Fanny Ardant Movies

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

This complex French tale eschews a single linear narrative in favor of two parallel storylines that move freely between past and present, reality and fantasy, to chronicle a scandalous love affair between a female author and a certain man who may or may not be a fabrication and the attempts of a screenwriter, wanting to use the story for a film, to learn the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Claude Lelouch's thriller Roman de Gare (aka Crossed Tracks) features a number of characters and a timeline that skips back and forth, keeping the audience guessing as to how these characters all relate to each other. Fanny Ardant plays a novelist named Judith whose famous works might have been ghost-written by a serial killer dubbed "The Magician" for his habit of performing acts of prestidigitation in front of his victims. Early in the film, the police quiz her about her relationship with the criminal. Other characters include a hairdresser (Audrey Dana) who offers to give a ride to a stranger who may be the killer. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis," Tom Tykwer directs Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (Melchior Belson). Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from Alfonso Cuarón. Animator Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from Gus Van Sant, a man (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop. Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (Miranda Richardson) and his lover (Leonor Watling) in "Bastille." Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (Fanny Ardant). Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin direct Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin." Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from Joel and Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by Walter Salles, a housekeeper (Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer. Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from Vincenzo Natali. Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of Oscar Wilde (Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from Oliver Schmitz, Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by Olivier Assayas, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal. Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two of Spain's biggest female stars headline this offbeat comedy about the battle of wills between good and evil. Heaven is not getting its fair share of business for the afterlife, so Lola (Victoria Abril), an angel who sings in a nightclub located beyond the pearly gates, is sent to Earth to drum up business by her boss, Marina (Fanny Ardant). Her first prospect is Manny (Demián Bichir), a prizefighter with an injury that could take his life at any time. As Lola tries to claim Manny's soul for the Lord, the wicked Jack Davenport (Gael García Bernal) believes that the Devil deserves the boxer's soul, and he sends one of Hell's waitresses, Carmen (Penélope Cruz), to seal the deal. On Earth, Lola takes the form of Manny's former love and urges him to mend fences with his mother, while seductive Carmen tries to persuade Manny to return to the ring, knowing that another fight would mean his death. While Lola and Carmen wage war over Manny's soul, they maintain their cover by working at a grocery store, where they both learn a few lessons about the pitfalls of earthly capitalism. Meanwhile, Manny is dealing with financial problems of his own -- he owes money to the city's corrupt police commissioner (Emilio Gutiérrez Caba), who is using his strong-arm men to "persuade" Manny to pay up. Released in Europe as Sin Noticias de Dios (which translates as No News From God), Don't Tempt Me was a box-office success in Spain when it was released in late 2001, though it wouldn't reach American theaters until 2003. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This is a French costume drama from director Patrice Leconte that recalls both Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Restoration (1995). Gregoire Ponceludon de Malavoy (Charles Berling) is a baron of the 18th century French countryside, wealthy in property and high in social position but poor in cash. Local peasants -- dependent upon his largesse for their income -- are in poor health, the result of a festering marsh that, if drained, could solve the villagers' illnesses and create valuable farmland. Ponceludon travels to Versailles to plead his case before King Louis XVI. There, he is informed that he has no chance of success unless he can impress the court with his verbal prowess, for the king and his minions value banter, preferably of the ironic, cruel, and insulting variety, above all else. Under the tutelage of the Marquis de Bellegarde (Jean Rochefort), Ponceludon discovers that his sober, blunt honesty can be mistaken for a skewering wit. Though the baron falls for his mentor's science-minded daughter Mathilde (Judith Godreche), he's forced to woo the politically powerful Madame de Blayac (Fanny Ardant). Ridicule (1996) opened the 1996 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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, Rovi

A mournful look at the last days of opera diva Maria Callas, director Franco Zeffirelli's biographical drama attempts to explore the irresistible allure of a comeback for a fallen star who hungers for the success of her past. Weathered from the excess of the previous decade and with her best performances long behind her, Callas (Fanny Ardant) withdraws to her Paris apartment to live her final days in seclusion. Despite being ravaged by a throat disease and being stuck in an extended period of mourning following the death of her true love, Callas' manager Larry Kelly (Jeremy Irons) nevertheless suggests that the former reigning queen of opera attempt a spectacular comeback. Though she is physically unable to perform the pieces the way that she once did, the suggestion to lip-sync to recordings of her previous performances offers a tentative chance for latter day fame. Despite her belief that lip-syncing her performance would be dishonest to her fans, the prospect of performing Carmen, an opera that she once recorded but never performed on stage, offers Callas one last shot at reliving her former glory. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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, Rovi