Marie Trintignant Movies
The daughter of screen legend Jean-Louis Trintignant, Marie Trintignant made her film debut in mother Nadine's Mon Amour, Mon Amour at the tender age of four, she would essay a series of diverse film and television roles while growing to become a household name in her native France. Though her parents would divorce in 1976, young Trintignant went on to appear in the films of her mother's new beau, Alain Corneau. Her closeness to her father helped in convincing him to appear in director Krzysztof Kieslowski's Red (1994), and the father/daughter team would later appear on-stage together to read the poetry of Guillaume Apollinaire. Equally adept at drama and comedy, the husky-voiced actress would distinguish herself with roles in such films as Corneau's Série Noire (1978) and as the troubled titular character in Claude Chabrol's 1992 drama Betty (1992). Trintignant had a son (actor Roman Kolinka) with musician Richard Kolinka and another with actor François Cluzet. Later married to director Samuel Benchetrit, the couple produced two more sons. Unfortunately, tragedy would strike as the result of Trintignant's relationship with Noir Desir frontman Bertrand Cantat in late July of 2003. A call from husband Benchetrit threw Cantat into a jealous rage, during which he struck the actress in the head, sending her into a deep coma. At the time Trintignant had been in Lithuania essaying the title role in mother Nadine's made-for-television feature Colette, and though doctors would subsequently transport the actress to Vilnuis for emergency surgery, the damage had been done, and Trintignant died four days later. She was 41. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie GuidePierre Salvadori, who made The Apprentices (1995) and Wild Target (1993), returned for his third feature with this quirky comedy filmed in Paris and Corsica. After an argument with her fiancé, Jeanne (Marie Trintignant) flies to Paris, talks her way into someone else's chauffeured limo, sleeps with a guy she picks up, is hired to deliver pizzas, works as a tea-salon waitress, creates lies about her wealthy family, and goes home with elderly Madeleine (Blanchette Brunoy), who accepts her as an au pair. Clean-cut crook Antoine (Guillaume Depardieu) takes both women to dinner, while burglar Barnaby (Serge Riaboukine) robs Madeleine's house. Madeleine mentions Jeanne's rich parents, prompting Antoine to join with Marcel (Jean-Francois Stevenin) in a scheme to collect a ransom on Jeanne. But the plan begins to collapse when Jeanne and Antoine find they are attracted to each other. The original French title is part of the French phrase "elle ment comme elle respire" ("lying comes to her as naturally as breathing"). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Guillaume Depardieu, (more)
Alberto's family traditions are quite unusual. Living in Paris with his pregnant wife, he is now expected to return to Rome to pay back every cent that his family spent raising him. Totally without the kind of money expected of him, as Alberto speeds by train toward his family he tries to raise the cash by various desperate means from the other passengers aboard the train so he will not have to face his father empty-handed. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergio Castellitto, Nino Manfredi, (more)
Adapted from a novel by Georges Simenon, Betty stars Marie Trintignant in the title role. A drunken wastrel, Betty is adopted after a fashion by an older female alcoholic named Laure, played by director Claude Chabrol's wife at the time, Stéphane Audran. Fascinated by Betty's hard-luck tales, Laure endeavors to protect the younger woman from the ravages of a cruel world. Unfortunately, she turns a blind eye to Betty's larcenous streak, which manifests itself at the worst possible moments. This tale of a irredeemable ne'er-do-well is fleshed out by a flashback-flashforward technique that some observers found confusing and distracting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Stéphane Audran, (more)
Victor Meynard (Jean Rochefort) is an assassin for hire, and he's proud of it. It's part of his family's business. However, in this comedy, there are occasions when he simply cannot bring himself to pull the trigger and make a "hit." Instead, he adopts the boy (Guillaume Depardieu) who would have fallen to his gun, and trains him in the niceties of the assassin's game. He is assigned to kill an art forger (Marie Trintignant) who is much too cute for such a fate. When he adopts her as well, things really start to get out of hand. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Marie Trintignant, (more)
Amnesty International produced this film, which features more than two dozen greats of French cinema making pleas for the lives of political prisoners around the world. Each filmmaker speaks passionately on behalf of an individual whose life has been warped by political intolerance, imprisonment, torture or murder, as the lives of those prisoners or sufferers are documented onscreen. A variety of directors contributed shorts with this theme, and the ways in which the appeals are dramatized differ markedly from one to the next. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, (more)
In this French horror film, which many critics compared to both Scream and The Blair Witch Project, a group of young actors have been hired to stage a production of Little Red Riding Hood at a mansion far away from the city. When they arrive, the players learn that they're all alone at the estate except for the wealthy owner of the house, his young son, and a servant. They are also visited by police, who warn them that a violent criminal is on the loose and may be hiding somewhere nearby. As the evening wears on, the actors are murdered one by one, and the survivors fight for their lives as they try to find out who the killer is and what he wants from them. Promenons-Nous Dans Les Bois, the first film from director Lionel Delplanque, stars Clotilde Courau, Clement Sibony, Vincent Lecoeur, Alexia Stresi, and Maud Buquet. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clotilde Courau, Clément Sibony, (more)
The very modest lawyer (Jean-Louis Trintignant) in this case of murder finds much more than he is looking for and then must decide what to do with the unwelcome information. He is defending a woman who is accused of killing her lover. It turns out that the lover was actually killed during a holdup, and was a member of a gang which did bullying favors for local politicians; and the trail doesn't end there. This French film is directed by Trintignant's wife, Nadine. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Bernadette Lafont, (more)
A little philosophy can be a dangerous thing. Especially if it comes from the sudden blinding insights of the none too bright. Such insights, based upon totally illogical conclusions form the basis of this devilishly dark, distorted French absurdist comedy. At the beginning of the eccentric tale, a noted author deliberately drives his car into a brick wall, a suicide method employed by the protagonist of his last novel. Taxi driver Evangila and her brother North are deeply upset their favorite author's sudden death. They discuss the deeper implications of his act, and deduce that the author killed himself because he was increasingly obsessed with the notion that he was actually a character in someone else's novel. Finding their conclusion perfectly sound, the duo make the next logic leap and decide that they too are literary characters in someone else's book. That being the case, then all responsibility for their actions lies on the writer's shoulders, not theirs; therefore, they can do whatever they want with no consequence. Meanwhile the writer's bereaved widow, Karenina, decides she wants to join her husband in death. She makes several sucide attempts, but someone always 'rescues' her at the crucial moment. In desperation, she decides to simply leap from a tall bridge. As Karenina plots her demise, North and Evangela continue to wrestle with their newfound philosophy. The newest twist is that the author of their lives is in reality their god. Since he is the tangible, living being who dictates their every move, they decide to consult a priest in the hope that he can convince their Creator to meet them and answer a few burning questions. Unfortunately the priest can't help them and suggests that perhaps someone near death could provide more insight, someone about to commit suicide perhaps? Evangela and North, figuring a tall bridge is a good place to encounter a suicide immediately go to a certain bridge and end up meeting Karenina. When a spiritualist and God Himself get involved the story really goes off the deep end and that is when the fun really begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Maria de Medeiros, (more)
Filled with references and language that will be most meaningful to those intimate with the French language and culture, this gritty outing attempts to paint a dignified but funny portrait of a poor, dysfunctional family during the winter of 1968. The Jacobs currently reside in a grim industrial junkyard on the outskirts of Paris. Jesus is a bit of a hippy with his long hair, loud, hip clothing and wild man ways. His father is an alcoholic and his mother is utterly passive. His brother Nene fancies himself a '50s-style greaser. Only his stepsister Marie, an early women's libber shows the slightest inclination toward work. Were it not for her income, the family would be destitute. Jesus' brother Ernest is the family star because he earned a scholarship to a university in Paris. Jesus and Nene frequently drink at the grungy Elvis bar with their sex-crazy, paraplegiac friend Levrette. Conflicts arise when Jesus falls for the free-spirited supermarket cashier Mathilde, the sister of the insanely jealous Gerard. He and Jesus immediately become bitter rivals, something that earns the contempt of Mathilde. But the real trouble doesn't begin until someone savagely rapes Marie. Afterwards, Jesus and Nene team up to get revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadia Farès, Thierry Frémont, (more)
Sullen teenage orphan Johnny Miles (Josh Albee) is wrongfully accused of stealing from his foster parents. Running away from home, Johnny forms a bond with another youthful "runaway"--this one a leopard who has escaped from a nearby wild-animal compound. Both fugitives are sheltered by a harsh but lovable kennel owner, Angela Lakey (Dorothy McGuire), who senses that neither boy nor leopard are as bad as they're cracked up to be. Assuming the responsibility of caring for the animal, Johnny risks being captured by the authorities--and while his punishment will be relatively benign, the leopard might well be destroyed. Adapted from a novel by Victor Canning, The Runaways premiered April 1, 1975, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Irène Jacob, (more)
French director Elie Chouraqui adapts the novel of the same name into this drama, that, although set in 1991, became tragically topical in the weeks before its release due to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah, a photo editor for Newsweek and the happily married wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Harrison has been reconsidering his career of covering the world's war zone "hot spots" in order to spend more time with his family, and is accused by his colleague, Kyle (Adrien Brody), of playing it too safe in his risky profession. Harrison elects to accept one more combat assignment to cover the simmering tensions in Croatia, a conflict that quickly erupts into a full-scale, genocidal Civil War. Informed that Harrison is believed to have been killed in the fighting, Sarah refuses to accept her husband's death and becomes convinced that she's seen him, alive, in a news broadcast. She travels to Croatia on a quest to find him, and is eventually aided by Kyle, as well as two of Harrison's other colleagues, Yeager (Elias Koteas) and Stevenson (Brendan Gleeson). The group, armed with cameras instead of weapons, witnesses the horrors and atrocities unfolding in the region, while tracing the elusive path of Harrison, who may well be dead already. Harrison's Flowers was distributed by Universal Focus, the art house division of Universal Pictures that previously released Mulholland Drive (2001) and Billy Elliott (2000). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andie MacDowell, David Strathairn, (more)
First-time director Samuel Benmchetrit's 2003 debut Janis et John (Janis and John) follows the comedic exploits of a down-on-his luck insurance salesman as he attempts to make up for some very poor financial decisions. Pablo Sterni (Sergi Lopez), the aforementioned insurance salesman, has, until recently, been an honest business man. As of late, though, Pablo had been siphoning money from one of his more successful client's accounts -- one that covers a very expensive sports car. When that client, Mr. Cannon (Jean-Louis Trintignant), turns in a loss claim for that car for a half-million francs, Pablo finds himself in a tight spot. Inspiration strikes when Pablo learns that his hippy-dippy cousin Leon (Christopher Lambert, billed as Christophe Lambert) has just inherited a million francs from his recently deceased father. Leon, a perpetually stoned record store owner, lives solely for the day his 1973 vision of John Lennon and Janis Joplin's Christ-like return to Earth is fulfilled. After visiting with his cousin, Pablo decides to assist Leon in reliving his dream -- as well as parting him with much of his inheritance -- by convincing his wallflower wife, Brigitte (Marie Trintignant, murdered mere weeks before the film's debut, thus marking her final film appearance) and an out-of-work actor (François Cluzet) to impersonate Janis and John. Janis et John was selected for inclusion in the 2003 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sergi López, Marie Trintignant, (more)
The emotional ups-and-downs of a closely-knit but often feuding family is the focus of this sentimental drama by Nadine Trintignant. She is the wife of Jean-Louis Trintignant, who appears as Paul, an impoverished playwright married to Dino (Fanny Ardant). Dino and Paul argue all the time, enough to cause periodic splits in their marriage. Dino's older sister Sidonie (played by Marie Trintignant, Nadine's daughter) is an erstwhile pianist deathly afraid of performing on stage. The parents of Dino and Sidonie are Edouard (Philippe Noiret) and Jeanne (Claudia Cardinale), and they do not get along very well either. Edouard is routinely involved in one extra-marital affair or another, and Jeanne finally throws him out. A climax is reached when Edouard faces an operation after a cerebral hemorrhage, and the entire family, with their spouses, comes together to await the outcome of the operation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claudia Cardinale, Philippe Noiret, (more)
Jeanne (Christine Boisson) takes care of her parents, husband and children along with her eccentric sisters while successfully running a resort hotel and eatery. With the arrival of the new landlord Pierre (Benoit Regent), Jeanne must choose between her husband and the sexually forward visitor. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Boisson, Benoit Regent, (more)
Alain Corneau directed this French drama about detectives and informants. After a cop's suicide, detective Gerard (comedian Alain Chabat) acquires his late partner's informant (i.e. "cousin"), Nounours (comedian Patrick Timset), a drug-dealing family man. Ironically, Nounours has a happy family life, while Gerard's is in disarray. Set in Paris and Parisian suburbs, the film explores the world of snitches, sources, tips, kickbacks, and stakeouts. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Chabat, Patrick Timsit, (more)
Two people with a similar fetish for the exotic Asian fabric have an odd relationship in this off-beat French romance set in 1914. In the beginning, Marie enters a Paris department store and carefully heads for the fabric part. With cat-like caution she moves beside a bolt of silk, suddenly pouncing upon it, slashing the fabric with a straight razor and the pressing its cool satiny smoothness to her body until she faints with pleasure. Upon regaining consciousness, Marie finds herself booked for shoplifting and sent to a psycho ward where she meets Doctor Gabriel who asks her surprisingly intimate questions about her fetish for stealing silk in public. He seems to relish every erotic detail. Knowing that she is unable to control her passionate urges, she decides that she needs to be imprisoned. While serving her time and finally leaning to read and write, Dr. Gabriel fights the Germans in North Africa. A wound prompts his discharge and this gives him the chance to pen his case study of Marie, "The Scream of the Silk." The newly literate Marie reads the article, sees herself and sends him a heartfelt letter of thanks. Gabriel responds, confessing that he too is a 'silko-phile' with a similar obsession. Via their letters, the two slowly fall in love while Gabriel's doting housekeeper watches over him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Sergio Castellitto, (more)
A stuffy French military man is transformed into a legendary Polynesian warrior in this light comic adventure tale. Capt. Alfred de Morsac (Thierry Lhermitte) is a French naval officer who, after distinguishing himself in battle against the enemy in Morocco, is sent to Tahiti in 1914, where his assignment is to persuade the natives to join the French army and fight in the trenches. However, when Morsac arrives in Tahiti, he finds that the island is ruled by Lefebvre (Francois Berleand), the French military governor who minds his charges with an iron hand, and is intent upon getting revenge on Meoata (Marie Trintignant), the widow of the last man who attempted to overthrow Lefebvre's martial regime. While Morsac, all starched uniforms and stiff upper lip, is a fish out of water in Tahiti, he soon decides that something must be done about Lefebvre's tyrannical oppression of his people, and Morsac attempts to intervene; while earning the admiration of the Tahitians, he ends up in prison for his troubles. But Reia (Anituavau Lande), Meoata's son, is convinced that Morsac is "Tefa'aora," a brave leader of local legend who will rise up to lead the Tahitians in a revolt to win their freedom. Morsac himself is less convinced, but he manages to escape from prison with the help of con man and fellow jailbird Barnabe (Patrick Timsit), and attempts to organize the islanders into a fighting force that can overthrow Lefebvre. Le Prince du Pacifique was directed and co-written by Alain Corneau, who previously worked with co-star Patrick Timsit in the international success Un Indien Dans La Ville (later remade in the United States as Jungle 2 Jungle). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thierry Lhermitte, Patrick Timsit, (more)
Two losers find an especially bad way to beat the high cost of living in this off-beat comedy from France. Antoine (Francois Cluzet) aspires to write plays, but in the meantime he scrapes together a living writing articles for a martial arts magazine and creating crossword puzzles; he spends his spare time talking with his friend Sylvie (Judith Henry) about the sad state of his love life. His buddy Fred (Guillaume Depardieu), on the other hand, doesn't do much of anything; on those rare occasions when he rises from the couch, it's to plot new schemes to pick up women, which are usually doomed to failure. However, this routine is shattered when Antoine and Fred discover that their apartment is being sold and they need to come up with some money to get a new flat. With little cash on hand and few prospects, Antoine gets an idea: rob the offices of the magazine for which he's been writing. Co-star Guillaume Depardieu is the son of French superstar Gérard Depardieu. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- François Cluzet, Guillaume Depardieu, (more)
- Starring:
- Marie Trintignant, Daniel Mesguich, (more)
According to reviewers, an expert cast of character actors make this bedroom farce eminently watchable, despite glitches in the storytelling. In the story, a group of old friends and relations gather each year to celebrate Christmas together on the ski resort of Chamonix. They don't do much skiing, however, but mostly explore their own and their friends' and relations' romantic quandries. In the story, the widower family patriarch Leo (Daniel Gelin) announces his engagement to Francoise (Anouk Aimee), which provokes all sorts of reactions in his sons Max and Simon (Gerard Lanvin and Andre Dussollier) and their families, because their own marriages are really rocky. Among the complications: Simon's son is infatuated with Max's daughter, Max is trying to make time with a woman who works locally, Simon has brought along his mistress, family friend Stephane is having trouble with his girlfriend, who threatens suicide if he won't marry her, and a difficult time is had by all during this merrymaking season. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christine Boisson, Jean-Hugues Anglade, (more)
Paris has its share of homeless people, and some of them live in little communities near the oldest bridge in the city, the Pont-Neuf. In the story, street-person Alex (Denis Lavant) has passed out along a much-traveled road, and a taxi has slightly injured his leg, which was in the way of traffic. When he limps back to his usual resting spot under the bridge, he finds a surprisingly unspoiled young woman (Juliette Binoche) wearing an eye patch sleeping there and confronts her about it. They become acquainted, and he learns that she is Michèle, a painter from a good suburban family who has taken to the streets in order to practice her art uninterruptedly until the time when she will inevitably lose her vision to a degenerative eye disorder. Alex earns his booze money through doing street theater: fire-eating and gymnastic routines. The two become buddies and lovers, share many adventures while practicing the arts of street survival, and even have some fun along the way. So close do they become that, when Alex is imprisoned for a violent act of jealousy, a newly cured Michèle visits him in prison and promises to meet him on the bridge when he is released. Despite this film's setting among the poor, it cost a lot of money to make: one of the big costs was the need to build a replica of the Pont-Neuf. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, (more)
Molinat (Phillippe Noiret) and Leroyer (Guy Marchand) are two cops who hate each others guts but are called on to solve the gunshot deaths of victims found on an Atlantic beach resort. The two focus on some females who have a psychological problem with men who are breathing. Molinat sends Leroyer to investigate some sultry suspects, knowing his hated colleague may never come back alive. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Guy Marchand, (more)
As this film opens, Louis (Jean-Hughes Anglade) and Emilie (Marie Trintignant) have just finished making love. Emilie has brought him to her apartment for just that purpose. Theirs is a new relationship, and this is the first time they have made love together. Throughout the movie, naked and relaxed from this encounter, they chat about their lives, their previous lovers, their plans, they have small arguments and reconciliations, and they generally do what people do in those circumstances to get to know one another better. They also caress one another a great deal, preparatory to another bout of lovemaking (never shown). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Hugues Anglade, Marie Trintignant, (more)
- Starring:
- Albert Dupontel, Marie Trintignant, (more)
A four-year-old girl must come to terms with the loss of her mother and the reality of death in this award-winning French drama. Little Ponette (Victoire Thivisol) is riding in a car with her mother when they're involved in a serious accident; Ponette survives, but her mother does not. Her father (Xavier Beauvois) initially reacts with anger over his late wife's careless driving, while her Aunt Claire (Claire Nebout) tries to comfort the child by telling her about Jesus and the resurrection. However, none of this does much to reassure Ponette or clarify her confusion about the practical realities and spiritual dilemma posed by death. In time, Ponette and her cousins Matiaz (Matiaz Caton) and Delphine (Delphine Schiltz) are sent off to boarding school, where they have to resolve their confusion and loss on their own. Writer and director Jacques Doillon carefully coached Victoire Thivisol (who was too young to read the screenplay) through her performance; the results earned the child Best Actress honors at the 1996 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victoire Thivisol, Xavier Beauvois, (more)

















