Matthieu Boujenah Movies
Directors Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold's sexually political drama Chacun Sa Nuit explores the carnal interdependencies among a host of characters who live in a town in provincial France. At the center of it all is Pierre (Arthur Dupont), a conceited and vain bisexual musician in his late teens who acts as a magnet, to varying degrees, for a whole array of characters -- from his sister, Lucie (Lizzie Brocheré), with whom he has a heated incestuous relationship, to a city councilor with whom he participates in gay orgies. When Pierre turns up dead, Lucie investigates the reasons for his demise and charts the network of sadomasochistic relationships that crisscross the town. Arnold wrote the screenplay, based on an actual series of events; the picture co-stars Pierre Perrier, Nicolas Nollet, and Guillaume Baché. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lizzie Brocheré, Arthur Dupont, (more)
- 2005
The universal language of youthful rebellion takes center stage in director Laïla Marrakchi's tale of a Moroccan Muslim teen who falls for a handsome and progressive-minded Jewish boy. High school is drawing to a close for 17-year-old Rita (Morjana Alaoui) and her carefree friends, and as the footloose girls pound the pavement of Casablanca's Anfa district, it seems that their summer of fun is already well under way. When Rita meets fun-loving Youri (Matthieu Boujenah) and the pair hit it off, her liberal Muslim family's open-minds soon begin to close when they discover that their daughter's new boyfriend is Jewish. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Morjana Alaoui, Matthieu Boujenah, (more)
- 2003
Directed by Michel Boujenah, Pere et Fils (Father and Son) centers around retired traveling salesman Leo Serano's (Philippe Noiret) decision to become closer to his three children, albeit late in life. Leo's first son, David (Charles Berling), is a longtime overachiever who runs his own plumbing fixtures company and employs his youngest brother, Simon (Pascal Elbe), in the warehouse. Pot-smoking Simon is blissfully unconcerned when it comes to the intricacies of his family, but David hasn't spoken to his unemployed brother Max (Bruno Putzulu) in years, and isn't particularly keen to build a relationship with his long absent father. However, when Leo convinces the trio that he's slated for a risky heart surgery in a couple of weeks -- in fact, Leo's physician had declared him perfectly healthy -- the broken family decides to take a spontaneous trip to Montreal. The film also features Marie Tifo, Genevieve Brouillette, Pierre Lebeau, Jacques Boudet, and Matthieu Boujenah. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Charles Berling, (more)
- 2002
A group of friends and mutual acquaintances embark on a number of vacations -- concealed or otherwise -- for relaxation and unexpected romantic hijinks in French actor/director Michel Blanc's fourth directorial effort, the romantic ensemble comedy See How They Run. While hosting a dinner party, the well-to-do Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Bertrand Lannier (Jacques Dutronc) learn that their neighbors Veronique (Karin Viard) and Jerome (Denis Podalydes) -- who used to be successful but are currently hiding their financial woes -- will be vacationing in the same resort town at the same time. Impulsively, Elizabeth invites her friend, and fellow dinner party guest, Julie (Clotilde Courau), to join them and thus make a party out of the event. However, Bertrand backs out of the trip while claiming to have to work -- only to schedule a rendezvous with his lover, his transsexual secretary (Mickael Dolmen), instead. Meanwhile, the Lannier's teenaged daughter, Emilie (Lou Doillon), has been planning a parentally endorsed vacation to the United States with one of her friends, but is in actuality going on a romantic retreat with one of her father's employees, Kevin (Sami Bouajila). As the separate excursions commence, a number of romantic couplings spring up -- as well as a number of new friendships -- that will have long-lasting effects on all of the vacationers' lives. See How They Run received the honor of being selected for inclusion into the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, Jacques Dutronc, (more)
