Robin Renucci Movies

Claude Chabrol's Comedy of Power stars Isabelle Huppert as a French judge who attempts to bring down the very powerful but corrupt CEO of a large corporation. As she digs deeper into the case, she uncovers criminal activity that stretches into the highest levels of government, and her life is turned upside down by death threats as well as her sudden celebrity. The film follows as her career affects her family. Loosely based on real events, Comedy of Power had its North American debut at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

While pioneering pre-feminist author George Sand has been the subject of several film biographies focusing on her ten year relationship with Frederick Chopin, Les enfants du siècle looks at an earlier period in Sand's life, in particular her stormy romance with poet Alfred de Musset. In the early 1830's, Baroness Dudevant (Juliette Binoche) has abandoned her husband and arrives in Paris with her children in tow as rioting divides the city. The Baroness decides to reinvent herself and pursue a career as a writer; she renames herself George Sand, begins wearing clothes modeled after men's suits, and smokes cigarettes while penning manifestos denouncing marriage and affirming a woman's right to sexual satisfaction. Alfred de Musset (Benoit Magimel), a noted author, finds her brash nature fascinating, and they become first friends, then lovers as he helps her craft her literary efforts. However, Sand is six years older than de Musset, which leads to a severe conflict with his family; the couple heads to Venice in search of escape and inspiration, but Alfred decides that he prefers the city's brothels to George's company and that they should keep separate rooms from now on. George makes the acquaintance of an Italian doctor, Pagello (Stefano Dionisi), with whom she has a passionate affair; the realization that he's driven her into the arms of another man proves too much for Alfred, who returns to France. Eventually, George leaves Pagello and gives Alfred another chance, a decision she comes to regret. Les Enfants du Siecle had its world premiere at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Despite being busy with his profession of soldiery, Brantome (Richard Bohringer) manages to find much more time for amorous dalliances with the ladies of the 16th-century French court than for battles. Unfortunately for him, his true love, Victoire (Isabella Rossellini), is beyond his reach most of the time. He more than compensates for this in the arms of others. Reviewers found little merit in this uninspired drama, except for the gorgeous period settings and costumes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

French filmmaker Diane Kurys directs the period drama Coup de Foudre (distributed in the U.S. as Entre Nous), adapted from a book she co-wrote with Olivier Cohen. The semi-autobiographical story is based on the life of the director's mother. Lena (Isabelle Huppert) is a Jewish refugee from Belgium living in occupied France during WWII. In order to avoid being sent to a German concentration camp, she agrees to marry the discharged military officer Michel (Guy Marchand). He tries to provide a decent life for her by running an auto repair business. They have two children together, but Lena is unhappy and stifled by her domestic life. Michel doesn't offer her the sensitivity and affection that she requires. Meanwhile, in Paris, the extroverted artist Madeleine (Miou-Miou) mourns the accidental death of her husband. After the liberation of France, she marries actor Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and has children of her own. In 1952, Lena and Madeleine meet by chance in Lyons. The two women develop an emotional relationship that borders on romantic involvement. Their bond is only strengthened by a mutual dissatisfaction with their husbands, children, and home life in general. Entre Nous was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1983. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, 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

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

In this undistinguished clichéd thriller, a convict tries to go straight, but circumstances conspire against him. Some professional thugs con a group of naive delinquents into a burglary that is only meant to be a decoy for the police, so the real and more lucrative crime can be committed without interference. When the delinquents discover they have been taken for a ride, they resolve to get revenge and go after the master criminals. Enough blood is shed to supply the Red Cross for decades as these groups face off. In the meantime, one of the crooks only wants some money to send his young son to the U.S. for a life-saving operation -- and he's willing to do anything to get it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, 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

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

Stereotyped and predictable, this is a feeble romantic adventure story about Laura (Miou-Miou), her estranged husband Tournier (Robin Renucci), her erstwhile lover-to-be Tom (Alain Souchon), and the arms dealer they are out to foil (François Perrot). Laura and Tournier are in southern Morocco conspiring to put a lid on the arms deal that is about to go through with a hostile Arab nation, and then they meet Tom, the owner of a transport service and pilot of the "Sphinx," his biplane. Tom becomes an accomplice in their plot, and before long he and Laura are romantically involved -- though not convincingly. The tepid romance is matched by tepid action scenes and a predictable ending. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A handful of women use their smarts and allure in the service of the French Resistance in this historical drama set during World War II. Louise (Sophie Marceau) is a beautiful woman recruited into the French underground by her brother Pierre (Julien Boisselier) while Nazi forces occupy their homeland. Maurice Buckmaster (Colin David Reese) is a British agent who smuggles Louise into London to give her a special assignment -- a British scientist working with weapons research has been captured by Axis forces and is being held in a French hospital. Louise is ordered to put together a team of female resistance fighters to find the scientist and smuggle him to safety before he can be forced to tell Nazi intelligence what he knows. Louise's band of heroines includes Gaelle (Deborah Francois), who knows about demolition; Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), a streetwalker more interested in her own survival than the future of France; Suzy (Marie Gillain), a nightclub entertainer who was romantically involved with a German officer; and Maria Luzzato (Maya Sansa), a Jewish noblewoman who is on hand to help the other women when they make their way back into France. Les Femmes de l'ombre (aka Female Agents was inspired by the true story of Lise Villameur, who served with French resistance forces during the Second World War. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Based on an autobiographical novel by Marie Cardinal, this well-acted psychological drama details the tormented relationship between Marie (Nicole Garcia) and her mother, stemming from Marie's childhood on their estate in Algeria. The mother, Eliane (Marie-Christine Barrault) had lost a child before Marie was born, and was consumed with hatred for her husband who was carrying tuberculosis and may have been the cause of the child's death. That hatred was never resolved, and Marie grew up in a bitter and strained household. As both women grow older, Marie marries and raises a family while her mother sinks ever deeper into anger, frustration, poverty, and isolated despair. She vents her destructive emotions on her daughter and is completely resistent to her daughter's attempts to help her, to make her life better. At the beginning of the film, Marie has been hemorrhaging and collapses on the Metro - but instead of following the advice of her doctor (and uncle) and going through surgery, she goes into psychoanalysis, where her past slowly comes to light over a three-year period. The sessions with the psychologist and her on-going relationship with her mother unfold as the events in the film. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide