Laurent Terzieff Movies

La Guerre Dans le Haut Pays is a period piece set in the winter of 1797-98, during the six days leading up to the fall of Bern and the victory of Napoleon's army, when the Bern government is faced with mixed loyalties from its subjects. The population of the lower valley is divided, but the upper region remains loyal, since they have been given special autonomy and a favorable system of taxation. David, a postman, works between the two regions. His father, who is a hard-line conservative, does not approve of his relationship with Julie, who is from the lower part of the valley. Julie's father, on the other hand, is more open to the new ideas of liberation. As a result of his work, David is exposed to new ideas and becomes a believer in equality and justice. When he meets Ansermoz, who is forced by his poverty to work as a mercenary for the French government, David distances himself more and more from his father. The last straw is when his father wants him to fight with those who support Bern. David refuses and plans to run away with Julie, while his father is determined to carry the combat. Tragedy strikes when the father and the son face each other on opposite sides of the battlefield. For lovers of historical drama, the film offers plenty of escapist action and excitement, with interspersed ideological clashes and fanaticism. All these are enhanced by celebrated French screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere's contribution to the script. The romantic love story spices up the generally male-dominated nature of the story. For audiences who prefer films dealing with not-so-grandiose subjects, La Guerre Dans le Haut Pays, which competed at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, has very little to offer. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Postwar France was slow to recover from the after-effects of the World War Two. The economy was doing poorly, and many people were poor and homeless, sleeping under bridges, etc. The winter of 1953-54 proved particularly difficult for these people, as it was one of the coldest on record. Father Pierre (Lambert Wilson), a parish priest, on seeing the suffering of these people (and their frequent death from the cold), was moved to write the French government seeking help for them. When his letter, which was published in the newspapers, succeeded in rousing overwhelming popular support for helping the homeless, he was able to form a charitable group (still active today) titled "Les Chiffoniers d'Emmaus," or "The Ragpickers of Emmaus" to channel help to them. This biographical film tells the true story of Abbe Pierre's successful efforts in those years. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

During his lifetime, the noted Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio was considered to be a genius, a daring adventurer, and a major Italian nationalist. During the Mussolini era, he was still considered to be a major figure in Italian literature, and many schoolchildren were required to study his tamer books. Several movies based on his life were made prior to this one, and they focused on his association with the Mussolini regime. Since then, his reputation has declined considerably, and this biographical drama certainly reflects his new status as a historically important but repugnant and artistically insignificant figure. In this story, the journalist-turned-author is a foolish-looking dandy who is just beginning to make his mark as a central figure in Italy's art-world. His little group would win the descriptive title of "the decadents." Here, he is shown as being the sort of man who would exploit the women he has affairs with to further his career. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Red Kiss is set in the politically supercharged Paris of 1952. 15-year-old French girl Charlotte Valandrey, the daughter of radicals, is severely beaten by the constabulary while attending a communist rally. Photojournalist Lambert Wilson pauses long enough to take a picture of the bloodied Valandrey. Fascinated by Wilson's aloofness, Valandrey attaches herself to him. She is momentarily disappointed because Wilson is not the communist that he appeared to be at first, but love is stronger than ideology this time out, and the twosome end up in bed. Valandrey's commitment to the Red cause diminishes as her love for Wilson increases. She is forced to quit her local communist cell, but this is more due to jealousy than politics (her cohorts had wanted to get her in the sack themselves). Further disillusionment with the Cause comes about when Valandrey discovers that she is actually the daughter of Laurent Terzieff, a former party member who has renounced communism. Confused, Valandrey runs off with Wilson, whereupon her commie foster father, behaving like a garden-variety capitalist, brings charges against Wilson for compromising Valandrey's morals. The anti-communist subtext of Red Kiss is not the sole raison d'etre for the film; rather, it is used as backdrop for the heroine's emotional coming-of-age, as well as her struggle to establish her own values, rather than those of her family and friends. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Experimental, non-narrative in structure, and surrealist in tone, this picture focuses on the enigmatic utterances of a poet, along with his reminiscences about life and monologues about possibly imaginary events. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Salvador Allende was a Marxist who became the President of Chile. Forces within that country and from outside, including the U.S.'s CIA, conspired to bring about an end to his rule, and his life, on September 11, 1973. This French/Bulgarian drama explores the events leading up to his election and ultimate overthrow and is highly sympathetic to his aims and intentions. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Originally filmed for British television as a six-hour miniseries, Moses appeared in the U.S. in 1975 as a 2 1/2-hour theatrical release. God's lawgiver (Burt Lancaster) is chosen by God to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, across the Red Sea and into the promised land of Canaan. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide