André Julien Movies

Jacques Rivette's epic-scale meditation on art, politics and relationships is an eight-part, 740 minute drama that begins as an examination of two Parisian theater companies. Lili (Michele Moretti) is a member of an experimental troupe preparing a radical new interpretation of Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, while Thomas (Michel Lonsdale) is in charge of a state-funded group who are rehearsing another work by the same ancient Greek playwright, Prometheus Unbound. Drifting in and out of the orbit of these two groups are Sarah (Bernadette Lafont), an author and longtime friend of Thomas; Colin (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a deaf street musician; Frederique (Juliet Berto), a sexy confidence woman, and the bohemian owner of a knick-knack shop who often changes her name (Bulle Ogier), among many others. Colin tries to search out the meaning of a strange note handed to him by a mysterious stranger, while Frederique becomes party to a similar message. As it happens, both learn of the possible existence of a secret society of thirteen powerful individuals who are the true rulers of Paris, but neither is sure if the group exists in history or the present day, and they have very different notions of what to do with this information. Jacques Rivette originally screened Out 1 as a work in progress (titled Out 1: Noli Me Tangere) at a pair of screenings in Paris in the fall of 1971; it was originally conceived as a project for television, but became a theatrical film after it was rejected by French broadcasters. While a four-hour version, Out 1: Spectre, began making the rounds of film festivals in 1974, the film didn't appear in its full twelve-hours-plus version until 1989, when a new cut of Out 1 appeared at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The final cut of Out 1 appeared with English subtitles in London in 2006, and has subsequently been screened in Vancouver, New York City and Chicago. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A troubled young woman goes in search of the father she never knew in this French drama. In 1979, Elisa (Florence Thomassin) is an unhappy and unstable woman who -- after trying to strangle her two year old daughter Marie -- kills herself on Christmas Eve. Sixteen years later, Marie (Vanessa Paradis) has grown into a young woman with more than her share of problems; she's wise beyond her years when it comes to men, and she lies as often as she tells the truth. With her friends Solange (Clotilde Courau) and Ahmed (Sekkou Sall), Marie makes her way through a variety of small-time confidence games, but she's obsessed with discovering the identity of her father, who abandoned her after the death of her mother years before. After intimidating a number of civil service workers, Marie learns that her father is Jacques Desmoulins (Gerard Depardieu), a successful but reclusive songwriter who lives on a small island where he uses alcohol to keep him company. Marie makes her way to Jacques' island in the hope of getting even with the man she blames for many of her troubles. Leading lady Vanessa Paradis is also a successful pop singer in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Simon Blount (Bernard Giraudeau) is a weary cop who takes solace in the bottle after his wife leaves him for another man. His spirit is lifted when he meets Violet (Fanny Bastien), the wispy, mysterious female he considers somewhat of an angel. Simon is unaware she has systematically murdered the police, attorneys, and officials who were linked to the death of her prostitute mother. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Jean-Jacques Beineix's Betty Blue stars Béatrice Dalle as the title character, a mentally unbalanced and sexually aggressive free spirit who becomes involved with Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade), a repairman moonlighting as a writer. The two engage in a variety of sexual encounters, and grow more passionate toward each other. Betty finds Zorg's book and is aggressively supportive; over time, her mental and emotional instability begin to catch up with her and drive her to the point of romantic obsession with Zorg -- leading to a grisly and shocking conclusion. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Based on a popular French comic strip, this lavish and erotic adventure fantasy (said to be one of the most expensive films in the history of French cinema) chronicles the exploits of a sexy young girl who escapes from a convent to go looking for the father she has not seen in many years. The story features plenty of female nudity. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this film that sends up the foibles of filmmaking, a standard crew of actors, stage-hands, director, writers, producers, and others are gathered for the filming of a 45-second automobile commercial. Each role embodies an archetype (the harried director who has a deadline to meet, the Scrooge production manager who has a budget to meet, and the writers who are above these mundane concerns), and these personalities drive the working actors over the edge until they decide to lock them up and do their own thing -- happiness can be just around the corner if you are in the driver's seat. Hopefully, the actors will be able to bow out before the police catch on to the situation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This is a French language film without dubbing or subtitles. It is a sad romantic fantasy, about the husband in a childless couple, an entomologist (Marc Eyraud), who picks up a water spider brookside and imagines that the spider is the daughter he and his wife never had. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Paulina (Bulle Ogier) drifts aimlessly after she leaves her ailing brother. Struggling to find a place for herself in society, she first enters an insane asylum and later winds up in a whorehouse. She leaves the bordello and hooks up with some young revolutionaries as she continues to search for a way out of her disenchantment and find her calling in life. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi