Émilie Dequenne Movies
- 2009
It marked a grotesque and unseemly incident that took the European press by storm: in 2004, a young French woman came forward and claimed to have been attacked by black and Arabic thugs who mistook her for a Jew. But after her story broke, no witnesses came forward to support her, and security cameras at the train station revealed no such attack; the woman later admitted that she had ripped her own clothes, drawn swastikas on her own stomach, and fabricated the entire story. With the drama Fille du Rer, acclaimed French writer-director André Téchiné presents a thinly veiled fictionalization of the same events. Emilie Dequenne stars as Jeanne, an unemployed girl who lives with her mother (Catherine Deneuve) in a Parisian suburb and spends the majority of her free time rollerblading. She has little knowledge of -- or interest in -- history or politics, and remains withdrawn, insular, and sullen, keeping the majority of her thoughts and observations to herself. Circumstances change just a bit when Jeanne enters a live-in relationship with a beefy, thuggish, wrestler boyfriend, Franck (Nicolas Duvauchelle) living in a dingy warehouse, but violence soon erupts between the two. Jeanne ultimately takes a job for an attorney-cum-ex-boyfriend of her mother's (Michel Blanc) whose involvement in Judaic causes and politically committed family prompt even greater feelings of alienation and isolation in Jeanne. When Franck's involvement in criminal activities comes to light and the police intervene, Jeanne perversely reasons that she can only become tied to history by inventing a role for herself, and decides to fabricate said story about the train -- little realizing the calamitous consequences that it will engender. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Émilie Dequenne, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
- 2007
A novelist, an actress, and a struggling young singer all attempt to make their mark in modern day Paris in director Marc Fitoussi's cynical entertainment industry satire. Bertrand (Denis Podalydes) is a French literary professor whose students all know that he is shacked up with pretty math teacher Solange (Valerie Benguigui) despite the couple's best efforts to keep their relationship under the radar. Though no one in the school much cares for Bertrand's prose, self-flagellating student Frederic (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) is the one notable exception. Meanwhile, as Bertrand struggles to deliver his second novel, recent big city arrival Cora (Emilie Dequenne) finds that her fondness for outmoded songwriters may be having an adverse effect on her career trajectory. While Cora struggles to make ends meet by working at a popular chain steakhouse, even this attempt to remain afloat ultimately proves disastrous. Somewhere in another part of town, embittered actress Alice (Sandrine Kiberlain) resents the fact that she is consistently passed over for "real" film roles after accepting work as an anime voiceover artist. Yet despite the fact that Alice resents her drama school classmate Annabella (Camille Japy) due to the latter's success on the legit stage, Annabella has her own problems as evidenced by her troubled relationships with her nephew and sister. Later, the engineer for Alice's dubbing session eventually works up the muster to speak her mind, and Cora begins to sense that her luck is finally turning after a chance encounter with veteran songwriter Joseph Costals (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandrine Kiberlain, Émilie Dequenne, (more)
A young sound engineer whose mother has recently been murdered uses her expertise in audio to launch her own investigation into the case, only to find that the sounds of the past could prove key to solving a mystery of the present in director Alanté Kavaïté's poetic thriller. Charlotte's mother has been mysteriously murdered, but the grieving daughter isn't about to let the investigations stall due to the simple incompetence of the local police force. When Charlotte travels back to the house that her mother lived in at the time of the murder and makes an audio recording that seems to be of supernatural origins, the surreal events that follow lead the once-skeptical girl down a darkened path that threatens to consume her own soul with each new terrifying revelation. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Émilie Dequenne, Ludmila Mikael, (more)
Tensions arise in the household of a bourgeois architect and his young wife when they hire a young peasant girl as a wet nurse for their newborn daughter, and a friendship blossoms between the two women despite class differences. Set in 1877, A Song of Innocence opens to find Julien (Gregoire Colin) and his wife Charlotte (Emilie Dequenne) welcoming their infant daughter home. It was a difficult delivery for Charlotte, and since ambitious Julien is always away at work, the couple agree to bring in Angele-Marie (Islid Le Besco) as a wet nurse. Disappointed at having a girl, Julien plans to try for a male heir as soon as possible, despite the fact that Charlotte isn't sure she wants to have anymore children. The mood in their household is already strained when, in Julien's absence, Charlotte and Angele-Marie discover that they have more in common than either woman expected. Just days before going to work for Charlotte and Julien, Angele-Marie gave birth to her own child, quickly sending her baby off with another wet nurse so she could earn a decent wage as a wet nurse to the wealthy couple. But Julien makes no attempt to hide his distain for the relationship between the two women, and it isn't long before the situation threatens to turn violent. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isild Le Besco, Émilie Dequenne, (more)
- 2003
French filmmaker Catherine Corsini co-writes and directs the black comedy Mariees Mais pas Trop (The Very Merry Widows). Jane Birkin stars as Renee, a femme fatale with a knack for making herself into a wealthy widow. Just as her latest husband's death is being investigated by insurance agent Thomas (Jeremie Elkaim), her long-lost orphaned granddaughter Laurence (Emilie Dequenne) has come looking for a place to stay. The grandmother is soon teaching the young girl everything she knows about marrying rich men on the verge of death. After Laurence meets a few of the local men, she realizes the inherent romantic possibilities with Thomas. Meanwhile, Renee actually finds herself developing real feelings for a man named Maurice (Pierre Richard). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Birkin, Émilie Dequenne, (more)
One of France's most respected filmmakers, Claude Berri here brings viewers the story of Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) a middle-aged sound engineer whose wife has just left him. Living on his own for the first time in years, Jacques decides it's high time to clean up his life, literally and figuratively. In short order he hires Laura (Emilie Dequenne, a bright, vivacious young housekeeper, to bring order to his apartment. Laura's presence makes Jacques realize what has been missing from his life, and as their relationship evolves over the subsequent months, both Jacques and Laura gain uncomfortable knowledge of one another, and of themselves. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Bacri, Émilie Dequenne, (more)
Writer/director Yves Lavandier presents the story of Eglantine (Émilie Dequenne), a troubled 17-year old whose family situation is as confusing as her romantic entanglements. Raised by a coddling mother and an absent father, Eglantine navigates life with a warped perspective that ends up affecting her relationship with Sébastien (Cyrille Thouvenin), an older boyfriend that's become frustrated with Eglantine's unwillingness to take things to the next level. Only her therapist has the chance to help her break down the walls that are interfering in this critical step into adulthood. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Émilie Dequenne, Gérard Jugnot, (more)
French legend has it that a creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan -- a huge, wolf-like monster -- was responsible for the violent deaths of over 100 persons in the mid-18th century, and this horror fantasy blends the lore of this fabled beast with a story of two men who set out to capture it. After a number of mutilated corpses begin appearing across the French countryside, naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is dispatched by the King to find and capture the animal responsible for the killings. Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian from Canada and an experienced hand in the wilds, is hired to assist de Fronsac in his work. Gregoire's assignment earns him the acquaintance of Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), the lovely daughter of the idly wealthy Count de Morangias (Jean Yanne), but Gregoire receives a much chillier welcome from her brother Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel), who, despite having lost an arm to a lion in Africa, is quite the huntsman himself. As Gregoire and Mani arrive in the village of Gevaudan, they're drawn to a local house of prostitution, where the animalistic allure and supernatural powers of Sylvia (Monica Bellucci) prove to have a profound effect on the naive Gregoire. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the special-effects expertise for the creation of the Beast of Gevaudan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, (more)
- 1999
- R
From the directors of the critically acclaimed La Promesse (1996) comes this stark portrayal of a young woman coming of age at the edge of social oblivion. Rosetta (Émilie Dequenne) lives in a tiny, beat-up trailer without toilets or running water with her alcoholic, irresponsible, and utterly dispirited mother, who requires her frequent care. Rosetta longs to have a "normal" life and become a productive member of society, but even this modest goal seems beyond her grasp. Quietly terrified that she will slide into the abyss like her mother, she wages a desperate, purely instinctive battle to lift herself out of her wretched, semi-feral existence. At the film's outset, she is bodily removed from her job at a food factory; for much of the rest of the film, her attempts to gain employment are thwarted by the callousness and indifference of others. The only person to show any kind of sympathy is Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), who ekes out a pittance at a waffle stand while secretly skimming profits from his boss. Though his awkward attempts to gain her interest go unacknowledged by the barely socialized Rosetta, the two develop something like a friendship. Later in the movie, however, her loyalty to her new-found friend clashes with her all-consuming desire for a job. First-time actress Dequenne, who spent time in a similarly harsh environment to prepare for the role, won the Best Actress prize at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. This film also won the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes and was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Émilie Dequenne, Fabrizio Rongione, (more)
Thornton Wilder's award-winning novel is given a lavish screen adaptation in this historical drama from writer and director Mary McGuckian. In Peru in 1714, a rickety bridge collapsed as five people were attempting to cross, forcing them to plunge to their deaths. Brother Fray Juniper (Gabriel Byrne) is a Franciscan monk who has been given the duty of looking into the tragedy by the archbishop of Lima (Robert De Niro), and to learn what he can about the victims. It is Juniper's belief that these particular people died for some reason, and that it is his duty to determine why God chose these five people to perish, while others in the vicinity survived. After five years, Juniper delivers his findings to the archbishop as well as the viceroy of Peru (F. Murray Abraham), as Juniper tells them of the lives of the troubled Dona Maria (Kathy Bates), the nun Pepita (Adriana Dominguez), warm-hearted Uncle Pio (Harvey Keitel), street kid-turned-actress La Perichola (Pilar Lopez de Ayala), and others involved in the tragedy. The Bridge of San Luis Rey also features Geraldine Chaplin, John Lynch, and brothers Mark Polish and Michael Polish. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert De Niro, F. Murray Abraham, (more)
