Alexandra London Movies

Acclaimed French filmmaker Olivier Assayas follows up on the international success of Fin Août, Début Septembre and Irma Vep with this sweeping adaptation of the sprawling three-volume tome by Jacques Chardonne. Set in three chapters spanning from the beginning of the 1900s to after WWI, the first section takes place in the fictional village of Barbazac, located in the Cognac region. Protestant pastor Jean Barnery (Charles Berling) learns of his wife Nathalie's (Isabelle Huppert) infidelity from the village grapevine and sends his daughter away. At the same time, 20-year-old Pauline (Emmanuelle Beart) returns to the village after the death of her father. Pauline and Jean are almost immediately attracted to each other when they first meet at a ball. Soon Jean installs Nathalie and their daughter in an apartment, files for divorce, and resigns as minister. The second chapter opens with Pauline visiting Jean, who is bedridden in a Parisian hotel from tuberculosis. Upon his recovery, they marry and live for a spell in Switzerland, until Jean's family entreat him to return to Limoges and take over the floundering family porcelain business. The final chapter opens with bombs of WWI: Jean is sent to the front, while Pauline works as a nurse. When the war finally draws to a close, Jean struggles to keep the business afloat. He raises the ire of his workers and stockholders alike by freezing wages and slashing dividends, but his fastidious attention to detail soon makes his company the finest producer of porcelain in Europe. Yet as the economic climate of the continent slowly worsens, so does his business -- and his health. This film was first screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Juliette (Virginie Aster) is an immigration officer working the Eurostar train that runs by tunnel between London and Paris. When Juliette discovers her boyfriend (who happens to be married) (played by Jean Yves Berteloot) has not only been reading the diary file on her laptop computer but got so mad he threw it out the window, she gives him his walking papers. On the rebound, Juliette becomes involved with Frank (Kulvinder Ghir), who works with several radical political groups. However, their relationship becomes problematic when he tries to involve her in a plan to smuggle a group of Somali refugees into England via the Eurostar. Filmed in 1997, Solo Shuttle received its first screenings on European television, though it later earned theatrical screenings in London. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi

An easily influenced teenage boy takes a ruinous road when he chooses to become an outlaw. This drama, without artifice or unnecessary embellishment, tells the semi-autobiographical story of screenwriter/first-time director/actor Patrick Aurignac, who instead of playing himself, portrays the criminal influenced the impressionable boy. Young Frederic is first seen serving a drug-realted sentence. While in prison, he encounters Damien and criminal mastermind Louis-Guy. Frederic comes to admire the latter greatly. Still, upon his release, Frederic tries to please his parents and his girlfriend by going straight. He does okay until the newly freed Louis-Guy appears and seduces Frederic into the robber's life with the promise of fast, plentiful money. The addition of a beautiful prostitute also helps sway Frederic. As soon as Damien gets out, the crooks begin plotting an enormous caper. Unfortunately it goes terribly wrong and all involved end up back in jail with 18-year-old Frederick serving a six year sentence. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This gentle, mildly satiric French comedy follows the romantic adventures of a group of men who have gone with their children to spend the summer in their vacation homes on the Atlantic coast. Some of the men are divorced, some still married, but all are open to meeting new women while their wives and girlfriends are back in Paris. Much of the humor derives from the reversal of the usual situation - - the men are off with the children while the women are back home tied to work and career. The film is loosely structured and episodic as it simultaneously follows the stories of a number of characters. Particularly engaging in the large cast are Michel Robin as an eccentric publisher with a avidly jealous wife and Helene Vincent as a frumpy divorcee constantly on the prowl for a new mate. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi