Diane Kurys Movies

While pioneering pre-feminist author George Sand has been the subject of several film biographies focusing on her ten year relationship with Frederick Chopin, Les enfants du siècle looks at an earlier period in Sand's life, in particular her stormy romance with poet Alfred de Musset. In the early 1830's, Baroness Dudevant (Juliette Binoche) has abandoned her husband and arrives in Paris with her children in tow as rioting divides the city. The Baroness decides to reinvent herself and pursue a career as a writer; she renames herself George Sand, begins wearing clothes modeled after men's suits, and smokes cigarettes while penning manifestos denouncing marriage and affirming a woman's right to sexual satisfaction. Alfred de Musset (Benoit Magimel), a noted author, finds her brash nature fascinating, and they become first friends, then lovers as he helps her craft her literary efforts. However, Sand is six years older than de Musset, which leads to a severe conflict with his family; the couple heads to Venice in search of escape and inspiration, but Alfred decides that he prefers the city's brothels to George's company and that they should keep separate rooms from now on. George makes the acquaintance of an Italian doctor, Pagello (Stefano Dionisi), with whom she has a passionate affair; the realization that he's driven her into the arms of another man proves too much for Alfred, who returns to France. Eventually, George leaves Pagello and gives Alfred another chance, a decision she comes to regret. Les Enfants du Siecle had its world premiere at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Diane Kurys and Antoine Lacomblez wrote this drama of a woman novelist and her troubled, 20-year relationship with a man who has fathered two children with another woman. ~ Nicole Gagne, Rovi

One might assume that the original title of this French production was C'est La Vie. Wrong: the film was initially released as La Baule-les-Pins, then distributed to English speaking countries under a more "understandable" French cognomen. The film is set during a deceptively idyllic summer. Two young girls are fascinated bystanders as their parents' marriage dissolves and their mother takes up with a younger man. What might have been material for tear-stained drama in an American film is treated with perceptive humor in C'est La Vie. Director Diane Kurys cowrote the screenplay with Alain Le Henry. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

French filmmaker Diane Kurys directs the period drama Coup de Foudre (distributed in the U.S. as Entre Nous), adapted from a book she co-wrote with Olivier Cohen. The semi-autobiographical story is based on the life of the director's mother. Lena (Isabelle Huppert) is a Jewish refugee from Belgium living in occupied France during WWII. In order to avoid being sent to a German concentration camp, she agrees to marry the discharged military officer Michel (Guy Marchand). He tries to provide a decent life for her by running an auto repair business. They have two children together, but Lena is unhappy and stifled by her domestic life. Michel doesn't offer her the sensitivity and affection that she requires. Meanwhile, in Paris, the extroverted artist Madeleine (Miou-Miou) mourns the accidental death of her husband. After the liberation of France, she marries actor Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and has children of her own. In 1952, Lena and Madeleine meet by chance in Lyons. The two women develop an emotional relationship that borders on romantic involvement. Their bond is only strengthened by a mutual dissatisfaction with their husbands, children, and home life in general. Entre Nous was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1983. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

This gentle, closely observed autobiographical tale, a first film by director Diane Kurys, got a very favorable critical reception at the time of its release. It concerns the experiences of Anne (Eleonore Klarwein) and Frederique (Odile Michel), the 13- and 15-year-old daughters of a separated Jewish couple. They are attending a grim, rule-crazy school in the early 1960s. Anne is unsocial and not much of an "achiever"; she tries to find out what is going on around her by eavesdropping on her mother and her older sister. Frederique is much more outgoing, has a crush on someone much older than herself, and is beginning to feel the first pangs of love. They are both awkward around their father, whom they visit on school holidays. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi