Tag Archives: french

César et Rosalie / Cesar & Rosalie (1972) Claude Sautet, Yves Montand, Romy Schneider, Sami Frey, Drama, Romance

Cesar et Rosalie (1972)
Rosalie is amicably divorced, dividing her time between her mother’s house, with her siblings and small daughter, and César’s. He’s self made, a scrap iron king, outgoing, amiable, in love with her. Enter David, an artist and Rosalie’s flame before her marriage. In a quiet, brooding way, he seeks to reclaim Rosalie. César’s jealous outbursts and attempts at cunning backfire and send Rosalie into David’s arms. César keeps trying: he buys Rosalie’s childhood seaside vacation home as a gift, wins her back, then must ask David to join them so Rosalie will be happy. When Rosalie discovers César and David’s complicity, she again asserts her freedom, leaving the men alone together.
Read More »

Fort Saganne (1984) Alain Corneau, Gérard Depardieu, Philippe Noiret, Catherine Deneuve, Drama, History, War

Fort Saganne (1984)
French civilization in the desert. Saganne is of peasant stock, with courage and a forceful will. In 1911, he volunteers and is posted to the Sahara under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh. He catches the eye of Madeline, the daughter of the regional administrator. In the desert, Saganne is a leader, with the respect of Arabs, including Amajan, an independent warrior. After resourceful campaigns, Saganne goes on a diplomatic mission to Paris, where he has an affair with a journalist. Back in Africa, he leads a gallant defense against Sultan Omar, is awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, and marries Madeline. Then the Great War puts at risk his success and happiness.
Read More »

Toto le héros / Toto the Hero (1991) Jaco Van Dormael, Michel Bouquet, Mireille Perrier, Jo De Backer, Comedy, Drama

Toto le heros (1991)
Thomas and Alfred were born around the same time; a fire in the nursery had nurses scrambling to save the newborns. Because he felt that he deserved Alfred’s good fortune at being born into a wealthy family, Thomas conceives the idea that he and Alfred were switched at birth, and he can’t help seeing that his unhappiness should be Alfred’s, from the loss of his sister to his inability to have a relationship with the woman Evelyne. So, as his life is ending, he formulates a plan of revenge against his bitter enemy, his lifetime adversary, the man who stole his existence.
Read More »

L’héritier / The Inheritor (1973) Philippe Labro, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Carla Gravina, Jean Rochefort, Action, Drama, Thriller

L'heritier (1973)
When his father, a wealthy industrialist, is killed in aeroplane crash, Bart Cordell returns to France to take up the reins of the empire he has inherited. When a prostitute attempts to frame him for drug smuggling, he begins to suspect is father may have been murdered. Bart’s investigation uncovers a complex web of political intrigue, in which his own family and his stepfather are heavily implicated…
Read More »

La vérité / The Truth (1960) Henri-Georges Clouzot, Brigitte Bardot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Drama

La verite (1960)
Dominique Marceau is on trial for the murder of Gilbert Tellier. The counsels duel relentlessly, elaborating explanations for why the pretty, idle and fickle girl killed the talented and ambitious conductor freshly graduated from the conservatory. Was it passion, vengeance, desperation, an accident? The acquaintances of Gilbert testify, as well as Dominique’s former lovers, and her sister, Annie, the studious violin player engaged to Gilbert. The evidence they give progressively paints a more finely-shaded picture of the personalities of Dominique and Gilbert, and of their relationship, than the eloquent and convincing justifications of the counsels.
Read More »

La chambre des morts / Room of Death (2007) Alfred Lot, Mélanie Laurent, Éric Caravaca, Gilles Lellouche, Crime, Mystery, Thriller

La chambre des morts (2007)
Two unemployed computer technicians discover 2 million euros next to a dead body in a field of windmills. The money that they find deepens their pre-existing dominator-dominated relationship. The next day, a young blind girl is found dead near the site of the dicovery and it seems that the stolen money had been intended to pay her ransom. Another child is then kidnapped and the police carry out an investigation, in particular a young sergeant who is fascinated by the tragic event.
Read More »

La femme du Vème / The Woman in the Fifth (2011) Pawel Pawlikowski, Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas, Joanna Kulig, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

La femme du Veme (2011)
American writer Tom Ricks comes to Paris desperate to put his life together again and win back the love of his estranged wife and daughter. When things don’t go according to plan, he ends up in a shady hotel in the suburbs, having to work as a night guard to make ends meet. Then Margit, a beautiful, mysterious stranger walks into his life and things start looking up. Their passionate and intense relationship triggers a string of inexplicable events… as if an obscure power was taking control of his life.
Read More »

L’amant / The Lover (1992) Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jane March, Tony Ka Fai Leung, Frédérique Meininger, Biography, Drama, Romance, Erotic

L'amant (1992)
It is French Colonial Vietnam in 1929. A young French girl from a family that is having some monetary difficulties is returning to boarding school. She is alone on public transportation when she catches the eye of a wealthy Chinese businessman. He offers her a ride into town in the back of his chauffeured sedan, and sparks fly. Can the torrid affair that ensues between them overcome the class restrictions and social mores of that time? Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Maugerite Duras.
Read More »

Cent mille dollars au soleil / Greed in the Sun (1964) Henri Verneuil, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, Reginald Kernan, Action, Adventure, Comedy

Cent mille dollars au soleil (1964)
Rocco and his female accomplice, Angèle hijack a truck from a trucking company in the Saharan desert. The head of the trucking company, Castigliano hires Rocco’s friend, Hervé and a newly employed German, Hans to go after him and bring back the valuable goods. After the two run into some trouble Castigliano sends a second truck driven by Mitch and Khenouche.
Read More »