Mélanie Doutey Movies

Filmmaker Lionel Bailliu expands his Academy Award-nominated short film Squash (2000) into a bitter and nail-biting commentary on the cutthroat nature of office politics with this feature debut concerning a shrewd businessman who takes his scheming employees on an ultra-competitive outing. Firm head Charles (Eric Savin) may be top dog today, but ambitious worker Jean-Claude (Benoît Magimel) is determined to make his way to the top no matter what the cost. Though his workmate Alex (Jérémie Rénier) is a nice enough guy, Jean-Claude is constantly digging for dirt on his fellow employees, and will not hesitate to exploit that information if it means the chance to get ahead. Now, as a humiliating game of one-upmanship emerges among the employees and Jean-Claude ponders just how to use the latest bit of incriminating information salvaged from Charles' loose-lipped secretary, Nicole (Marion Cotillard), the contentious office head announces a plan to take his workers on a high-energy outing that includes such potentially risky activities as rock climbing, white-water rafting, and navigating the treacherous stone underpasses of a seemingly bottomless subaqueous cavern. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Inspired by the experiences of a Spanish secret agent who infiltrated the Basque nationalist/separatist organization Euskadi Ta Askasasuna between 1973 and 1975, Miguel Courtois' tense docudrama stars Eduardo Noriega as Mikel Lejarza, aka El Lobo ("The Wolf"). In the politically turbulent 1970s, the ETA's extreme actions gave the conservative Franco regime all the reason they needed to shut down the democratic process in Spain. By infiltrating the ETA, El Lobo managed to effectively take down approximately one quarter of the terrorist activists within the organization. Not only that, but he also thwarted plans by terrorists to escape from prison and resume their reign of violence on the outside. Later, in order to escape the wrath of the ETA - who plastered posters of his likeness all across the Basque country - El Lobo would be forced to change his identity and vanish without a trace. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As one brother (Vincent London) is proving himself as a soldier, the other (Guillaume Canet) is noting the last requests of his dying mother, a respected herbalist within the community. Though Arnaud (Canet) promises to carry on the family tradition, his plans are thwarted by a vicious band of horsemen who beat him into a three-day coma. When he wakes unable to speak or recognize his family, his wife (Melanie Doutey) sends a mercenary to find Thomas (London). Guillemette (Douty) and Thomas set off in hopes of finding a book containing the plant know-how they need in order to honor the late herbalist's wishes, but the tradition is primarily oral, and the books available on the subject are closely guarded by the clergy. Though Guillemette herself cannot read, she realizes her family's future depends on the existence of such a book. Making things even more complicated is the romance blossoming between Guillemette and Thomas, despite the shared relationship with Arnaud. This costume drama is set in southern France during the middle of the 13th century, and was directed by Pierre Jolivet. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide