Claire Wauthion Movies

For Emma (Karin Viard), the good news is she's pregnant. A professional musician, Emma has wanted a child for some time, and even though her boyfriend Simon (Laurent Lucas) seems less than excited about fatherhood, Emma welcomes the prospect of becoming a mother. The bad news, however, is Emma soon finds out she also has breast cancer, and she is forced to weigh a complicated series of health options. The most effective treatment for her cancer would be hazardous for the fetus, while the course of action that would offer the least harm to her unborn child would not be especially helpful for keeping Emma alive. With the guidance of a pair of compassionate physicians, Emma begins chemotherapy treatments that will hopefully keep both her and the fetus safe until it can be safely extracted. Karin Viard received praise for her performance in this film, which was shown in the "Directors Fortnight" series at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This complex French tale eschews a single linear narrative in favor of two parallel storylines that move freely between past and present, reality and fantasy, to chronicle a scandalous love affair between a female author and a certain man who may or may not be a fabrication and the attempts of a screenwriter, wanting to use the story for a film, to learn the truth. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Set in the Netherlands between 1856 and 1888, this story centers on the gradual coming-of-age of Hedwig (Renée Soutendijk), the daughter of a wealthy family who has been "protected" from ever knowing about sex, a forbidden topic. At 16, Hewig marries a man who cannot stand the idea of sex, seeing all aspects related to it as sinful and demeaning. Given the fact that Helwig is as sensual as most young women her age, she eventually meets an accomplished, attractive pianist and falls in love -- leaving her sterile life with her inflexible husband and taking on a new life as the mistress of the pianist. Soon she is pregnant, and while the pianist is away on a concert tour, she has their child. Her happiness is short-lived because the little baby becomes ill and dies. At this point, Hedwig is living in Paris and the death of her child robs her of the stability she had known until now, and she ends up in a hospital for treatment of her mental and emotional collapse. Although cured of her emotional breakdown, she comes out of the hospital addicted to heroin -- a habit she is forced to sustain through prostitution. Finally, she is able to end the addiction with the help of a nun, and then she returns to the Netherlands to start looking for a new beginning. Based on a Frederik van Eeden novel that was published in 1900 and was far-sighted for its time, attacking the repressive behavior of the religiously "upright," this film still sees Hedwig as morally flawed, her lover as another "free-living" artist, and farmers as somewhat backward. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this Dutch film, Maarten (Jeroen Krabbe) is a thirtysomething biologist who has yet to lose his virginity. When he dreams that he will die if he is unable to sleep with a woman in the next seven days, Maarten and his alter ego set out to save his life. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi

Je Tu Il Elle was the first feature-length effort from avant-garde filmmaker Chantal Akerman. The story, simple in extreme, concerns a high-strung woman taking a lengthy journey through France. Her life up until now has been one huge question mark. By dwelling long and hard on every experience, she hopes to find answers during her cross-country odyssey. Chantal Akerman herself plays a major role in Je Tu Il Elle, which also features Niels Arestrup and Claire Wauthion. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is a film which was made in Belgium in the early '60s and was never released. However, it somehow got included in the American Oscar category for "Best Foreign Film," and was finally released in its home country in 1971. It explores the issues of prejudice and superstition in the Belgian countryside through the troubles of a middle-aged farmer whose mother has been accused of being a witch. In French, this picture is based on a true story which took place in the late 1920s and early '30s. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi