Charlotte Valandrey Movies
- 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)
Independent filmmaker Sally Potter's gender-bending epic, which views four centuries of sexual politics through the eyes of a sex-switching main character, is based on the 1928 novel by Virginia Woolf. The androgynous title character is played with delicate quietude by Tilda Swinton. The story begins during the reign of the aging Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp, in a droll turn recalling his The Naked Civil Servant). Queen Elizabeth takes a shine to the attractive young Orlando and seeks out his sexual favors. In return, Elizabeth grants him a large estate, commanding him, "Do not fade, do not wither, do not grow old." Orlando takes the queen at her word and doesn't. When Elizabeth dies, Orlando becomes attracted to Sasha (Charlotte Valandrey), the daughter of a Russian diplomat, but she rebuffs his advances. Crushed, Orlando accepts an ambassadorship to Constantinople. After witnessing the killing of a man in battle, Orlando undergoes a change of sex, becoming a woman and returning to England, where she hobnobs with 18th-century geniuses like Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Addison. Walking through a garden labyrinth, the time frame shifts to the 19th century, and Orlando falls in love with a handsome American (Billy Zane). Now in the 20th century, Orlando gives birth to his child and continues on. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tilda Swinton, Billy Zane, (more)
- 1987
When handsome, magnetic and a bit of a rogue, young Steven Brown returns to his hometown on the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec in 1936 after wandering around the world a bit, his added glamor sets many a female heart pounding. However, this same town is noteworthy for its claustrophobic air of moralistic repression, and one result of his return is an outbreak of crimes of passion, including a couple of rapes. In fact, for a short time it looks like his entire town is out to destroy itself. Somehow the young man survives to tell this tale as an old man, reliving his memories through flashbacks. This sensitively crafted film is based on a novel by Anne Hébert, and all the English characters in it were recast as French-speaking. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Banner, Charlotte Valandrey, (more)
- 1986
An unusual assortment of characters is brought together in this film noir influenced story: Petrus (Claude Brasseur) spends his life escaping the gamblers he cheated at the card table. Manuel (Richard Berry) has an ambition to open a tango school, but in the meantime he drives a cab for a living. And Corrine (Charlotte Valandrey) is Petrus' daughter, a waitress and a dreamer. As the lives and challenges of these three protagonists interact, each heads for their own moment of truth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Claude Brasseur, Richard Berry, (more)
- 1985
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlotte Valandrey, Lambert Wilson, (more)
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