Evelyne Didi Movies

In this French-Portuguese film -- directed by Jacques Rivette's screenplay collaborator Christine Laurent -- French vocalist Laure Constant (Laurence Cote) goes to Montevideo, Uruguay, to see her old lover Colossus (Jose Olivera), but when he's a no-show, she becomes involved with several other men, while listening to advice from some older French women who are costume designers. Shown at the 1997 Locarno Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This upbeat adventure tells a lively tale -- devoid of sex and violence -- that the whole family can enjoy. The fairy-tale begins as the beautiful Ana abruptly changes her mind about marriage while standing at the alter of a Caracas church, and boards a flight to Paris carrying only a small suitcase and her favorite poster of Maria Callas. She ends up in a tiny apartment filled with other illegal South American immigrants, one of whom is the strong-willed, self-absorbed video artist Celeste. Ana, who dreams of becoming a famous singer like Callas, soon begins studying voice with an aged Russian gentleman. In another part of town, a filmmaker searches the city for a singer to assume the lead in his forthcoming film version of Rossini's "Cinderella." Ana is at a cafe one day when a gay waiter uses his psychic powers to predict that great things will happen to her. Ana then makes friends with a moody psychiatrist. Behind it all, an African sorcerer works potent magic of his own. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This is a well-regarded contemporary dramatic retelling of the story most familiar to audiences from Puccini's great opera La Bohème and was made by the noted Finnish film director Aki Kaurismaki. Like the opera, it is based on the novel Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. Despite their ever-present poverty, which poses a constant threat to their continued existence, the artists and their friends in this movie speak in only the most polite, elegant, and genteel manner, which only serves to underscore their desperate situation. In the story, the poet Marcel has been unable to come up with the rent for his barely tolerable room and has been evicted from it. While wandering in his neighborhood, he catches the eye of Rodolfo, an Albanian immigrant eating in a small cafe, who waves him over and invites him to share his dinner. Though they have never met, they are soon deeply involved in a discussion about art. They leave the restaurant together and, for want of a better idea, wander back to Marcel's former room. There the poet and his new friend, the painter Rodolfo, discover an equally congenial companion in the man who just rented his room, Schaumard, an Irish composer. Just one step away from starvation most of the time, these loyal friends share resources to help one another out. On one occasion, Marcel needs a suit for a job interview and is able to borrow one from one of Rodolfo's portrait sitters long enough to be interviewed and get a paid job. With his earnings from his new editing job, Marcel buys Schaumard a car he needs. On the job, Marcel meets poor provincial girl Musette, whom he falls for, and at the same time Rodolfo finds another poor provincial girl, Mimi, on his doorstep. He quickly comes to love Mimi, but circumstances constantly thwart their being together, until he at last succeeds in making a place for them and she dies in his arms. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The French-filmed Baxter is based on the American novel Hell Hound. The title character is a bull terrier, who in the course of the film has many masters--and for good reason. Baxter has been instrumental in the deaths or serious injuries of most of the human beings who've come in contact with him. The dog's latest owner is a young neo-Nazi. nd Baxter makes it quite clear (to the audience at least) what he has in store for this fellow. Don't be misled by the title or the fact that the leading character is a dog with a full range of human emotions; Baxter is not a family film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy, young Moses Levy is a Hassidic Jew who lives a quiet existence, avoiding entanglement with the modern world. However, his job requires that he travel between the diamond capital of Antwerp to Paris to deliver diamond powder to an auto assembly plant. Without his knowledge, a gang of cocaine smugglers stashed some of their similar-looking wares amid his own, so as to make it past customs. When they begin taking drastic actions in order to get their stash back, Moses is forced to call on his worldly brother Albert -- a man who has left the faith -- in order to stay alive. Along the way, he almost becomes romantically entangled with a Muslim girl and has encounters with an undercover cop in drag at a club featuring transvestite performers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

An unusual assortment of characters is brought together in this film noir influenced story: Petrus (Claude Brasseur) spends his life escaping the gamblers he cheated at the card table. Manuel (Richard Berry) has an ambition to open a tango school, but in the meantime he drives a cab for a living. And Corrine (Charlotte Valandrey) is Petrus' daughter, a waitress and a dreamer. As the lives and challenges of these three protagonists interact, each heads for their own moment of truth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Much of the suspense is excised from this ordinary comic "whodunit" by revealing too much about the protagonists before their own characters betray themselves through their actions. Barbara (Jane Birkin) marries Julien (Sami Frey) a charming and sexy man. Barbara's old flame Paul (Gérard Jugnot) is highly suspicious of Julien. It seems Julien's previous two wives died under dubious circumstances and he collected a wad of insurance money as a result. Paul cannot ignore his misgivings, and so he follows Barbara and Julien to Morocco on their honeymoon, intent on preventing any harm to the woman he still loves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide