Hubert Saint-Macary Movies

Jeanne Labrune wrote and directed this French psychological drama that begins on a train when impoverished carpet salesman Samuel (Daniel Duval) eyes a sleeping woman, Muriel (Nathalie Baye), and peppers her with personal questions when she awakens. A successful screenwriter and novelist, Muriel has just been dropped by her older lover, so it's not long before Samuel becomes a presence in her polished Paris apartment, an arena for some intense sexual activities. Only problem -- as Muriel realizes the demented Samuel has drawn her into an abusive relationship, she is simultaneously attracted to him and frightened of him. The soundtrack features an excerpt from Philip Glass' opera Einstein on the Beach. Shown in competition at the 1998 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Raul Ruiz directed this typically eccentric look at the nature of crime, the human mind, and life in the modern world. Solange (Catherine Deneuve) is a defense attorney with a reputation for taking on cases that can't be won -- and proving it by losing them. Her latest lost cause is Rene (Melvil Poupaud), a young man on trial for murdering his Aunt Jeanne (also played by Deneuve), a cruel psychiatrist who raised him as a child and was convinced from infancy that he was destined for a life of crime. While Rene would seemingly need a good lawyer in his situation, he prefers instead to play games with Solange's mind and finds unlikely allies in a strange society of French and Belgian psychologists, headed by Georges (Michel Piccoli), who seems crazier than anyone he's treating. Solange, however, finds herself falling in love with Rene, which only makes a difficult situation more unpleasant for everyone. Through a series of layered flashbacks, we're shown Rene's crime several times from a number of perspectives, which ultimately makes his actions seem more vague with each repetition. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Regis Wargnier's epic about French Indochina -- from the years of French colonial imperialism to the days when American presence made itself felt and the country became known as Vietnam -- is a story of romance and separation told through the backdrop of a country in turmoil. The film centers on the relationship of the beautiful and imperious Eliane (Catherine Deneuve), a French rubber-plantation owner, and Camille (Linh Dan Pham), her adopted Indochinese daughter. The mother and daughter are very close until a diffident naval officer, Jean-Baptiste (Vincent Perez) enters their lives. Eliane is in love with him, but Jean-Baptiste and Camille become attracted to each other and fall in love. Thinking that she is doing Camille a favor, Eliane arranges to have Jean-Baptiste transferred to the far-away Tonkin Islands. But Camille flees the plantation to go to the man she loves. As she travels the country, she gains a greater knowledge and respect for the people of her homeland. When the government tears her from Jean-Baptiste and their infant child and arrests her for crimes against the state, she becomes politicized and becomes a supporter of the communists in the country's civil war. As the country rocks in turmoil, Eliane becomes a personification of France, coolly walking amid her peasant workers, neither bowed nor afraid, grimly looking westward. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

This comic excursion from Louis Malle is set in May 1968, concurrent with a series of Parisian student uprisings. After the death of family matriarch Mme. Vieuzac (Paulette Dubost), the survivors converge on the French countryside for her funeral; they include her two sons, Milou (Michel Piccoli) and Georges (Michel Duchaussoy); Camille (Miou-Miou), Milou's daughter; Camille's husband and children; and granddaughter Claire (Dominique Blanc), a lesbian. With the latest news of rebellion from Paris as their soundtrack, the family members argue over property, revive long-simmering arguments, and watch in dismay as an unlikely love affair begins. When the student uprising threatens to spill over into their community, the family heads for the hills, where the great outdoors only intensifies their reunion. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide

Michel Piccoli plays Akiva Liebskind, a Russian chess genius in the Swiss-filmed Dangerous Moves. He is pitted against Soviet exile Pavius Fromm (Alexandre Arbatt), who, since childhood, has dreamed of nothing but defeating Liebskind. Both men soon become obsessed with winning. Already suffering from a weak heart, Liebskind courts a coronary, while the increasingly paranoid Fromm is convinced that his opponent is spying on him from every corner. The KGB enters into the game by attempting to sabotage Fromm, hoping that by doing so they will discredit everyone who's ever publicly opposed the Soviet government. Dangerous Moves was the 1984 recipient of the Best Foreign-Language Picture Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide