Jean-Hugues Anglade Movies

Michel Piccoli plays Akiva Liebskind, a Russian chess genius in the Swiss-filmed Dangerous Moves. He is pitted against Soviet exile Pavius Fromm (Alexandre Arbatt), who, since childhood, has dreamed of nothing but defeating Liebskind. Both men soon become obsessed with winning. Already suffering from a weak heart, Liebskind courts a coronary, while the increasingly paranoid Fromm is convinced that his opponent is spying on him from every corner. The KGB enters into the game by attempting to sabotage Fromm, hoping that by doing so they will discredit everyone who's ever publicly opposed the Soviet government. Dangerous Moves was the 1984 recipient of the Best Foreign-Language Picture Academy Award. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Mathias Ledoux directs this atmospheric erotic thriller. Author Jean Dorset (Jean-Hugues Anglade) has suffered from a bad case of writer's block since his first novel became a bestseller. He lives in a small apartment in Paris with his wife Michelle (Clotilde Courau) and, in spite of their ostensible success, the couple are having trouble making ends meet. One day they receive the utterly unexpected news that they are the sole inheritors of a wealthy neighbor, M. Guillemet, whom they have never met. Guillemet has left them his old townhouse along with all of his belongings, but with two conditions -- the first is that the dead man's papers be left untouched, and the second is that his live-in maid Clemence Richbourg (Christine Boisson) remain employed at the estate. The Dorsets soon learn why they were the recipients of such strange generosity. Guillemet had set up a camera with a massive zoom lens pointing to their bedroom window. The couple is shocked and disgusted, but not enough to give up their new tony digs. Clemence proves to be a more unnerving presence. Her steely, impassive demeanor coupled with her penchant for wearing Mao jackets (and, it turns out, naughty underwear) gives her an air of menace. Soon the Dorsets speculate that Clemence poisoned her former employer's food in an ill-fated attempt at inheriting his property. Later, Jean decides to write his next novel on his curious benefactor. When he starts digging around the old man's files, he begins to suspect that his wife not only did know Guillemet, but frequented his place. This film was screened at the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Fuzzy memories of Anne Frank's diary sometimes cause people to forget that at the height of World War II, Nazi-occupied Amsterdam was not a safe haven for Jews. While many people in the Netherlands and elsewhere risked their lives to protect them, a great many more enthusiastically assisted the Nazis in mistreating them. This children's drama is based on the autobiographical book Kinderjaren by Jonah Oberski. Beginning with his recollections as a four-year old boy, he witnesses the increasing isolation and persecution of his Jewish family living in Amsterdam, until finally they are rounded up and sent to an internment camp. There, while his mother goes mad and his father grows increasingly ill, he is unwittingly drawn to become a member of the group of boys that help with the running of the camp. Jonah is played by two boys: Luke Petterson plays him as a young boy, and Jenner Del Vecchio plays him as an adolescent. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

L'Homme Blesse is known in English-speaking countries as The Wounded Man. Jean-Hughes Anglade is a lonely, isolated young man who lets no one get close to him. He meets a street hustler and comes out of his shell, going 180 degrees into gay Obsession. Though he has yet to physically approach the object of his affection, Anglade builds up so much unrequited lust that it explodes with horrible results. L'Homme Blesse isn't rated, but viewership should definitely be confined to those older than 21--and even some of them may not be ready for it. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three very odd relationships provide the basis for this thought-provoking Italian anthology that is overseen by director Bernardo Bertolucci. The first tale, "The Blue Dog" centers on a barber who becomes the fixation of a mysteriously devoted dog with an unusual blue spot upon his head. In "Especially on Sunday," a traveler encounters a woman and a man beside a river and offers them a ride. The woman is quite the coquette and she chattily explains that she is visiting her companion, who suffers from a debilitating breakdown. They all stop for lunch and her friend begins telling them a disturbing, surreal tale. The third tale "Snow on the Fire," features a repentant woman who confesses a dark secret to the town priest. It seems the old woman has grown addicted to watching her son make passionate love to his new bride, who knows that she is watching and seems to enjoy it all the more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A woman on her own finds herself taking a second chance at love, with hilarious results, in the comedy from France. Odile Rousselet (Chantal Lauby) is a well-regarded if not exactly famous actress whose ongoing midlife crisis kicks into high gear when her teenage daughter, Marie (Armelle Deutsch), tells her she's moving out of the house, and in with her boyfriend, Guillaume (Christophe Debonneuil). Understandably upset, Odile finds herself troubled not only by her anxieties about her daughter, but by her own loneliness. However, Odile's attitudes begin to change when she meets Kader (Jean-Pierre Martins). A handsome younger man who runs a ride at a local fair, Kader catches Odile's eye, and she finds herself feeling as giddy as a schoolgirl when he's around -- and has even more trouble controlling her feelings when Kader responds in kind. Laisse Tes Mains sur Mes Hanches was written and directed by leading lady Chantal Lauby; it was her first feature film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

According to reviewers, an expert cast of character actors make this bedroom farce eminently watchable, despite glitches in the storytelling. In the story, a group of old friends and relations gather each year to celebrate Christmas together on the ski resort of Chamonix. They don't do much skiing, however, but mostly explore their own and their friends' and relations' romantic quandries. In the story, the widower family patriarch Leo (Daniel Gelin) announces his engagement to Francoise (Anouk Aimee), which provokes all sorts of reactions in his sons Max and Simon (Gerard Lanvin and Andre Dussollier) and their families, because their own marriages are really rocky. Among the complications: Simon's son is infatuated with Max's daughter, Max is trying to make time with a woman who works locally, Simon has brought along his mistress, family friend Stephane is having trouble with his girlfriend, who threatens suicide if he won't marry her, and a difficult time is had by all during this merrymaking season. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Juliette (Nastassja Kinski) is a hairstylist who is diagnosed with cancer in this tearjerking romantic drama. Her illness leads her to oncologist Raoul Bergeron (Michel Piccoli), and she ends up as his mistress. When Juliette falls in love with Raoul's intern Clement (Jean-Hughes Anglade), the jealous doctor threatens to sabotage Clement's career. Juliette spends the rest of the film jumping from Raoul to Clement and back again. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Elie Wiesel has survived the Holocaust and won a Nobel Peace Prize. This Hungarian-French documentary chronicles Wiesel's triumphant return to his home village in Transylvania until the 15-year-old and his family were forced into Auschweitz in 1944. Wiesel fully supported this film, which also contains important footage of life for Jewish villagers before WW II. Also included is Wiesel's moving return to Auschwitz. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide