Sotigui Kouyaté Movies

It marked a sickening and devastating second act to 9/11: On July 7, 2005, a series of bombs set by terrorists exploded on the London subways. Over 700 people were severely injured, and 56 people killed; authorities later discovered a videotape from one of the jihadists, declaring his sect at war with Great Britain. Rachid Bouchareb's drama London River puts a human face on this tragic event via the fictional stories of two people whose lives are turned inside out by the cataclysm. Ousmane (Sotigui Kouyate) is a Muslim living in France, while Mrs. Sommers (Academy Award nominee Brenda Blethyn) is a Christian war widow living on the British Channel Isles. Though unacquainted, and with different religious backgrounds, these strangers find themselves united in the city of London and linked by a shared tragedy: Each has lost touch with a child amid the attacks -- Mrs. Sommers, a daughter named Jane, and Ousmane, a son named Ali -- and it just so happens that the two were dating. Together, the pair begin combing the city and searching for their loved ones, bound by the hope that both children survived. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In Housewarming (the original title of which translates as Remodeling: You Know When It Starts...), Carole Bouquet stars as Chantal Letellier, a wealthy, powerful, and happily divorced Paris attorney who devotes a lot of her time to helping the city's poorly treated immigrants. Chantal literally dances her way through the courtroom, winning over the judges with ease. Her busy life seems to be going swimmingly until she decides to remodel her massive apartment. She hires a brilliant but mercurial former client from Colombia, Eduardo (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), as her architect. He and his illegal immigrant crew are highly qualified, just not in the jobs they've been hired to do, and they quickly begin to demolish her home. A few other problems arise. Poncin (Jean-Pierre Castaldi), an obnoxious wealthy former client, has fallen in love with Chantal and begun stalking her. Her young daughter, Pulchérie (Giulia Dussolier), apparently has a crush on a worker with a questionable background who speaks no French and calls himself Betamax (Geovanny Tituaña). Chantal's teenaged son, Martin (Ferdinand Chesnais), quickly grows irritated with the destruction, and the workers' devil-may-care attitude. As Eduardo's ambitions grow, and the project's costs mount, Chantal's immense reserve of patience begins to wane. Housewarming, directed by Brigitte Roüan, marks the last filmed appearance by legendary producer Humbert Balsan, who committed suicide in 2005. The film also stars Aldo Maccione, Didier Flamand, Sotigui Kouyaté, Bernard Menez, and Françoise Brion. Housewarming was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in 2006. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Director Jonathan Demme filters the classic Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant vehicle Charade through the influence of the French New Wave in this stylish romantic thriller. Regina Lambert (Thandie Newton) has been having second thoughts about her marriage to the often enigmatic art dealer Charlie (Stephen Dillane), and decides to take a vacation without him, where she meets Joshua Peters (Mark Wahlberg), a handsome and charming American who seems quite taken with her. When Regina returns home to Paris, she receives the startling news that her husband has been murdered; however, even more disturbing is her discovery that her husband had a secret life which involved several passports under different identities, and a missing six million dollars. Police official Commandant Dominique (Christine Boisson) seems to believe that Regina is somehow involved in the crime, while U.S. embassy representative Mr. Bartholomew (Tim Robbins) breaks the news to Regina that her late husband was actually a secret agent involved in some very shady operations. Three mysterious and dangerous figures who had ties to Charlie -- Emil Zadapec (Ted Levine), Lola Jansco (Lisa Gay Hamilton), and Il-Sang Lee (Joong-Hoon Park) -- also arrive in Paris, convinced that Regina knows where her husband stashed the money and determined to get their hands on it. Meanwhile, as Regina's life becomes increasingly chaotic and dangerous, Joshua arrives in Paris and a romance begins to blossom between them, but while he seems determined to do whatever he can to help her, Regina soon has reason to doubt that Joshua's motives are as pure as they seem. Shot on location in Paris, The Truth About Charlie also features cameo appearances from a number of legendary French actors and filmmakers, including Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina, and Agnès Varda. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A man goes on a pilgrimage in search of his heritage -- only this time it's an African coming to America in this offbeat drama. Alloune (Sotigui Kouyate) is an elderly man who works at a museum in his native Senegal that is devoted to documenting the history of the slave trade in Africa. Many people come to the museum hoping to learn about their past, and Alloune is equally curious about his own heritage, and his research into his family tree suggests that he had several relatives who were kidnapped and sold to slave traders working out of South Carolina. Alloune decides to visit America to learn more about his kin, and he uncovers documents suggesting his relatives were renamed Robinson by their masters in the U.S. Alloune's research dictates a trip to New York City, so he pays a visit to Hassan (Karim Koussein Traore), a nephew who lives in Harlem and drives a cab. Hassan and his girlfriend Biram (Adja Diarra) let Alloune stay with them in their tiny flat, and while in the neighborhood, Alloune makes the acquaintance of Ida Robinson (Sharon Hope), a sharp-tongued woman who owns a corner store. Alloune believes Ida may be one of his relatives, but he isn't certain, and while he tries to find out for certain, he convinces her to give him a job -- never explaining that he thinks their family trees may be linked. Little Senegal was shown in competition at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Lebanese director Randa Chahal Sabbag spins this bleak war drama about the brutal absurdity of the urban warfare of Beirut during the 1980s. Opening with the shocking image of kittens being blown apart, the film loosely follows the travails of Bernadette (Nada Ghosn), a naïve country girl sent to the city as a maid for a mansion long since abandoned by the owners. There she meets Therese (Renee Dick), a veteran house cleaner who takes her under her wing. One day, while accompanying her friend to the cemetery, she meets a rakish Arab militiaman, and the two fall in love. This film was screened at the 1999 Venice Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this film, director/screenwriter Jean Teule adapts his novel Rainbow pour Rimbaud. Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) was a leading light in the symbolist movement of French literature, which rejected the use of realism in the depiction of emotions and ideas. In this film, Robert (Robert MacLeod) is an eccentric, oversized young man who puzzles and infuriates his parents by locking himself into a closet for long periods of time; at the same time, he loudly recites poetry by Arthur Rimbaud. Kicked out of the house by his exasperated parents, he decides to make a pilgrimage of the exotic African sites Rimbaud haunted in his final years. He meets and then travels with Isabelle (Laure Marsac), who is attempting to escape from a rejected suitor's unwanted attentions. In addition to that problem, she has another, more curious problem. It seems she is turning into a hawthorn bush. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A 10-year-old boy's fantasies about his absent father provide the basis for this thoughtful French drama that uses comedy, drama, and tenderness to present a realistic, not overly sentimental portrait of a dysfunctional family. Martin lives in Lyon with his mother Nina. Martin is an energetic, troubled lad frequently involved in fights at school and constantly trying to run off to North Africa where he believes his father lives as a tribal warrior. He honestly believes his papa will return to them so when the beautiful Nina gets involved with other men, he refuses to accept his rather flighty mother's new lovers. The most recent is Pippo, an aimless Italian fellow. When not daydreaming about his dad, and the fabulous life that awaits him in the desert, Martin plays with his one friend, Karim, an Arab boy. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French-Burkina Faso children's drama, a 10-year-old Burkinabe boy finds himself faced with difficult choices when an enigmatic old "griot," a tribal wise man, suddenly comes to call. Up until then, Mabo had been living a fairly Westernized lifestyle with his comfortably middle-class family and attending a modern school during the day. The unexpected visit of the griot Djeliba creates some friction as Mabo's mother distrusts him. Mabo's father, however, decides to let the old man stay. Djeliba explains to Mabo that he has come to tell him about the royal origins of the boy's name and the resulting tale is told via flashback. When the boy interjects, the story is temporarily paused. Many years ago the emperor Mandingo encountered a magical hunter who predicted that the royal heirs will spring from the body of a hideous looking woman who can assume the guise of a wild beast. The boy Mabo is enthralled with the tale and begins ignoring his regular schoolwork in favor of the griot's wisdom. His parents are terribly upset. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

After a battle with her parents during which she refuses to name the father of her child, his mother abandons Wendemi in a field where he is adopted and rescued by kindly older people. They give him the name Wendemi. Later, he is taken from these people and is settled with a family far away from the region. As a grown man (Sylvain Minoungou), he determines to find his mother. He begins his journey in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ougadougo, and through one thing and another comes to discover who his real mother is. By now, she is willing to name the father, and the whole village is shocked to discover that it was the village priest, a particularly hypocritical man. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this French adventure, two Parisian street kids embark upon a strange journey to Grenoble in the back of a delivery truck. One of the lads is an adolescent Spanish graffiti artist while the other is an 11-year-old black rapper. Once there, the young boy is delighted to see his first snowfall. The two steal a car and discover an old man sleeping in the back. The boys then discover, that he is not a man at all, but an enigmatic forest spirit who teaches them important lessons about nature and life. This was the last film of classic French actor Yves Montand, who died of heart failure (as did his character in the film) during the shooting in 1991. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Director Peter Brook collaborates with writer Jean-Claude Carriére for this screen adaptation of the epic, 100,000-stanza Sanskrit poem tracing mankind's quest for universal truth as explored through the ongoing conflict between two warring families - the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Originally a nine-hour stage production, the lengthy play was pared down to just over five hours for the screen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Danuta Zarasik plays Isabelle Eberhardt in this biographical drama. At the turn of the 20th century, Isabelle fell in love with the African desert, donning men's clothing to travel and record her adventures in writing while her Moslem husband patiently waited at home. This visually stunning feature shows the overwhelming majesty and beauty of the forces of nature. Director Christine Laurent relies upon her expertise as a painter and designer to bring an added dimension of artistic beauty to the film. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this routine psychological thriller, a husband and wife try to jump start their failing marriage by taking a vacation in Haiti, only to find more problems waiting for them after they arrive. Alan (Claude Brasseur) is an older and experienced writer who is suffering from serious writer's block because his aloof, younger wife Lola (Sophie Marceau) is pointedly ignoring him. Once in Haiti, Alan goes on a bender, convinced that Lola is not going to change, and she, in turn, decides to have some fun with another man. While in a drunken stupor one evening, Alan accidentally kills a mugger who attacks him and is seen by a devious couple who opt for making some money on what they know. As a blackmail scheme takes shape, it has an interesting effect on Alan and Lola's relationship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi