Sabrina Leurquin Movies

The French-filmed Baxter is based on the American novel Hell Hound. The title character is a bull terrier, who in the course of the film has many masters--and for good reason. Baxter has been instrumental in the deaths or serious injuries of most of the human beings who've come in contact with him. The dog's latest owner is a young neo-Nazi. nd Baxter makes it quite clear (to the audience at least) what he has in store for this fellow. Don't be misled by the title or the fact that the leading character is a dog with a full range of human emotions; Baxter is not a family film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

As an amateur magician, Phil is probably okay, but as a small-time criminal, he is definitely not destined for the big-time. When he is granted a twenty-four-hour furlough from prison in order to attend his mother's funeral, he is aware of this and intends to keep out of trouble. Furthermore, he has the same intention for when he finishes his prison term. Thus, his brothers' attempts to get him involved in a really neat theft they have dreamed up do not at first meet with much favor in his eyes. Eventually, their enthusiasm and the almost overwhelming assortment of pleasures they have arranged for him to enjoy soften him up enough for him to cooperate with them. Predictably, things don't go well, but an unsought chance to renew lost love also comes to him at this time, and good fortune finally intervenes on his behalf. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A handful of people find themselves haunted on an idyllic summer afternoon by memories of death and loss in this contemplative drama from France. Siblings Zaza (Catherine Ferran) and Francois (Charles Berling) are enjoying a day at the beach with their brother Vincent (Didier Sandre) when Zaza and Francois each find themselves reminded in different ways of a tragic incident of 20 years ago when their younger sister died in an accident with a motorbike. Meanwhile, the grown-up Vincent builds a sand castle, as a young boy, Jumbo (Guillaume Charras), guards his creation from the waves. Jumbo, however, can't keep his mind from straying to thoughts of a close friend who recently died of cancer, and the boy can't help but imagine that he could have somehow prevented the death if he had tried. Director Pascale Ferran's work on Petits Arrangements avec les Morts was awarded with the Golden Camera at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Two men with seemingly nothing in common become unlikely friends in this drama from France. Harry (Daniel Auteuil) is a salesman working for a large but faceless corporation, where he's become a success at the expense of his personal life. His wife Julie (Miou-Miou), frustrated by his lack of concern for his family, has divorced him, and while he still has visitation rights to his children, he manages to forget when it's his weekend with his daughters, and he neglects to pick them up at the train station. Harry is depressed and nearly suicidal; while driving late one rainy night, he accidentally hits a dog who is walking with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a personable young man with Down's Syndrome. Georges lives in a mental institution, where he's happy and well cared for, but when several of the other patients leave for a weekend visit, Georges decides that he should leave too, and he sets out to visit his mother. Harry can't bring himself to leave Georges behind, so after burying the dog, he offers to drive him to his mother's home, which becomes the start of a complicated odyssey for the two of them, especially after Harry finds out that Georges' mother is no longer alive. Actor Pascal Duquenne actually does have Down's Syndrome; he and co-star Daniel Auteuil shared the Best Actor award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide