Charles Gilbert Movies
Three siblings must come to terms with their mother's mortality as they decide what to do with her valuable belongings in this warm family drama from filmmaker Olivier Assayas. Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) is about to turn 75, and her children are gathering at her home in the country for a party. Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) has flown in from New York City, where she lives with her boyfriend, James (Kyle Eastwood). Jérémie (Jérémie Renier) has taken a rare break from his globe-trotting business interests to stop by with his wife (Valérie Bonneton). And Frédéric (Charles Berling), the only one who lives close enough to visit regularly, has also come with his spouse, Lisa (Dominique Reymond). Hélène has inherited a large and valuable collection of art from her brother, and with her health beginning to fail, she approaches Frédéric and asks that he, Jérémie, and Adrienne come up with a plan to deal with the pieces after her death. Frédéric wants to keep the collection together and see if they can persuade a gallery to purchase and present them as a set. Jérémie and Adrienne have other ideas, but as he's pondering a business opportunity in China and she's planning on settling in America for good, they don't have as much influence over the final decision as Frédéric. L'Heure d'Été (aka Summer Hours) was produced in part by the celebrated French art gallery Musée d'Orsay, and was one of a handful of films created to honor the museum in its 20th anniversary year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, (more)
Fate starts making trouble for a high-spirited young couple in this wildly offbeat French comedy. Dom (Dominique Abel) and Fiona (Fiona Gordon) spend their days as teachers at a grade school in a small town, and by night they motor off to the big city and dazzle the crowds at dance contests with their moves on the floor. After picking up a trophy at a competition one evening, Dom and Fiona are driving home when a man with a death wish dashes into the road. They manage to avoid hitting him, but lose control of their car and end up in a serious accident. The next morning, Fiona discovers she's lost one of her legs, while Dom has suffered brain damage that's causes his powers of memory to go haywire. Plucky Dom and Fiona try to go on with their lives as if nothing has changed, but despite their high spirits and can-do attitude, reality has a habit of getting in the way -- Fiona has a hard time leaning to use crutches and accidentally sets her artificial limb on fire, while Dom's attempts at cooking are hampered by his inability to remember what ingredients he's already put into the mix. Stars Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon also wrote and directed Rumba in collaboration with Bruno Romy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, (more)
- 2007
Four lost souls in search of a connection are brought together by fate on a quiet Christmas Eve in the feature directorial debut of actor-turned-director Jalil Lespert. It's the day before Christmas, and as bleach-blonde prostitute Helly (Lubna Azabal) wakes up next to an anonymous john, all she can think about is collecting her cash and scoring a fix. Humiliated by her pimp and denied visitation with her son until the following day, Helly collapses into the off-duty cab of unpredictable taxi driver Didier (Benoît Magimel) -- who has recently robbed his place of employment and now seeks to find a suitable female to pose as his fiancée. Generously compensating the damaged Helly for her valuable time, Didier and his temporary bride-to-be soon make their way to the hospital for a brief visit with the cabbie's comatose father. Later, Helly meets up with conflicted lesbian Marie (Bérangère Allaux) before hitting the disco with lonely and unstable bachelor Chris (Sami Bouajila). Years ago, Chris' father committed suicide after being severely criticized by jazz musician Marcus Briggs (Archie Shepp). Now, as Marie attempts to come to terms with her egocentric mother and Chris reels from an emotionally-charged encounter with Briggs, the night begins to fall and the hope for a better tomorrow is all that anyone has to cling to. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benoît Magimel, Lubna Azabal, (more)
