Brigitte Roüan

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, All Movie Guide

Acclaimed and controversial French filmmaker Jean-Francois Richet directed and co-wrote this bleak look at a young woman whose first missteps in life take her farther than she ever expected along a dangerous path. Maria (Virginie Ledoyen) is a bright and attractive but not especially responsible young woman who is used to having things go her way in life. Out of school and with no clear career path, Maria ends up taking a job putting together cushions for chairs. But after a single day on the job she quits, claiming the work hurts her hands and she'd rather start her own restaurant. As Maria plots her next move, she impulsively swipes a piece of lingerie from a store, then tries to lie her way out of the situation when she's caught. But Maria finds that words can't get her out of this bind, and soon she's in jail and dealing with much deeper trouble than she ever imagined possible. De L'Amour also features French hip-hop artist Stomy Bugsy as a drug dealer who is friendly with Maria's boyfriend, played by Yazid Ait. Ait also contributed to the film's screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The idea for this film about a generation and its lost ideals came to Romain Goupil after attending several funerals of friends in the fall of 1996, where the '68 generation, now in influential positions in media or politics, kept meeting each other. It seemed as if the revolution that they had tried to make was being buried with each coffin. A mort la mort is in some ways an homage to this generation, now in their fifties. They were a privileged generation that thought that they could change the world, doing everything that their parents failed to do. There were no actual deaths in France as there were in Germany or Italy, but the system was not ideal for personal issues or for love. There was always a scapegoat for the injustices of the world, be it capitalism or imperialism. That way the blame could be placed somewhere else. Some of the '68 generation are still faithful to the principles of their youth and still continue to fight for the illusions of the past. But with the war going on in Kosovo, the only way is to take direct action against Fascism. While narrating the story of a generation, the director uses humor, making fun of the thousand ways of fidelity to ideas, to passion and to women and how the ideal of fidelity fares when confronted with reality. The protagonist, Thomas (played by Goupil himself) tries to face life that has passed with a theory of offense. That is why he has to say "'Death to Death'' to put an end to all deaths, but this is an illusion, it is fiction which only cinema can make real. The film tries to face all issues by taking a contrary approach. 52nd Cannes Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

A middle-aged woman temporarily abandons her role as wife and mother to embark upon a mad love affair with a man 20 years her junior. Up until the time she meets handsome young Emilio, Diane Clovier had a relatively happy life with her husband, kids and career. Emilio, with his amoral charm, is the antithesis of her life and Diane throws herself into a heated frenzy of lovemaking and romance with him. She shows little regard for the destruction she causes within her family. Her husband Phillipe, a lawyer, finds out about the affair, but does nothing to stop it in the hope that she will come to her senses. But as her relationship with Emilio grows hotter, it looks as if Diane may be lost forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a short novel by Ania Carmel, this dark drama follows the survival developed by a brother and sister forced to grow up under the tyrannical rule of a father who brutally attempts to instill a sense of self-reliance and preparedness into them by acts of cruelty. They cannot turn to their mother as she is dying of a terrible illness. To cope, Daniel and Marie form a close bond and communicate telepathically. When their mother finally dies, the children flee as their father tosses furniture out the windows. First they stay with a group of kindly cheese makers. When they prove to have sinister ulterior motives, the kids move on. One night at a disco, a man tries to seduce Marie and this sets the stage for tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This French drama is definitely controversial as it chronicles the sexual awakening of an 11 year old girl at the hands of a 50-year old man. The film tries to present it in a positive, and beautiful way, alluding to the fact that the curious girl wanted it to happen. The viewer can decide whether or not the film is beautiful or whether it is a glossy excuse for pedophilia. It is set just after World War II. A man has discovered and read Celine's diary which is filled with sexual longing and sensuality. The child herself, only portrayed as a photograph, describes her relations with a recently widowed hairdresser. The film contains little formal dialog and mostly focuses upon the daily lives of the people involved. The setting of the seduction is shown, but not the seduction itself. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Olivier, the nine-year-old son of a country veterinarian, vanishes one afternoon on the way to his grandmother's house. The emotional aftermath of his disappearance sends his father packing from France to Africa and nearly destroys his mother, who clings to her remaining child, Nadine, and her devoted neighbor, Marcel. Several years later, having relocated to the city, the police investigator who handled the case meets a Paris rent boy whom he believes to be the missing Olivier. Once he returns to his rural home, the teenaged Olivier tries to assuage his mother's now-entrenched grief and heal the rift between his reunited parents. Meanwhile, he must overcome his brooding, adolescent sister's jealousy and doubts about his identity and reconcile his sleazy street life with his picturesque new surroundings. Questions about the tight-lipped Olivier's true motivations continue to crop up, however, threatening to send his mother over the edge for good. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Set in French colonial Algeria, this is the story of three beautiful sisters over an 18-year period (1946-1964). Beginning in luxury, this movie tells the story of the social changes around them that bring about a loss of innocence for them. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Charlie (Guy Marchand) returns home after being declared legally dead to reclaim his wife Georgia (Caroline Cellier) and cash in on a lucrative life insurance policy in this shadowy drama. He finds Georgia is married to the crooked cop William (Niels Arestrup), who has his eye on the insurance money. Antihero Charlie and the villainous police inspector head towards an inevitable confrontation, while Georgia is caught in the middle. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide