Fanny Ardant Movies
An elegant brunette with strong, striking features, actress Fanny Ardant has been touted by at least one publication as France's answer to Katharine Hepburn. Since first gaining international attention in her starring role opposite Gérard Depardieu in François Truffaut's La Femme d'à côté (1981), Ardant has become recognized as one of France's most popular and well-respected actresses.The daughter of a calvary officer, Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, on March 22, 1949. She grew up in Monaco, where her father's position allowed the family to be on familiar terms with the royal household. After an upbringing marked by frequent visits with Princess Grace, Ardant relocated to Aix-en-Provence to study political science. Her interests gradually turned toward acting, and after taking drama classes from Jean Périmony, she made her professional debut in a 1974 stage production of Corneille's Polyeucte.
Ardant's first dose of acclaim came with her performance in the made-for-TV drama Les dames de la côte (1979). Shortly thereafter, she began her association with Truffaut, which would lead to both excellent work in La Femme d'à côté and Vivement dimanche! (1983) and a relationship that lasted until Truffaut's death in 1984 and produced one daughter, Joséphine.
Ardant's work continued to flourish after Truffaut's death, and she cemented her reputation with serious, passionate roles in a number of dramatic films. She did particularly strong work in Un amour de Swann (1984), Le Colonel Chabert (1994), Ridicule (1996) -- which featured her in a delightfully nasty turn as the acidic noblewoman Madame de Blayac -- and Gabriel Aghion's Pédale douce (1996), a broad comedy in which Ardant's uncharacteristic comic turn won her the 1997 Best Actress César. Ardant again explored her humorous side for Aghion in his Le Libertin (2000), co-starring alongside such well-respected colleagues as Vincent Pérez, Michel Serrault, and Josiane Balasko.
Ardant has also maintained a career on the stage, appearing in productions of Strindberg's Miss Julie, Molière's Don Juan, and Roman Polanski's highly praised 1997 adaptation of Master Class, which featured the actress as Maria Callas. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
This homage to the cinema by venerated movie-maker Agnes Varda, often dubbed the "grandmother" of the French New Wave, features an all-star international cast. The story is based upon the memories and insights of the 100-year old Mr. Simon Cinema. He lives in a magnificent house filled with movie memorabilia. To help him remember the important details of his career he hires Camille, a film student to write down his remembrances and experiences which have involved all areas of movie-making. Camille comes once a day for 101 days. Film clips, photographs and actual visitors highlight his stories. As he continues to spin his yarns, the imagery in the film smoothly morph into other images. Camille, when not recording, is involved in other exploits including a romance with a production assistant, Mica who aspires to becoming a director. She also begins plotting a way to get to Mr. Cinema's fortune by having a friend pose as his long lost heir. Many other characters are peripherally involved including Death, an Italian seeking the rights to his film catalogue, and a memory specialist. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Marcello Mastroianni, (more)
A remake of a 1954 Billy Wilder romance, this updated version of the play Sabrina Fair was directed by Sydney Pollack. Julia Ormond stars as Sabrina Fairchild, the daughter of a kindly chauffeur (John Wood) at the Long Island estate of the upper-crust Larrabee family. Sabrina has grown up enchanted from afar with the Larrabees' sparkling world of privilege and wealth, but she's especially enamored of younger Larrabee brother David (Greg Kinnear), a charming womanizer. After the once-plain Sabrina returns from a sojourn in Paris transformed into a remarkably poised and attractive young woman, she at long last catches David's eye. In a calculated effort to manipulate David away from her and into a more financially advantageous marriage, older brother Linus (Harrison Ford) pretends to woo Sabrina himself, but finds himself unintentionally falling in love. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, (more)
- 1994
This metaphorical drama, about the changes brought to French society by revolution, stars Gérard Depardieu as Chabert, a French soldier who served under Napoleon in 1807 and was thought to have died in battle. In fact, Chabert was nearly buried in a mass grave with a large number of deceased soldiers, but he managed to crawl from the pile of corpses and has been wandering through the French countryside ever since. In the ten years since his "death," Chabert's wife (Fanny Ardant) has spent his fortune and gone on to marry Count Ferraud (Andre Dussolier), which has made her a woman of wealth and power. When Chabert, now a lumbering tramp, confronts the Countess, she refuses to admit that he was once her husband, and Chabert takes her to court to recover his money and property. Colonel Chabert was based on a novella by Honoré de Balzac, and it marked the directorial debut of Yves Angelo, previously one of France's top cinematographers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1993
Nina (Fanny Ardant) is a French concert pianist, Ilan (Sharon Alexander) is an Israeli computer specialist visiting Paris. A romance springs up between them, and they get married. Not long afterward, Ilan is called into the Israeli army to serve his obligatory tour of duty. Things are heating up with Saddam Hussein (it is just before the Gulf War), who has just invaded Kuwait. Nina receives a call from the military informing her that her husband was wounded in combat. She rushes to his side and soon discovers that he was wounded by Israeli soldiers while he was in the process of deserting his post. It is clear from his own zombie-fied behavior that this allegation is true. Despite this horrifying revelation, she still loves him, but becomes increasingly estranged from the society around her because she feels shunned. On top of all this, she must soon make her concert debut with the Israel Philharmonic. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Sharon Alexander, (more)
- 1993
Whenever people are released from their society's constraints, there is the possibility that they will behave badly, at least according to the rules of the society they have left behind. This seems to have been particularly the case for Europeans living in colonial establishments in Africa and Asia. In this drama, based on a story by Stefan Zweig, Dr. Steiner (Andrzej Seweryn) was caught with his fingers in the till at a German hospital. Rather than prosecute him, they gave him the option of emigrating elsewhere. He chose to serve at a clinic in a remote part of Portuguese Goa. He has been on his best behavior for years, but when the beautiful wife (Fanny Ardant) of a diplomat comes to him asking for an abortion, he is tempted to ask for sexual favors in return, and his life swiftly goes out of control. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Andrzej Seweryn, (more)
- 1993
- NR
In homage to one of France's great directors, this highly personal documentary features those that knew him best, including his daughter Ewa and fellow filmmaker Claude Chabrol as they offer their comments and analysis of his career and his fascinating life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Claude Chabrol, (more)
A young boy comes to fear that his blind mother may become the next victim of a serial killer in this complex psychological thriller. Unfolding at first as a traditional suspense tale, the film follows the terrified boy's attempts to determine the killer's identity, a task his policeman father has failed to achieve. Things take a more provocative and puzzling turn when the boy's penchant for fantasy is revealed, forcing the audience to question whether what has been shown has been real or merely a product of the boy's imagination. As a result, much of the anxiety in Afraid of the Dark emerges not from the violent shocks, but from the uncertain reality and the tantalizing, disturbing hints of the child's psychology. This purposeful ambiguity may strike some viewers as confusing and alienating, despite the film's assured performances and striking imagery. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ben Keyworth, James Fox, (more)
- 1991
Reviewers declared that the main attraction of this romantic drama was the chance to see the ever-elegant Fanny Ardent in action as a well-to-do woman who wants to put her life in better order. Muriel (Ardent) is married to a philandering publisher, who quite openly entertains mistresses. Meanwhile, her son will soon be old enough to leave the nest. The mainstay of her rather empty (but very well-dressed) life is her coffee klatches with her girlfriends. Not to be outdone by her husband, she has a lover too. Thinking to arrange for a divorce, she hires a private investigator to document her infidelities. However, when she confronts her husband with them, he is completely unfazed and merely appreciates them as an example of her enterprising ways. Despite its thin storyline, this was a well-regarded first feature for director Paule Muret. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Alain Bashung, (more)
- 1989
Writer/director Tony Gatlif tells an offbeat tale about a romance between two people living on the fringes of the film world who have difficulty distinguishing between movies and real life. Fred Lary (Remi Martin) is the son of a movie starlet, whose one great role before she committed suicide was in a film directed by Baronski (Jean Pierre Sentier). Fred visits Baronski to learn all he can about those final days. After he reveals that he is the starlet's son, the director leaves him alone with his wife Roxanne (Fanny Ardant), a minor film star whose career is on the wane. The remainder of the film concerns the romance which develops between the two. Gatlif previously displayed his gift for romantic storytelling in the 1982 film about Gypsy life Les Princes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Jean-Pierre Sentier, (more)
- 1989
Widower Edouard Pierson (Jeremy Irons) fought for Australia in World War Two, but he was born (and married) in Belgium. For the past twelve years, he has been living in Australia with his daughter. His occupation as a wool merchant is in keeping with his family's tradition. He is determined to remain in Australia, and is equally determined to keep his daughter (Danielle Lyttleton) from learning much about her mother, whom she never knew. Nonetheless, when his brother (Tcheky Karyo) calls urgently from Belgium, requesting his help in saving the family's business there, he returns to his hometown of Verviers. In addition to saving the family business, he comes to have second thoughts about returning to Australia after he has a brief affair with a Belgian woman (Fanny Ardant). Meanwhile, his daughter has made contact with her grandmother (Helene Surgere), and is beginning to learn about her mother. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Jeremy Irons, (more)
- 1988
The loves and lives of three sisters provides the basis of this melodrama. The eldest is intelligent and very aware of life's ticking clock. The middle sister lives on emotions, while the youngest is an idealistic, impassioned pre-med student. The story is loosely based on Chekhov's play Three Sisters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Greta Scacchi, (more)
- 1987
- PG
A family history is recalled by the venerable patriarch Carlo (Vittorio Gassman) as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday. Young Carlo (Andrea Massimo) marries Beatrice (Stefania Sandrelli) in 1926 but later has an illicit affair with her bohemian artist sister Adriana (Fanny Ardant). Fascism, World War II, and the raising of children and grandchildren mark the passing of a lifetime. Old Carlo lives with his grandson where his recollections are interrupted by the gentle nagging of his beloved Beatrice. This feature received an Oscar nomination in 1987 for "Best Foreign Film." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1986
With ingenious camera work, witty dialogue, and a setting that almost never wanders from the cavernous interior of a mod cafe-bar, this drama by Michel Deville has a lot of pluses. A woman (Jeanne Moreau) and a man (Michel Piccoli, the "nonentity" of the title) jointly run the vast cafe and every night play host to the same four men as they sit around a card table -- a doctor, a journalist, a merchant, and a professor. A seductive woman (Fanny Ardant) lounges around in a hammock nearby. When the police commissioner starts investigating a murder, the four card players become suspects. Charming bits show an irritable "paltoquet" shoving the opening credits off the screen so the story can get going. He also sits around reading the novel from which the screenplay was adapted and provides music with a portable record player. These inventive touches allow the movie to work on several levels at once. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Piccoli, Jeanne Moreau, (more)
- 1986
Renowned director Constantin Costa-Gavras (whose 1969's feature Z won multiple international awards and was a box office success) tries his hand at an unusual mix of comedy and crime in this story. When a father (Johnny Hallyday) gets out of prison, he comes home to his wife (Fanny Ardant) and two teen-age kids to pick up where he left off. That is to say, he intends to raise his kids right and continue burglarizing his way into the easy life. He joins up again with his old partner Faucon (Guy Marchand), but early on Papa's wily son cons him into making him a partner too. The years go by, and just when the family seems poised for the big time, an obstacle pops up from a totally unexpected sector. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Johnny Hallyday, Fanny Ardant, (more)
Director Alain Resnais faithfully adapted his script for Melo from a 1929 play by Henry Bernstein--the first time that Resnais handled his own screenplay. Violinists and lifelong friends Pierre Arditi and Andre Dussolier have each found happiness in adulthood, but only Dussolier has become famous. Ardati leads a contented life with his wife, Sabine Azema, little suspecting that she is enamored of Dussolier. An abortive plan to murder her husband leads to Azema's suicide, but Ardati remains blissfully unaware of her infidelities. When the truth is revealed to Ardati, Dussolier honors the memory of Azema by insisting that no illicit romance ever occurred. One of the more "linear" of Resnais' works, Melo, filmed in 1986, was given a general American release three years later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sabine Azéma, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1985
This is an overwrought drama about two repugnant petty criminals who terrorize a movie star in her home. Marc (Francois Cluzet) and Laurent (Jean-Roger Milo) have just committed a robbery and as they are speeding through the countryside to get away, they run out of gas. When they come across the architecturally melodramatic mansion of actress Jessica Melrose (Fanny Ardant), they invade the premises and after she returns home, they hold her hostage. She is subjected to indignities at the hands of these two "fans," one of whom has a penchant for cross-dressing. These are not the kind of people that most viewers would choose to spend 96 minutes watching. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, François Cluzet, (more)
- 1985
A tribute to the late, great French director Francois Truffaut, this documentary was undoubtedly named after his last movie, Vivement Dimanche, released in 1983. Included in this overview of Truffaut's contribution to filmmaking are clips from 14 of his movies arranged according to the themes he favored. These include childhood, literature, the cinema itself, romance, marriage, and even death (The Green Room). Of lesser notice in this documentary is the life of the man himself. There are some scenes of his receiving an award or two and some interview footage, but nothing extensive. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
This ambitious attempt to film a portion of Marcel Proust's epic novel Remembrance of Things Past stars Jeremy Irons as Charles Swann, a Jewish intellectual who has managed to overcome growing anti-Semitism in 19th century France and travels in an elite social circle. But Swann has become obsessed with Odette (Ornella Muti), a courtesan who cares more for money than Swann's passion for her. In time they marry, but Swann soon realizes his desire for her is based purely on physical lust for someone with whom he has no rapport, or even much affection, and the relationship begins to erode the social acceptance Swann struggled to achieve. Meanwhile, the Baron de Charlus (Alain Delon) finds himself similarly attracted to a young man who does not share his desires. Un Amour de Swann was much praised for its production design and the cinematography of frequent Ingmar Bergman collaborator Sven Nykvist, though many felt director Volker Schlondorff failed to capture the narrative depth and complexity of Proust's novel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeremy Irons, Ornella Muti, (more)
Acclaimed French director Alain Resnais, winner of many international film awards for his ground-breaking creativity (Hiroshima, Mon Amour, L'Année Dernière à Marienbad), follows up his successful La Vie Est Un Roman with this continuing saga of love and death. This time, two principal actors from La Vie.. (Pierre Arditi and Sabina Azéma) star as Simon and Elizabeth, a new couple very much in love, and two more (Fanny Ardant and André Dussolier) star as their friends Judith and Jerome Martignac. After Simon has arrived at an archaeological dig he is directing in the south of France, he meets the winsome Elizabeth, and the two fall deeply in love, living joyously together for a full two months. Then Simon has a seizure of sorts and appears to have died, but he miraculously revives with memories of his experience that make his feelings for Elizabeth pale by comparison. As he searches for a way to express and regain that experience, he has another seizure, and this time he does not come back. Elizabeth continues their previous conversations with friends Judith and Jerome, both Protestant ministers, in an effort to come to a decision about her own life and death. In this highly symbolic drama, Simon is clothed only in black, Elizabeth only in red, and several dozen especially composed musical interludes alternate with the action, their sounds accompanied by a snow-like pattern that moves down a black screen. Although critics do not rank this effort by Resnais with some of his earlier, best films, Amour à Mort is still a strong cinematic statement. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sabine Azéma, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1984
In director Anna Maria Tato's shallow depiction of an equally shallow dalliance, Lucia (Fanny Ardant) is unavoidably delayed in meeting her husband in Greece and so decides to take a detour (both geographically and emotionally) to visit her hometown in the south of Italy. Once there, she enters into a brief, afternoon fling with a local man of smoldering looks -- and overcome by what she has done, she hits him on the head with an ashtray and escapes while he is out cold. Soon she is joined by a young girl also running away (from her First Communion celebrations), and the two proceed to hide out from the understandably vexed young man who has regained consciousness and is piqued about his post-coital experience. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Leonardo Treviglio, (more)
- 1984
The emotional ups-and-downs of a closely-knit but often feuding family is the focus of this sentimental drama by Nadine Trintignant. She is the wife of Jean-Louis Trintignant, who appears as Paul, an impoverished playwright married to Dino (Fanny Ardant). Dino and Paul argue all the time, enough to cause periodic splits in their marriage. Dino's older sister Sidonie (played by Marie Trintignant, Nadine's daughter) is an erstwhile pianist deathly afraid of performing on stage. The parents of Dino and Sidonie are Edouard (Philippe Noiret) and Jeanne (Claudia Cardinale), and they do not get along very well either. Edouard is routinely involved in one extra-marital affair or another, and Jeanne finally throws him out. A climax is reached when Edouard faces an operation after a cerebral hemorrhage, and the entire family, with their spouses, comes together to await the outcome of the operation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Philippe Noiret, (more)
- 1983
- PG
In this light, sometimes tongue-in-cheek mystery based on a Charles Williams thriller -- with snippets of Hitchcock, Kubrick, and even Victor Hugo -- director François Truffaut showcases one of his favorite actresses, Fanny Ardant, as an enterprising secretary in love with her boss but up against clearing him of murder. Julien Vercel (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a real estate dealer accused of killing his wife and her lover. He hides in his office while his secretary, Barbara (Ardant), sets out to discover what really happened and why. When Barbara starts looking into the dark past of her boss' wife, she comes across illicit love affairs, a prostitution ring, and shady private detectives, until, finally, her suspicions turn toward Julien's lawyer himself. Tragically, Vivement Dimanche was to be Truffaut's last film; the great French director died of a cancerous brain tumor in 1984. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant, (more)
With Life is a Bed of Roses, filmmaker Alain Resnais wanted to create a lighthearted tribute to three important French directors, each of whom defined a particular era in his country's cinema Melies (the first French filmmaker to use narrative--his most famous film is A Trip to the Moon), the impressionist L'Herbier (most famous for his inspirational avant garde work during the '20s) and Rohmer (most famed for his sextet of "Moral Tales" during the '60s). To present his chronicle of the human quest for a utopia of personal happiness and fulfillment, Resnais created two distinct narratives representing the past and present, and then interspliced them with a third more fantastical tale to provide contrast. Representing the past, the first tale centers on a monied eccentric who creates a "temple of happiness' in his chateau. There, guests are given a special potion, laid inside enormous cribs and surrounded by pleasant sensations to help them return to the blissful state of infancy. The second story takes place in the same chateau where a symposium on the techniques and philosophies of the eccentric are hotly debated and elaborated upon. Weaving its way between the two tales is the third, which represents the medieval fantasies of children in a forest who imagine the struggle between a wicked king and a brave good-hearted warrior. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Ruggero Raimondi, (more)
