Caroline Champetier Movies

Directors Michel Gondry, Bong Joon-ho, and Leos Carax each direct a segment of this triptych feature about life in 21st century Tokyo. The saga begins with Gondry's segment, entitled "Interior Design," about a young couple who moves in with an old friend while attempting to establish themselves in Tokyo. Hiroko (Ayako Fujitani) and Akira (Ryo Kase) have just arrived in the city. They're eager to launch their careers, but first they'll have to find a place to stay. Though Hiroko's old friend Akemi (Ayumi Ito) opens her doors to the ambitious young couple, her boyfriend isn't exactly thrilled by the new living arrangement. As Akira takes his first steps toward becoming a filmmaker, the neon jungle beckons to Hiroko. Before long, Hiroko begins to experience a startling metamorphosis that instills her with a newfound sense of peace and purpose.

The second chapter, Leos Carax's "Merde," follows the debased exploits of an unsightly subterranean creature (Denis Lavant) who emerges from the Tokyo sewers to taunt and torment the unsuspecting denizens of the city. Stealing cash, pilfering cigarettes, frightening old ladies, and even going so far as to salaciously lick schoolgirls, the gibberish-spewing troublemaker dubbed Merde sparks a media frenzy that sends all of Tokyo into a panic. The situation spirals as Merde discovers an arsenal of hand grenades in his underground lair, and begins throwing them in the streets at will, creating an environment of total urban terror. Later, Merde is apprehended and pompous French magistrate Maître Voland (Jean-François Balmer) arrives to defend the deviant in a Japanese court. The only person capable of speaking his client's unintelligible language, Voland stands at the center of a media circus that soon engulfs all of Japan. When Merde is convicted by the court and sentenced to death, justice takes a turn for the surreal.

The trilogy winds to a close with Bong Joon-ho's "Shaking Tokyo," in which a reclusive pizza addict who hasn't left his apartment in over a decade falls for a pretty delivery girl at the very same moment an earthquake hits Japan. A so-called hikikomori who never dares venture outside, the lonely shut-in (Teruyuki Kagawa) subsists almost solely on pizza delivery. When a beautiful delivery girl shows up at his door and promptly faints when the ground begins to shake, it's love at first sight. Later, the agoraphobic man discovers that the object of his affections has become a hikikomori herself, and boldly ventures out of his apartment in order to declare his love. The moment he sets eyes on her, the ground starts to rumble once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A woman in a strange land finds both physical and emotional solace under unexpected circumstances in this drama from writer and director Naomi Kawase. Saiko (Kyoko Hasegawa) is a thirty-something woman from Japan who is traveling in Thailand when she's convinced her cab driver Marvin (Kittipoj Mankang) is either lost or planning to take her to the middle of nowhere and rob her. Saiko jumps out of the cab and happens to find Greg (Gregoire Colin), a gentleman from France. While Saiko and Greg don't speak the same language, she comes to realize that he's part of a group who have come to Thailand to study massage with Amari (Netsai Todoroki), a nurturing woman who also happens to be Marvin's sister. Despite her inability to communicate with Amari and her students, Saiko is drawn to the gentle spirit and positive energy of the school, and decides to join them to learn more about the art of massage; in time, she also finds a powerful connection with a good-looking monk (Jun Murakami). Nanayo was an official selection at the 2008 Bangkok Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder transcends the borders of the political and judiciary arenas to explore the mystery of a man who stands up for some of society's most deplorable figures. Enigmatic lawyer Jacques Vergès began his career by defending Djamila Bouhired - an activist who became the manifestation of the people's hunger for freedom - during the Algerian War of Independence. Later, after marrying his client and adopting an anti-colonialist stance, Vergès disappeared from the public eye for nearly a decade. Upon his return Vergès shocked the world by defending the rights of terrorists ranging from Magdalena Kopp to Anis Naccache, and even standing up for notorious Gestapo butcher Klaus Barbie. In addition to exploring the career of a man who has dedicated his life to defending the undefendable, director Schroeder also reveals the uncanny connections between the world's increasingly expansive blind terrorist networks. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A middle-aged man studying the Mur des Noms in modern-day France recalls the time 20 years prior when he and his mother were viewing the trial of Klaus Barbie with rapt attention in this introspective drama from director Amos Gitai. The year was 1987, and Rivka lived with her son, Victor, in a disheveled apartment littered with antiques and memorabilia. The opening session in the trial against the so-called "butcher of Lyon" is being televised, and Rivka is struggling to keep her emotions under control as she prepares dinner. Meanwhile, Victor sits in his office attempting to assemble his family tree. But he too is watching the trials, and doesn't seem to hear a word spoken to him by his secretary. As mother and son sit down for dinner together, the mere mention of Barbie's trial is enough to cause Rivka to excuse herself from the table. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Augustin Dos Santos, the cheerfully eccentric struggling actor played by Jean-Chretien Sibertin-Blanc in Augustin and Augustin, Roi du King-Fu, returns to the screen in this comedy from France. Augustin brings his one man show to a retirement home, where he learns one of the residents is Odette St. Gilles (Danielle Darrieux), who was a noted singer and actress in her youth. Despite her advanced age, Odette is as alert as ever, and she expresses great admiration for Augustin's performance. A few days after the show, Augustin wrangles a commission from French representatives of a Swedish glass-making concern to provide entertainment during a visit from the home office's top brass. Augustin has been asked to whip up a show that's "typically French," and when he decides his own material doesn't quite fit the description, he asks Odette for help. Odette suggests they stage an adaptation of the correspondence between Madame du Deffand and Julie de Lespinasse, and Augustin agrees, hiring out-of-work television actress Bettina Fleischer (Arielle Dombasle) as Odette's co-star and half-bright thug Franck (Christophe Vandevelde) as their love interest. However, it doesn't take long for Augustin to discover working with Odette is more of a challenge than he expected. Oh La La! (aka Nouvelle Chance) received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A young, inexperienced detective is inducted into an elite Paris plainclothes unit in Le Petit Lieutenant, directed by Xavier Beauvois (Don't Forget You're Going to Die). Antoine (Jalil Lespert or Human Resources) is as gung-ho as they come, and eager to learn everything he needs to know to be a good cop, although he misses his wife (Bérangère Allaux), a schoolteacher who stayed behind in the country when Antoine took his new job. Antoine socializes with his new comrades, who seem to drink an awful lot, with the exception of the unit commander, Caroline (Nathalie Baye), an alcoholic who has just returned from a long stint on desk duty. The other experienced detectives that Antoine looks up to are the cynical Louis (Antoine Chappey), and the stalwart Solo (Roschdy Zem), who in addition to the rigors of the job faces bigotry due to his Moroccan origin. When a Polish immigrant is found murdered in a canal near the station, the unit begins a methodical investigation, eventually learning that the victim was last seen with a couple of Russians. When a second victim is rescued from the waters of the canal a few days later, the case takes on a new urgency. As Antoine tries to fit in and learn on the job, Caroline struggles with her addiction and forms an almost maternal bond with the rookie. Le Petit Lieutenant also features Jacques Perrin, and was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their 2006 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

Directed by David Teboul, Yves Saint Laurent 5, Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris takes a behind-the-scenes look at the elites of the fashion industry, particularly fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent, and attempts to determine if and why this label is deserving of the high price it commands. The answer lies within the making of the clothes themselves. As Teboul follows the designers through their work schedule in an effort to define what it takes to "build" a dress, it becomes apparent that the seamstresses are not merely sewing clothes, but attempting to translate the vision of their employer onto fabric. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Sobibor, Oct. 14, 1943, 4 P.M. is an earnest journalistic endeavor, an important historical document, and a weighty account of a true story that merits public attention. It is not, however, an entertaining movie. Claude Lanzmann should be commended for recording Yehuda Lerner's description of his wartime experiences for posterity; furthermore, Lanzmann's decision to maintain a somber, almost meditative tone throughout the film is perfectly understandable given the subject matter. But the movie is rather dull to watch. Since Lanzmann couldn't base the film's visuals on archival footage of the Sobibor camp, he chose to rely on contemporary footage of the area and the train route that Lerner traveled to get there. This footage lacks a sense of immediacy or visceral impact, a problem that is exacerbated by the documentary's slow pace. The movie also relies heavily on interview footage of Lerner, whose impassive demeanor and subdued voice aren't particularly griping, although his comments demonstrate that he has both insight and a sense of humor. Unfortunately, the film's pace is slackened by the inclusion of both Lerner's comments in Hebrew and the translator's comments in French, which seems particularly gratuitous if you're watching the movie with English subtitles. The slowest part of the documentary, however, is its conclusion; it features a lengthy voice-over recitation of the numbers of victims brought at various times to Nazi concentration camps, accompanied only by the same list printed on the screen. This conclusion is indicative of Lanzmann's apparent belief that the gravity of his subject matter justifies occasionally lugubrious filmmaking. How much you appreciate his movie may depend on how much you agree with this attitude. ~ Todd Kristel, All Movie Guide

The ways of love are often difficult to fathom, but the love of a woman for the man who kicked her boyfriend's butt over unpaid debts is a new avenue of romance explored in this French comedy-drama. Fred (Lou Doillon) is a woman in her early twenties who is dating Francois (Camille Clavel), a young man who has made the serious mistake of getting behind in his payments to his drug dealer, Alex (Guillaume Saurrel). One day, Alex decides things have gone too far, and he arrives at Francois and Fred's place to beat him up. For some reason, Fred enjoys watching Alex slap her boyfriend around, and she quickly finds herself infatuated with Alex. Seeing that Fred is already involved with Francois, she feels it might seem unseemly to approach him directly, so instead she fixes Alex up with her close friend Sylvia (Caroline Ducey), and the two couples spend the evening together as Fred puts her matchmaking skills to the test. Lou Doillon, who plays Fred, is the daughter of Carrement a L'ouest's director Jacques Doillon; her mother is noted singer and actress Jane Birkin. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Mark Gibson directs this quirky comedy about golf, drunks, and divorcees. The film focuses on pro-golfer and ex-con Lionel "Ex" Exley (Campbell Scott), who comes to New Orleans in search of his golf clubs. He soon finds himself consorting with decadent upper-crust types, such as alcoholic lawyer W. Firmin Carter (Jared Harris) and hot-to-trot divorcee Rachel Van Dyke (Laura Linney). Later, when Carter mysteriously disappears, Ex gets embroiled in an insurance fraud scheme. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

French superstar Catherine Deneuve stars in this downbeat drama about the fine line between love and need. Deneuve plays Hélène, an attractive but aging housewife who keeps a lover, a young artist named Paul (Xavier Beauvois). Hélène is strongly attracted to Paul, but isn't sure if he's interested in her mind, her body, or merely her checkbook. Paul, on the other hand, is attracted to Hélène, but finds her too clingy and possessive; he wants to get away, and sometimes uses heroin as a means of escape. One day, Paul meets Serge (Daniel Duval), a well-known artist Paul would like to work for some day. Paul learns Serge's story is a troubled one; he took part in the student uprisings of the May '68 General Strike, ended up in a mental hospital, and lost a wife to suicide. Le Vent de la Nuit (Night Wind) features an original score by John Cale, a founding member of the ground-breaking rock band the Velvet Underground. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Benoit Jacquot directed this French drama about an older woman and a younger man, adapted from the novel by Yukio Mishima. When career woman Dominique (Isabelle Huppert) goes out to a nightclub one evening, her attraction to bartender Quentin (Vincent Martinez) is observed by cross-dressing Chris (Vincent Lindon), who approaches her and supplies inside dope on Quentin, leaving her intrigued. Although Dominique and Quentin travel in radically different spheres of income, class, politics, and education, these barriers recede into the background as sexual passion overcomes the couple. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide