Isabelle Adjani Movies
Bearing a distinctive dark-haired, porcelain-skin beauty that lent itself to the tragic heroines she frequently played, Isabelle Adjani became one of France's biggest and most acclaimed stars in the '80s, winning four Césars between 1981 and 1994. Of Algerian and German parentage, Adjani was born in Gennevillier (near Paris) on June 27, 1955. She grew up loving poetry and theater, and began acting in amateur stage productions at the age of 12 after winning a school recitation prize. Two years later, she made her film debut in 1970's Le Petit Bougnat while on summer vacation. Her second film, Faustine et le Bel Été (1972), was also made while she was still in school. At the age of 17, Adjani was permitted to join the prestigious Comédie Française, where she drew excellent audience and critical response performing the classics. She signed a 20-year contract with the troupe, which she broke a short time later to pursue her film career, and the resulting controversy was be the first of many.In 1974, the young actress appeared in La Gifle and won the prestigious Prix Suzanne Bianchetti for Most Promising Actress. She became a bona fide star the following year, after director François Truffaut cast her as the tormented daughter of Victor Hugo in L'Histoire d'Adèle H./The Story of Adèle H., which earned her an Oscar nomination and worldwide acclaim. Many French critics, in particular, enthused over her performance, comparing her with the legendary Jeanne Moreau. Further acclaim greeted Adjani in 1981, when she won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performances in Possession and Quartet, as well as her first César for the former film.
With the release of L'Été Meurtrier in 1983, Adjani garnered both her second César and another helping of controversy. Although the film was a box-office hit and created many new fans for the actress, Adjani declined to behave in the manner expected of a movie star; she refused to allow herself to be photographed by the press at Cannes, and avoided interviews and press conferences. Despite her difficulties with the press, Adjani continued to rack up excellent screen portrayals and industry awards. She received particular praise for her work in the title role of Camille Claudel (1988), directed by her former longtime companion (and father of one of her sons) Bruno Nuytten; it was also the first film that she produced herself. Adjani won an Oscar nomination and her third César for her performance as the tragic heroine, but she caused more controversy during her César acceptance speech by reading aloud from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses.
More acclaim and less controversy followed for the actress in 1994, when she won her fourth César for her portrayal of the title character in La Reine Margot. A subsequent -- and uncharacteristic -- Hollywood outing, the 1996 remake of Diabolique, proved a disappointment, and, for the next couple of years, Adjani receded from view. However, she was no less respected in her homeland, where she was appointed president of the 50th Cannes Film Festival in 1997. She also continued to be highly visible on the political scene, staunchly supporting Algerian rebel activities and actively fighting racism against North African immigrants (such as her father) in France. She was particularly outspoken concerning the activities of the French National Front. In 1986, the anti-immigration group organized a smear campaign against her, starting rumors that she was dying of AIDS. This actually resulted in newspaper reports of Adjani's death, which caused her to go on national television to prove that she was, in fact, still alive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Directed by Bernard Michel, this French film stars Claude Amazan as a child coal merchant eager to go to summer camp. When the long awaited departure day arrives, however, he realizes that his mother forgot to register his name with the rest of the group. Desperate to join them, the young coal merchant tries to find a way to integrate himself with the other campers. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Rose (Isabelle Adjani), who refuses to join the kids and goes so far as to run away from the bus. While the coal merchant is busy avoiding authorities who want to remove him from the rest of the group, Rose continues to sulk and search for a way back home. Despite her initial doubtfulness, Rose eventually comes to see the charms of the camp, and walks away from an offer to leave. Le Petit Bougnat also features Vincenzo Sartini, Michel Théodou, Virginie Charletoux, and Guy Allombert. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani
- 1972
Faustine (Muriel Catala) suffers the wounds of first love in this gentle French film. During a summer when she is staying with her grandmother, she comes to know the nearby neighbors. Two brothers live in the large house. One is divorced and one has recently remarried, both of them live there with their teenaged and adult children. Though the boys of the household are drawn to Faustine, she grows ever more smitten with the divorced older man. During one visit she has to hide in his room to avoid the unwelcome attentions of his sons. As the summer draws to a close she has her first amorous kiss. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1974
In this film, a group of French kids face the difficult transition from childhood to adulthood as they struggle through their teenage years. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lino Ventura, Annie Girardot, (more)
Based on the real-life diaries of Adèle Hugo, The Story of Adele H. is a psychological drama opening in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the 1860s. The daughter of famous French writer Victor Hugo, Adèle (Isabelle Adjani) has left her father's home to seek out her fiancé, the English soldier Lt. Albert Pinson (Bruce Robinson). She conceals her identity and rents a room in a boarding house from Mrs. Saunders (Sylvia Marriott). Pinson wants nothing to do with her, but she still obsessively follows him and spies on his affairs. Spending her time writing madly in journals and letters, she eventually meets the bookseller (Joseph Blatchley), who develops an interest in her. Her madness grows when Mrs. Saunders discovers her true identity, and even more so when the bookseller gives her a copy of her father's latest work, Les Miserables. When Pinson is transferred to Barbados, Adèle follows him again and sinks into insanity, living on the street. With the help of a local woman, Madame Baa (Madame Louise), Adèle returns home to her father and spends the rest of her days writing in her diary in Paris. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson, (more)
Former film critic André Téchiné directed and co-wrote this offbeat crime drama. Samson (Gérard Depardieu) is a down-on-his-luck boxer who manages to win a fortune thanks to a fixed fight. However, while Samson and his girlfriend Laure (Isabelle Adjani) are trying to get away with the money, he is killed by a gunman who looks just like Samson (and is also played by Depardieu). Laure is crushed, but in time she finds herself attracted to Samson's murderous double; he is also drawn to her, and they eventually become lovers. The supporting cast includes Marie-France Pisier and Jean-Claude Brialy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
Director Roman Polanski casts himself in the lead of the psychological thriller The Tenant. Trelkovsky (Polanski) rents an apartment in a spooky old residential building, where his neighbors -- mostly old recluses -- eye him with suspicious contempt. Upon discovering that the apartment's previous tenant, a beautiful young woman, jumped from the window in a suicide attempt, Trelkovsky begins obsessing over the dead woman. Growing increasingly paranoid, Trelkovsky convinces himself that his neighbors plan to kill him. He even comes to the conclusion that Stella (Isabel Adjani), the woman he has fallen in love with, is in on the "plot." Ultimately, Polanski assumes the identity of the suicide victim -- and inherits her self-destructive urges. Some critics found the movie tedious and overdone; others compared it to Polanski's early breakthrough, Repulsion. The film was based on Le Locataire Chimerique, a novel by Roland Topor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roman Polanski, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
- 1976
Violette (Isabelle Adjani) is fascinated with the shabby background and low-down ways of her boyfriend Francois (Jacques Dutronc), and despite her middle-class family's objections, she marries him. Unable to keep a job, and without any real skills, he has a hard time supporting them, especially after the birth of their baby. He turns to shoplifting, and she briefly leaves him when she discovers this. Sometime after they get back together, with money still in short supply, she takes a turn at shoplifting too, and gets a kick out of it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Jacques Dutronc, (more)
Walter Hill's stripped down neo-noir features a protagonist who makes the laconic boxer of the director's similar Hard Times (1974) seem logorrheic by comparison. The film's tone is set in the opening scene as the Driver (Ryan O'Neal) gloms a V-8 sedan and proceeds to whip through claustrophobic parking garages, narrow alleyways, and sundry other high-risk macadam, as he demonstrates why he's known as the best getaway driver in the business to some potential clients, before giving his vehicle a proper burial. Such plot as there is in this highly abstract film concerns the Driver's cat and mouse game with the Detective (Bruce Dern), an employee of the constabulary of an unnamed city, intent on his arrest. A mysterious and beautiful woman, the Player (Isabelle Adjani), soon appears on the Driver's radar, a perfect match for his taciturnity. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, (more)
For Werner Herzog's 1979 remake of F.W. Murnau's classic 1922 silent horror-fest Nosferatu, star Klaus Kinski adopts the same makeup style used by Murnau's leading man Max Schreck. Yet in the Herzog version, the crucial difference is that Nosferatu becomes more and more decayed and desiccated as the film progresses. Essentially a retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Nosferatu the Vampyre traces the blood-sucking progress of the count as he takes over a small German village, then attempts to spread his influence and activities to the rest of the world. All that prevents Dracula from continuing his demonic practices is the self-sacrifice of Lucy Harker, played by Isabelle Adjani. Director Werner Herzog used the story to parallel the rise of Nazism. The film was lensed in the Dutch towns of Delft and Scheiberg. Nosferatu the Vampyre was filmed in both an English and a German-speaking version; the latter runs 11 minutes longer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
- 1979
- R
The Bronte sisters are profiled in this biography. The film dramatizes the repressed Victorian lives of the three famed authors who all died young. Their writing, so full of life, was a total contrast to the reality of their existence, focused mostly upon arguing with their father and taking care of their younger brother. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Marie-France Pisier, (more)
- 1980
The thin plot that ties the story of Clara (Isabelle Adjani) and Bertrand (Thierry Lhermitte), the man pursuing her, to a newly-formed rock band is fleshed out by the young actors, several of them cafe-theater players making a transition to the "big screen." The actors play six young "twenty-somethings" in Grenoble who decide to make a go of otherwise routine lives by forming a rock band called the "Why Notes." The story opens with their trip to Paris for the weekend and closes with their coming home. In between, Bertrand is after Clara who has just abandoned her husband of a few hours. In the end, what happens "in between" may not be as relevant as the way in which the characters live, speak, and act. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Auteuil, Josiane Balasko, (more)
- 1981
- R
Set in Paris, this romance centers on a pair of lovers who wrangle over whether or not they want to marry and have children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Thierry Lhermitte, (more)
- 1981
Yves Montand is Victor Valance, a long-lost father who has come home to his brood of daughters and his mother in order to weazel some money out of them to front a gambling casino. Unable to tell them the real reason he wants the money, he just says it is for a country house for them - though his oldest daughter Pauline (Isabelle Adjani) is immediately suspicious of these surprising good intentions. It does not take her long to find out why he needed the cash, and she sets out to sabotage his project and get the money back, with a vengeance. Her attitude changes just as fast when she realizes that gangsters are out to take over her father's casino project - which would equally cost her the family's money. The mob adversaries cause the father and daughter to team up in self-defense, leading to a climactic chase through the mountains. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yves Montand, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
No relation to the 1949 Somerset Maugham "omnibus" film of the same name, 1981's Quartet is based on the roman a clef by Jean Rhys. Though the names are changed, it is clearly the story of Rhys' romance with Ford Maddox Ford in 1920s Paris. The titular quartet consists of novelist Isabelle Adjani, her Polish husband Anthony Higgins, wealthy philanderer Alan Bates and Bates' artist wife Maggie Smith. Though she's been indulgent of Higgins's past indiscretions, Smith isn't keen on her husband carrying on an affair with Adjani under their own roof. Meanwhile, Higgins sits in prison, jailed for his various petty thefts. Once Higgins is released, he learns about the Bates-Adjani-Smith contretemps. When the dust settles, it is Adjani who suffers the most. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Bates, Maggie Smith, (more)
Usually misattributed to the horror genre, this challenging and highly unusual drama stars Isabelle Adjani as a young woman who forsakes her husband (Sam Neill) and her lover (Heinz Bennent) for a bizarre, tentacled creature that she keeps in a run-down Berlin apartment. In the beginning, her husband knows nothing about the monster and sincerely believes that his wife is insane. He has her tailed by private detectives, whom she kills and feeds to the creature. Still unaware of what has happened, the husband contends with the reserved and inadvertently seductive presence of his wife's look-alike (also played by Adjani), a schoolteacher who frequently comes to tutor his son while his wife is away. Though tempted by her quiet goodness and beauty, he is still passionately in love with his wife and even after he finds out about the murders, he stays by her side and helps her conceal her crimes. Filmed amidst the oppressive backdrop of the Berlin Wall by the expatriate Polish director Andrzej Zulawski (who was unable to work in his homeland after too many clashes with the authorities), the picture is so relentlessly intense and so deliberately esoteric, that most viewers would find it too hard to connect with. Still its symbolism, its unbridled and flashy directorial style, and the tour de force performance by Isabelle Adjani earned this unique tale a cult following in Europe. The version originally released in the U.S. had 45 minutes chopped out; in this form, it is barely comprehensible and looks like a cheap, gory feast. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, (more)
In this French-Mexican-Spanish film that hops back and forth between the narration's present and its past, viewers watch Antonieta (Isabelle Adjani) as she is involved in the turbulent Mexican political scene in the first decades of the 20th century -- as she goes to Paris and commits suicide in the Notre Dame cathedral of that city, and then, in a confusing segment of the film, as she is seen with the present-day Parisian author (Hanna Schygulla) who is researching the story of Antonieta's death and who is a witness to her suicide. The film does not follow that chronology exactly, rather introducing the Parisian author first, and taking the author to Mexico for her research where she sees film clips from the political turmoil of the 1910s-1920s and gradually gets to "know" Antonieta -- though in the end, it could be said that no one seems to know Antonieta really well, or why she would want to kill herself. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
In this suspense thriller inspired by the novel Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm, Catherine (Isabelle Adjani), a serial killer, seduces men and then murders them just before moving on to the next victim. She spreads her mayhem through various countries in Europe, only slightly ahead of the mentally anguished detective (Michel Serrault) who tracks her -- he fantasizes she is his long-lost daughter and disposes of her trail of corpses to foil the police. Catherine pauses for a real love affair with a blind architect (Sami Frey) but the detective is overcome by jealousy and causes the man's death. This drives Catherine into despair -- and a return to her psychotic killing. As the police dragnet closes in, both Catherine and the detective are brought closer to a final confrontation with their internal demons. The version released in the U.S. runs only 96 min. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Isabelle Adjani, (more)
- 1983
- R
In this tragic tale of misunderstanding, obsession, and increasing madness, "she," a beautiful young woman (Isabelle Adjani) settles into a small town in the south of France with her introverted mother (Maria Machado) and physically handicapped father and soon becomes the subject of wild speculation because of her aloofness and at the same time, her obvious sexuality. The young woman is actually caught up in the desire to avenge the long-ago rape of her mother, a rape committed by three Italian immigrants, one of whom is associated with a player piano. An attractive car mechanic (Alain Souchon) is enamored of her, and the woman suddenly sees him in a different light when she learns that his father, now dead, was an Italian immigrant who owned a player piano. Intent on taking action against the mechanic's family to right the wrong suffered by her mother, the daughter begins to lose her grip on sanity when she finds out that the men she suspects of the rape are actually innocent. In fact, her father long ago exacted his own vengeance on the three rapists. This knowledge pushes her over the edge, and she has to be institutionalized. Meanwhile, the young mechanic misunderstands what has happened and sets in motion events that cannot but lead to tragedy. L'Été Meurtier garnered four different Cesars in the 1983 competition: "Best Actress" (Isabelle Adjani), "Best Supporting Actress" (Suzanne Flon), "Best Original Screenplay," and "Best Editing." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, (more)
Coming in on the heels of his internationally acclaimed first film, Le Dernier Combat, 26-year-old director Luc Besson created this tongue-in-cheek look at filmmaking and at the denizens in the tunnels of the Paris Metro -- a new kind of underground movie. Fred (Christopher Lambert) has just stolen some major documents from a birthday celebration given by the Paris elite for one of their kind, Helena (Isabelle Adjani). He takes off into the Metro just as it is shut down for the remaining few hours of predawn darkness and once in the Metro encounters several characters in the tunnels. There is a bodybuilder who works out with subway parts, a purse-snatcher, and a flower seller of dubious ethics. Inspired by the moment, Fred decides to recruit a few of the ubiquitous musicians who perform (some of the best music around) on the Metro's byways, and he creates a rock band. Through all of these encounters and activities, the police and others -- including Helena -- are after Fred for their own reasons, none of which coincide. As Fred discovers, going underground can be risky. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, (more)
- 1987
- PG13
Considered one of the great box-office turkeys of its decade, Ishtar was an attempt by writer/director Elaine May and stars Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty to do a modern-day road picture in the style of the much-loved Bob Hope and Bing Crosby comedy classics. Beatty is Lyle Rogers, a dimwitted songwriter who befriends and partners with Chuck Clarke (Hoffman), who is only slightly more intelligent but every bit as untalented. Together the duo dreams of becoming a big-time lounge act, but their songs, with titles like "That a Lawnmower Can Do All That," are unintentionally hilarious. Chuck becomes suicidal, but just when it seems they'll never strike it rich, the boys are offered a shady gig at a North African hotel, entertaining U.S. troops stationed in the tiny nation of Ishtar. On their way to accept the job, Lyle, Chuck, and their blind camel are sidetracked by a mysterious woman (Isabelle Adjani) and a scheming CIA agent (Charles Grodin), who are involved in a rebellion against the country's emir. The memorable songs crafted by Chuck and Lyle were written by actor and composer Paul Williams. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, (more)
The troubled life of French sculptor Camille Claudel and her long relationship with legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin are portrayed in this passionate biographical drama, featuring an acclaimed performance by Isabelle Adjani. Beginning in the 1880s with a young Claudel's first meeting with Rodin, the film traces the development of their intense romantic bond. The growth of this relationship coincides with the rise of Claudel's career, helping her overcome prejudices against female artists. However, their romance soon sours, due to the increasing pressures of Rodin's fame and his love for another woman. These difficulties combine with her increasing doubts about the value of her work to drive Claudel into an emotional tumult that threatens to become insanity. First-time director Bruno Nuytten had previously served as a cinematographer, and he brings this experience to bear in his loving presentation of Claudel's sculpture and the lavish period setting. The dramatic approach is in tune with the impressive visuals, which present Claudel's life as a grandiose melodrama, a transformation that irritated some critics. However, few questioned the film's value as a dramatic showcase for Adjani, whose fervent portrayal was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The American release version was cut to 159 minutes. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1993
In this erstwhile comedy, Penelope (Isabelle Adjani) is already sufficiently unsettled by the fact that she is no longer a top model, and must cast around for another occupation. When her boyfriend leaves her, she becomes quite hysterical, conjuring up schemes for revenge, contemplating suicide, and so on. These dramatics eventually exasperate her best friend Sophie (Clementine Celarie) so much that she contemplates killing Penelope, her ex-boyfriend, or the two of them together, just to stop the whining. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Clémentine Célarié, (more)
