Valérie Bonneton Movies
Three siblings must come to terms with their mother's mortality as they decide what to do with her valuable belongings in this warm family drama from filmmaker Olivier Assayas. Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) is about to turn 75, and her children are gathering at her home in the country for a party. Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) has flown in from New York City, where she lives with her boyfriend, James (Kyle Eastwood). Jérémie (Jérémie Renier) has taken a rare break from his globe-trotting business interests to stop by with his wife (Valérie Bonneton). And Frédéric (Charles Berling), the only one who lives close enough to visit regularly, has also come with his spouse, Lisa (Dominique Reymond). Hélène has inherited a large and valuable collection of art from her brother, and with her health beginning to fail, she approaches Frédéric and asks that he, Jérémie, and Adrienne come up with a plan to deal with the pieces after her death. Frédéric wants to keep the collection together and see if they can persuade a gallery to purchase and present them as a set. Jérémie and Adrienne have other ideas, but as he's pondering a business opportunity in China and she's planning on settling in America for good, they don't have as much influence over the final decision as Frédéric. L'Heure d'Été (aka Summer Hours) was produced in part by the celebrated French art gallery Musée d'Orsay, and was one of a handful of films created to honor the museum in its 20th anniversary year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, (more)
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, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmanuelle Béart, Charles Berling, (more)
This French musical features dialogue and songs by Paris University's Jacques Martineau on a wide range of subjects -- from immigrant workers to book-selling. Travel agency receptionist Jeanne (Virginie Ledoyen and the singing voice of Elise Caron) is always on the lookout for men, and she thinks she's found the perfect guy in Olivier (Mathieu Demy, son of musical director Jacques Demy) -- who turns out to be HIV-positive. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival, the film is also known as Jeanne and the Perfect Guy. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Virginie Ledoyen, Mathieu Demy, (more)
- 1998
A talking chimp, a jolly monk and a boxer on the run make an unlikely team in this French comedy for children. Brother Benoit (Jacques Villeret), a French monk working with underprivileged youth in Mexico, one day finds a sick chimpanzee in need of water and medical attention. He brings the chimp back to his mission and nurses her back to health, naming her Mookie. A year later, Brother Benoit discovers Mookie can not only play basketball, but she can talk, the result of an exposure to radiation from a meteor crash. Primate experts from America are eager to get their hands on the little ape, but the Brother will allow no experiments to be performed on her. The Brother recruits Antoine (Eric Cantona), a boxer down on his luck, to help Mookie and the Brother flee to Mexico City, but when it turns out Antoine is wanted by the Mexican Mafia for not throwing a fight, all three must make tracks to insure their safety. Director Herve Palud's previous children's success, Un Indien dans la Ville, was Americanized in the successful Tim Allen vehicle Jungle 2 Jungle. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Villeret, Eric Cantona, (more)
Though unemployed, Pierre is buoyant, outgoing, affable, and experienced with women. This last is a point he never fails to drive home to Benoit, his gentle, hapless best friend. In an effort to compensate for his romantic failures, Benoit turns to the newspaper personals ads, and meets Marie. Even though his courtship of her is uninspiring, Marie agrees to marry Benoit. Naturally, Pierre meets Marie often. As he gets to know her, he discovers that he is recklessly in love with her, and he arranges his life around seeing her and being near her. He is so overtaken with feeling that he even corners total strangers in order to speak of his love. Benoit -completely unaware of this- suggests that he keep Marie company while he is at work. When everything comes out into the open, the friendship of the two men governs the outcome. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal, (more)
