Françoise Bertin Movies

The devastating reverberations of a profound tragedy echo through generations of a long-suffering French family in this emotional family drama from director Arnaud Desplechin. When Abel and his wife, Junon, started a family, it seemed like the seeds of true happiness had been planted. But while their daughter, Elizabeth, was healthy from the day she was born, things quickly turned dark when her brother Joseph was diagnosed with a rare and deadly genetic condition. Joseph's only hope for survival was a bone marrow transplant, but Abel, Junon, and Elizabeth were all incompatible. In one last, desperate chance to save their son's life, Abel and Junon conceived a third child. But not even little Henri could save his ailing brother's life. Joseph died at the age of seven, and neither his siblings nor his parents have ever found the strength to recover. Years later, family relations have deteriorated beyond the point of repair; the tensions between family matriarch Elizabeth and her cynical brother Henri finally culminating in a violent confrontation in which Elizabeth banishes her alcoholic brother and refuses him further contact with his troubled adolescent nephew, Paul. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Danis Tanovic picks up where the late-Krzysztof Kieslowski left off by taking on the second installment of Kieslowski's "Heaven," "Hell," and "Purgatory" trilogy (the first was adapted by Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer) with this tale of a family whose dark past returns with a vengeance. Loosely modeled by screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz on the second act of Dante's Inferno, Hell tells the story of sisters Sophie (Emmanuelle Béart), Céline (Karin Viard), and Anne (Marie Gillain), whose lives were turned upside down when their father was imprisoned and their mother was rendered a wheelchair-bound mute. As the estranged sisters are slowly brought back together by a mysterious and handsome stranger who is somehow involved with the tragic events of the past, the questions that had for years gone unanswered slowly begin to drift into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director Jonathan Demme filters the classic Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant vehicle Charade through the influence of the French New Wave in this stylish romantic thriller. Regina Lambert (Thandie Newton) has been having second thoughts about her marriage to the often enigmatic art dealer Charlie (Stephen Dillane), and decides to take a vacation without him, where she meets Joshua Peters (Mark Wahlberg), a handsome and charming American who seems quite taken with her. When Regina returns home to Paris, she receives the startling news that her husband has been murdered; however, even more disturbing is her discovery that her husband had a secret life which involved several passports under different identities, and a missing six million dollars. Police official Commandant Dominique (Christine Boisson) seems to believe that Regina is somehow involved in the crime, while U.S. embassy representative Mr. Bartholomew (Tim Robbins) breaks the news to Regina that her late husband was actually a secret agent involved in some very shady operations. Three mysterious and dangerous figures who had ties to Charlie -- Emil Zadapec (Ted Levine), Lola Jansco (Lisa Gay Hamilton), and Il-Sang Lee (Joong-Hoon Park) -- also arrive in Paris, convinced that Regina knows where her husband stashed the money and determined to get their hands on it. Meanwhile, as Regina's life becomes increasingly chaotic and dangerous, Joshua arrives in Paris and a romance begins to blossom between them, but while he seems determined to do whatever he can to help her, Regina soon has reason to doubt that Joshua's motives are as pure as they seem. Shot on location in Paris, The Truth About Charlie also features cameo appearances from a number of legendary French actors and filmmakers, including Charles Aznavour, Anna Karina, and Agnès Varda. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Inspired by Proust's short story La Prisonniere, renowned filmmaker Chantel Akerman creates this challenging meditation on love, desire, and obsession. The film opens with grainy Super-8 footage showing Ariane (Sylvie Testud) and her female friends rollicking on a beach. Now Ariane lives in third empire splendor in the tony Parisian apartment that her rich significant other Simon (Stanislas Merhar), shares with his grandmother (Francoise Bertin). Simon proves to be a fanatically jealous lover; he subjects her to surveillance and endless questions about her whereabouts. Though Ariane acquiesces to his will, she answers his inquires vaguely to maintain at least a modicum of privacy, which only fuels Simon's suspicions that she is leading a double life as a lesbian. His pain and obsession is further compounded by his own kink: he demands that Ariane be utterly passive (sleeping or pretending to sleep) while he can never quite bring himself to actual physical coupling. When Simon tries to break off the relationship, they end up on a road trip to the sea, resulting in tragic consequences. This film was screened at the Director's Fortnight at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and at the 2000 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Zena (Dominique Blanc) lost her parents as a very young girl, and though she was born in Albania, only knows about life in Paris. She was raised by her uncle Selman (Sulejman Pitarka), whom she is about to leave behind in order to start a new life in New York. Just before she leave, however, she hears of an Albanian who is being detained by French authorities for want of the proper paperwork. Ordinarily, that would not capture her attention. However, Vladimir (Timo Flloko), who is the man in question, claims to have information that Zena's father is not dead, and could be located. Zena postpones her trip to speak with Vladimir and, once he is free to travel, they begin to try and explore his information. There is only one problem in their traveling around France together: he doesn't speak a word of French, and she doesn't speak a word of Albanian. Somehow, they manage to communicate, and they eventually become lovers. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this tender and sentimental comedy, Ben (Victor Lanoux), a Parisian Jew, copes with the dramas in his everyday life against the background of his family's survival of the Holocaust. Things between him and his wife are not any too easy, and on top of it, he has to heed his father's concerns, even though he lives in Israel now. His grandfather, who lives in the south of France, is a very old man, but is still a romantic obsessed with women. These tensions come to the fore when the family gathers to celebrate the patriarch's 90th birthday. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

La Guerre est Finie represents one of the few "linear" films of French director Alain Resnais. Instead of indulging in his beloved flashbacks and flashforwards, Resnais sticks to a logical progression of events in relating this jaundiced tale of political activism. Yves Montand plays a tired, ageing revolutionary whose current target is Spain's Franco regime. Having become a familiar face to the authorities, Montand is no longer of any value as an undercover operative, yet he insists on leading a strike in Madrid. He is stopped from doing so by his fellow revolutionaries, who feel that Montand has become out of synch with the Movement. When Montand is finally able to complete his mission, everything goes wrong. Among the hero's "fellow" activists are Genevieve Bujold and Ingrid Thulin, both of whom harbor a romantic interest in Montand. The casual viewer might be surprised at the lack of action in the film, but favoring suspense over action is typical of Alain Resnais. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Alain Resnais's third feature film, like his earlier Hiroshima Mon Amour and Last Year at Marienbad, is devoted to the vagaries of memory. The title character is seen only in the 8-millimeter films run over and over again by Bernard (Jean-Baptiste Thierée). A veteran of the French/Algerian war, Bernard was obliged to participate in the torture murder of Muriel, an Algerian girl accused of sabotage. He is no more successful at recapturing or altering his past than is his stepmother Helene (Delphine Seyrig), who attempts to rekindle a romance with Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Kerien). Practically everyone else in the cast follows the lead of the leads by dwelling on Things Past to the detriment of the Present. Resnais' scriptwriter on Muriel ou le Temps d'un Retou was Jean Cayrol, whose earlier collaboration with the director yielded the celebrated short subject Night and Fog. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi