Fabienne Servan-Schreiber Movies
Explore the live of the woman whose name has become synonymous with the French monarchy as filmmakers explore just how one wanton sovereign set into motion the wheels of the French Revolution. From her early childhood in the powerful Austro-Hungarian Empire to her grim final hours in a French prison cell, this two-hour portrait of Marie Antoinette paints a vivid portrait of a historical figure that was as tragic as she was courageous. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2002
Directed by Erez Laufer, Mike Brant -- Laisse moi t'aimer is a documentary based on the real-life death of Mike Brant, who reluctantly became a foreign singing sensation during the 1960s and '70s. Born in a displaced person's camp in Cyprus, the then-named Moshe Brand grew up in a working-class environment, occasionally making time to entertain at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and, eventually, nightclubs both at home and abroad. When Sylvie and Carlos Varton saw one of his performances, they whisked him off to Paris and saw to it that his career took off. Though he was an almost instant success, he is believed to have committed suicide at the age of 28. This film features rare interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as footage from home movies, television appearances, and radio recordings. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Banon, Hubert Baumann, (more)
- 2002
Gangsters is the directorial debut of veteran writer and actor Olivier Marchal, who spent ten years as a police detective in France. Frank (Richard Anconina) is captured and interrogated by the police, who want him to reveal the location of a vaulable briefcase. Flashbacks tell the story of the missing briefcase, in which Frank and Little Claude (Jean-Louis Tribes) are present during a violent burglary in a nightclub. Anne Parillaud (from La Femme Nikita) plays the fearless prostitute Nina. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Anconina, Anne Parillaud, (more)
- 2001
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Performances, interviews, and archival footage combine to offer remarkable insight into the life of classical musician Barbara Hendricks in this intimate and comprehensive documentary from award-winning filmmaker Catherine Tatge. In this film, Tatge explores Hendricks' life from a chronological perspective, beginning with the prolific musician's discovery of music as a young child and following through to her career-defining debut at New York Town Hall in 1974 and beyond. What follows is not only a moving portrait of one of the leading classical performers of her generation, but a fascinating look into the creative mind of a devoted humanitarian as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Mehdi Charef directs this gritty drama about the difficulties of being a women in the strict patriarchal societies of Northern Africa. The film centers on Rallia, abandoned by her mother as a baby and raised by a foster family in Switzerland, who is returning to her birth village for the first time to look for her mother. There she learns from her grandfather that her mother, Keltoum, works in a hotel in the city, returning to the village on Fridays. Rallia soon sheds her western designer clothes for traditional garb and helps her mad-crazed aunt with her chores. When Friday roles around, her mother fails to show up. Rallia and her aunt venture to the city to find her. Along the way, Rallia witnesses some brutal local customs that she has a hard time reconciling with her Western upbringing. . This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cylia Malki, Baya Belal, (more)
Filmmaker Fernando Trueba was introduced to Latin jazz in the 1980s, when he was beginning his career as a director, and he has since become a devoted fan of the music. After employing noted jazz artists to score some of his films, Trueba took his love of the music one step further with the documentary Calle 54, in which he gathered together a number of his favorite Latin jazz artists for a series of interviews and performances at the Sony Music recording studios in New York City. The artists include two pioneering Latin jazz stars, percussionist Tito Puente and horn player Paquito D'Rivera, as well as father-and-son piano duo Bebo Valdes and Chucho Valdes, Gato Barbieri and his tenor sax, the New York-based ensemble Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, and veteran pianists Chico O'Farrill and Eliane Elias. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eliane Elias, Chano Dominguez, (more)
- 1999
Insectia: Champions of Evolution is a half-hour episode in the 13-part nature documentary series Insectia. Host Georges Brossard travels to the La Gran Sabana in southeastern Venezuela to reveal the evolutionary history of insects. As the oldest animals on Earth, insects have been around since long before the dinosaurs. They can adapt to changes in the environment much more effectively than humans. If they can't adapt quickly enough, they'll just go into a dormant state. Brossard introduces insects that live in the unwelcoming mountainous regions of Venezuela, near one of the planet's oldest geological formations. This episode looks at the American cockroach, the Arctic beetle, and the Roraima locust. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Insectia: Myths and Legends is a half-hour episode in the 13-part nature documentary series Insectia. Host George Brossard travels to Ecuador to hear some myths and legends inspired by insects. Some of the folklore credits the creation of the Earth to a spider, the stars to a beetle, and colors to a butterfly. Since they have inhabited the Earth for millions of years, insects are often thought to hold spiritual powers. Brossard also shares some ancient rituals and traditions involving the magical qualities of insects. This episode looks at the Bullet ant, the Darkling beetle, and the Mantid. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1999
World-renowned entomologist Georges Brossard hosts the French-Canadian nature series Insectia. This 13-part documentary series looks at many aspects of the insect kingdom, which humans could not live without. The film was shot in various parts of the world, including Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, and in North America's largest insect museum, the Insectarium in Montreal. Insectia was originally broadcast on Canadian television before its U.S. home video release in 2002. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Insectia: The Mating Game is a half-hour episode in the 13-part nature documentary series Insectia. Host Georges Brossard travels down the Selangor River to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia and visits the Yasuni National Park in Ecuador to investigate the sexual behavior of insects. Like humans, different species express their sexuality in various ways. Some are tender and sensual; some are aggressive and even sadomasochistic. Brossard introduces the stick insect (sometimes called the walking stick), a species capable of parthenogenic reproduction. With virtually no need for males, the eggs develop into females without fertilization. This episode also looks at the Chalcosoma and the Bearded Weevil. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Insectia: Living Art is a half-hour episode in the 13-part nature documentary series Insectia. Host Georges Brossard travels to Penang Island in Malaysia and Lago Agrio in Ecuador to investigate the artwork of insects. In the tropics, shining leaf chafer shells are used to make necklaces by the Sequoia tribes. Colorful butterfly wings are framed as works of art and decoration. Brossard visits artist George Foster, who creates large-scale sculptures inspired by the beauty of insects. This episode looks at the a Jewel-Darkling beetle used for live jewelry, the Morpho butterfly, and the rare brookiana called Rajah Brooke's Birdwing. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Latin-America guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-67) is profiled in this French-Spanish film, which French documentarian Maurice Dugowson based on Pierre Kalfon's book, Che, Ernesto Guevara, une Legende du Siecle. The documentary begins with Che as a young man in Argentina when he traveled through the Andes, Patagonia, Peru, and the Chilean desert. After studying medicine, he left Argentina, joining Fidel Castro's revolutionary cadre, aiding in the revolution in Cuba and eventually holding a key post during the Castro regime. Archival footage, including newsreels and home movies, is combined with interviews to trace Che's rise before his capture and execution by Bolivian forces in 1967. Shown at the 1997 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Lumière brothers' first films, filmmakers Sarah Moon and Philippe Poulet challenged 39 renowned international directors to each complete a 52-second film using the original Cinematographe camera under the conditions endured by the brothers. The result of the project was this film, Lumière et Compagnie. The film stock used was homemade from a slightly altered version of the Lumières' recipe. No synchronized sound was allowed and only natural lighting was permitted. The participating directors included John Boorman, Costa-Gavras, Peter Greenaway, Lasse Hallström, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Liv Ullmann, and Wim Wenders. Among the actors who performed in the films were Liam Neeson, Lena Olin, Aidan Quinn, and Alan Rickman. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Confronted with the Kafka-esque complexity of the Indian bureaucratic hierarchy after being transferred to the provinces, an open-minded urbanite struggles with the hopelessness and despair of being dislocated and misunderstood in this semi-absurdist drama starring Indian art-house icon Rahule Bose. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rahul Bose, Tanvi Azmi, (more)
