Olivia Bonamy Movies

A cop on the edge of an emotional collapse is on the trail of a violent madman in this edgy crime thriller from French writer and director Olivier Marchal. Charles Subra (Philippe Nahon) is a habitual criminal who, after serving twenty-five years in prison on a sentence for rape and murder, is up for parole. While Charles insists he's seen the error of his ways and wants to repay society for his crimes, Justine (Olivia Bonamy) isn't buying it -- Charles murdered her mother and father while she watched, and she writes him a long letter explaining in detail why she wants him to stay behind bars. Charles is granted parole anyway, but it soon becomes clear that the clever criminal fooled the prison authorities -- he still has a taste for murder and wants to kill again, starting with Justine. Louis Schneider (Daniel Auteuil) is a police detective who meets with Justine and helps protect her from the madman on the loose, but he's not the best man for the job these days -- shattered by the sudden death of his wife and child and haunted by a serious of brutal murders he's been investigating, Louis's psyche is in tatters and he's only marginally more stable than the criminal he's trying to catch. Director and screenwriter Olivier Marchal was inspired to make MR 73 by his own experiences as a police officer in the early '80s; the title is police slang for the Manurhin 73, a standard handgun for French beat cops in the '70s and '80s. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Co-writers and directors David Moreau and Xavier Palaud's French-language horror picture Them take audiences on a ride of sheer terror as a couple fight for their life when an assault on their home turns deadly. The story opens with the homicide of two Romanians -- a woman and her young daughter -- who crash their car along a rural road and are promptly butchered by a shadowy figure. Meanwhile, in Bucharest, schoolteacher Clémentine (Olivia Bonamy) climbs into her car and drives to the isolated mansion that she inhabits with partner Lucas (Michaël Cohen), not far from the site of the murders. Soon the couple overhears someone stealing their car, but a call to the police accomplishes little. The lovers gradually realize that an outsider is attempting to break into the house with homicidal intent. Thus begins a nasty, brutal battle of wills that can only end in the death of the victims or the assailants. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Claude Duty's feature-length debut Filles Perdues, Cheveux Gras (Hypnotized and Hysterical, (Hairstylist Wanted)) is an offbeat comedy about three women. Elodi (Olivia Bonamy) is a struggling single mother. Natacha (Marina Fois) is an upbeat alcoholic hair stylist whose beloved pet cat has disappeared. Marianne (Amira Casar) is drawn to a roguish, sexually adventurous art dealer. Their lives intertwine in a variety of ways. Song and dance numbers, as well as animated sequences, punctuate the film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A poor little rich girl gets some unexpected help from the wrong side of the tracks after her boyfriend breaks her heart in this comedy-drama. Ann-Sophie (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman from a wealthy family who is madly in love with her boyfriend Bernard (Serge Hazanavicius). Bernard, however, isn't quite so enchanted with her, and when she decides to visit him at work one day, he flies off the handle and tells her that they're finished. Despondent, Ann-Sophie wanders into a low-rent neighborhood looking for a good place to commit suicide when she meets Lea (Olivia Bonamy) and Aurelie (Axelle Ade-Pasdeloup), two sisters who support themselves as pickpockets. Ann-Sophie tells the sisters her tale of woe. Sympathetic, they take her into their humble home (though they do make her pay rent) and formulate a plan to get even with her newly-former boyfriend. Both Axelle Ade-Pasdeloup and Olivia Bonamy made their screen debuts in Voyous Voyelles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Inspired by Proust's short story La Prisonniere, renowned filmmaker Chantel Akerman creates this challenging meditation on love, desire, and obsession. The film opens with grainy Super-8 footage showing Ariane (Sylvie Testud) and her female friends rollicking on a beach. Now Ariane lives in third empire splendor in the tony Parisian apartment that her rich significant other Simon (Stanislas Merhar), shares with his grandmother (Francoise Bertin). Simon proves to be a fanatically jealous lover; he subjects her to surveillance and endless questions about her whereabouts. Though Ariane acquiesces to his will, she answers his inquires vaguely to maintain at least a modicum of privacy, which only fuels Simon's suspicions that she is leading a double life as a lesbian. His pain and obsession is further compounded by his own kink: he demands that Ariane be utterly passive (sleeping or pretending to sleep) while he can never quite bring himself to actual physical coupling. When Simon tries to break off the relationship, they end up on a road trip to the sea, resulting in tragic consequences. This film was screened at the Director's Fortnight at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Set during wartime, this romantic drama follows the relationships between an extraordinarily beautiful but mentally retarded teenage girl, her devoted housekeeper and the handsome French soldier who falls in love with her. Lovely Triandaphilis is the daughter of a powerful arms dealer. Largely ignored by her mother, who considers her a social liability, Triandaphilis's only friend is her housekeeper Sultan. When the girl and the soldier meet and romance begins to blossom, the selfless Sultan is very supportive. But then the war heats up and the lovers are forced to part. He goes off to fight while Triandapphilis's family prepares to flee the country. Devastated, the girl decides she must find her soldier at all costs and so runs away. Her family moves away without her, but the ever-loyal Sultan and her husband remain behind to await the return of Triandaphilis. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi