Sonia Mankai Movies
Two lifelong friends set off on a remarkable adventure in this animated feature. Azur (Rayan Mahjoub) is an orphaned boy living in 18th century France, where he's being raised by Jenane (Hiam Abbass), a nurse of Arab heritage who cares for the boy alongside her own son, Asmar (Abdelsselem Ben Amar). Jenane regales the boys with tales of the mysterious Fairy Djinn, a magical creature with great powers but equally great protectors at her disposal. Azur is sent away to school, but when he returns home as a grown man (now voiced by Cyril Mourali), he finds Jenane and Asmar have gone. Convinced the Fairy Djinn is responsible, Azur hops a ride aboard a sailing ship and sets out to find the Djinn as well as his friends. However, in time Azur meets up with Asmar (now voiced by Karim M'Ribah) only to discover he and his mother are also searching for the powerful Djinn for their own purposes. Now that his best friend has become a competitor in the race to find the Djinn, Azur recruits a team of helpers to aid him as he tries to beat Asmar in their game. Azur and Asmar received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steven Kynman, Nigel Pilkington, (more)
- 2000
Taking its title from a popular 1960s dance craze, this digital video comedy concerns the exploits of a particularly odd fictional talk-show host, portrayed by real-life French talk-show sensation Edouard Baer. Baer -- who also directed and co-wrote the film -- plays a sarcastic TV personality who decides to gather together the panel members from his live show before they shoot the program so that they have a chance to rehearse. To this end, the absurd group -- including a lawyer, a transvestite, and a grown woman who acts like a child -- rents a villa for a month. It doesn't take long for resentment to fester among the motley crew. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edouard Baer, Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus, (more)
- 1999
- NR
A conflict of cultures adds an unusual twist to La Nuit du Destin/Night Of Destiny, a suspense thriller from France. Mr. Slimami (Gamil Ratib) is an Algerian retiree living in Paris who witnesses a murder while taking a walk one evening. He's spotted by the assailant, but Slimami manages to slip away before being caught. The victim turned out to be a prominent businessman, and police are soon searching for the witness as well as the killers. Slimami does not want to step forward, both as a matter of personal safety and because he prefers to let the French police handle their own affairs. His son Alilou (Boris Terral), a budding journalist, openly decries the failure of the witness to come forward as a black mark on the Muslim community in Paris, unaware that the man in question is his father. La Nuit du Destin/Night Of Destiny received its American premiere at the 1999 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Volter, Boris Terral, (more)
- 1998
In this off-beat French comedy-drama, a quirky band of classical musicians prepare to play at a nobleman's New Year's Eve gala. It was bass player Roberto (Pierre Lacan) who initially scored the gig. He then calls together his four long-time partners and a local clarinet player. They were hired to play chamber music and Viennese waltzes and to be directed by Roberto's former mentor, the famous conductor Svarowvski (Henri Garcin). The maestro will have his work cut out for him though, for the four players, while each fine musicians on their own, are of totally different temperaments and don't always work well together. Their flautist Therese (Marie-Christine Laurent) will be performing the night before she is scheduled to have her baby; cellist Lionel (Marc Citti) is a kleptomaniac; volatile and hypersensitive viola player Martial (Serge Renko) constantly raves about one issue or another; while 20-year-old violinist Diane (Clementine Benoit) suffers from an inferiority complex. Their clarinetist (Wilfred Benaiche) is devoted to his mother and brings with him a secret. Their aristocratic host (Philippe Clay) can't hear conversation, but still possesses an uncanny musical ear. Plucky Arab woman Fatiah (Sonia Mankai) attends him. Their ordeal begins on December 26 when the musicians gather at the nobleman's chateau to begin a long week of rehearsals. Les Cachetonneurs played at the 1998 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Lacan, Marc Citti, (more)
Anthony Minghella wrote and directed this award-winning adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed and tragic romance set against the backdrop of World War II. In a field hospital in Italy, Hana (Juliette Binoche), a nurse from Canada, is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck; he has no identification and cannot remember his name, so he's known simply as "the English Patient," thanks to his accent. When the hospital is forced to evacuate, Hana determines en route that the patient shouldn't be moved far due to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be picked up later. In time, Hana begins to piece together the patient's story from the shards of his memories; he's actually Count Laszlo Almasy (Ralph Fiennes), of Hungarian nobility and an explorer working with a group mapping uncharted territory in North Africa. An Englishman, Geoffrey Clifton (Colin Firth), soon joins Almasy's team; travelling with him is his lovely and spirited wife, Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas). Katherine and Laszlo soon fall in love, which leads Laszlo to betray his friend, his country and all that is dear to him. Meanwhile, Hana and the Patient are joined by Kip (Naveen Andrews), a Sikh with a gift for defusing mines, and Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe), an intelligence agent who knows some of Laszlo's most shameful secrets. The English Patient won nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, (more)
Set in a Tunisian melting-pot town in 1967 and loosely based on the reminiscences of filmmaker Ferid Boughedir, this bittersweet comedy-drama tells the tale of how the secret conspiracy between three teen girls to lose their virginity before they turn seventeen wreaks havoc on the lives and friendships between their disparate families. The fathers have known each other many years, but underneath their friendship lies a silent but strong undercurrent of tension that relates to their different religions and ethnic origins. One family is Muslim, one is Jewish and the last is Roman Catholic. The trouble erupts because each of the girls choose to dally with men outside their religions. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gamil Ratib, Mustafa Adouani, (more)
