Francoise Etchegaray Movies
- 2007
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Acclaimed French filmmaker Eric Rohmer adapts author Honoré d'Urfé's classic 17th century novel to craft this morally complex tale of romance concerning a young couple about to be betrothed, but driven apart by a tragic misunderstanding. Celadon (Andy Gillet) and Astrea (Stéphanie Crayencour) are deeply in love. Each has vowed that they want to spend the rest of their lives together, but their future union is suddenly thrown into question when one day on the riverbank Astrea sees Celadon kissing another woman. Subsequently banning Celadon from her sight forever, the inconsolable Astrea is horrified to discover that Celadon has attempted to take his own life by leaping into the river after learning of the decree; fortunately, he was saved at the last minute by an upper-crust young woman (Véronique Reymond) who wants to possess him. Desperate to win Astrea back, Celadon accepts the advice of a druid priest and his niece, who convince him to dress in drag, pose as a woman, and strike up a friendship with Astrea. Before long, the two are kissing, holding hands, and napping together -- with Astrea little recognizing her new "best friend"'s real gender or identity. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andy Gillet, Stéphanie Crayencour, (more)
Eric Rohmer, the globally-celebrated auteur behind Claire's Knee and Ma nuit chez Maud, helms Triple Agent, a riveting political drama set in 1930s France. The story is based on the historical account of Fyodor erge Renko, a Russian expatriate general filling the triple role of practicing espionage for the Marxists, Soviets, and Communists, and concurrently deceiving his wife Arsinoé (Katerina Didaskalou). Fyodor's life ultimately becomes entwined in the throes of deception and his life begins to unravel. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Katerina Didaskalou, Serge Renko, (more)
Having finished his acclaimed cinematic quartet "Contes des quatre saisons," legendary filmmaker Eric Rohmer takes DV camera in hand to recreate this idiosyncratic period piece adapted from the Grace Elliot memoirs. Concerned with faithfully evoking 18th century France, Rohmer uses two strategies -- using only eyewitness accounts of the times and avoiding all external settings, arguing that Paris now is a completely different city than it was during revolutionary times. The story revolves around Grace Elliot (Lucy Russell), a Scottish aristocrat stranded in Paris during the French Revolution. She is once again thrown together with Philippe Egalite, the cousin to the king, the Duke of Orleans, and Grace's former lover. Their friendship remains complicated and uncertain, and is made all the more complex by the rush of events around them. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lucy Russell, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, (more)
The third film in Eric Rohmer's Tales of the Four Seasons quartet takes place in a resort town in Brittany. Gaspard (Melvil Poupaud) has come to enjoy a vacation with his girlfriend, Lena (Aurelia Nolin). However, Lena has yet to arrive, and Gaspard finds his attention drawn to two other women: Margot (Amanda Langlet), a captivating waitress who makes it clear that she only wants friendship, and Solene (Gwenaëlle Simon), a friend of Margot's who isn't against the idea of a brief fling but demands to be treated with the utmost respect. Over the next three weeks, it becomes clear to Gaspard that he must choose among the three women, but who should it be? The final episode in the series, Conte d'Automne, was released two years later. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melvil Poupaud, Amanda Langlet, (more)
- 1996
An all night party in a building on the outskirts of Paris provides the setting of this provocative French meditation on life and waiting. As the title states, the film centers on seven main characters at the party. Each of them is privately waiting for something and all of them engage in conversations about the fundamental concerns of life, including love, sex, truth and responsibility. Among the seven are a pregnant woman waiting for her baby, a playboy, a gay man, and a young woman with poor taste in men. To make the film, director Francoise Etchegaray gave the actors a sense of who they were supposed to be and what they should do, placed them in a room, and let them improvise their dialog. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clementine Amouroux, Richard Bean, (more)
- 1995
Chance meetings provide the central theme for this Parisian film comprised of three loosely related episodes. The first, "Le Rendez-vous de 7 heures," centers on Esther, who tries to make her womanizing boyfriend jealous by finding her own new lover. She finds a likely candidate in a Montmartre market; they begin talking and agree to meet at the Beaubourg cafe that night. There, he steals her wallet. Later a stranger returns it. The stranger mentions that she must go to the Beaubourg to meet her ex-lover. Esther accompanies her and gets a big surprise. In the second episode, "Les Blancs de Paris," two would-be lovers hold a series of conversations in various Paris locales. The problem is that she is trying to find the courage to leave her fiancé. The new man, a young professor, asks her to move in with him. Instead, they end up planning to spend three days in a Montmartre hotel while her fiancé is out of town. There the woman meets with an unfortunate coincidence. In the last vignette, "Mere et enfant 1907," an artist and his Swedish lady friend go to an art gallery. There the painter sees a young woman admiring Picasso's 1907 canvas Mother and Child. He then abandons his friend and takes off after the woman through the winding streets. Eventually, he ends up at her studio where he meets with disappointment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clara Bellar
Boyfriends & Girlfriends is the sixth of French director Eric Rohmer's "Comedies et Proverbes" cycle. The sterility of the "new", prefabricated Parisian suburb of Cergy-Pontoise is used as the backdrop for the colorful activities of the film's five principals (literally colorful, in that each character is represented by a different hue). The dramatis personae includes Ministry of Cultural Affairs worker Blanche (Emmanuelle Chaulet); Blanche's friend, computer school student Lea (Sophie Renoir); Lea's beau (Eric Viellard); unregenerate "wolf" (Francois-Eric Gendron); and his lady friend, iconoclastic art student Adrienne (Anne-Laure Meury). A windsurfing weekend is the scene for an elongated shakeup and reassessment of everyone's relationships. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir, (more)
- 1987
This episodic film comes from French director Eric Rohmer and is the seventh and final installment in the filmmaker's Comedies and Proverbs cycle. Reinette (Joëlle Miquel) is as innocent as a newborn babe, while Mirabelle (Jessica Forde) is as worldly and sophisticated as Reinette is not. Their country mouse/city mouse friendship begins when they share a room in Paris and endures through a quartet of whimsical experiences. Completed in 1987, Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle was distributed in the U.S. in 1989. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Laudenbach, Joëlle Miquel, (more)
