Esther Gorintin Movies
- 2005
Director Danis Tanovic picks up where the late-Krzysztof Kieslowski left off by taking on the second installment of Kieslowski's "Heaven," "Hell," and "Purgatory" trilogy (the first was adapted by Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer) with this tale of a family whose dark past returns with a vengeance. Loosely modeled by screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz on the second act of Dante's Inferno, Hell tells the story of sisters Sophie (Emmanuelle Béart), Céline (Karin Viard), and Anne (Marie Gillain), whose lives were turned upside down when their father was imprisoned and their mother was rendered a wheelchair-bound mute. As the estranged sisters are slowly brought back together by a mysterious and handsome stranger who is somehow involved with the tragic events of the past, the questions that had for years gone unanswered slowly begin to drift into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmanuelle Béart, Karin Viard, (more)
A family is forced into deception for the sake of their matriarch in this poignant drama. Three generations of women share a tiny apartment in Tbilisi, a Georgia city that has been devastated by war, political instability, and a ruined economy. Eka (Esther Gorintin) is an elderly woman whose health is failing, but her will remains strong and she holds sway over the household. Eka's daughter, Marina (Nino Khomassouridze), is a middle-aged woman who is still dealing with the devastating circumstances of her childhood and the death of her husband. And Marina's daughter, Ada (Dinara Droukarova), is a college student who feels trapped by her circumstances and abraded by her lack of privacy; she has a lover, but since she must share a bed with her mother, they can only make love in his car. The light of Eka's life is her son, Otar, who has fled Tbilisi and lives in Paris. Otar writes frequently and sends money as often as he can, and while Marina resents her mother's obvious favoritism toward her brother, she and Ada realize how important his letters are to her. While Eka is visiting friends, Marina and Ada receive devastating news -- Otar has died in Paris, and since he wasn't carrying his visa when his body was found, he's been buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. Afraid this news would be a severe blow to Eka's poor health, Marina doesn't tell her mother what has happened, and Ada begins writing letters as Otar to maintain the illusion that he's alive. The ruse works well enough until Eka announces she's raised enough money by selling her possessions to visit her son in France. Depuis Qu'Otar Est Parti... (aka Since Otar Left) is the first feature film from director Julie Bertuccelli; it received an enthusiastic reception when it was screened at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Esther Gorintin, Dinara Droukarova, (more)
- 2002
Directed by Mathieu Amalric, a well-respected actor who has starred in such acclaimed French exports as Olivier Assayas' Late August, Early September and Arnaud Desplechin's My Sex Life, Wimbledon Stadium is an adaptation of a novel by Italian author Daniele Del Giudice. Its narrative revolves around a young, nameless woman (Amalric's frequent co-star Jeanne Balibar), who is traveling through Italy on a mission to attempt to learn why one of the country's most illustrious intellectuals, a man who influenced the work of many writers, was not himself a writer. In the process, the protagonist learns a great deal about her own work as a writer. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Balibar, Esther Gorintin, (more)
Carnage, an example of what the French call un film chorale, tells several intertwining stories. In the central tale, a young second-generation bullfighter, Victor (Julien Lescarret), is gored, and is rushed to the hospital in critical condition. A little girl, Winnie (Raphaëlle Molinier), sits next to a massive Great Dane and watches the fateful bullfight on television, and becomes obsessed with the bull. A university researcher, Jacques (Jacques Gamblin of Safe Conduct), cheats on his massively pregnant wife, Betty (Lio), who hides a critical fact about her pregnancy from him. Jacques' brother, Luc (Bernard Sens), an amateur taxidermist, lives with their mother, Rosie (Esther Gorintin), who loves him, but withholds a family secret. Winnie's teacher, Jeanne (Lucia Sanchez), struggles to understand her neurotic mother, Alicia (Ángela Molina), when she visits. When her car is dented by a shopping cart, Carlotta (Chiara Mastroianni), a struggling actress, meets Alexis (Clovis Cornillac), a suicidal philosopher/skater who offers to lead her to the culprits. Carnage, the debut feature from writer/director Delphine Gleize, won the Sutherland Trophy at the 2002 London Film Festival and Best Screenplay at the 2002 Stockholm Film Festival. It was also shown at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival and at Lincoln Center in New York as part of their 2003 Rendez-Vouz with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chiara Mastroianni, Ángela Molina, (more)
Three older Jewish women deal with issues in their families and the long shadow of the Holocaust in this episodic drama. In the film's first segment, Rivka (Shulamit Adar) is on a bus tour of Poland with her husband and is accidentally left behind after a stop at a cemetery. She is furious with her husband, who didn't notice that she was missing; she's felt neglected by him for years, but she doesn't have the strength to leave him. The second story moves to Paris, where Regine (Liliane Rovere) receives startling news: her father, who supposedly died in a concentration camp during World War II, is actually alive in Lithuania. When she arrives in Lithuania, she's startled by the sight of her father, a very old man who doesn't quite recognize her, as well as his story: after the liberation of his camp, he made his way on foot and ended up behind the Iron Curtain, from where he was unable to return to Europe. In the final story, Vera (Esther Gorintin) and her neighbors travels from Moscow to Tel Aviv, hoping to visit a cousin who is now in a rest home. She eventually gets lost and is befriended by Rivka, from the first episode. Voyages is the directorial debut for Emmanuel Finkiel, who previously worked as an assistant director for Krzysztof Kieslowski and made a short film that won a César award in France. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shulamit Adar, Liliane Rovere, (more)
