Ludivine Sagnier Movies
A blonde beauty who often draws comparisons to such legendary French sexpots as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, Ludivine Sagnier may well follow in their formidable footsteps thanks to unforgettable roles in such features as Swimming Pool and 8 Women. Regardless of her onscreen sex appeal, however, Sagnier readily insists that what she really wants to be known for is her ability to truly own the characters she portrays onscreen. While her delicate but sometimes haunting beauty may well be the first thing audiences notice when she appears onscreen, it will no doubt be her frequently challenging characters that remain with them long after the credits have rolled and the house lights have gone up.A product of La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France, Sagnier made her film debut in director Alain Resnais' I Want to Go Home (1989) at just ten years old before holding her own opposite French screen legend Gérard Depardieu in 1990's Cyrano de Bergerac. In the years that followed, the rising starlet essayed a series of television roles before breaking out as something of a muse to director François Ozon in such features as Water Drops on Burning Rocks and 8 Women. By this point, her popularity was no longer limited to French audiences, and by the time Sagnier portrayed the enigmatic Julie in Ozon's international breakthrough Swimming Pool, critics were sitting up to take notice as well. If the idea of sharing the screen with such larger-than-life childhood influences as Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, and Fanny Ardant in 8 Women seemed intimidating to Sagnier at first, the fact that she would ultimately share a European Film Award with the actresses as a result of the film proved both a confidence booster and a testament to her remarkable skills before the camera.
Frequently stating in interviews that she has a habit of immersing herself in her characters so deeply that it is difficult to "turn off" when the cameras stop rolling, Sagnier has shown a dedication to her craft that is as undeniable as it is effective. In 2003, she appeared in no less than five films, including a turn as the titular tart of director Claude Miller's La Petite Lili (an adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull), the mysterious Julie of Swimming Pool, and Tinkerbell in director P.J. Hogan's live-action adaptation of Peter Pan -- the latter of which found the girl voted a "Shooting Star" by European Film Promotion in 2001 and served as her Hollywood debut. Despite the fact that her appearances in both Peter Pan and the English-language Swimming Pool seemed to find Sagnier poised for stateside success, the actress frequently insists that she is perfectly comfortable with her low-profile screen status and has no particular plans to pursue a full-time Hollywood career. Following her appearance in Peter Pan, Sagnier prepared for roles in director Xavier Giannoli's La Belle Image and Barbet Schroeder's The Death Instinct -- a cinematic retelling of the exploits of legendary French criminal Jacques Mesrine. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A mother and daughter follow similar paths with different results in this drama with music from writer and director Christophe Honoré. In 1964, Madeleine (Ludivine Sagnier) is a restless young woman working at a shoe store who, after helping herself to a new pair of high heels, is mistaken for a streetwalker by a man passing by. Madeleine impulsively decides to go along with the stranger's assumptions, and soon discovers prostitution can be a profitable part-time job. One of her regular customers is a handsome doctor named Jaromil (Rasha Bukvic), and when he asks for her hand in marriage, she accepts. They settle in his native Czechoslovakia and have a daughter, Vera, though political upheaval leads Madeleine back to Paris and a new husband. Years later, a grown-up Vera (Chiara Mastroianni) looks back on the story of her mother and father (played in their later years by Catherine Deneuve and Milos Forman) with a viewpoint colored by both romanticism and regret. While Madeleine's life as a streetwalker brought her love and adventure and she now divides her attentions between two men, Vera has grown up in an era where AIDS has made such sexual openness something like Russian Roulette, and she's unable to commit to a relationship, tossing aside her on-and-off boyfriend Clement (Louis Garrel) in favor of obsessing over Henderson (Paul Schneider), a musician who prefers the company of men. Les Bien-aimés (aka Beloved) was an official selection at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
Dominic Cooper (An Education) headlines director Lee Tamahori's fact-based docudrama centering on the nightmarish experiences of an Iraqi army lieutenant whose life became a living hell after he was hand-selected to be a "fiday" (body double) for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's ruthless son Uday. Baghdad, 1987: Iraqi soldier Latif Yahia (Cooper) becomes privy to the inner workings of the royal family after receiving an offer he can't refuse. Desperate to protect his family and terrified of making any fatal missteps, Latif studies Uday's every personal tick in order to become the spitting image of the so-called "Black Prince." While some Iraqis might have been honored to be presented with such a unique opportunity, Uday's unparalleled sadism and debauched lifestyle quickly began to eat away at the very core of Latif's soul. As war with Kuwait looms on the horizon, Latif finds himself increasingly drawn to Uday's ravishing mistress Sarrab (Ludivine Sagnier), a woman with her own terrifying tales to tell about time spent with Iraq's cruelest son. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, (more)
Celebrated French actresses Kristin Scott-Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier go head-to-head as dual femme fatales in this scathing, shocking corporate thriller from helmer Alain Corneau (All the Mornings of the World). Christine (Scott-Thomas) is the head executive at a top agribusiness firm in France. Ruthless and uncompromising, she revels in playing diabolical head-games with her staffers that include blackmail and seduction, and enjoys an almost pathologically close relationship with protégé Isabelle (Sagnier). The women also share a lover, accountant Philippe (Patrick Mille), who readily assumes a submissive role to the dominatrix posturing of each lady in the bedroom. The balance of power shifts, however, when a colleague (Guillaume Marquet) shows Isabelle how to "one-up" Christine in the office - which prompts Christine to respond with a nasty, humiliating trick involving a security camera. In the days ahead, retaliation escalates on both ends until each of the women begins contemplating felonious action against the other. To reveal more would be unfair, but suffice it to say that Corneau packs the narrative with a series of unforeseeable twists and turns. As the director's final film (he died in 2010), Love Crime brought Corneau much needed critical acclaim at the end of his life, following a series of disappointments including Words in Blue and Second Wind. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ludivine Sagnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
The true story of one of Europe's most infamous and charismatic criminals comes to a close in this drama based on the life and crimes of Jacques Mesrine. Picking up where L'Instinct de Mort left off, L'Ennemi Public No. 1 begins as Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) returns to France after an exile in Canada. Teaming up with gunman Michel Ardouin (Samuel Le Bihan), Mesrine masterminds a series of armed robberies, and while he's able to stay one step ahead of the law most of the time, eventually he finds himself back in prison, where he makes friends with the clever François (Mathieu Amalric). With François' help, Mesrine breaks out of prison and becomes something of a celebrity, penning an autobiography, hob-nobbing with the wealthy and trying to paint himself as a political radical with the help of leftist spokesman Charlie (Gérard Lanvin). Mesrine also renews his relationship with his girlfriend, Sylvia (Ludivine Sagnier), but he also turns his back on some of his old friends and underestimates the determination of the French police to stop him once and for all. L'Ennemi Public No. 1 (aka Public Enemy No. 1, Part 2) went into release in late 2008, while the wildly successful L'Instinct de Mort was still playing in French theaters. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, (more)
- 2007
- NR
Though Love Songs (aka Les Chansons d'Amour) is not a film operetta per se, director Christophe Honoré and composer/lyricist/vocalist Alex Beaupain use that film to pay homage to the French movie musical as conceived by Jacques Demy in his classic Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (1967). The Honoré film concerns a series of hopelessly romantic Parisian characters who are unable to convey their feelings to one another in everyday situations, and who thus use musical numbers as outlets -- as vehicles of emotional expression. Beaupain composed the score; a number of the songs that are included appeared on one of his solo albums. The individual stories covered in the film tell age-worn tales as old as time: the loss of love, the discovery of new love, the impossibility of mutual love. The film stars Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Chiara Mastroianni, Clotilde Hesme, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Brigitte Roüan, Jean-Marie Winling, and Yannick Renier. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, (more)
In 1645, the French playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin -- better known as Molière -- mysteriously disappeared for several weeks, and this lavish comedy drama imagines a scenario that could explain what may have happened to him. At this time, Molière (Romain Duris) is touring the French countryside with his traveling theater company, and he's yet to be recognized as one of the continent's great authors (or achieve significant financial success). Molière is put in jail after skipping out on some unpaid debts, but is freed after his fine is paid by two strangers. Molière discovers his benefactors are acting on behalf of Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), a very wealthy man who has a beautiful wife, Elmire (Laura Morante) and two lovely daughters. However, Jourdain has fallen head over heels for Celimene (Ludivine Sagnier), a gorgeous widow, and he's written a short play in order to demonstrate his feelings for her. Jourdain needs someone to help him polish his script and serve as an acting coach, and he's recruited Molière for the job. Needing the money, Moliere accepts, but he poses as a man of the cloth, Monsieur Tartuffe, to keep his identity a secret. Molière soon realizes that Jourdain's talent exists only in the rich man's imagination, and that Jourdain already has a rival for Celimene's affections, the charming but duplicitous Dorante (Edouard Baer). Molière was written and directed by Laurent Tirard. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, (more)
A television weatherwoman is pursued simultaneously by a spoiled pharmaceutical heir and a successful -- but much older -- writer in director Claude Chabrol's blackly comic tale of romance and class differences. Gabrielle Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier) has a high-profile job detailing the forecast on French TV. Yet despite Gabrielle's staunch work ethic, she values her privacy over her professional career and lives in a modest house with her aging mother (Marie Bunel). One day, renowned author Charles Saint-Denis (François Berléand) is interviewed at the television station where Gabrielle works, and the two feel an instant, powerful connection. Later, at a book signing, the pair continues to flirt despite the presence of entitled rich kid Paul Gaudens (Benoît Magimel) -- who openly despises the writer and longs to claim Gabrielle as his own. Despite the fact that Charles is still happily married to his wife of 25 years (Valeria Cavalli), with whom he has set up home in a posh ultra-modern estate in the countryside, he and Gabrielle share an intimate afternoon at the author's nearby pied-à-terre. Later, as the potentially psychotic Paul steps up his pursuit of Gabrielle, the girl begins to question whether either of her suitors is pure in his intentions. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ludivine Sagnier, Benoît Magimel, (more)
This tough and gritty French-language crime drama represents the premier installment in a two-part series of features on the life and doings of notorious Gallic hood Jacques Mesrine (1936-1979). Mesrine is played, in both installments, by actor Vincent Cassel, who reportedly underwent massive weight gain and weight loss to convincingly portray the volatile Mesrine at various periods of his life. Director Jean-François Richet begins in 1979, with Mesrine's uncommonly violent death, whereby he and a beautiful young woman are suddenly (and fatally) ambushed by Parisian police not far from Mesrine's place of birth. Richet then flashes back to the Franco-Algerian War of the late '50s and a brutal interrogation undergone by Mesrine. Following a military discharge, Mesrine returns to his parents' suburb of Clichy, where his dad has arranged a pathetic job for him in a lace-making factory. Never one to take humiliation lying down, Jacques perceives burglary, larceny, and racketeering as much-superior options and decides to pursue a life of crime via a "business partnership" with childhood buddy Paul (Gilles Lellouche), who works for mobster Guido (Gérard Depardieu).
As the years pass, Jacques works his way up through the ranks of the underworld; via Paul, he also meets and falls hard for two women: Pigalle streetwalker Sarah (Florence Thomassin), and Sofia (Elena Anaya), a beautiful Spanish woman with whom he cohabitates after doing time in a French prison. Following a brief and unsuccessful attempt to "go straight," Jacques reconnects with Guido, then finds it necessary to escape from France to Canada with his new mistress, Jeanne (Cécile De France). Unfortunately, another prison sentence is waiting for him there, replete with brutal solitary confinement, but the possibility of a daring escape beckons. The second half of the Mesrine saga, entitled Mesrine: L'Énnemi Public No. 1 for French release, followed immediately after and picks up where this installment wraps. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
As the years pass, Jacques works his way up through the ranks of the underworld; via Paul, he also meets and falls hard for two women: Pigalle streetwalker Sarah (Florence Thomassin), and Sofia (Elena Anaya), a beautiful Spanish woman with whom he cohabitates after doing time in a French prison. Following a brief and unsuccessful attempt to "go straight," Jacques reconnects with Guido, then finds it necessary to escape from France to Canada with his new mistress, Jeanne (Cécile De France). Unfortunately, another prison sentence is waiting for him there, replete with brutal solitary confinement, but the possibility of a daring escape beckons. The second half of the Mesrine saga, entitled Mesrine: L'Énnemi Public No. 1 for French release, followed immediately after and picks up where this installment wraps. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vincent Cassel, Cécile De France, (more)
Informed that his elderly father has mysteriously disappeared, anxious Parisian François (Mathieu Amalric) recalls his tragic family history in director Claude Miller's adaptation of the fact-based novel by author Philippe Grimbert. As a sickly young child, François (Valentin Vigourt) instinctively knew that he was a disappointment to his champion swimmer mother, Tania (Cécile De France), and gymnast father, Maxime (Patrick Bruel). While François does find some amount of solace in his friendship with kindly masseuse Louise (Julie Depardieu), his discovery of a strange toy in the attic causes his parents to act more strangely toward him than ever before. Feeling sympathetic toward the young boy, Louise eventually reveals to François that he once had a half brother, and that his parents weren't drawn together by fairy-tale romance but through violence and strife. Back before the war, Maxime became engaged to the beautiful Hannah (Ludivine Sagnier). While Hannah's parent's were keenly aware of the ominous implications of Hitler's rise to power, Maxime worried little since he always considered himself French first and foremost. At the wedding, however, Maxime finds his gaze frequently wandering from his fetching bride to athletic beauty Tania. Later, after the happily married bride gives birth to a handsome young boy named Simon (Orlando Nicoletti), the Nazis invade and the once-happy family is torn violently asunder. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Cécile De France, Patrick Bruel, (more)
Twenty acclaimed filmmakers from around the world look at love in the City of Lights in this omnibus feature. Paris, Je T'Aime features 18 short stories, each set in a different part of Paris and each featuring a different cast and director (two segments were produced by two filmmakers in collaboration). In "Faubourg Saint-Denis," Tom Tykwer directs Natalie Portman as an American actress who is the object of affection for a blind student (Melchior Belson). Christopher Doyle's "Porte de Choisy" follows a salesman (Barbet Schroeder) as he tries to pitch beauty aids in Chinatown. Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier are father and daughter in "Parc Monceau" from Alfonso Cuarón. Animator Sylvain Chomet turns his eye to a pair of living, breathing mimes in "Tour Eiffel." An interracial romance in France is offered by Gurinder Chadha in "Quais de Seine." In "Le Marais" from Gus Van Sant, a man (Gaspard Ulliel) finds himself falling for a handsome gent (Elias McConnell) who works in a print shop. Isabel Coixet tells the tale of a man (Sergio Castellitto) who is making his final choice between his wife (Miranda Richardson) and his lover (Leonor Watling) in "Bastille." Juliette Binoche plays a grieving mother in Nobuhiro Suwa's "Place des Victoires," in which she's greeted by a spectral cowboy (Willem Dafoe). Richard LaGravanese's "Pigalle" finds a long-married man (Bob Hoskins) turning to a prostitute for advice on pleasing his wife (Fanny Ardant). Gérard Depardieu and Frédéric Auburtin direct Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara as longtime marrieds meeting for one final pre-divorce encounter in "Quartier Latin." Steve Buscemi learns a lesson about local etiquette in the Paris Metro in "Tuileries" from Joel and Ethan Coen. In "Loin du 16ème" by Walter Salles, a housekeeper (Catalina Sandino Moreno) longs for her own child as she tends to the infant of her wealthy employer. Elijah Wood stars in "Quartier de la Madeleine," a vampire tale from Vincenzo Natali. Wes Craven presents another fantasy in "Père-Lachaise," in which an engaged young man (Rufus Sewell) receives romantic advice from the spirit of Oscar Wilde (Alex Payne). A postal worker from Colorado (Margo Martindale) shares her thoughts on her visit to Paris in mangled French in Alexander Payne's witty "14th Arrondissement." Other segments include "Place des Fêtes" from Oliver Schmitz, Bruno Podalydès' "Montmartre," and "Quartier des Enfants Rouges" by Olivier Assayas, which stars Maggie Gyllenhaal. Paris, Je T'Aime received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2006
Jointly written by an eight-member French comedy troupe called Les Quiches (Alexandre Brik, Vanessa Pivain, Deborah Saiag, Benoit Petre, Mayane Delem, Mika Tard, Morgan Perez and Isabelle Vitari) and co-directed by four of the eight (Petre, Saiag, Tard and Vitari), Foon is a kitschy, campy Euro musical comedy that sends up contemporary American high school life. The creative team authored the script in a deliriously silly cross-pollenization of French and English ("Franglais") that yields expressions from 'Si vous please' to 'Thank you beaucoup.' The action at the heart of the story centers around the revered prom -- an event that functions as the battleground for a classical rivalry between the in-crowd (called "Foons" as an amalgam of "Fun" and 'Cool") and the dorks. Foon also satirizes numerous motion pictures, with satirical references to films such as Carrie, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?, and the Zapruder footage of the Kennedy assassination. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alexandre Brik, Mayane Delem, (more)
- 2006
Despite its five-minute running time, this short from Children of Men director Alfonso Cuarón packs in a surprise ending. The sequence stars Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier as an older man and much younger woman who connect and embark on a stroll in nighttime Paris. Parc Monceau was Cuarón's contribution to Paris, Je T'Aime, an anthology film that also features to work of Tom Tykwer, the Coen Brothers, and Gus Van Sant, among others. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Ludivine Sagnier, (more)
- 2005
A woman pursues new worlds of pleasure in a bid to eliminate her ennui in this erotic drama from writer and director Jean-Claude Brisseau. Sandrine (Carole Brana) feels as if she's fallen into a rut and is dissatisfied with nearly every aspect of her life -- she's quit her job, she's bored with her fiancé, and wants to move away to another country. Sandrine has an affair with Greg (Arnaud Binard), a handsome psychiatrist who is a student of the therapeutic uses of hypnosis. Sandrine, who is looking for greater insights into herself, is intrigued with Greg's theories about hypnosis, and is even more fascinated when he introduces her to Sophie (Lise Bellynck), an attractive young woman with a powerful and eclectic sexual appetite. As Sandrine submits to hypnosis, she experiences a number of unusual erotic encounters with Sophie and others, and moves towards a new degree of personal and sexual freedom. A L'aventure received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Anton Chekhov's The Seagull receives an updated adaptation in this drama from veteran French filmmaker Claude Miller. Mado (Nicole Garcia) is a successful actress who is spending the summer at her country estate with her boyfriend, Brice (Bernard Giraudeau), a noted filmmaker who directed her latest picture. Also staying with Mado is her son, Julien (Robinson Stévenin), a budding experimental filmmaker with a combustible personality who is infatuated with Lili (Ludivine Sagnier), a beautiful young woman whose family lives nearby. Lili is attentive but cool around Julien, who doesn't pay much heed to the attentions of Jeanne-Marie (Julie Depardieu), the daughter of Mado's caretaker (Marc Betton) who has long held a torch for him. When Julien screens his latest film for Mado and her guests, it leads to a bitter argument between the two as her criticism of her son's work devolves into a series of personal attacks on one another. As Julien threatens to sever ties with his mother, Lili courts the attentions of Brice, while Jeanne-Marie defends Julien's work with little reaction from him. La Petite Lili received its world premiere at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nicole Garcia, Bernard Giraudeau, (more)
Director P.J. Hogan (Muriel's Wedding, My Best Friend's Wedding) helms this live-action retelling of J.M. Barrie's classic children's play Peter Pan. Starring Jeremy Sumpter (Frailty) in the title role, the film follows the adventures of the Darling children, Wendy (Rachel Hurd-Wood), John (Harry Newell), and Michael (Freddie Popplewell), as they are visited by the boy who never grows up and whisked away to Neverland, where they encounter The Lost Boys, Tinker Bell (Ludivine Sagnier), and the evil Captain Hook (Jason Isaacs). ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, (more)
François Ozon's psychological thriller Swimming Pool stars Charlotte Rampling as a mystery writer. When Sarah (Rampling) is offered the use of her publisher's vacation home, she accepts the offer. The conservative, repressed Sarah clashes with the house's other inhabitant, Julie (Ludivine Sagnier), the uninhibited daughter of the publisher. Julie's promiscuous sex life intrigues Sarah and starts to lead to the thawing of the emotional deep-freeze between the two. The death of one of Julie's nightly assignations complicates their lives. Swimming Pool was screened in competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, (more)
- 2003
Pascal Bonitzer's heavily plotted comedy Petites Coupures (Small Cuts) opens with journalist Bruno (Daniel Auteuil) and his wife, Gaelle (Emmanuelle Devos), having it out over his affair with Nathalie (Ludivine Sagnier). After an invitation from Bruno's uncle Gerard (Jean Yanne), Bruno and Nathalie travel to the town where Gerard is mayor. Bruno learns that his aunt is having an affair. Gerard is aware of his wife's infidelity and asks Bruno to take a letter to the man who has cuckolded him, a doctor named Verekher (Hanns Zischler). On his way to the doctor's home he meets Marie (Dinara Droukarova), and once there he encounters the mysterious Beatrice (Kristin Scott Thomas). Small Cuts was screened at the Berlin Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, (more)
- 2002
Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Christian Clavier, Isabella Rossellini, (more)
A gaggle of mothers, wives, daughters, maids, and mistresses gather for a holiday homecoming at their country mansion -- and end up having to solve a murder-mystery -- in this musical-comic homage to studio-era "women's pictures" from acclaimed French director François Ozon. Partly inspired by George Cukor's 1939 classic The Women, 8 Femmes stars Catherine Deneuve as Gaby, a high-society matron just returned to her country house to celebrate Christmas with her husband; mother Mamy (Danielle Darrieux); sister Augustine (Isabelle Huppert); and daughters Suzon (Virginie Ledoyen) and Catharine (Ludivine Sagnier). Not long after they all arrive, however, do they find the man of the house with a knife in his back, whereupon everyone becomes a suspect -- including maids Chanel (Firmine Richard) and Louise (Emmanuelle Béart). The mysterious arrival of Augustine's sister-in-law Pierrette (Fanny Ardant) only complicates matters, as the titular eight women find themselves snowed in by a fierce blizzard, forced to confront the matter of the lifeless husband -- and their long-standing secrets and resentments -- without the aid of the police. Following its immensely successful release in France in early 2002, 8 Women enjoyed much acclaim at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
- 2001
In this comedy, five French students in their early twenties decide it's time they saw a bit more of the world, so Clementine (Ludivine Sagnier), Caroline (Veronique Balme), Lionel (Pascal Reneric), Bruno (Thomas Blanchard), and Brigitte (Marie Gili-Pierre) buy cut-price rail passes and set out to visit 15 of the great cities of Europe. But it doesn't take long for their great plans to unravel, as the group's desire to see the important sights gets sidetracked by their fondness for partying and the opposite sex, and as they roll through Amsterdam, Berlin, Athens, and Bologna, they stumble into a wide variety of misadventures and meet all manner of unlikely people, from a former teacher who has come rather dramatically out of the closet to a washed-up dance-pop star. Bon Plan was the first feature film from writer and director Jerome Levy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ludivine Sagnier, Veronique Balme, (more)
- 2001
This is a dark, sinister second feature from the director of the 1995 film The Rock of Acapulco, featuring Charles Berling and Karin Viard as a married couple in Paris enjoying the fruits of their careers. He works in an executive post and she works out of a spacious Paris apartment she has inherited from her parents. Their son Julien (Alexandre Bongibault) and daughter Aude (Camille Vatel) are mostly in the care of babysitter Daphnee (Ludvine Sagnier). One day, an unkempt older couple (Manuela Gourary and Pierre Julien) ring their doorbell and introduce themselves as "the Worms," a sibling pair that evidently lived in the building years before. Marianne welcomes them in to look around. Their behavior seems courteous at first, but upon their departure, the family is affected. The house begins to do things on its own, Marianne's depression comes back to haunt her, and Daphnee's sweet demeanor turns sour without warning. A moody thriller from France, this is the first production of Bee Movies, a genre-based company known for such fare.
~ Jason Clark, Rovi
~ Jason Clark, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karin Viard, Charles Berling, (more)
Actor Yvan Attal follows up on his 1997 directorial debut of I've Got a Woman with this wry romantic comedy about a regular guy dealing with his wife's fame and career. Yvan (Attal) is a youngish sports writer who, through some improbable luck, finds himself happily married to the beautiful Charlotte (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a fantastically popular movie actress. All is going swimmingly for Yvan until a stranger plants the seeds of jealousy and doubt in his mind over his wife and her libertine profession. Meanwhile, Charlotte is in London, starring in a movie with a very seductive and sophisticated Terence Stamp. Soon misunderstandings pile upon misunderstanding until Yvan's marriage is on the verge of collapse. Can he keep his marriage together? This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlotte Gainsbourg, Yvan Attal, (more)
French bad boy director Francois Ozon follows up on his controversial first two films Sitcom (1998) and Criminal Lovers (1999) with this adaptation of a play that legendary German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder wrote when he was 19 years old. Retaining the play's four-act structure, the first act opens with middle-aged Leopold (Bernard Giraudeau) escorting young Franz (Malick Zidi) back to his apartment. Franz, who was on his way to visit his fiancée Anna, allows himself to be picked up by the older man. After some small talk, Leopold orders Franz to undress and wait for him in the bedroom. The second act takes up six months later. Franz has moved into Leopold's apartment soon after their first encounter. Interested in the arts and poetry, he increasingly finds himself at odds with his older, moody, demanding lover. Still, the relationship manages to endure. In act three, ex-fiancée Anna (Ludivine Sagnier) shows up at the apartment while Leopold is away. Their previous passion is quickly rekindled, and Anna soon marvels at the sundry techniques her lover has learned since she last saw him. When Leopold unexpectedly returns with Vera (Anna Thompson), his transsexual ex-lover, in tow, the stage is set for a complex dance of shifting power dynamics. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, (more)
Edmond Rostand's classic drama of inner and outer beauty is given a lavish treatment in this acclaimed French production. Gérard Depardieu portrays the title character, a brilliant, charismatic swordsman with a generous spirit and a genius for poetry. It would seem that such a man would have no trouble attracting women, but Cyrano considers himself doomed to loneliness by an unattractive face featuring an oversized nose. His feelings of inadequacy are emphasized when Roxane, the beautiful woman he adores, attracts the attention of Christian, a young cadet in Cyrano's service. Christian lacks the poetic gift, however, and he ironically turns to Cyrano for help in winning Roxane's love. What follows is a tale of deception, with Roxane falling in love with the ineloquent Christian thanks to Cyrano's words of love. The underlying narrative has become quite familiar to modern audiences through retellings and variations from the 1950 adaptation starring José Ferrer to Steve Martin's Roxanne. Director Jean-Paul Rappeneau's interpretation stresses the tragic majesty of the original, setting a vigorous performance by Depardieu against a beautifully designed reproduction of the period and an emphasis on the sound and poetry of Rostand's original language; the subtitles for the film's English release were penned by renowned British author Anthony Burgess. This attention to detail creates a particularly faithful cinematic rendering of the original work that met with positive critical responses. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, (more)
American humorist Jules Feiffer and French director Alain Resnais are oddly paired for this satirical comedy about an American cartoonist in Paris. Adolph Green is a stunner as Joey Wellman, a cantankerous American cartoonist traveling abroad for the first time. In tow is Lena Apthrop (Linda Lavin), and the two are ostensibly journeying to Paris to attend a comic-strip exhibition in which Wellman's work is included. But it turns out the exhibition is just an excuse for Wellman to track down his errant daughter Elsie (Laura Benson), who has left Cleveland to take up literature at the Sorbonne. Her professor, Christian Gauthier (Gerard Depardieu) happens to be a big fan of Wellman, and he corrals the cartoonist and Lena to go to the fashionable country estate of his mother Isabelle (Micheline Presle), who tries to put up with her son's American friends. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adolph Green, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
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