Frédérique Moreau Movies

An Alzheimer's-afflicted ex-policeman moves into a special needs residence - only to watch his life erupt into a waking nightmare - in Nicholas Boukhrief's tense psychological thriller Cortex (2008). During the golden years of his retirement, former police superintendent Charles Boyer (André Dussolier) opts to protect himself from the pitfalls of dementia by moving into The Residence, a facility designed to provide for elderly patients with neuro-degenerative disorders. Boyer isn't long in the new building, however, before ominous events begin to occur - including a high number of deaths among the patients. Eschewing the notion that this may be inevitable given the ages and illnesses of the populace, Charles smells a rat; he can never quite waive his sense that the others have been systematically rubbed out by an unknown party. As his investigation of the matter begins, questions linger about whether his suspicions are valid or merely a product of the ex-cop's Alzheimer-driven paranoia. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The kidnapping and assassination of Moroccan political activist Mehdi Ben Barka, fictionalized in Yves Boisset's L'Attentat in 1972, gets a more historically accurate treatment in Serge Le Péron's noirish docudrama, the tabloid-headline-titled I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed. The film is narrated by cynical ex-con Georges Figon (Charles Berling), whose dead body is shown at the film's opening. Figon talks about the heady times, as newsreel footage of the civil rights movement and the anti-colonial uprisings of the 1960s is shown. In flashbacks, Figon wants to be a film producer, and has connections to screenwriter Marguerite Duras (Josiane Balasko) who puts him in touch with director Georges Franju (Jean-Pierre Léaud). Figon keeps promising to make his actress girlfriend, Anne-Marie Coffinet (Fabienne Babe), a star. But he still has ties to the underworld, and through them he meets the shady Chtouki (Azize Kabouche), a Moroccan operative who offers him a lot of money to scrap his current filmmaking plans to make a documentary about the worldwide anti-colonial movement. Chtouki's main interest is that the exiled Barka (Simon Abkarian) be hired as a consultant on the doc, so that he'll come to Paris to meet with Figon, Franju, and Philippe Bernier (Mathieu Amalric). On the day of the meeting, Figon watches from the café window as the French police intercept Barka and take him away. After witnessing what becomes of Barka, Figon grows increasingly concerned for his own safety, and goes to the press with a sensationalized version of the events. I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2006 as part of their annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide