Dominique Bettenfeld Movies
Writer/director Olivier Dahan (Crimson Rivers II) helmed La Vie en Rose, the screen biopic of tragic French songstress Edith Piaf. Marion Cotillard portrays Piaf, the superstar once raised as a young girl by her grandmother in a Normandy bordello, then discovered on a French street corner -- as a complete unknown -- by cabaret proprietor Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu). The film segues breezily between various episodes from Piaf's life -- such as her lover, French boxer Marcel Cerdan's (Jean-Pierre Martins) championship bout in mid-'40s New York; her period in Hollywood during the '50s; Piaf's abandonment as a young girl by her contortionist father (and earlier by her mother, a street singer); her brushes with the law as an adult; and her 1951 car accident and subsequent morphine addiction that caused her to age well beyond her years and left her barely mobile; and, through it all, her ability (like Billie Holiday) to funnel personal tragedy and emotional struggles into her vocalizations -- dazzling audiences in the process. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, (more)
- 2005
A man looking for a reason to live gets more than he bargained for in this black comedy from France. Edy (François Berléand) is an insurance salesman who has fallen into a deep depression. Edy can scarcely work up the energy to do more than listen to his collection of classic jazz records (at full volume, much to his neighbor's annoyance) and drink all night, and he's made some unsuccessful attempts at suicide. However, Edy's efforts to end his own life not only don't do the job, they have a bad habit of destroying other people's property, and in one case killing an innocent bystander. Unsure of what to do, Edy calls upon his friend Louis (Philippe Noiret) for advice. Louis, who helped Edy get started in the insurance game, has some ideas of how to bring excitement back into his friend's life, but Edy becomes nervous when Louis leads him into a life of crime that gets messier with each passing day. Edy also stars Yves Verhoeven, Laurent Bateau, and Marion Cotillard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- François Berléand, Philippe Noiret, (more)
Audrey Tautou, who rose to international stardom with the title role in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's worldwide smash Amélie, reunites with the director for this drama, set during the darkest days of World War I and its immediate aftermath. Mathilde (Tautou) is a pretty but frail young women who was left with a bad leg after a childhood bout with polio. Mathilde lives in a small French village with her Aunt Bénédicte (Chantal Neuwirth) and Uncle Sylvain (Dominique Pinon), and is engaged to marry Manech (Gaspard Ulliel), the son of a lighthouse keeper who is fighting with the army near the German front. Manech is one of five soldiers who have been accused of injuring themselves in order to be sent home; in order to discourage similar behavior among their comrades, Manech and the other soldiers are sentenced to death, and the condemned men are marched into the no man's land between the French and German lines, where they are certain to be killed. Mathilde receives word of Manech's death, but in her heart she believes that if the man she loved had been killed, she would know it and feel it. Convinced he's still alive somewhere, Mathilde hires a private detective (Ticky Holgado) shortly after the end of the war, and together they set out to find the missing Manech. Jodie Foster appears in a supporting role as a Polish expatriate living in France. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, (more)
- 2004
True love, motorcycle daredevils, and alien visitation all find their way into this wildly imaginative fantasy, written and directed by Didier Poiraud and his brother Thierry Poiraud, a pair of comic artists who adapted the story from their own work. James Bataille (Jason Flemyng) is in love with Concia (Vanessa Paradis), a chanteuse whose father, Bosco (Jean-Pierre Marielle), runs the only nightspot in the tiny town where they live. The mechanically inclined Bataille attempts to stage an elaborate motorcycle stunt to impress Concia, but when it goes sour, he ends up in prison with a 133-year sentence. Desperate to help Concia and raise some money, Bataille escapes from behind bars to make an appointment to fix the car of music biz tycoon Allan Chiasse (Benoît Poelvoorde). Chiasse's timing may be fortuitous, as Concita is soon to take part in the town's annual talent show, though he's expected to face tough competition from a very unusual dog act. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of the people she knows in this charming and romantic comic fantasy from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood; misdiagnosed with an unusual heart condition, Amelie didn't attend school with other children, but spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy life. Her mother Amandine (Lorella Cravotta) died in a freak accident when Amelie was eight, and her father Raphael (Rufus) had limited contact with her, since his presence seemed to throw her heart into high gear. Despite all this, Amelie has grown into a healthy and beautiful young woman who works in a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. When Princess Diana dies in a car wreck in the summer of 1997, Amelie is reminded that life can be fleeting and she decides it's time for her to intervene in the lives of those around her, hoping to bring a bit of happiness to her neighbors and the regulars at the cafe. Amelie starts by bringing together two lonely people -- Georgette (Isabelle Nanty), a tobacconist with a severe case of hypochondria, and Joseph (Dominique Pinon), an especially ill-tempered customer. When Amelie finds a box of old toys in her apartment, she returns them to their former owner, Mr. Bretodeau (Maurice Benichou), sending him on a reverie of childhood. Amelie befriends Dufayel (Serge Merlin), an elderly artist living nearby whose bones are so brittle, thanks to a rare disease, that everything in his flat must be padded for his protection. And Amelie decides someone has to step into the life of Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a lonely adult video store clerk and part-time carnival spook-show ghost who collects pictures left behind at photo booths around Paris. Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain received unusually enthusiastic advance reviews prior to its French premiere in the spring of 2001, and was well received at a special free screening at that year's Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, (more)
- 1999
While most authors deal with writer's block at one time or another, Darius (Albert Dupontel) seems to have a worst case than most -- and has found a far more extreme solution. A playwright of note, Darius developed a drinking problem after his first major hit, and has taken time out from writing his follow-up to go to a clinic and dry out. After his release, Darius finds his producer has hired a leading lady for his next show, booked the theater and advertised the starting date -- all without Darius writing so much as a word of this new play. Darius desperately tries to come up with ideas, but nothing comes to mind, with an inflexible deadline staring him in the face. One day, Darius kills a neighbor's cat by accident; terribly depressed, he swallows some sedatives and falls asleep at his computer -- only to awake with the beginning of his play glowing on the screen. Darius is now convinced he must kill in order to create, and starts murdering an ever-expanding variety of creatures in order to satisfy his now bloodthirsty muse. Albert Dupontel wrote and directed Le Createur, as well as playing Darius; the film also features a cameo from former Monty Python member Terry Jones, as God. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Dupontel, Claude Perron, (more)
- 1997
The seedy, pscyho characters from author Joel Houssin's popular 1980s series of hip French crime novels come to vivid life in this rip roaring actioner. The directorial debut of French/Dutch video maker Jan Kounen, the film presents a super violent, drug ladened world ruled by ultramacho men and supported by long-legged, wild-haired, gun-toting beauties. Dobermann (Vincent Cassel) is the leader of a large criminal gang. His lover is Nat la Gitane (Monica Belucci), a deaf-mute gypsy girl. The story begins as Dobermann and company boldly pull off a blood-soaked bank robbery in broad daylight. Their confidence comes from the decoys out distracting the police. After the heist, the gang members hightail it to their lair, located in a remote rural junkyard. When news of their crime reaches police officer Christini, he vows to capture them. Dobermann could not find himself a more ruthless adversary for Christini is evil incarnate and devoid of conscience and decency. When Christini and Dobermann finally meet a terrifying and graphically violent confrontation ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci, (more)
A post-apocalyptic future becomes the setting for pitch black humor in this visually intricate French comedy. The action takes place within a single apartment complex, which is owned by the same man that operates the downstairs butcher shop. It's a particularly popular place to live, thanks to the butcher's uncanny ability to find excellent cuts of meat despite the horrible living conditions outside. The newest building superintendent, a former circus clown, thinks he has found an ideal living situation. All that changes, however, when he discovers the true source of the butcher's meat, and that he may be the next main course. This dark tale is played out in a brilliantly designed, glorious surreal alternate world reminiscent of the works of director Terry Gilliam, who co-presented the film's American release. Like Gilliam, co-directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro hail from an animation background, and have a fondness for extravagant visuals, absurdist plot twists, and a sense of humor that combines sharp satire with broad slapstick and gross-out imagery. This mixture may displease the weak of stomach, but those attuned to the film's sensibility will be delighted by the obvious technical virtuosity and wicked sense of humor. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, (more)
