Paulo Branco Movies

Master filmmaker Raúl Ruiz adds a black comedy to his far-reaching body of work with That Day, a playful meditation on money, death, and false spirituality. Livia (Elsa Zylberstein) and Pointpoirot (Bernard Girardeau) are, respectively, a spoiled society woman who suffers from delusional visions of heavenly apparitions and a crazed serial killer on the loose after a successful prison break. It isn't long before fate brings the two together, and after thwarting Pointpoirot's initial attempts to murder her, Livia soon warms to the charming sociopath. The duo makes short work of Livia's greedy family -- who were planning on killing her and collecting her fortune, anyway -- and as the death count rises, a romance develops between the two. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Portuguese filmmaker Joao Botelho directs the political farce The Woman Who Believed She Was President of the United States. Alexandra Lencastre stars as the title character who thinks her home in Lisbon on Washington Street is really The White House. Surrounded by a cast of well-costumed women supporters, she proclaims "I am the President of the U.S.A.; I can do whatever I want!" While she locks up her mother (Laura Soveral) in the basement, she is aided by her Secretary of State (Rita Blanco). On her birthday, she throws a huge party in honor of her re-election and plans to control the entire world. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A wealthy but dysfunctional family teeters on the brink of collapse in this emotional drama leavened with a strong dose of dark comedy. Federica (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) is the daughter of a wealthy Italian business magnate (Roberto Herlitzka) who relocated himself and his family to France in the 1970s, after a wave of kidnappings among the rich and prominent led him to fear for their safety. Years later, Federica and her siblings -- brother Aurelio (Lambert Wilson) and sister Bianca (Chiara Mastroianni) -- still feel lost and disconnected, and with their father on his death bed, they each confront their feelings in their own way. Emotionally distant Aurelio plans a long and expensive vacation, while Bianca is in a sour mood that refuses to lift. Federica, who is attempting to establish herself as a playwright, tries to focus on her work, but she finds herself romantically torn between her current beau, down to earth Pierre (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and her former lover Philippe (Denis Podalydes), who despite his infatuation with her can't tear himself away from his wife and child. Il Est Plus Facile Pour un Chameau... was the first feature film from Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, who wrote and directed the film as well as playing Federica. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Luc Moullet's Les naufrages de la D 17 (Shipwrecked On Route D 17) is a quirky comedy. Racecar driver Paul (Patrick Bouchitey) becomes stranded in a village in the French Alps. He partner goes to find help. While they hunt for assistance, a film crew is making a western. At the same time, a military man believes he is hunting down an Iraqi pilot. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Ole Bornedal directs the drama I Am Dina, based on the novel by Herbjørg Wassmo. In Northern Norway during the 1860s, a little girl named Dina accidentally causes her mother's death. Overcome with grief, her father (Bjørn Floberg) refuses to raise her, leaving her in the care of the household servants. Dina grows up wild and unmanageable, with her only friend being the stable boy, Tomas (Hans Matheson). She summons her mother's ghost and develops a strange fascination with death as well as a passion for living. Family friend Jacob (Gérard Depardieu) encourages Dina's father to hire Lorch (Søren Sætter-Lassen), a tutor who introduces her to the cello. When Dina is old enough (played by Maria Bonnevie), she marries Jacob and moves to Reinsnes, a port he runs with his mother, Karen (Wenche Foss), and his stepsons Niels (Mads Mikkelsen) and Anders (Jørgen Langhelle). Niels doesn't like Dina's wild ways, or the fact that she has taken over accounting duties at Reinsnes. Dina's eccentric tendencies become even stronger, eventually leading Jacob into an accident of his own and bringing Tomas back into her life. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Hugo Santiago's stylish detective film The Wolf of the West Coast is based on a short story by crime novelist Ross MacDonald. James Faulkner plays Lew Millar, a renowned private eye who is hired by a gangster to be his bodyguard. When Millar arrives at the criminal's French hideaway, the gangster is already dead. Among the people Millar investigates are the gangster's brother, the man's sister-in-law, and their teenage daughter. A judge may also offer insight into the case, as well as Millar's own past. The Wolf of the West Coast was screened at the Montreal Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A man who's been confronted with new responsibilities must decide what to do with his career in this drama with comic undertones. Gilbert Vance (Michel Piccoli) is an aging but highly respected actor who, after completing a performance of Eugene Ionesco's Exit the King in which he plays opposite an attractive and talented actress named Sylvie Leonor Silveira, receives devastating news -- his wife, his daughter, and her husband have all perished in an automobile accident. Vance becomes the guardian of his grandson, and as he learns to live without his loved ones, the boy soon becomes his best and most rewarding reason for getting through the days. Vance returns to work playing Prospero in a well-received production of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and after the successful run, Vance's agent (Antoine Chappey) is flooded with offers for the actor's services. But the majority of the projects are highly dubious, and Vance ends up rejecting most of them, though he takes a role in a screen adaptation of James Joyce's Ulysses directed by American filmmaker John Crawford (John Malkovich), even though he knows he's miscast. As Vance ponders retirement, his agent also passes along another sort of offer -- Sylvie has confided that she's very much attracted to Vance, but while she's more than interested in an affair, Vance isn't sure that he wants a new relationship in his life. Catherine Deneuve also appears in a supporting role as an actress working with Vance. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide