La Dilettante

La Dilettante 1999

5.80

Pierrette is a woman who describes herself as having "opted for the temporary on a permanent basis." After 15 years of living the good life in Switzerland, Pierrette one day packs her bags full of fashionable outfits and returns to her native Paris with no idea of what she'll do. Pierette, however, leads a charmed life; while her son is forced to work the graveyard shift at a factory due to poor job prospects, she's able to find a job right away at a high school. Pierrette soon reintroduces herself to her 23-year-old daughter and one-time best friend, trying to use her charm to skate over years of neglect. She just as suddenly finds a new beau, Ackerman, and starts helping him out with his antique business. However, what would seem like a simple matter -- buying a clock from an elderly woman -- soon turns out to be very complicated and fraught with consequence.

1999

The Blue Villa

The Blue Villa 1995

4.80

The Blue Villa is a seedy bordello on a Mediterranean island where the villages are frightened by the ghost-like return of a young man, who mysteriously disappeared after the killing of a young Eurasian woman.

1995

Day Off

Day Off 2001

5.30

Wednesday is the day when children are not in school and stay at home. It is also the day when the parents are not there. In Nantes, in the spring, twenty or so carefree and boisterous kids between the ages of three and eleven take advantage of this day to make their parents go crazy. Emma, 9 years old and naturally romantic, decides that Roland, the little boy she met in the street, is unhappy and persuades her friends to adopt him. Victoria spends the day with Martin Socoa, an often distant father whom she learns to love. There are also Muriel, Bruno, Colette and Henri who take off and create panic in their parents' home, while Marylin lives the founding drama of her childhood with a mother of an unreal sweetness. Throughout these little stories, we realize that the world of children has its own logic, totally different from that of adults.

2001

The Marcorelle Affair

The Marcorelle Affair 2000

4.90

François Marcorelle, an investigation magistrate in Chambéry, finds himself in the room of a young Polish girl that he met in a restaurant

2000

Workers for the Good Lord

Workers for the Good Lord 2000

4.90

After his wife leaves him, Fred goes on a cross-country crime spree in this dark but dreamy French comedy.

2000

The Hips of J.W.

The Hips of J.W. 1997

4.40

Two actors performing in Strindberg's "Inferno" as God and Lucifer, find themselves competing in real life as well. One of them, Henrique, has spiritual obsession with John Wayne and his way of walking. He and de Dieu, his fellow actor who plays Lucifer and also directs the Strindberg play, engage in a philosophical and spiritual tug-of-war, especially when they meet an author named God, who has plans for another drama to feature both actors.

1997

Bellyful

Bellyful 2000

1

Maverick director Melvin Van Peebles translates his own satirical novel to the screen with this multi-national portrait of race, class, and hypocrisy. The film's title refers to the name of a haute cuisine restaurant run by a self-satisfied conservative couple, Henri and Loretta. When the two find themselves overworked in the kitchen, they retreat to the local orphanage to find some cheap waitressing help, and the teenaged Diamantine fits the bill perfectly. The haughty couple has more plans for the girl than just waiting tables, however -- the conspicuously accommodating Henri and Loretta are actually bad-mouthing the girl behind her back to the townspeople and the restaurant's patrons. They go so far as to ask the naive Diamantine to pretend that she's pregnant, and she complies under the assumption that it's a harmless prank. When their intentions are revealed, however, the girl becomes wise to the couple's self-satisfied scheming, and sets her sights on revenge.

2000

George Dandin

George Dandin 1999

1

Theater play "George Dandin" played by the "Comédie française" in 1999.

1999

Léaud l'unique

Léaud l'unique 2001

1

Documentary about the work of Nouvelle Vague actor Jean-Pierre Léaud, with interview clips, film clips and contributions from directors and actors he has worked with.

2001