Catherine Samie Movies

Set in his native Haiti, director/screenwriter Michaelange Quay's sophomore feature is a poetic, taboo-shattering meditation on the flow of power between black and while centering on a pale woman (Sylvie Testud) 's bizarre relationship with numerous dark-skinned children. As a group of young black boys slowly filter into the chateau of a ghostly French woman, the ritual that follows offers a haunting meditation on Haiti's colonial legacy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Based on the 1997 National Book Award-nominated novel of the same name by Diane Johnson (co-writer of the script for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining), Le Divorce is a romantic comedy from director James Ivory. Revisiting the "Americans in France" theme that Ivory explored in 1998's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, the film stars Kate Hudson as Isabel Walker. When she receives word that her pregnant poetess sister Roxy (Naomi Watts) has been left by her philandering French husband, artist Charles-Henri de Persand (Melvil Poupaud), Isabel offers her help and moral support. As the depressive Roxy struggles with the separation proceedings -- which include the rights to ownership of a work of art that's a family heirloom -- Isabel takes a job with author Olivia Pace and has a fling with the bohemian Yves (Romain Duris). But things get complicated when the younger, more impudent sister decides instead to pursue Charles' uncle, the snooty, married diplomat Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), and when a mysterious man (Matthew Modine) starts stalking Roxy. Eventually, the rest of the plucky Walker clan has to come to the aid of the siblings. Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston co-star. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

As part of an intergalactic coalition, a well-meaning space alien volunteers to bring a message of self-actualization and harmony with nature to the one planet rejected by all her peers as incorrigible--Earth. This family-oriented French sci-fi comedy chronicles her adventures on the chaotic planet. Mila is 150 years old and has five children; encoded in her brain are two telepathic programs designed to restructure the thinking of destructive humans. The first is a fairly mild program designed to inspire the humans to rethink their world and begin asking some difficult questions. The other is far stronger and rapidly indoctrinates subjects with lofty utopian ideals and makes them deeply aware of themselves. Mila lands in Paris and is unnoticed but for the sudden, inexplicable power surges and outages that occur whenever she sends a telepathic message to her alien cohorts. Instead of eating, Mila draws energy from holding newborn babies. It is while holding an orphan infant in an obstetrics ward that her Earthly troubles begin. Feeling deeply for the baby's plight, she confronts the ward's head doctor and when logic fails, looses her programs upon him. Instantly the unsympathetic brute sees the light and begins helping her save the babe from wicked welfare workers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Best known for their historical epics that examine class and social issues in British life through a thick lens of tasteful production design and good manners, director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant set their sights on an American protagonist for a change with Jefferson in Paris. As the title suggests, Jefferson in Paris deals with the five years that Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) spent as U.S. ambassador to France prior to the French Revolution; while Jefferson is sympathetic to the revolutionary forces in France, he's become well enough acquainted with the ruling aristocracy that he finds himself torn between the two sides of the issue. Jefferson, a recent widower, also becomes friends with Maria Cosway (Greta Scacchi), who is married to a foppish British artist; while it's obvious the two are in love, neither is in a position to do anything about their infatuation. And while Jefferson's daughter Patsy (Gwyneth Paltrow) loves her father, she's very upset with him when he sends her to a convent school. In this midst of this personal turmoil, Jefferson's younger daughter Polly (Estelle Eonnet) arrives in Paris, with her slave Sally Hemmings (Thandie Newton) in tow. Attractive and bright (if uneducated), Sally catches Jefferson's eye, and a friendship develops that grows into something deeper; in time, Sally becomes pregnant, and her family claims that Jefferson is the father. At the time Jefferson In Paris was released, the question of Sally Hemmings' relationship with Thomas Jefferson was a matter of lively historical debate; since then, genetic evidence has shown that, while Jefferson's paternity can't be proved beyond a doubt, it is likely that he did father children with Hemmings. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This smart, upbeat French comedy explores the differing attitudes surround children. Martin, a 35-year old advertising executive, is busily working upon ad campaigns for the Floppy dog-food company. It was his ex-wife's idea that he work for them. When the family au pair, 23-year old Sally tells Martin she is pregnant with his child as a result of their one-night stand, Martin seeks the counsel of his friends and family. Compounding the matter is the fact that Sally, who wants the baby, simple considers Martin to be a donor. Martin's militantly left-wing mother wants Sally to get an abortion because she believes it immoral to bring another European into the world. Julien, Martin's best friend, is an equally militant pro-lifer and will end the friendship if he allows Sally to abort. His barren ex-wife subversively influences Sally into keeping the baby. Meanwhile, Martin becomes friends with a pregnant teen who unexpectedly gives birth. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Léah (Josiane Balasko) has been longing to be beautiful for years, but the best she's been able to accomplish on her own is dowdy but neat. When she inadvertently conjures up Abar (Daniel Auteuil), one of the devil's own representatives, she's more than willing to sell her soul for a great-looking, sexy body (Jessica Forde), especially if she can woo Abar with it. Alas, it seems that these contracts are frequently renewed by the Angel Gabriel (Michael Lonsdale), and just as she's getting ready to get things hopping, the angelic trumpeter says the deal's off. Now she's got her soul and body back, but she's still in bad, bad trouble because the guy she loves happens to be a devil. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This suavely-fashioned film with an all-female cast focuses primarily on three women and the man who goes in and out of their lives. One member of this trio is a saleswoman (Marie-France Pisier) with an open relationship that suddenly closes when she learns that her lover has been unfaithful. It seems that he has dallied with a book-dealer (her nemesis) who ultimately does not propose as much of a threat to the disillusioned saleswoman as a certain actress (Clementine Celarie). Along with these three are several other females who interact with the main protagonists. Set up more in the manner of a stage play with changing scenes and acts, this drama is still unusual for its all-distaff cast. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this plodding drama about a man searching for his friend's wronged lover, there is neither high action nor high suspense to keep -- or even reach -- a quick-paced storyline. A shallow womanizer (Jean Rochefort) plays the trumpet in an orchestra conducted by his steady and stable friend (Philippe Noiret). One day a woman bursts into the womanizer's dressing room and tries to shoot him down for what he did to her sister. As he goes into hiding for his own safety, he asks the orchestra leader to find out who he wronged, and try to help him correct the problem. The rest of the film concerns that search, and its resolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Muriel (Annie Giradot) is a shy woman who bluffs and blusters around in order to hide her shyness and to protect her loneliness, even though she longs wistfully for a companion of some sort. She has been lonely so long that now she is an old maid and has never been wooed. In this gentle French film, Muriel gets a glimpse of romance when Gabriel (Philippe Noiret) walks into the seaside hotel she is vacationing in. His car has broken down, and he has to stay there for a few days while it is repaired. Hers is the only dinner table with room at it, and Gabriel cannot prevent himself from charming women. She is stiff with him at first, but soon they develop a friendship. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Daydreamer (Le Distrait) stars Pierre Richard (who also directed) as a stumblebum ad-agency employee. Unable to get by in the "real" world, he opts for his own fantasy world, in which everything goes right for him and he always gets the girl. After several blithe moments, the businessman manages to find success and romance for real. Filmed in 1970, The Daydreamer was released in the U.S. in 1975, after the success of the Pierre Richard comedy The Tall Blonde Man With One Black Shoe. The film was also released as Absent-Minded. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Vittorio De Sica directs the 1967 episodic sex comedy Sette Volte Donna (Woman Times Seven), consisting of seven short stories each starring Shirley MacLaine. In "Funeral Possession," she plays opposite Peter Sellers as a widow at her husband's funeral. In "Amateur Night," she's a wife who's driven to prostitiution to get revenge on her adulterous husband (Rossano Brazzi). In "Two Against One," she plays an interpreter who gets naked and reads T.S. Eliot to an Italian (Vittorio Gassman) and a Scot (Clinton Greyn). In "The Super Simone," she's a houswife who acts insane to get the attention of her author husband (Lex Barker). In "At the Opera," she's a rich woman determined to get a specific dress. In "The Suicides," she forges a suicide pact with lover Alan Arkin. In "Snow," Michael Caine is hired to spy on her. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide