Emmanuelle Bercot Movies
- 2005
An illicit summer romance threatens deadly repercussions for a bored but beautiful teen in directors Christophe Ali and Nicolas Boinilauri's tense erotic thriller. Camille is a spontaneous-minded teen spending her summer at a rural camp. Blaise is an ex-convict haunted by violent nightmares and tormented by the invisible barriers that separate him from his estranged wife and children. When Blaise accepts a job as a sailing instructor at the camp that is run by his brother-in-law Eddie, the scorn inflicted upon him by the cruel young campers threatens to shatter his already fragile emotions. Camille is different from the other campers though. Despite his best efforts to resist the charms of the radiant young nubile, Blaise soon finds his repressed capacity for life suddenly awakened by Camille's sincere and unguarded affections. As the unlikely couple each allow themselves to fall under the other's mysterious allure, the tragic consequences of their tryst threaten to destroy the lives of all involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isild Le Besco, Denis Lavant, (more)
Celebrity obsession leads a French teen to track down her favorite singer following a disastrous staged television encounter between the pair in the feature debut from director Emmanuelle Bercot. The music of pop superstar Lauren (Emmanuelle Seigner) has a profound effect on the quiet life of teen admirer Lucie (Isild Le Besco), but when Lauren suddenly appears on Lucie's doorstep as part of a promotional campaign, the starstruck teen is left reeling when her idol serenades her with a love song in front of millions of viewers. Determined to have a genuine encounter with her idol sans the media circus, Lucie subsequently sets out to locate Lauren and hoodwinks the singer's tough-as-nails production assistant (Noemie Lvovsky) into allowing her into the mixed-up megastar's luxury suite. After the pair bonds over Lauren's latest breakup, the singer agrees to take her fan in as a low-level errand girl. Now, as the disillusioned teen begins to see past the glamorous facade to discover that fame has little bearing over emotional instability, she gradually begins to realize that the celebrity world is much different than she ever imagined. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isild Le Besco, Emmanuelle Seigner, (more)
- 2004
Four nameless people are brought together by crime and circumstances in this visually striking drama. A naïve young woman (Isild Le Besco) who studies art and lives with her wealthy family goes to a nightclub one evening and meets a mysterious young man of Moroccan heritage (Ouassini Embarek). The two are immediately attracted to one another, and spend the night together. Not long afterward, the woman gets a phone call from her new lover, who has disturbing news -- he's in the midst of a bank robbery that's gone wrong, and several of his accomplices have been shot by the police. The woman offers to hide the man from the authorities, and he soon arrives with the only member of his crew to made it out alive (Nicolas Duvauchelle). They spend the night hiding out with the young woman, and the next morning, the accomplice's girl (Laurence Cordier) joins the party as the foursome leave France for Spain. However, the thieves and their women don't take well to exile; personality clashes arise, and they discover that the stolen money is more readily identifiable than they imagined. À Toute de Suite was screened as part of the "Un Certain Regard" series at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isild Le Besco, Ouassini Embarek, (more)
- 2001
A boy in his early teens develops a crush on a grown woman old enough to be his mother, only to discover she is also attracted to him, in this controversial drama from France. Marion (Emmanuelle Bercot) is a headstrong and free-spirited woman in her early thirties who heads to the seacoast for a short vacation that coincides with the 13th birthday of her godson Benoit (Kevin Goffette). Benoit and his friends are just old enough to be enthralled with any conversation involving sex, and Marion humors them by joining in their talks on the beach about the mysteries of women. Marion soon gets to know one of Benoit's friends, Clement (Olivier Gueritee), and the interest between them becomes more than just friendly; some good-natured horseplay stirs a desire between them, and after the two share a kiss on the beach, Clement is obsessed with Marion. While she's unsure about starting a relationship with a boy less than half her age, Marion can't deny her feelings for Clement, and before long she and the youngster are lovers. One night, Clement appears at Marion's doorstep, announcing he's run away from home and wants to move in with her; Marion isn't sure what to tell the boy, knowing the foolishness of such a move even though she does love him, and soon Clement is crestfallen, certain that Marion no longer cares for him. Clement was written and directed by Emmanuelle Bercot, who also stars as Marion; the film was shown in the Un Certain Regard series at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Young Cinema Award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivier Guéritée, Emmanuelle Bercot, (more)
- 2000
Noted French filmmaker Claude Leloud directs this romantic comedy about a trio of femme fatale musketeers. In order to repay a stack of debts after a disastrous self-financed production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters," Olga (Anne Parillaud), Macha (Alice Evans), and Irina (Marianne Denicourt) hatch a mercenary scheme aimed at lonely Concorde passengers. Armed with exotic false identities and intelligence gathered by Irina's sister and airline employee Olivia (Olivia Bonamy), the three plot to seduce a lonely millionaire, maintain a chaste relationship long enough to exact expensive gifts, and then find an excuse to breakup. Olga's first mark, Oscar, immediately drops his wife when he learns that Olga is a direct descendant of Johannes Sebastian Bach, his favorite composer. Irina's mark, a fabulously wealthy nightclub owner who obsesses over buying a chateaux, dumps his wife, too, when he learns that she is related to Marie Antoinette. Macha has similar success with the president of an unnamed African nation when she reveals that she is descended from renowned humanitarian Albert Schweitzer. Things get dicey when Bayard, (Jean-Pierre Marielle) a suave, seasoned police commissioner gets involved in their dubious scheme. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Marielle, Anne Parillaud, (more)
Ça commence aujourd'hui, a social drama, is Bertrand Tavernier's first major film since winning a César (the Oscar of France) in 1996 for his epic Capitaine Conan. Set in a forlorn mining town near Valencienne in the north of France, the story is about one man's struggle to bring life to his once prosperous village and its inhabitants. Philippe Torreton, who won a César for Best Actor with his title role in Capitaine Conan, plays Daniel, the head teacher of a nursery school in a town demoralized by unemployment. Daniel is determined against all odds to bring life to the community. When a parent who has come to pick up her children collapses at the school grounds due to alcohol abuse, and social services turns a deaf ear to all pleas for help, Daniel decides to take the law into his own hands. Despite resistance from the townspeople, in the long run his efforts are not fruitless. Initially, he is assisted by his girlfriend Valéria, a young sculptor; gradually, the school nurse Samia joins forces with them. Ça commence aujourd'hui is a film committed to everyday heroism; it takes a multilayered approach to an array of problems. The visual force of the storytelling is especially powerful. Tavernier's Ça commence aujourd'hui received a Special Mention for its subject matter, the Ecumenical Jury award and FIPRESCI award (Federation of International Film Critics) at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival, 1999. Tavernier was previously the 1995 Berlin Golden Bear winner. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Torreton, Maria Pitarresi, (more)
Claude Miller directed this French psychological drama adapted from Emmanuel Carrere's 1995 novel (based on a factual news item). Detailing a troubled boy's traumas at a holiday camp, the film recalls Miller's other adolescent dramas -- The Little Thief, The Best Way to Walk (also at a holiday camp), and An Impudent Girl. When young Nicolas (Clement Van Den Bergh) is set to go on a school ski trip, his father (Francois Roy) has safety concerns because of a recent bus accident. Instead of allowing Nicolas to join his classmates on the bus, he chooses to drive the youth to the camp, upping the boy's anxiety level. At the remote camp, Nicolas forgets to take his bag from the car, bringing more fears to the surface. He becomes friends with an undisciplined boy, Hodkann (Lokman Nalcakan), who lends him pajamas. The film dramatizes Nicolas' visions as he describes his dreams and nightmares to Hodkann. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clement Van Den Bergh, Lokman Nalcakan, (more)
