Tag Archives: France

Rendez-vous (1985) André Téchiné, Lambert Wilson, Juliette Binoche, Wadeck Stanczak, Drama, Romance

Rendez-vous (Andre Techine, 1985)
A woman and three men. Nina, who’s come to Paris to act and sleeps with any man at hand, meets Paulot, a young estate agent; he’s smitten. She also meets Paulot’s flatmate Quentin, a compulsive who stalks her. To Paulot’s jealous dismay, she’s willing to sleep with Quentin, and wants Paulot’s friendship. After a desperate act by Quentin, Nina and Paulot share a flat, but she still won’t take him as a lover; instead, her energy goes into a production of “Romeo and Juliet” directed by a detached, intense man who becomes her father figure. Quentin’s ghost taunts her, Paulot wants to end all contact, and the director plans to return to London. The art of the theater may be her only refuge.
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The Third Page / Üçüncü Sayfa (1999) Zeki Demirkubuz, Basak Köklükaya, Ruhi Sari, Erol Babaoglu, Drama

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Isa is beaten up after being accused of stealing $50. When his landlord demands the back rent, Isa gets angry and shoots him. The police round up the tenants, but are not suspicious of him. Back in his room, Isa collapses and is helped by his pretty neighbor Meryem, who also pays the $50 when the thugs return. Isa promises to do anything for her, and tells her about his job as a TV extra. Meryem’s husband has left her with her two young children, while he is away working. When her husband returns and beats Meryem up, she asks Isa to kill him.
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The City of Lost Children (1995) Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Art-house, Fantasy, Sci-fi

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With a mad scientist kidnapping children to steal their dreams, only brave young Miette (Judith Vittet) and a kindhearted circus strongman (Ron Perlman) can save them. Part fantasy, part nightmare, this production used more special effects than any other French film to date. Featuring stunning visuals from directors Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, the sci-fi fairy tale was nominated for a Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Mata Hari, agent H21 (1964) Jean-Louis Richard, Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Claude Rich, Drama, History, Romance

Mata Hari, agent H21 (Jean-Louis Richard, 1964)
This French version of the notorious spy’s life centers less on her romantic escapades, and more on those that reveal the person she actually was during WW I when her German superiors ordered her to seduce the French captain Trintignant so she can steal classified papers from him. Instead she falls in love with him, blows the cover, and ends up convicted of espionage and shot.
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L’arrière pays / Hinterland (1998) Mathilde Moné, Henri Gardey, Jacques Nolot, Drama

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After ten years away, Jacques Pruez, an unmarried, 50-year-old, modestly successful actor, returns to his home village to comfort his dying mother. His father Yvan, a family barber who’s counting on his “successful” son to support him in his old age, refuses to believe that his wife is sick and insists that her doctors are killing her. She dies, and Jacques finds out that Yvan is not his real father. Besieged by memories of his childhood, the village and the past, Jacques wanders the streets at night, reliving the moments that set him apart from the rest…
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The Twist / Folies bourgeoises (1976) Claude Chabrol, Bruce Dern, Stéphane Audran, Sydne Rome, Comedy

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French New Wave director Claude Chabrol steps away from his usual style of mysteries and psychological dramas for the sex comedy Folies Bourgeoises, based on the novel Le Malheur Fou by Lucie Faure. Bruce Dern is the American writer William Brandels and Stephane Audran is his French socialite wife, Claire Brandels. The story follows the confusion of the infidelities of the wealthy upper class.
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Let Joy Reign Supreme / Que la fête commence… (1975) Bertrand Tavernier, Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Drama, History, War

Let Joy Reign Supreme
France, 1719. Louis 14th died four years ago, Philippe d’Orleans is the regent. He is a liberal and a libertine. His right-hand man, Dubois, an atheistic and cupid priest, as libertine as Philippe, tries to take advantage of a little rebellion lead by a Breton squire (Pontallec) and of the famine to become archbishop… Description of the life of the court in this period of transition where the French Revolution smoulders.
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