Jean-Luc Ormieres Movies

Absurdist duo Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern follow-up 2004's Aaltra with this sparse black comedy in which the recently-fired female employees at a children's clothing factory pool their funds to put a hit on their callous boss. Out of work and down on her luck, ex-con Louise (Yolande Moreau) proposes to her jobless sisters that they do something useful by ridding the world of the man who put them all in their current situation. But while security specialist Michel (Bouli Lanners) seems like the perfect candidate to carry out the hit, his ineptitude is so great that he attempts to sub-contract the job to a series of inexperienced - and highly inappropriate - assassins. Notorious Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde cameos as a nut-job 9/11 conspiracy theorist, and actor/director Mathieu Kassovitz turns up as an organic hotelier. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Following up on his masterful, heart-wrenching war-drama Kippur, veteran Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitaï directs his first English language work based on a novel by Arthur Miller. Set in 1939, the film centers on Kalman, a young ambitious Jewish businessman who leaves his aged father in Europe to be with his sister, Sam (Samantha Morton), in Palestine. There he finds that Sam is living with Dov, an idealistic architect obsessed with the work of the Bauhaus school. Sam, in turn, is helping professor Oscar Kalkofsky, whose visionary ideas about the future Israeli state is one of collaboration with the Arabs already living in Palestine. Another member in this intellectual group is Silvia, who passionately argues for a separate state apart from the Arabs. When the war breaks out, illegal Jewish immigrants flood into Britain from Europe resulting in the formation of the Jewish Brigade by the British Army. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

French-born, UCLA-trained screenwriter Jean-Yves Pitoun made his directorial debut with this French comedy in which self-taught cook Lorenzo, aka Loren (Jason Lee) is discharged from the U.S. Navy after hitting a superior who accused him of serving "sissy food" to the Admiral's guests. Back in Brooklyn, Loren works at his Italian-Irish family's pizza parlor and then heads for France to study with his idol, chef Louis Boyer (Eddy Mitchell). After the death of his wife, Boyer raised his daughter Gabrielle (Irene Jacob), now a successful restaurant architect engaged to physician Vincent (Thibault de Montalembert). Gabrielle and Loren compare recipes and finally choose romance from their menu, while Boyer begins to cave in from the stress of tax problems, restaurant critics, and police seeking illegal foreign workers. Jason Lee learned French in order to do the French dialogue version. In the English-language version, actors speak French but switch to English when Lee is onscreen. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Both a documentary and a unique exercise in film restoration, It's All True tells the complex story of Orson Welles' ill-fated attempts to make an anthology film about the life and culture of South America and concludes with a reconstruction of one of Welles' unfinished segments, edited together from rediscovered original footage. The idea for Welles' South American project was conceived by the American government as a sort of cultural exchange to improve relations with Latin America. Using interviews and period footage, the filmmakers relate how the project quickly turned sour, as both the Brazilian government and RKO studio executives objected to Welles early footage; indeed, thanks to a local witch doctor, the film could literally be said to be cursed. Although Welles persevered, RKO eventually withdrew support from the project. The failures of It's All True and The Magnificent Ambersons, which was damaged by studio cuts made while Welles was overseas, are thought by many to have irreparably damaged the director's Hollywood career. It's All True concludes with a partial reconstruction of the "Four Men on a Raft" segment, in which Welles tells the true story of a dramatic, thousand-mile raft journey by four Brazilian peasants. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This Academy Award-nominated Belgian drama follows a late 19th-century priest's courageous battle to end the exploitation of child workers in Aalst, Belgium. Father Daens' crusade begins shortly after he is transferred to the impoverished Belgian region. Aghast at the working conditions he sees in area mills, Daens publishes an inflammatory letter in his brother's newspaper. Among his many accusations and condemnations are those that not only children such as the little girl Nini are being overworked in unhealthy conditions, they are also being sexually abused by supervisors. The workers launch a widespread public outcry that is immediately quelled by the upper-class mill owners who fire all rebels and hire more children and women (at even lower wages) in their place. Thus begins a long, tragic battle between Daens and the poor and Belgium's ruling class. Aided by the Church itself, the monarches and the rich prevail, leaving Daens disillusioned and just as impoverished as those for whom he has sacrificed everything. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this austere drama, the situation of being a hostage is explored. Sandrine Bonnaire plays a European researcher who is abducted by some ill-educated rebels in a North African country. They have no clear reason for holding her hostage, and after a considerable period of time (and an escape attempt by their captive), they simply let her go. The story is based on a similar situation that the director Raymond Depardon covered when he was a reporter. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Julie (Jessica Forde) and her childhood sweetheart Jean (Jean-Claude Adelin) are separated in this uneven but prize-winning romantic drama. When Jean is shipped off to live with his aristocratic father, Julie later becomes engaged to Henri (Simon de la Brosse), a young man from her own social standing. When Jean returns, Henri is driven to fits of jealous rage, and Julie follows the uninterested Jean back to Paris in an attempt to win his love again. This feature won the Jean Vigo Prize in 1987. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The teenage life and adventures of young José who lives in a shanty-town on Martinique in the mid-'30s comprises the body of this well-wrought film on how to enjoy what you have. José lives with his grandmother and is well aware of the French colonial presence but they are far away from his world. He gets into mischief, learns valuable lessons on living from an old former slave, drinks too much one time, and even sets fire to one of the run-down shanties. Regardless of his pranks, José never lets up on his studies and in the end, his diligence pays off. Darling Legitmus won the "Best Actress" award at the 1983 Venice Film Festival for her role as the grandmother in this film, and Rue Case Negres won the 1983 Cesar for "Best First Film" for director Euzhan Palcy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide