Jean-Louis Piel Movies

Legendary filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai directs Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz, and Norah Jones in his first English-language feature film -- a romantic road movie detailing the cross-country journey of a woman who sets off across the United States in hopes of mending her broken heart. Elizabeth (Jones) has just been through a particularly nasty breakup, and now she's ready to leave her friends and memories behind as she chases her dreams across the country. In order to support herself on her journey, Elizabeth picks up a series of waitress jobs along the way. As Elizabeth crosses paths with a series of lost souls whose yearnings are even greater than her own -- including a troubled cop (David Strathairn), his estranged wife (Rachel Weisz), and an embittered gambler (Natalie Portman) -- their emotional turmoil ultimately helps her gain a greater understanding of her own problems. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Directed by Lou Ye, Zi Hudie revolves around the underground faction of anti-Nipponese fighters in 1930s Shanghai, just prior to the onset of the Sino-Japanese war. It's only the beginning when Cynthia (Zhang Ziyi), a young Chinese woman, learns the news of her lover Itami's (Toru Nakamura) rapidly approaching return to the military. In a second and even more devastating blow, Cynthia's brother, a contributor to an anti-Japanese newspaper, is killed by a Japanese activist. Three years later, switchboard operator Tang Yiling (Li Bingbing) and Situ (Liu Ye), her fiancé, are introduced to Cynthia after inadvertently heading into a protest held by a resistance group code-named Purple Butterfly, of which Cynthia (who has since changed her name to Ding Hui) has become a part. Ultimately, a botched assassination attempt leaves Situ with a mysterious briefcase; now a suspect himself, Situ is arrested by none other than Itami, who, after reuniting with his old flame, has no idea of her role in a complicit plan to have his boss (Kin Ei) assassinated. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

An elderly man falls in love with a woman young enough to be his daughter -- and that's not the least of their differences -- in this offbeat romantic comedy. Horace (Victor Argo) is a retired police officer who now works for a travel agency. Outwardly gruff, Horace is at heart a gentle soul, and as he grows older he finds himself depressed by his single status. Horace's feelings of loneliness only intensify when he learns that a combination of lung cancer and severe diabetes is likely to claim his life within the next six months. Despite his sorry state, love finds Horace, but in a form he never would have anticipated -- Queenie (Valerie Geffner), known to her parents as Bernice Applegate, the daughter of a wealthy family who toys with a career as a social worker and a dominatrix while trying (without much success) to find work as an actress. After Queenie discovers her boyfriend has been having an affair with his secretary, Queenie gives him his walking papers and meets Horace by chance. Queenie and Horace quickly hit it off, but while Horace is grateful for Queenie's interest, it's obvious that they don't have much in common, and he has a hard time adjusting to her oddball sense of humor and free-wheeling sexual appetites. Queenie in Love also stars Louise Lasser, Austin Pendleton, and Mark Margolis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Peter Greenaway directed this elliptical and visually intricate tale of the far side of erotic and intellectual attraction. As a girl, Nagiko would receive a special gift each year from her father: a calligrapher (Ken Ogata) who would carefully paint a poem on her face, as her aunt (Hideko Yoshida) read aloud from The Pillow Book, a classic Japanese text on the art of love. As Nagiko (Vivian Wu) reached adulthood, her father insisted on putting a stop to this ritual, and he persuaded her to marry the nephew of his publisher (Ken Mitsuishi). But Nagiko is not satisfied with her husband, and after finding success as a model, she seeks a lover who will indulge her fondness for literature by writing verse on her naked body. In time, she finds happiness with a British expatriate named Jerome (Ewan McGregor), who persuades her to use his body as paper for her poetry, but the interference of her father's publisher (Yoshi Oida) gives their relationship a tragic turn. Greenaway deliberately mistranslated some of the French and Japanese dialogue for The Pillow Book, hoping that the occasionally fractured language would give the film a "Tower of Babel" quality. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Stalinist Russia, circa 1930, is recreated in this Russian-French film that focuses on a small, elite gathering of family and friends who appreciate the idealism of Stalin's visions because they do not have to experience its darker side of gulags and purges. The story focuses upon a single day in Soviet revolutionary hero Serguei Kotov's life. Kotov lives an idyllic country life with his lovely wife Maroussia, and their feisty daughter Nadia. He is highly respected by the locals. On this day, the Kotovs are visited by the roguishly handsome Dimitri, who was a former lover of Maroussia. Dimitri is on a dark mission that may have profound effects on Kotov's peaceful, happy, and idealistic existence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Veteran Russian writer-director Nikita Mikhalkov's film about the impact of modern civilization on an idyllic part of Mongolia won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar as Best Foreign Film. A farmer (Bayyartu) and his wife, who live in a rural part of Inner Mongolia, have three children. Chinese population control policies prevent them from having any more. The farmer sets out for the nearest town to obtain birth control. He comes upon a Russian truck driver (Vladimir Gostyukhin) who has ended up in a lake. The farmer takes the man back to his farm, and after initially being appalled at the lack of civilization, the Russian becomes enchanted with the peaceful life of the backwards countryside and decides to stay. But his presence presages big changes for the peasants. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide