Anne Le Ny Movies

A young Parisian couple learn that their newborn son has brain cancer, and they defiantly rally their friends and loved ones for the emotional battle that lies ahead while refusing to simply lie down and accept the grim diagnosis. Romeo (Jeremie Elkaim) and Juliette (Valerie Donzelli) met at a club, and from the moment they locked eyes, it felt like they had always been together. Before long, the relationship turns serious and Juliette gets pregnant. Shortly after the birth of their son, however, the happy new parents receive some devastating news: Their child has a deadly form of brain cancer. But with each other's support, and the shoulders of friends and family to lean on, Romeo and Juliette decide not to grieve, but to fight for the future of their child -- and their relationship -- with every ounce of strength they can muster. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man and a woman meet while visiting their dying partners, and find comfort in their mutual grief. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Anton Chekhov's The Seagull receives an updated adaptation in this drama from veteran French filmmaker Claude Miller. Mado (Nicole Garcia) is a successful actress who is spending the summer at her country estate with her boyfriend, Brice (Bernard Giraudeau), a noted filmmaker who directed her latest picture. Also staying with Mado is her son, Julien (Robinson Stévenin), a budding experimental filmmaker with a combustible personality who is infatuated with Lili (Ludivine Sagnier), a beautiful young woman whose family lives nearby. Lili is attentive but cool around Julien, who doesn't pay much heed to the attentions of Jeanne-Marie (Julie Depardieu), the daughter of Mado's caretaker (Marc Betton) who has long held a torch for him. When Julien screens his latest film for Mado and her guests, it leads to a bitter argument between the two as her criticism of her son's work devolves into a series of personal attacks on one another. As Julien threatens to sever ties with his mother, Lili courts the attentions of Brice, while Jeanne-Marie defends Julien's work with little reaction from him. La Petite Lili received its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Internationally recognized French actress Sophie Marceau makes her feature directing debut with the intimate divorce drama Speak to Me of Love, which earned her the Best Director award from the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. Justine (Judith Godrèche) and Richard's (Niels Arestrup) 15-year relationship comes to a sputtering end as both decide to separate due to irreconcilable differences. They go about their daily existences as best they can; Justine maintains custody of the couple's three boys, as well as the apartment. As she deals with the effects the separation has on her life as well as her boys' lives, she also manages to come terms with her own parents' divorce and finds a common bond with her long-suffering mother. Richard, on the other hand, attempts to bury himself in his work -- as a famous author -- but finds little solace as a planned project falls through. Both are forced to confront their uncertain futures, as well as reflect on the past choices they've made that put them in the positions they are in now. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

The foibles of a group of genial eccentrics scattered through the city of Nantes set the stage for this comedy-drama, taking place during one particular Wednesday. Martin Socoa (Vincent Lindon) is a well-meaning loser juggling more than his share of problems when, after a marathon card game, he remembers it's his day to look after Victoria (Victoria Lafaurie), his daughter from his first failed marriage. It's an especially bad day for Martin to play babysitter; he needs to close an important deal at work, he has a court date involving unpaid alimony, and his girlfriend (Catherine Frot) thinks its time she gave him the boot. Meanwhile, a group of kids discover a three-year-old who has managed to wander away from his parents, and they watch after him for the rest of the day, preferring not to get any grownups involved. Elsewhere, as Chief of Police Pelloutier (Olivier Gourmet) has to deal with unrepentant shoplifter Marie Therese (Armelle), his wife Marie (Anne Le Ny) prepares for a trip out of town related to her position in the Navy, even though she's in the last month of pregnancy. And two pairs of love-struck teenagers each figure out their own ways to slip away from their parents as they set out for a romantic trip on the Loire River. The film's French title, Mercredi, Folle Journee!, roughly translates into English as Wednesday -- Crazy Day!; one unstated plot point that may be lost on audiences outside Europe is that many French schools are traditionally closed on Wednesdays. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Robert (Andre Dussolier) is a stylish and neurotic 50-year-old with an insatiable appetite for women. One day, he reluctantly accompanies his sister to the hospital where her friend Claire (Emmanuelle Devos) has just given birth. Claire is an old flame of Robert's, and the combined impact of seeing her again and the fact that she has used his name for one of her babies makes Robert realize he is still in love with her. As Claire already has a new partner, the father of her child, Robert is particularly shocked and horrified by this discovery. At a bistro later that same day, he gets a second shock in the form of Marie-Pierre (Helene Fillieres, the sister of the film's director, Sophie Fillieres), a young waitress he's chatting up. In the course of their flirtation, Marie-Pierre makes Robert an offer: she will fall in love with him and conduct a full-blown love affair. This makes Robert feel pretty good, so he accepts, but soon enough he discovers that Marie-Pierre, who is nicknamed Aie (French for "ouch") is a bit of a twisted sister. Prone to vomiting up everything she eats and brushing her teeth compulsively with airline toothbrushes given to her by her pilot father, Marie-Pierre gives Robert's brain pause for thought even as his hormones are stampeding blindly ahead. But before he can break off his involvement with her, Robert decides to pay a visit to Claire's apartment, where he finds Marie-Pierre, and the two end up hiding in a closet together and resuming their affair. On a subsequent visit to her parents' house, Marie-Pierre shares some even more bizarre details about her already off-kilter personal history. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

A paranoiac's delight, this contemporary mystery thriller warns that psychotherapy can be dangerous for both doctor and patient. The twisted tale begins with a funeral and then moves to the office of Dr. Antoine Riviere, a noted psychiatrist and author who deep down is more interested in his own needs than those of his patients. The only two clients who interest him are the filthy rich temptress Isabelle d'Archambault and the natty Edouard Berg, who brags of killing his wife and may actually be guilty of the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi