Maria de Medeiros Movies

French filmmaker Paolo Franchi's sophomore feature follows a psychologically damaged youth who makes the grim decision to kill his parents. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When the heiress of a shoe manufacturing business returns to her home Italy after a trip to Tunisia and discovers an Arab teenager in her luggage, the makeshift family formed between the heiress, her faithful factory worker, and the runaway crumbles under the weight of the outside world. Heiress Anna and her lover Maria have just returned from a romantic getaway in Italy, and upon opening her suitcase Anna discovers that Arab teen Anis has stowed away for the ride to Europe. A stranger in a strange land, Anis is cared for by the motherly Anna despite Maria's initial objections. As the days go by the three gradually build a tenuous domestic rhythm - Anna is the caring mother, Maria the sisterly confidante, and Anis the wide-eyed child. But despite the fact that Maria soon warms to the idea of having Anis around, Anna's mother is vehement in her disapproval of the situation. Meanwhile, Mara suffers at the bedside of her ailing father while Anis grows increasingly comfortable with his new home life and attempts to figure out why Anna and her employee share the same bed. Now, as Anis and Mara grow increasingly closer, their common bond, and shared problems, with Anna slowly come into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin directs The Saddest Music in the World, reworked from an original screenplay by Kazuo Ishiguro. Set in Winnipeg during the Great Depression, the film involves a contest announced by the legless and glamorous Lady Port-Huntly (Isabella Rossellini) to find the saddest music in the world. She's hoping the contest will result in increased sales of her company's brand of beer. American theatrical producer Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) shows up to win the contest with his kooky show-business idea, while brother Roderick Kent (Ross McMillan) returns from the war. Maria de Medeiros plays Narcissa, a sleep walker romantically linked to both brothers. Their father, the alcoholic doctor Fyodor Kent (David Fox), is tortured by his role in Lady Port-Huntly's leg amputation, so he makes her a new glass pair filled with beer. The Saddest Music in the World was shown at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

An international party of astronauts crash lands on Mars. Bummer. Since rescue is, oh, 26 months away, and they only have air, food, and water for a few days, the astronauts must come to grips with the idea of dying slow and painful deaths. The captain (María Lidón) and two others explore the planet, only to make an awesome discovery. Meanwhile, Baglioni (Vincent Gallo) tries to convince the very-Catholic Jenny (Maria de Medeiros) to have sex before dying. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

An elaborate fantasy tale intended for family audiences, Babel tells the story of the Babels, a strange breed of four-foot-tall creatures who once coexisted happily with human beings on planet Earth. However, when the humans built a huge tower to taunt God, he became angry and drove the Babels underground, while scattering the humans to the corners of the Earth and giving them different languages to keep them separate. Thousands of years later, three Babels are searching underground for the Babel Stone presented to them by God when they lose the map -- which is soon snapped up by a dog, who presents it to his master, an advertising man named Patrick. The Babels are desperate to recover the map, and they recruit Patrick's son David to help them find it (and the Babel Stone) before the evil Nemrod can steal the stone and claim its powers. Featuring a cast of French and Canadian actors, including Maria de Medeiros and Michel Jonasz, Babel was shown at Sprockets: Toronto Film Festival for Children in April 1999. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Daphna Kastner directed this romantic comedy-drama, set in Spain. Interviewing Madrid men, journalist Zoe (Kastner) intends to expand her magazine article into a book. Her own experiences with men, however, haven't exactly made her an expert, but possibilities arise when she meets straight-talking Antonio (Toni Canto) and former professor Carl Livingston (Martin Donovan), owner of a Madrid bookstore. Shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Edward (Terence Stamp) is an editor in a small English publishing house. The story concerns what happens when he receives a very good manuscript from Nicholas (Daniel Mesguich), an old friend, who up until now has been a hack writer. The manuscript sheds light on events both men lived through, and Edward comes to the conviction that it reveals that it was Nicholas who raped the woman Edward loved, and that he is therefore responsible for her subsequent suicide. Very carefully, he plots his revenge. This film is in a mixture of French and English, without subtitles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Maniacal hyperactive Jeff Gold (Lars Rudolph) and his companion Moussa (Said Taghmaoui) flee Berlin for a Spanish tourist resort where they share a room with a flamenco act. When Jeff gets a job as a Wild Adventure tour guide, he feels tourists need more of a jolt. He devises alternatives to the usual routines in order for tourists to experience more exciting adventures -- such as criminal activities. This German-Spanish-French co-production was shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A little philosophy can be a dangerous thing. Especially if it comes from the sudden blinding insights of the none too bright. Such insights, based upon totally illogical conclusions form the basis of this devilishly dark, distorted French absurdist comedy. At the beginning of the eccentric tale, a noted author deliberately drives his car into a brick wall, a suicide method employed by the protagonist of his last novel. Taxi driver Evangila and her brother North are deeply upset their favorite author's sudden death. They discuss the deeper implications of his act, and deduce that the author killed himself because he was increasingly obsessed with the notion that he was actually a character in someone else's novel. Finding their conclusion perfectly sound, the duo make the next logic leap and decide that they too are literary characters in someone else's book. That being the case, then all responsibility for their actions lies on the writer's shoulders, not theirs; therefore, they can do whatever they want with no consequence. Meanwhile the writer's bereaved widow, Karenina, decides she wants to join her husband in death. She makes several sucide attempts, but someone always 'rescues' her at the crucial moment. In desperation, she decides to simply leap from a tall bridge. As Karenina plots her demise, North and Evangela continue to wrestle with their newfound philosophy. The newest twist is that the author of their lives is in reality their god. Since he is the tangible, living being who dictates their every move, they decide to consult a priest in the hope that he can convince their Creator to meet them and answer a few burning questions. Unfortunately the priest can't help them and suggests that perhaps someone near death could provide more insight, someone about to commit suicide perhaps? Evangela and North, figuring a tall bridge is a good place to encounter a suicide immediately go to a certain bridge and end up meeting Karenina. When a spiritualist and God Himself get involved the story really goes off the deep end and that is when the fun really begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide