Robin Renucci Movies

Set in Germany in 1946, Taking Sides tells the story of the investigation of Wilhelm Furtwängler (Stellan Skarsgård), the renowned conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, by the American occupying army. Major Steve Arnold (Harvey Keitel) has been told by his superiors that they want Furtwängler convicted of being a willing participant in the crimes of the Hitler regime, by virtue of his supposed support for and support from the Hitler government. They haven't got the time or resources to go after every ex-Nazi, so they want Furtwängler, as the biggest cultural target they can hit. Arnold does his loud, boorish best to first humiliate and then attack the conductor over the supposed favoritism that he was shown by Hitler, Goering, Himmler, et al. and his conducting of a concert at the 1934 Nuremberg rally and at Hitler's 53rd birthday. Arnold finds, to his eventual distress but not dissuasion, that nothing is as simple as he would like to make it. His civilian secretary, Emmi Straube (Birgit Minichmayr), a concentration camp survivor whose father was part of the German Army plot to kill Hitler, and Lt. David Wills (Moritz Bleibtreu), a German-born Jew representing the War Crimes Tribunal, keep trying to remind Arnold that life and politics in Germany only deteriorated gradually after 1933, and in ways that couldn't always be anticipated by those who were there. Germans who chose not to leave weren't necessarily casting their lot with Hitler, but with protecting what was decent or even great about Germany, including her orchestras and music. Arnold knows nothing about music and even less about Germany and her people, and won't be deterred from his goal. Wills and Straube wish to resign from working with him, until they realize that they're facing the same choice that Furtwängler faced -- to leave a horrendous situation and have no way of affecting its conduct or outcome, or remain and do their best to stand up for decency and truth. In the process of doing that, they find out that Furtwängler is not only a great artist -- which they knew already -- but a great and brave man, who also has his flaws. The latter include an outsized ego that may have caused him to participate a little too willingly at times in the dangerous game he played of maintaining the excellence of Germany's musical institutions while protecting them (and also many musicians) from the worst ravages of the Nazi regime, at the same time also keeping lesser, more compliant figures from usurping his control. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

What do you do if you are a reporter with a deadline and you are going blind? This French drama answers that question. Arnold is a crack television reporter assigned to cover an uprising in northern Sri Lanka. Recently he has suffered great headaches and his eyes have been tired. Before leaving he has a doctor check him and is appalled by the diagnosis that he is going blind. If he goes to Sri Lanka, the stress could hasten his loss of sight. If he does not go, he will lose the assignment to a rival reporter. Instead of going, he locks himself in his Paris apartment and creates the documentary from a combination of new and old video footage. He suffers through many emotional outbursts in the process. The highlight of his video is a scene in which he, using complex computer-work, "inserts" himself into Sri-Lankan street situation. Though the documentary is excellent, Arnold is crushed when his editor demands the scene be deleted from the film because it slows the film down. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Anatole Hirsch (Phillippe Noiret) has already made his mark as a writer, and has garnered critical acclaim and financial rewards. However, he isn't a very nice man, and his life has left him angry and dissatisfied. To address that discomfort, he decides to perpetrate a hoax on the unsuspecting art community. Under a pen name, which he arranges for his young cousin Martin (Robin Renucci) to act as the front for, he writes a really brutal novel. Later, when the novel wins a major French literature prize, Martin begins to preen himself on his newfound, false, fame. Anatole will have none of that, and quickly pens a lousy second novel for the young author which, like so many second novels, condemns the heretofore promising young "novelist"back to the obscurity he emerged from. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The name of painter Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) is synonymous for a kind of painting style which celebrates carefree romantic life, indoors and out. He was a painter during the final decades of the French monarchy. In this story, he and his brother Cyprien (Robin Renucci), who is an early pioneer in medical anatomy (he dissected corpses and made drawings of what he found in them), have fallen in love with the same woman, Marianne (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), a laundress. This attraction has not escaped the notice of Salmon d'Anglas (Sami Frey), a conniving nobleman, who has his heart set on getting revenge on Jean-Honore (Joachim de Almeida) for refusing his patronage and becoming the darling of the French court. This period drama is the first film to be directed by former movie critic Philippe LeGuay. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Physician Robert Briand (Robin Renucci) runs a leper colony in the 15th century that takes in new residents who suffer from the ravages of syphilis. When the beautiful Marie-Blanche (Isabelle Pasco) is brought to the grim, prison-like facility, Robert finds she displays no apparent signs of disease. He risks everything when he falls in love with the woman and makes plans to run away with her. Erland Josephson plays Robert's father, with Piera Degli Esposti as Robert's faithful assistant Terese. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this political drama, five left-leaning friends gradually lose heart in the Socialist government elected in 1981 in France. One of the five men is a television broadcaster; the others are a teacher about to become an academic inspector, a tax man, the director of a cultural center, and a sociologist who is about to step into a ministerial position. Their interlocking lives are told in alternating vignettes over a four-year period, and the professions director Jacques Fansten has chosen for his main characters seem to be a comment on the media, education, budget or finance, the arts, and government bureaucracy under Socialist rule. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This romance is more a series of idyllic, intense sexual encounters between a married woman and her lover than a psychological study or event-filled melodrama. Viviane (Isabelle Otero) has only been married to Antoine (Robin Renucci) for three years when her passion for Vincent (Hippolyte Girardot), the hired hand in her husband's stables, takes over and she leaves Antoine. Viviane and Vincent end up at her brother's cabin on the beach, where they hope to spend as much time in carnal embrace as possible. Interrupting their plans is Vincent's horse, who suffers a wound that demands the care of a vet and changes the situation entirely. Excellent cinematography captures the sensual, evocative natural backdrops that provide a setting for the lovers' encounters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide