Chad Chenouga Movies
Quand Tu Descendras du Ciel director Eric Guirado follows up his feature filmmaking debut with this drama about a grocer's son who returns to the village where he was born in order to take over his father's business. Ten years ago, Antione (Nicolas Cazalé) left his family behind and moved to the big city. Now, after discovering that his father (Daniel Duval) has suffered a heart attack and that the family grocery store will soon be forced to shut down, Antoine heads back to the French mountain town at the behest of his brother François (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié). It seems that few folks save for his mother (Jeanne Goupil) are happy to see Antoine return, though the meandering 30-year-old has brought city friend Claire (Clotilde Hesme) along to keep him company during his stay in the country. Though it remains to be seen whether Antoine and Claire will ever become anything more than friends, the free-spirited sprite is more than happy to help out when it comes to making the rounds with the mobile store that services the local villages. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cazalé, Clotilde Hesme, (more)
Angelina Jolie stars as Mariane Pearl, wife of slain journalist Daniel Pearl, in director Michael Winterbottom's adaptation of Mariane's memoir recounting the abduction and murder of her husband (played in the film by Dan Futterman) by Pakistani militants. It was on January 23, 2002, that Mariane Pearl's life took a grim and unanticipated turn that no one could have seen coming. The South Asia Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal, Daniel Pearl, was in Pakistan with his pregnant wife, Mariane, when he set out to conduct one last interview for an upcoming article; the pair were due to fly back home to the U.S. shortly thereafter. By all accounts, it was the same type of interview he had conducted a hundred times before, and though the only concern that Daniel had voiced beforehand was that he might be a bit late for dinner, it would soon become obvious that something had gone horribly awry. Later, in an attempt to rise above the seething vengeance and cycle of violence that the post-9/11 world has fallen into and familiarize her newborn son with the father he will never know, Mariane penned A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl. The remarkable true story behind the murder that shook the entire world, Mariane's deeply personal novel is adapted for the screen by the BAFTA award-winning director of The Road to Guantanamo. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Angelina Jolie, Dan Futterman, (more)
- 2001
17 Rue Bleue is an autobiographical drama about an Algerian immigrant's self-destruction in Paris. In it, director Chad Chenouga recounts how his mother, Adda, came to France as an illegal alien, hoping to escape the haunting secrets of her native land, and seeking a new life of wealth. When Adda falls in love with her employer, a wealthy Parisian named Merlin, she believes her fortune is within reach. But troubles begin when Merlin suddenly dies, leaving behind no clear will. Adda, believing in the Algerian superstition that a beauty mark on her son's hand signifies great wealth to come, throws herself into a losing court battle to win Merlin's estate. As legal defeats mount up, Adda turns to drugs, driving away friends and family members, until she's left with only her son, Chad. When he turns 16, his mother dies from her many years of drug abuse. He is then placed into the hands of French social workers who attempt to stamp out his ties to an Algerian heritage while making him a "pupil of the Nation." ~ Connor McMadden, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lysiane Meis, Abdel Halis, (more)
