Gilles Laurent Movies

An urban family living in rural Mexico finds those two realities colliding to surprising results in this drama from writer/director Carlos Reygadas (Silent Light, Revolución). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Fate starts making trouble for a high-spirited young couple in this wildly offbeat French comedy. Dom (Dominique Abel) and Fiona (Fiona Gordon) spend their days as teachers at a grade school in a small town, and by night they motor off to the big city and dazzle the crowds at dance contests with their moves on the floor. After picking up a trophy at a competition one evening, Dom and Fiona are driving home when a man with a death wish dashes into the road. They manage to avoid hitting him, but lose control of their car and end up in a serious accident. The next morning, Fiona discovers she's lost one of her legs, while Dom has suffered brain damage that's causes his powers of memory to go haywire. Plucky Dom and Fiona try to go on with their lives as if nothing has changed, but despite their high spirits and can-do attitude, reality has a habit of getting in the way -- Fiona has a hard time leaning to use crutches and accidentally sets her artificial limb on fire, while Dom's attempts at cooking are hampered by his inability to remember what ingredients he's already put into the mix. Stars Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon also wrote and directed Rumba in collaboration with Bruno Romy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Djamel Bensalah's comedy Once Upon a Time in the Oued stars David Saracino as Yacine, a young man attempting to get out of the marriage his parents have arranged for him. As he sets off for a summer with his family in Algeria, he and his best friend Johnny (Julien Courbey), meet a pair of women who the twosome flirt with. Johnny wants nothing more than to play football for the Algerian national team, and Yacine's younger brother must face a rather painful tradition. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A man on the brink of suicide regains the will to live under decidedly unusual circumstances in this drama from Mexico. A quietly despondent man (Alejandro Ferretis) leaves behind the city for a journey into a quiet village in the valley, telling anyone who cares to know that once he's settled in, he intends to kill himself. The man takes a room with Ascen (Magdalena Flores), and elderly woman who lost her husband some years ago. Keeping to himself, the man paints, thinks, and prepares himself for death, while Ascen slowly becomes aware of the depth of his depression. As Ascen's nephew attempts to rob her of her share of the family estate, the man feels a desire to live waking inside him again -- as well as the desire for a woman. Improbably, the man turns to Ascen for physical affection, and sensing his need for comfort, she complies, though the seduction lacks a great deal in the way of romance. The first feature film from writer and director Carlos Reygadas, Japon received an enthusiastic response when it was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight series at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this irreverent comedy, four guys from a Paris housing project fabricate a documentary about drug dealers working in the City of Lights. When a television network falls hook, line, and sinker for the prank video, the foursome are given a free three-week vacation in the upscale resort community of Biarritz. As they interact with both locals and fellow tourists, they learn about love, friendship, racism, and the differences between the rich and the poor. This debut feature from director Djamel Bensalah was expanded to feature length from a short subject (the fake exposé on drug dealing) and became a surprise box-office hit in France. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi