a small home in rural France with their three children. The family values their peace and quiet, except for oldest daughter Judith (Adélaïde Leroux), who has a fondness for cranking heavy metal music as she relaxes in her lawn chair. While construction on a highway near the house began years ago, the progress has been so slow that Marthe and her family have all but forgotten about it. But once the road is opened, they're suddenly subjected to a nonstop barrage of noise, exhaust, and all the stress that comes with it, and the relative calm of the household decays into chaos as Marthe is driven to a nervous breakdown. Home was screened as part of the Critics' Week program at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A boy who longs to be reunited with his family refuses to accept the reality of his circumstances in this drama from the sibling writing/directing team of Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. Cyril (Thomas Doret) is an 11-year-old boy who loves his father and believes in him. The trouble is, Cyril's dad Guy (Jeremie Renier) is a bum who doesn't care about his son, doesn't want to spend his money caring for him, and has left the boy at an orphanage rather than keep him. While these facts are clear to everyone else, Cyril refuses to believe them, and his determination to be reunited with Guy, coupled with his discipline problems, makes him a chore to look after. Samantha (Cecile De France), who works in a beauty shop, offers to take Cyril on weekends so he can have some kind of a home life, but her determined compassion makes only so much of an impact on the youngster, who is still convinced he can find his father. As Samantha struggles to bond with Cyril, the boy finds an unfortunate father figure in Wes (Egon Di Mateo), a small-time crook who drafts Cyril into his latest criminal scheme. Jeremie Renier, who plays Guy in Le gamin au vélo (aka The Kid With a Bike), made his screen debut in an earlier film by the Dardenne Brothers, 1996's La Promesse, in which he fittingly played a troubled youth. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi