Natacha Lindinger Movies
- 2009
- R
The brief love affair between two 20th century icons is dramatized in this period drama from director Jan Kounen. Igor Stravinsky (Mads Mikkelsen) was one of Europe's most promising new composers when in 1913 he premiered his ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (aka The Rite of Spring); the piece proved to be wildly controversial, and the audience at the Paris debut was vocal in their disgust, ruining Stravinsky's reputation for years. One patron who did like the performance was Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis), who was already among Europe's most celebrated fashion designers. Seven years later, Chanel encounters Stravinsky at a party, and learns that the composer is penniless and without a place to live. Chanel befriends him, and allows him to move into her summer home in the country along with his wife, Catherine (Elena Morozova), and their four children. Chanel is nursing a broken heart after the recent death of her boyfriend, and what began as an act of compassion for a fellow artist turns into an affair of the heart as Chanel and Stravinsky become lovers, much to the chagrin of the sickly Catherine. Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky was the second film about the fashion icon released in 2009, following Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anna Mouglalis, Mads Mikkelsen, (more)
- 2003
- Add Ni Pour Ni Contre (Bien Au Contaire) to QueueAdd Ni Pour Ni Contre (Bien Au Contaire) to top of Queue
A not-so-worldly twentysomething gets caught up with some shady Parisians in director Cedric Klapisch's 2003 crime comedy-drama Not for or Against. Wallflower camerawoman Caty (Marie Gillain) is three years into her career and residency in the French capital with little to show for it in the friend category, never mind the fact she is hopelessly single. While on the job filming an interview with a prostitute, Caty gets a tip from the hooker for a quick and profitable money-making possibility. Following up on the lead, Caty meets the handsome Jean (Vincent Elbaz) who offers to pay her to film him while he robs a store. After some perfunctory soul-searching, Caty impetuously decides to take the offer. This start in crime leads her into Jean's gang of criminals, which she rather quickly becomes a member of. As the thieves tend to spend their loot about as quickly as they accumulate it, they begin planning an enormous caper that will enable them to live more comfortably -- if they manage to survive its undertaking. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Gillain, Vincent Elbaz, (more)
Like John Woo and Ringo Lam before him, noted Hong Kong action director Tsui Hark made his American filmmaking debut with a thriller starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. For this film, Hark also had the privilege of guiding basketball star Dennis Rodman through his first dramatic role. American anti-terrorist agent Jack Quinn (Van Damme) has retired from duty, content to stay with his pregnant wife at his seaside hideaway. However, the CIA lure him back into duty for one last mission: wiping out crazed international terrorist Stavros (Mickey Rourke). Quinn flies to Antwerp to ambush Stavros, but his plan fails; Quinn is captured and imprisoned in "The Colony," a prison camp for spies "too valuable to kill and too dangerous to set free." To further torture Quinn, Stavros kidnaps Quinn's wife; after she gives birth to their son, Stavros keeps him captive, surrounded by land mines and wild animals. Quinn escapes and makes plans to rescue his wife and child, but he can't do it alone, so he seeks the help of Yaz (Rodman), a top-level underground arms merchant with a tendency towards flamboyant body modification. Rodman also appears with R&B vocalist Crystal Waters on the song "Just a Freak" which appears on the film's soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Rodman, (more)
