Maurice Garrel Movies

Actress-cum-director Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's sophomore feature, the comedy-drama Les Actrices (Le reve de la nuit d'avant), follows the trials and travails of Marcelline (Tedeschi), a tense and jittery stage thesp whose personal and professional life threaten to fall into pieces simultaneously. On a personal level, Marcelline hits the midpoint of her life, hears her biological clock ticking, and longs desperately for a child. At work, Marcelline's inability to find the core of her character, Natalia Petrovna, in a production of Turgenev's A Month in the Country only causes her emotional tension to double. In time, she regresses into such a basket case that she can barely respond to the stage director's query about whether she is right or left-handed. Marcelline's natty and overanxious mother (Marisa Borini, Tedeschi's mother in real life) weighs heavily on her as well, pressuring her constantly about the need to find an appropriate suitor before time runs out; instead, Marcelline finds herself drawn helplessly to Eric (Louis Garrel) a sexy young actor in the production - who, without her knowledge, nurtures reciprocal affections. This parallels the events that befall Petrovna in Turgenev's play, and indeed, at one point the spirit of Petrovna (Valeria Golino) appears to Marcelline for much-needed counsel. Meanwhile, as Marcelline weathers her own personal crises, one of her friends, Nathalie (Noemie Lvovsky) - the assistant to the play's director - struggles with her offstage lack of fulfillment as a wife and mother. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The stories of two desperate characters turn out to share an important link in this drama from French filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin. Nora (Emmanuelle Devos) is a woman in her mid-thirties who wants people to believe that her life is going just the way she wants. But a look below the surface shows this isn't quite the case; she's been divorced twice, her latest relationship is on the rocks, her ten-year-old son, Elias (Valentin Lelong), is becoming increasingly withdrawn, and her father (Maurice Garrel) is in poor health. When Nora learns that her father's digestive problems are actually cancer and he may only have a few days left to live, she desperately wants to turn to Ismael (Mathieu Amalric), her second husband. But Ismael is having a crisis of his own after a pattern of increasingly strange behavior has led him to an involuntary stay in a mental hospital. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

French filmmaker and professor of music Denis Dercourt directs the family drama Mes Enfants Ne Sont Pas Comme Les Autres (My Children Are Different). Widowed cellist Jean Debart (Richard Berry) is strict with his two children in regards to their musical education. Teenager Adele (Elodie Peudepiece) studies the cello but yearns for some rebellious independence while 11-year-old Alexandre (Frederic Roullier) is firmly committed to playing the piano and observing his father's wishes. Their stern grandfather Maître Erhardt (Maurice Garrel) is an orchestra conductor and their uncle Gerald (Mathieu Amalric) is a less-ambitious musician who finds work making background sounds. Soon Adele finds herself growing away from her father's harsh rules when she meets fellow musician Thomas (Malik Zidi). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Alain Beverini's Total Kheops is a story about men on different sides of the law who are in love with the same woman. As young adults, Fabio (Richard Bohringer), Ugo (Robin Rnucci), and Manu (Daniel Duval) were friends and all had feelings for Lole (Marie Trintignant). Fabio ends up a policeman, but Ugo and Manu take on a life of crime. Twenty-five years after their time together, Manu gets out of jail and joins Lole who has waited for him. He is killed that night. Ugo makes an appearance, but before long Fabio is the only one of the three who could possibly win Lole's heart. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This historical drama is based on the true story of Artemisia Gentileschi, the first woman to achieve success as a painter. In 17th century Italy, noted artist Orazio Gentileschi (Michel Serrault) is a portrait artist enjoying a certain degree of success and acclaim. His 17-year-old daughter Artemisia (Valentina Cervi) would like to follow the same path as her father, but women are not allowed to pursue careers in the arts, and the convent where she attends school forbids students to sketch nude models. Eager to learn, Artemisia begins posing for herself by use of a mirror; her father discovers her secret but is enthusiastic about her work, and he takes her out of school so he can tutor her in painting and drawing. Orazio forbids her to draw male nudes, but curious Artemisia persuades local men to serve as her models, and her work steadily improves. In time, Artemisia and her work come to the attention of Agostino Tassi (Miki Manojovic), a friend of her father who is a well-known painter and something of a rake. Tassi is impressed by both the art and the artist, but when he and Artemisia begin a love affair, he finds himself on trial for rape. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A hangdog, middle-aged painter falls in love with a tender young college student after he leaves his philandering wife and his children in this romantic French drama. To console himself, the fundamentally bohemian Phillippe finds comfort in the arms of various prostitutes, especially Valeria. It is while searching for her that he meets lovely Justine, the student. Sparks fly and they move into together. Things go well until Phillippe begins pining for his children. This makes insecure Justine terribly jealous and tumult erupts until the aging artist is able to discover the true source of his anxieties. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

When the arrogant, womanizing narrator, Antoine (Fabrice Luchini), goes to meet his girlfriend, Solange (Marie Bunel) at the train station, he's dismayed to find her with another man. Antoine tells us that this is a first. He is always the one to end his relationships with women. Antoine visits his elderly friend, Jean (Maurice Garrel), a book dealer, and tells him that he wants revenge, but he doesn't have the imagination to come up with a plan. Eventually, Jean tells Antoine that he knows a publisher who's interested in publishing a series of diaries. He suggests that to get his revenge, not just on Solange but on all women, Antoine should get another woman to fall completely in love with him and then dump her, while keeping a detailed journal about the affair. Antoine agrees, placing an ad for a typist to meet someone. Catherine (Judith Henry) responds to the ad. Antoine is initially repulsed by Catherine, but Jean pushes him to pursue her, saying Antoine's lack of interest will make the story even more interesting. Antoine assents, on the condition that Jean tell him exactly how to proceed. Antoine follows Jean's advice. Catherine resists his advances at first, and as Antoine gets to know her, he finds himself becoming more and more attracted to her. La Discrete won Cesar Awards for Best First Work, Best Writing, and Most Promising Actress (Henry). It also won the FIPRESCI Award at the 1990 Venice Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The kicker in this black and white film about the director of the film making a film about his life (got that?) is that almost everyone playing a family member of the director (who plays himself, naturally) really is a family member. In the story, director Phillippe Garrel is preparing to make a film about his life. When he informs his wife that her part is to be played by someone else she is understandably offended - after all, she is an actress, isn't she? This leads to all sorts of family arguments and discussions about what their relationship means to each of them. The couple's children, meanwhile, attempt to get on with their own lives in the best way possible, despite the insufferable silliness of their parents. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The story line in this drama is secondary to the focus on gentlemanly old age. Fabris (Maurice Garrel) is the elderly man in question who takes a very long train ride to a spa for his annual holiday. Lea (Margherita Buy) and her mother are guests at the spa's hotel, and for some reason Fabris is fascinated by Lea. He begins to send her anonymous notes that spark her interest in this secret admirer, but he apparently has no intention of going beyond the writing stage of their non-relationship. Other characters wander in and out of the story as Lea tries to divine who her unknown friend might be. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Set during the Algerian war for independence in the 1950s and early '60s, this undistinguished drama centers on Jean (Maurice Garrel) who works covertly for the FLN, the Algerian independence fighters, and although he does not know it, the woman he loves (Mouche, played by Emmanuelle Riva), is also a covert operative for the FLN. When Jean sees the SAO (the Algerian Secret Army Organization) assassinate Mouche, his world disintegrates. Eventually, after the armed conflict has ended, he meets a French Algerian named Gemina and begins a new relationship with her -- and optimistically expects it to last because peace is at hand. Although director Philippe Garrel seems to have intended certain parallels between Jean's personal life and Algerian-French politics, they are weakened by the vague script, and a stiffness or artificiality in the main characters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Director Jacques Richard tried to emulate a silent movie in all its aspects when he filmed Rebelote. Originally screened with a live string orchestra, the silent black-and-white film has inter-titles and tongue-in-cheek, melodramatic acting and a "soap opera" type plot. Unfortunately, the tale of a sad delinquent trying to overcome his miserable childhood to find success at love and life is not a cleverly acted or staged parody, and so the idea falls short of the standards of excellence of bygone, silent screen days. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

At the core of this docudrama are six French-speaking villages that were transferred to the jurisdiction of a Dutch-speaking province when political lines were drawn. The director of Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven (Jean-Jacques Andrien) was born and raised in this area and filmed scenes of the demonstrations that took place when the transfer occurred -- scenes that are used in the film. Additional background on the region emerges as the viewer sees that the economic policies dictated by the European Common Market intensify the cultural clashes in this zone because the policies often damage the earnings of the farming community -- and the farmers have no way to alter the ECM mandates. The film conveys a good sense of these issues that threaten the way of life of the small community, and at the same time, a mini-drama plays out against this backdrop. The drama begins with the death of an elderly farmer and unfolds over the four days that elapse between his death, the funeral rites, and the day following the burial. The son in the family, Jean-Pierre Droeven (Jerzy Radziwilowicz) must make a decision about the family's milk-producing cattle farm -- should he sell it and move out of this politically blighted region? His Aunt Elisabeth (Nicole Garcia) has her own views on the decision. She is a lawyer, and lives in the city of Liege, long since abandoning the small farming community herself. As the son and aunt interact with each other, their perspectives begin to shift, unsettling questions arise as to their real roots, and they find that even the memories of their dead father are not always in agreement. Through its in-depth probing of ordinary human situations, the film conveys a sense of dignity and meaning to lives that are beset by forces they cannot control. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Salvador Allende was a Marxist who became the President of Chile. Forces within that country and from outside, including the U.S.'s CIA, conspired to bring about an end to his rule, and his life, on September 11, 1973. This French/Bulgarian drama explores the events leading up to his election and ultimate overthrow and is highly sympathetic to his aims and intentions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide