Sylvie Testud 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

A woman whose husband is away fighting in World War I embarks on an arduous journey after receiving a troubling letter in director Serge Bozon's intimate war drama. The year is 1917, and it's springtime in France. Camille's husband may be fighting in the war, but for this naïve young housewife, life is peaceful. Upon receiving a letter in which her husband curtly ends the couple's relationship without explanation, Camille decides to disguise herself as a man and seek her true love out on the front lines. It's not long before Camille joins up with a small squadron of soldiers who remain completely unaware of her true identity or gender, and as the group makes their way to the battleground Camille's eyes will finally be opened to a reality she could have never imagined -- the reality of France. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Two women try to pass along what they've learned about life, love and work to a handful of kids with unexpected results in this French comedy. For years, Blanche (Josiane Balasko) and her husband ran a diner in a small village in France, with their daughter Louise (Sylvie Testud) coming aboard to help once she was grown. After Blanche's husband passes on, she and Louise decide to keep the place open, though a rival eatery owned by Lucie Chevrier (Catherine Hiegel) sees an opportunity to finally get the edge on their competition. Good-hearted Blanche and Louise hear that a group of foster children in need of parents have been left with nowhere to stay, and they agree to take in the kids. Blanche and her daughter go out of their way to the youngsters about the importance of a solid work ethic; however, this lesson is put to the test when local truck drivers go on strike, and their leader, Pierre (Eric Cantona) tries to convince everyone (including the children) not to work for a while. Writer and director Gerard Krawczyk adapted La Vie Est A Nous (aka It's Our Life) from the novel L'eau des Fleurs by Jean-Marie Gourio. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A long-standing dispute between two families comes to a strange resolution in this offbeat drama. Celine (Olga Legrand) is a twenty-something woman from Paris who receives word that she has inherited an aging castle in the Georgian village of Tblisi. Curious about the estate that's now hers, Celine and her friends Patricia (Sylvie Testud) and Jean (Stanislas Merhar) travel to Georgia to give it a look, but getting there proves difficult, and they're forced by circumstance to make most of the trip by bus. Sharing the bus with them are an elderly man (Leo Gaparidze) and his grandson (Giorgi Babluani), who are carrying a coffin with them. Celine and her friends learn that the coffin is empty, but won't be for long -- as part of a truce between two families who have been feuding for centuries, the old man has agreed to be executed by members of the enemy clan. At once appalled and fascinated, Jean wants to tag along and capture the grim event on film, but the journey turns out to be more dangerous than expected, and matters take an unexpected turn when the grandfather dies of natural causes before he can be hanged. L'Heritage (aka The Legacy) was a collaboration between two award-winning filmmakers, Gela Babluani and his father Temur Babluani. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Chantal Akerman helmed this offbeat comedy about a mother and daughter who find themselves living together again for the first time in many years. Still reeling emotionally from the recent death of her husband, Catherine (Aurore Clément) has chosen to leave her old home and move in with her grown daughter, Charlotte (Sylvie Testud). While Charlotte is sympathetic, she's something less than enthusiastic; her mother's mood swings and the clutter of her collected belongings are cramping her home and her style, and when Catherine decides to revive her career as a piano teacher, the constant parade of youngsters bludgeoning the keyboard makes it all but impossible for Charlotte to complete her latest writing project. Catherine and Charlotte decide to look for more spacious living quarters, while Charlotte is also in search of her own office space. As a steady stream of prospective tenants check out their home, Charlotte makes friends with a pregnant woman looking for a new flat (Natacha Régnier), while her search for a space of her own brings Charlotte a relationship with a like-minded realtor (Jean-Pierre Marielle) and an unlikely collaborator in Michelle (Elsa Zylberstein), a poet who enjoys tinkering with Charlotte's prose. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The psychological thriller Dedales (Labyrinth), written and directed by René Manzor, concerns a psychiatrist treating a serial killer. Frederic Diefenthal portrays a police investigator with ESP who eventually plays a part in arresting Claude (Sylvie Testud), an unhinged woman who allows random chance to dictate her actions. Investigators believe Claude has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 30 people. When her first psychiatrist (Michel Duchaussoy) is unable to make headway, he brings in his colleague Brennac (Lambert Wilson). Brennac eventually discovers the key to his patient's split personalities, many of which have a basis in Greek mythology, but the surprising ending alters the audience's perceptions of what has happened in the film. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Markus Heltschel writes and directs the whodunit Der Glässerne Blick (Dead Man's Memories), a co-production of Austria and Germany. Prolific French actress Sylvie Testud stars as Alice, a music student from Vienna who travels around Lisbon. Portuguese actor Miguel Guilherme plays the detective, Pinto, who investigates the murder of archeologist Hans (Klaus Pohl). Dead Man's Memories was screened at the 2003 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Austrian television director Fritz Lehner makes his feature debut with the big-budget drama Jedermann's Fest, based on the 1911 play by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which in turn was based on a medieval tale. Originated in parts of England, the myth of Jan Jedermann ("John Everyman") deals with a rich man on his deathbed coming to terms with his life's failures. Not following much of a plot, the modernized version involves famous fashion designer Jedermann (Klaus Maria Brandauer) imagining his last big gala event while rendered unconscious as a result of a car accident in his Ferrari. He is a success in Vienna but not in fashionable Paris, so he wishes to impress French elder stateswoman Yvonne Becker (Juliette Greco). Also somehow implicated is his lover Isabelle (Alexa Sommer), her rival Cocaine (Veronika Lucanska), photographer Gerry (Jim Raketa), and assistant Daniel (Redbad Klynstra). Eventually, his aging father (Otto Tausig) appears, followed by his nurse Sophie (Sylvie Testud). Running over 170 minutes, Jedermann's Fest took over five years to complete. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Based on the same infamous murders that inspired Jean Genet's play The Maids, and the earlier film Sister My Sister, this French drama explores the difficult family life, professional pressures, and forbidden bond that in 1933 led sisters Christine and Lea Papin to murder the mother and daughter who employed them as maids. Based on Paulette Houdyer's novel L'affaire Papin, Les Blessures Assassines traces the childhood of Christine Papin (Sylvie Testud), a high-strung child who follows older sister Emilia to a convent school after their parents' bitter divorce. Emilia, who claims to have been molested by their father, eventually becomes a nun, while Christine goes into service to support her libertine mother (Isabelle Renauld), whom she heartily resents. Coddled youngest sister Lea (Julie-Marie Parmentier), who is allowed to grow up at home, feels torn between her love for her mother and her close bond with Christine. A talented but moody servant who is prompt to demand her rights under France's labor laws, Christine moves from position to position, but eventually finds a series of households where she and the now teenaged Lea can serve together. Living and working together, the sisters develop an uncanny affection that crosses over into lesbian incest. Eventually jealousy, class resentment, and family drama drive Christine over the edge -- and she is not above taking the mostly innocent Lea with her. Released the same year as the Papin documentary En Quete Des Soeurs Papin, Les Blessures Assassines marked the first film in more than a decade from writer/director Jean-Pierre Denis. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

In Heaven concentrates on the sensitive period between childhood and adulthood. The plot revolves around three friends with personal ambitions who must face the less pleasant aspects of reality. The story is told from the point of view of 17-year-old Csiwi, a loner who spends his evenings driving around in his brother's car or simply hanging out. He has no idea about the direction his future should take. He runs into Levi and Valeska and they easily become his bosom friends despite their differences. Levi, whose circumstances have constantly been changing, is looking for something stable in his life. He works very hard so that he can afford his own flat. Valeska is restless and fascinated by distant places and change. For her, postcards symbolize places where happiness is hidden. Valeska and Levi represent two different ways of living and Csiwi must decide for himself which road to take. He feels the first pangs of love towards Valeska, and Levi easily becomes a good friend. Together they set off in a new direction, which could be their heaven on earth. The strength of the film is the performance of the three characters who carry with conviction the rather unconventional love triangle. The title is taken from a song sung by Nina Simone, among others. In Heaven participated at the 28th International Film Festival Rotterdam, Film Festival Max Ophuls Preis, GIFT Georgian International Film Festival Tbilisi, 32nd Internationale Hofer Filmtage, International Film Festival of India in Haiderabad and International Film Festival of Salerno. Xaver Hutter won the Max Ophuls Preis 1999 for Best Actor. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Caroline Ducey, who previously gained fame by bearing it all in the 1999 dour erotic drama Romance, stars in this drama set in the 14th century. Alienor (Ducey) is provincial lass who puts her skill with herbal cures to use by healing the festering boil on the king's leg. He rewards her with offering her a husband of her choice. Unfortunately, the betrothed Court Bertrand de Roussillon (Melvil Poupaud) refuses to consummate the marriage. Not a woman to let such a setback keep her down, she resolves to use her healing powers to loose her hymen by any means necessary. This film was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide