Bulle Ogier Movies

An artist finds that creative freedom is far more elusive than he imagined in this satirical comedy-drama from writer and director Otar Iosseliani. Niko (Dato Tarielashvili) is a talented but hard-headed Georgian filmmaker working in the Soviet Union in the late 1950s. Niko is determined to make his own films his own way, but as he butts heads with official censors and state-appointed producers, that isn't a simple matter. Working at home is all but impossible as he's constantly interrupted by his grandparents, and while his colleagues on the set and in the editing room are loyal, they often have to step in to help fight his battles over the content of his work. Fed up with the Soviet way of filmmaking, Niko leaves Georgia and immigrates to France, where a producer (Pierre Etaix) offers him a chance to use his talents in Europe. It isn't long before Niko realizes he's simply traded one sort of creative interference for another. Inspired in part by Iosseliani's own experiences, Chantrapas (the name comes from a Russian phrase for a stubborn ne'er-do-well) was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two people fleeing different sorts of danger find one another in this screwball romantic comedy from France. Danny (Edouard Baer) is a professional magician who has been struggling to find work and has somehow managed to get on the wrong side of his emotionally unstable brother-in-law Max (Joey Starr). With Max eager to hurt him, Danny decides to leave town, and drops his aging and senile mother (Bulle Ogier) off at a mental hospital, where he meets Sonia (Mélanie Bernier), who seems a bit too interested in the opposite sex. As Danny hits the road, he picks up an attractive hitchhiker, Irène (Nathalie Baye), who is carrying a large purse and gets frequent phone calls from men Danny assumes are her current or former lovers. But Danny doesn't know the half of Irène's story -- she's the paramour of a powerful politician (Guy Marchand) who has become involved in an illegal deal to sell arms to North Korea, and Irène is carrying both the politician's cash and evidence of his wrongdoings. Irène is also involved with a well-connected Korean gentleman (Park Jung-hak) and is dodging calls from both her lovers as she and Danny motor away in search of relative safety, and it isn't long before the traveling companions become attracted to one another. Passe-Passe (aka Off and Running) also stars Maurice Bénichou, Sandrine Le Berre, and Hippolyte Girardot. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Guillaume Depardieu, Jeanne Balibar, and Michel Piccoli star in director Jacques Rivette's adaptation of the Balzac novella The Duchesse de Langeais, which tells the tale of a Parisian socialite who is romantically pursued by a Napoleonic war hero. The story begins as grieving French general Armand de Montriveau (Depardieu) arrives at a Majorcan church to speak with French nun Antionette le Langeais (Balibar). General de Montriveau believes le Langeais to be a woman he once loved dearly, but eventually lost. As the pair is reunited under the watchful eyes of the presiding priest and mother superior, their romantic past gradually comes into focus. It was five years ago that bored socialite Antoinette first became enamored with the wounded soldier whose rousing tales of adventure offered exciting contrast to her highly refined lifestyle. Though she was married at the time, the coquettish cosmopolitan quickly fell under the spell of the commanding military man -- who vowed that very night that Antoinette would be his lover. As their romance grows more complicated, the passionate pair finds it increasingly difficult to deny the powerful connection that binds them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jacques Rivette's epic-scale meditation on art, politics and relationships is an eight-part, 740 minute drama that begins as an examination of two Parisian theater companies. Lili (Michele Moretti) is a member of an experimental troupe preparing a radical new interpretation of Aeschylus's Seven Against Thebes, while Thomas (Michel Lonsdale) is in charge of a state-funded group who are rehearsing another work by the same ancient Greek playwright, Prometheus Unbound. Drifting in and out of the orbit of these two groups are Sarah (Bernadette Lafont), an author and longtime friend of Thomas; Colin (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a deaf street musician; Frederique (Juliet Berto), a sexy confidence woman, and the bohemian owner of a knick-knack shop who often changes her name (Bulle Ogier), among many others. Colin tries to search out the meaning of a strange note handed to him by a mysterious stranger, while Frederique becomes party to a similar message. As it happens, both learn of the possible existence of a secret society of thirteen powerful individuals who are the true rulers of Paris, but neither is sure if the group exists in history or the present day, and they have very different notions of what to do with this information. Jacques Rivette originally screened Out 1 as a work in progress (titled Out 1: Noli Me Tangere) at a pair of screenings in Paris in the fall of 1971; it was originally conceived as a project for television, but became a theatrical film after it was rejected by French broadcasters. While a four-hour version, Out 1: Spectre, began making the rounds of film festivals in 1974, the film didn't appear in its full twelve-hours-plus version until 1989, when a new cut of Out 1 appeared at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The final cut of Out 1 appeared with English subtitles in London in 2006, and has subsequently been screened in Vancouver, New York City and Chicago. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A thirtysomething Parisian couple finally follow their dream of owning a rural bed and breakfast, only to discover that dreams aren't all they're cracked up to be in Claude Duty's 2003 comedy Bienvenue a gite (Bed and Breakfast). Bertrand (Philippe Harel) and his girlfriend Caroline (Marina Fois) buy a multiple room bed and breakfast in Provence and eagerly leave their big city, Parisian lives behind for what they imagine to be a more relaxing and introspective rustic existence. Arriving in their new home proves to be a much bigger change than either expected, however, with little actually changing in Caroline's outlook on life other than the focus of her incessant micromanaging. Bertrand, after some difficulty, begins to acclimate to his new surroundings and makes some new friends, including Peter (Michael Maloney) and Julien (Sebastian Barrio), the owners of a nearby gay-orientated bed and breakfast. The defining moment for Bertrand and Caroline's relationship -- and sanity -- comes when Caroline volunteers to spearhead the village's millennial anniversary, which proves to be a much larger undertaking than anything she tried to do while still living in Paris. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Julie Lopes-Curval's debut feature, Seaside, closely observes the lives of about a dozen citizens in a small French village. Paul (Jonathan Zaccai) works as a lifeguard. His sister is employed at the local casino, a building frequented by their mother, Rose (Bulle Ogier). Rose is retired from a factory that currently employs Paul's significant other, Marie (Helene Fillieres), and is lorded over by Albert (Patrick Lizana), the fourth generation of his family to run the business. Over the course of one year, the lives and fortunes of these people intertwine and change in major and minor ways. Seaside was screened at the Director's Fortnight during the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Avant-garde director Werner Schroeter's Deux (Two) is a willfully disjointed film about twin sisters played by Isabelle Huppert. As newborns, the two girls were separated. The film intercuts snippets from their lives. One of the sisters engages in some homosexual experimentation, while the other has ongoing conversations with a man (Jean-François Stévenin) who apparently resides in an opera house (opera being one of the director's career-long obsessions). Bulle Ogier plays a woman who may or may not be related to the two women played by Huppert. Deux was screened during the Director's Fortnight portion of the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A visually stylish comedy with dramatic overtones from director Tonie Marshall, Vénus Beauté (Institut) looks at the lives of three women who work at a small but successful beauty salon. Angele Nathalie Baye is an attractive woman just edging into middle age who is looking for companionship without commitment, even when it comes knocking. Her co-worker Samantha (Mathilde Seigner) has more boyfriends than she knows what to do with, and Marie (Audrey Tautou), the youngest of the group, is still learning the ropes of both love and beauty treatment. Fans of classic French cinema will want to keep an eye peeled for guest appearances from Emmanuelle Riva, Micheline Presle and Edith Scob. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Yves Angelo directed this slow-paced French drama adapted from the novel by Steinunn Sigurdardottir about two sisters -- high school literature instructor Alda (Emmanuelle Beart) and her older sister Olga (Sandrine Bonnaire). On an island, the sisters and Olga's 17-year-old daughter Sigga (Vahina Giocante) live in a former rectory adjacent to a cemetery where an old woman (Bulle Ogier) talks to herself. After school, while Sigga does her homework, the enigmatic Alda engages in some extracurricular exercises with married men (with Olga sometimes eavesdropping just outside her door). Polite shopkeeper Jakob (Andre Dussollier) makes visits to collect the variety of straw animals made by Olga. Time passes slowly as long-buried secrets are unearthed, but the pace picks up during a fantasy sequence. The dialogue-sparse film features a clip from Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Shown at 1998 film fests (Venice, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, Irma Vep tells the story of has-been French filmmaker René Vidal (Jean-Pierre Léaud). In an attempt to reinvigorate his career, Vidal decides to remake Les Vampires, the classic silent serial featuring the adventures of jewel thief Irma Vep. Playing herself, actress Maggie Cheung is cast as the lead, joining Vidal on a chaotic set where he gets little respect from the rest of the cast and crew. Speaking no French, Cheung finds herself fending off the advances of lesbian costumer Zoé (Nathalie Richard), sticking up for Vidal, and becoming so immersed in her role that she burgles the guests of her hotel while in costume. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

This gentle French comedy has a meandering plotline as it traces the exploits of a young man recognized as a the son of a star. The main protagonist is 23-year old Harvey who works as the guide for a group of Georgian singers who have a Paris gig. He is interested in Dinara, the 18-year old interpreter for the group. While in a restaurant, they encounter Marco Garciano who tells them he played the small lad in Crin blanc, a classic French film. He is really a half-time chauffeur and con-artist. Marco tells Harvey that he is the son of Gascogne, the father of the New Wave, and close friend and inspiration to many directors between 1958 and 1962. Marco tries to prove his point by taking Harvey and Dinara to meet some former French film impresarios. They see Alexandra Stewart and Bernadette Lafont. They also meet Claude Chabrol while he eats lunch. They meet many more including director Michel Deville. All they meet are convinced that Harvey is indeed Gascogne's son. Many of the female stars claim to be his mother. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this romantic comedy from France, Annie (Bernadette Lafont), a middle-aged single mother who hasn't seen her grown-up daughter Marie (Lio) in years, has just been shown the door by her boyfriend. Given her bad luck with men over the years, Annie ought to be used to this by now, but sadly that's not the case. Annie turns to her high-strung sister Francoise (Bulle Ogier) for support; as it turns out, Francoise has her own problems with men, since she's convinced that her husband is being unfaithful to her. Since Francoise's hubby is supposed to be at a business conference held at an ocean resort, Annie and Francoise decide to drop by in hopes of catching him in the act. Upon arrival, the sisters make friends with CriCri (Michele Laroque), a hotel manager who can't stand her husband, and Dizou (Maaike Jansen), a 60-something maid who happens to be very happy with her marriage. Personne ne m'aime was written and directed by Marion Vernoux, who won the French Academy of Cinema's "Best First Film" award for her effort. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The seemingly unrelated scenes in this 110 minute black and white cinematic collage reflect the highly personalized vision of filmmaker Raul Ruiz. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi