Mélanie Laurent Movies

A group of hardened Nazi killers stalk their prey in Nazi-occupied France as a Jewish cinema owner plots to take down top-ranking SS officers during the official premiere of a high-profile German propaganda film. As far as Lt. Aldo Raine (aka Aldo the Apache," Brad Pitt) -- is concerned, the only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. Raine's mission is to strike fear into the heart of Adolf Hitler by brutally murdering as many goose-steppers as possible, or die trying. In order to accomplish that goal, Lt. Raine recruits a ruthless team of cold-blooded killers known as "The Basterds" which includes baseball-bat-wielding Bostonian Sgt. Donnie Donowitz (aka "The Bear Jew," Eli Roth) and steely psychopath Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz (Til Schweiger), among others. When the Basterds' secret rendezvous with turncoat German actress Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) goes awry, they learn that the Nazis will be staging the French premiere of "The Nation's Pride," a rousing propaganda film based on the exploits of German hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl), at a modest theater owned by Jewish cinephile Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), posing as a Gentile after the brutal murder of her family by the ruthless Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). As the Basterds hatch an explosive plan to take out as many Nazis as possible at the premiere, they remain completely oblivious to the fact that Shoshanna, too, longs to bring the Third Reich to its knees, and that she's willing to sacrifice her beloved theater in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Screen legend Isabelle Huppert (La Dentellière, Les Soeurs Brontë) headlines acclaimed director Alessandro Capone's gently-spun yet intransigent psychodrama L'Amour caché (2007). Huppert plays Danielle, a middle-aged woman rebounding from the trauma of an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and wrestling resolutely with the inner demons that propelled her into that tragic emotional state. Greta Scacchi (White Mischief) co-stars as Dr. Nielsen, the psychiatrist assigned to guide Danielle through therapy and recovery. Though the patient initially presents herself as unwilling to vocalize, in time she picks up a pen and attempts to write, letting the words flow out of her, cathartically, onto paper. It becomes apparent to both doctor and subject that the source of Danielle's trauma lies in her dysfunctional, estranged relationship with her daughter, Sophie (Mélanie Laurent) - now a contented, healthy wife and mother with a husband and a small child of her own - and that Danielle herself caused the schism by allowing irrational feelings of jealousy and inadequacy to separate her from Sophie. Danielle soon realizes that if she is to make any progress on emotional and psychological levels, she and Sophie must work through the immense obstacle of anger that divides them. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Two thick-headed pals stumble through a town where nearly everyone is as dumb as they are in this manic comedy from Belgium. Jean-Claude (Jean-Luc Couchard) is a loud-mouthed, know-it-all and full time boor who is best friends with Stef (Dominique Pinon), a self-styled lady killer who would do better with the fair sex if he could work up the ambition to wake up in the morning. Stef has decided that despite his lofty ambitions, he may need some help in finding the woman of his dreams, and embracing loyalty rather than logic he turns to Jean-Claude for advice. As Jean-Claude explains his deeply flawed techniques for impressing women, he and Stef cross the paths of a handful of local eccentrics, including perpetual mugging victim Greg (Jeremie Renier), misguided school teacher Nadine (Marion Cotillard), sex crazed Natacha (Melanie Laurent), short-tempered cop Laurence (Florence Foresti), wealthy spoiled brat Fabianne (Marie Kremer), and abattoir enthusiast Claudy (Francois Damiens). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Rachid Bouchareb teams with screenwriter Olivier Morelle to offer a revealing look at the brave contributions made by North African soldiers who fought for France during World War II in this emotionally-charged war drama starring Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Sami Bouajila, and Bernard Blancan. The year was 1943 and France had been bending to the will of Nazi Germany for three long years. In order to break Hitler's powerful grip, the first French Army was recruited in Africa. Comprised of 130,000 North Africans who were willing to put their lives on the line in order to defeat the Nazi death machine, the fearless fighters were contemptuously dubbed indigènes (natives) by many French, despite their remarkable sacrifice. From the noble Abdelkader (Bouajila), who is fighting strictly for the cause; to the money motivated Yassir (Naceri); the impoverished Saïd (Debbouze); and die-hard romantic Messaoud (Roschdy Zem), who longs to finally visit the country he has dreamt about from afar, the selfless efforts of these remarkable men ultimately transcend their superiors' contemptuous disregard for their service by providing invaluable aid during one of the world's darkest hours. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Rodolphe Marcnoi's The Last Day concerns the troubled history of a family. Eighteen-year-old Simon (Gaspard Ulliel) meets the attractive 17-year-old Louise (Melanie Laurent) while he travels on a train to spend Christmas with his family. She joins him on his visit home. Simon's mother, Marie (Nicole Garcia), is happy to see her son, but dad (Christophe Malavoy) loves to complain and harass his family, and sister Alice (Alysson Paradis) competes fiercely with her brother. The family mistakenly believes that Simon and Louise are intimately involved with each other. Eventually, their interactions reveal buried truths about various members of the family. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide