Hélène de Fougerolles Movies

Writer/director Maiwenn authors and stars in the sobering and disquieting psychological drama Pardonnez-Moi (aka Forgive Me, 2006). She plays Violette, an expectant wife who opens a nasty barrel of worms by filming a documentary about her dysfunctional family -- to be shown to her (as yet) unborn son.Through her ever-present lens, Violette begins to unearth one nasty family secret after another. When she finishes, many long-established familial bonds will be broken, and no one in the family unit will emerge without blood on their hands. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A family reunion staged to welcome an exiled relation turns out to be a study in tension and unpleasant feelings in this family drama. Thórdur (Gunnar Eyjólfsson) is the aging owner of a fishing business that has seen better days. Working alongside Thórdur is his oldest son, Haraldur (Sigurdur Skúlason), who is convinced the business is doomed unless they upgrade and update their equipment. Haraldur also has to deal with his outspoken wife, Áslaug (Elva Ósk Ólafsdóttir), who is convinced that both the business and their small Icelandic town are on their last legs. Meanwhile, Thórdur shares his home with Kristín (Kristbjorg Kjeld), who went from being his sister-in-law to his second wife; her daughter María (Nína Dögg Filippusdóttir); Thórdur's daughter, Ragnheidur (Gudrún Gísladóttir); her husband Morten (Sven Nordin); and Thórdur's often cranky mother, Kata (Herdís Thorvaldsdóttir). In the midst of all this family tension arrives Ágúst (Hilmir Snær Gudnason), Thórdur's youngest son, with his girlfriend Françoise (Hélène de Fougerolles) in tow. Ágúst has moved to Paris, where Thórdur has been helping his son pay for business school; however, Thórdur isn't aware that his son has quit school and wants to make a career for himself as a musician. Ágúst has also developed a bitter hatred of his former homeland, which hardly makes this family reunion any easier for the parties involved. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, Hafid (aka The Sea) received its North American premier at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An analyst discovers just how troublesome his most difficult patient can be in this darkly witty comedy drama. Michel Durand (Jean-Hughes Anglade) is a divorced psychiatrist in his early forties with a successful practice in Paris. One of his patients is Olga Kubler (Helene de Fougerolles), the beautiful wife of a prominent business man with a less than scrupulous past. Olga is dealing with a number of interwoven neuroses, including a strong taste for painful, degrading sex and a compulsive habit of stealing things. Olga has already used Durand as an alibi when questioned by the police about the theft of some valuable jewels, and while Durand told the authorities that Olga was in consultation with him at the time of the robbery, the truth is he's not sure where she was and imagines she's probably guilty. Durand is also afraid to admit that he's become quite bored with Olga's stories about her unconventional sexual liaisons, and one day as she goes on about her favorite subject, he falls asleep. A few minutes later, Durand wakes up, and discovers Olga is dead. Durand has no idea what happened to Olga and isn't sure what to do with the body, but he's too frightened to call the police, so he tries to hide her in his office. Soon, Durand finds himself followed by a mysterious stranger (Miki Manojlovic), dumped by his increasingly suspicious girlfriend (Valentina Sauca), and bothered by Olga's husband (Yves Reiner), who insists the doctor find some valuables that Olga stole from him. Mortel Transfert was the first dramatic feature in eight years from director Jean-Jacques Beineix, who previously helmed the international hits Diva and Betty Blue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

For his first major project after the overwhelming success of Titanic, Leonardo Di Caprio took a risky path in this adaptation of Alex Garland's acclaimed novel, directed by Danny Boyle. Richard (Di Caprio) is an American backpacking through Asia with a handful of friends from Europe. While in Bangkok, he meets a mad Scotsman who calls himself Daffy Duck (Robert Carlyle). Shortly before Mr. Duck kills himself, he gives Richard a crude map to a place in Thailand that he claims is paradise on earth: beautiful, unspoiled, and uninhabited. For lack of anything better to do, Richard and his companions try to locate the spot, which, after a dangerous and taxing journey, takes them to a beach as beautiful as Duck said it would be. Richard and his friends settle in, but before long they discover that they are not alone; a large group of fellow travelers has already dug themselves in, and they have established a community with the same social evils that Richard was hoping to leave behind. Just as important, there is an army of natives who grow marijuana in the nearby hills and do not appreciate the presence of these visitors. The Beach proved controversial during production, partly due to production delays and shifting release dates, partly due to environmental concerns after crew members bulldozed parts of the Thai island of Phi Phi Le for the planting of non-native trees. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Arthur Joffe directed this French comic fantasy, in French and English dialogue, about God (voice of Pierre Arditi), invisible and spinning through Heavenly space on an asteroid, along with his sidekick angel Rene (Ticky Holgado). God observes Earthly events on His television set. After hacking out a screenplay on the Hebrew keyboard of a manual typewriter, the Deity needs a director, lands as a burning bush in back of the Hollywood sign, finds Hollywood hostile, jumps to Paris, and travels from one body to another, eventually settling on tekkie Jeanne (Helene de Fougerolles), an employee at Harper Audiovisual. Faxes in Hebrew begin arriving, and Jeanne hears voices. With God's screenplay translated to French, it finally goes up to the 127th floor for an okay by Mr. Harper himself (Tcheky Karyo). But there's a problem -- God is not very happy about Mr. Harper's alterations, as he explains, "I wrote the Bible, the best-selling book of all time! Where do they get off editing my script?" ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

When the Cat's Away is a gentle French comedy that explores the problems and anxieties of contemporary urbanites. When Chloe (Garance Clavel), a young Parisian, decides to take a long-overdue vacation, she has to find someone to look after Gris-Gris, her beloved cat. Everyone, including her gay male roommate, refuses to help her, but she finally makes an arrangement with the elderly Madame Renée (Renée Le Calm), who often watches over other peoples' cats and dogs. However, when Chloe comes back, Madame Renée tells her that unfortunately the cat has been lost, and the unlucky owner goes on a search for her dear animal friend. While looking for the cat, she meets many colorful characters who populate the neighborhood. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide