Audrey Tautou

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Amelie
Starring: Audrey Tautou , Mathieu Kassovitz , Rufus , Lorella Cravotta , and Serge Merlin
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Chocolat (Miramax Collector's Series)
A Very Long Engagement
Amelie: Original Soundtrack Recording
L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Run Lola Run

ASIN: B0000640VO
Release Date: 2002-07-16

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Perhaps the most charming movie of all time, Amélie is certainly one of the top 10. The title character (the bashful and impish Audrey Tautou) is a single waitress who decides to help other lonely people fix their lives. Her widowed father yearns to travel but won't, so to inspire the old man she sends his garden gnome on a tour of the world; with whispered gossip, she brings together two cranky regulars at her café; she reverses the doorknobs and reprograms the speed dial of a grocer who's mean to his assistant. Gradually she realizes her own life needs fixing, and a chance meeting leads to her most elaborate stratagem of all. This is a deeply wonderful movie, an illuminating mix of magic and pragmatism. Fans of the director's previous films (Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children) will not be disappointed; newcomers will be delighted. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, this magical comedy earned overwhelming acclaim nationwide! A painfully shy waitress working at a tiny Paris cafe, Amélie makes a surprising discovery and sees her life drastically changed for the better! From then on, Amélie dedicates herself to helping others find happiness ... in the most delightfully unexpected way! But will she have the courage to do for herself what she has done for others?

The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) [Region 99]

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The Da Vinci Code (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) [Region 99]
Starring: Tom Hanks , Audrey Tautou , Ian McKellen , Jean Reno , and Paul Bettany
Director: Ron Howard
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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Cars (Widescreen Edition)
X-Men - The Last Stand (Widescreen Edition)
Ice Age - The Meltdown (Widescreen Edition)
The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00005JOC9
Release Date: 2006-11-14

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Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise. The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the plot is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, the man tasked with making this story filmable. The script follows Dan Brown's book as closely as possible while incorporating a few needed changes, including a better ending. And if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know how it goes: while lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police to help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist. Neveu and Langdon team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe, ballooning into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, where secret societies are discovered, codes are broken, and murderous albino monks are thwarted… oh, and alternative theories about the life of Christ and the beginnings of Christianity are presented too, of course. It's not the typical formula for a stock Hollywood thriller. In fact, taken solely as a mystery, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving. Brown's greatest trick was to have the entire story take place in one day, so the action is forced to keep moving, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. As a screen couple, Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly memorable; meanwhile Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needed to keep it from taking itself too seriously. The whole thing is like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. --Daniel Vancini

<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/davinci/da-vinci_header._V55089325_.gif" border="0">
Visit The Da Vinci Code Store</td> </tr> </table> On The DVD
The DVD extras on a film as popular as The Da Vinci Code should be plentiful, and this version doesn't skimp. With over 90 minutes of special features, including ten behind-the-scenes featurettes, there's a lot here to explore beyond the film itself. The question is, is there anything new here that we haven't heard before, in all the hype, pseudo-documentaries, and controversy surrounding the movie, to make it worthwhile? For most viewers, the answer will be "yes." Essentially, if you like the movie, if you enjoyed the book, you will get a lot out of them.

Just as the movie is intended to make the book come to life, the DVD extras should make the film come to life by pointing the audience into the world of the filmmakers, connecting the dots between print and film, and for the most part they do just that. The extras here range from the typical look behind-the-scenes to more in-depth features on the supporting characters, the locations, and the Mona Lisa herself. "First Day on the Set with Ron Howard" features the director gushing about the opportunity to film in the Louvre and work with Tom Hanks again (the two worked together before on Splash and Apollo 13). It's a short piece that doesn't reveal much beyond making an attempt to share Howard's excitement (with the "Gee, I really loved working with him/her on this project" that you hear in every such featurette), but viewers might enjoy seeing how the stage was set up in the famous museum, down to the spike tape on the floor showing actors where to hit their marks. The Filmmaking Experience, Parts 1 and 2 further explores the creative and technical aspects of the filmmaking process. A Conversation with Dan Brown starts out feeling like a puff-piece (the man who wrote this book got started at age 5 with a story called The Giraffe, The Pig, and the Pants on Fire. "It was a thriller," he says.) and unfortunately it doesn't go very deep into much of anything of interest. But on the other hand, this isn't 60 Minutes here; it's intended to give viewers a better sense of the man behind the franchise, which it does. Much of the footage from this interview is sprinkled throughout some of the other featurettes. Meanwhile, the character behind the franchise, Robert Langdon, is examined in his own featurette, as is Sophie Neveu. The cool thing here is getting under the skin of the actors to see how they approached the characters, knowing that most of the movie-going public already has formed their own ideas about the characters from the book.

The most interesting extras are the featurettes that focus on the history behind the mystery. Or is it the mystery behind the history? Either way, the first one on the Mona Lisa, and the second featurette on the many codes and symbols that are hidden throughout the movie balance out the remainder of the extras nicely by demonstrating the sense of intrigue, mystery, and game-playing adventure that made The Da Vinci Code so popular in the first place. --Daniel Vancini

Beyond The Da Vinci Code <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/books/davinci/more-dan-brown_brow._V55037603_.gif" border="0">
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The Films of Tom Hanks</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/dvd/aplus/davinci/da_vinci_howard_small.jpg" border="0">
The Films of Ron Howard</td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="4"> <tr align="center" valign="top" class="tiny"> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0007XG02W.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
The Da Vinci DVDs: Decoding "The Da Vinci Code"</td> <td width="33%"> <img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1579124577.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0">
More About The Artist</td> </tr> </table>

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Description

Dan Brown's international bestseller comes alive in the film The Da Vinci Code, directed by Ron Howard with a screenplay by Akiva Goldsman. Join symbologist Robert Langdon (Academy Award® Winner Tom Hanks, 1993 Best Actor, Philadelphia, and 1994 Best Actor, Forrest Gump) and cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) in their heart-racing quest to solve a bizarre murder mystery that will take them from France to England - and behind the veil of a mysterious ancient society, where they discover a secret protected since the time of Christ. With first-rate performances by Sir Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina and Jean Reno, critics are calling The Da Vinci Code "involving" and "intriguing," "a first rate thriller."

L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)

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L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Starring: Kevin Bishop , Cristina Brondo , Javier Coromina , Federico D'Anna , and Cécile De France
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Russian Dolls
A Very Long Engagement
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]
Amelie
The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)

ASIN: B0000C9JFO
Release Date: 2003-12-23

Amazon.com

An absolute delight, L'Auberge Espagnole captures a moment in a life, seemingly about nothing and everything all at once. Xavier (Romain Duris), a young Parisian not sure what his life is about, decides to spend a year in Barcelona studying economics--leaving behind his unhappy girlfriend (Audrey Tautou, Amélie) but joining an international mix of students in a hectic, crowded apartment. Arguing and partying with his British, German, Danish, and Italian roommates--not to mention getting lessons in love from a Belgian lesbian (Cecile De France) so that he can seduce a friend's wife (Judith Godreche, Ridicule)--Xavier learns more about life than economics. The movie, beautifully shot on digital video, has a freshness and spontaneity that make its simple events--a series of arguments and flirtations--feel like a miniature portrait of the European Union as it comes into focus (the title can be translated as "Euro pudding"). Vibrant, charming, and all-around entertaining. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Seven sexy co-eds. One Spanish apartment. No rules. A single year of learning turns into an outrageous adventure of a lifetime in this "fresh, captivating comedy" (Newsday) that has audiences and critics cheering around the world! Xavier (Romain Duris) is a straight-laced French college senior who moves to Barcelona as part of a exchange program, much to the dismay of his beautiful Martine (Audrey Tautou). But sharing cramped quarters with students from all over Europe quickly leads to multi-cultural chaos as Xavier gets a hilarious, eye-opening lesson on how to live, love, laugh?and party!

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A Very Long Engagement
Starring: Audrey Tautou , Gaspard Ulliel , Dominique Pinon , Chantal Neuwirth , and André Dussollier
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Amelie
Downfall [Region 99]
The Constant Gardener (Widescreen Edition)
Million Dollar Baby (Two-Disc Special Edition)
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]

ASIN: B0007Z0NYQ
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Amazon.com

Both epic and intimate, A Very Long Engagement reunites Audrey Tautou and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the star and director of the hugely popular Amelie. A young woman named Mathilde (Tautou, Happenstance)separated from her lover by World War I refuses to believe he's been killed and launches an investigation into his fate--an investigation that spins in all directions, creating dozens of miniature stories (including that of an Italian prostitute avenging the death of her own lover by elaborate means) that shift to and fro in time. The dazzling curlicues of narrative put brutality and tenderness back to back, shifting between crushing inevitabilities and miraculous rescues with deft storytelling skill and the lush visual style of the director of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children. Through it all, Tautou--fierce and luminous--anchors the movie effortlessly. She's among the most emotionally engaging actresses in cinema, with the kind of expressive beauty that transcends language. A gorgeous, far-reaching film; the huge cast also includes Jodie Foster (The Silence of the Lambs), Gaspard Ulliel (Strayed), and Dominique Pinon (Alien: Resurrection). --Bret Fetzer

Description

The film is set in France near the end of World War I in the deadly trenches of the Somme, in the gilded Parisien halls of power, and in the modest home of an indomitable provincial girl. It tells the story of this young woman's relentless, moving and sometimes comic search for her fiancC)e, who has disappeared. He is one of five French soldiers believed to have been court-martialed under mysterious circumstances and pushed out of an allied trench into an almost-certain death in no-man's land. What follows is an investigation into the arbitrary nature of secrecy, the absurdity of war, and the enduring passion, intuition and tenacity of the human heart.DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
Deleted Scenes:With Director audio commentary
Documentaries:Paris in the 20'sThe Zepplin Explosion
Featurette:The Making of A Very Long Engagement
Theatrical Trailer

The Da Vinci Code (Full Screen Two-Disc Special Edition) [Region 99]

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The Da Vinci Code (Full Screen Two-Disc Special Edition) [Region 99]
Starring: Tom Hanks , Audrey Tautou , Ian McKellen , Jean Reno , and Paul Bettany
Director: Ron Howard
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Cars (Widescreen Edition)
X-Men - The Last Stand (Widescreen Edition)
Ice Age - The Meltdown (Widescreen Edition)
The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000I2J2WC
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Amazon.com

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Russian Dolls
Starring: Gary Love , Olivier Saladin , Romain Duris , Aïssa Maïga , and Zinedine Soualem
Manufacturer: Ifc
ProductGroup: DVD
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L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Cache (Hidden) [Region 99]
Volver [Region 99]
Joyeux Noel (Widescreen) [Region 99]

ASIN: B000GBEWP2
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Description

Xavier is back! We find him 5 years after L'auberge Espagnole, he is now thirty years old. An aspiring novelist, his greatest achievement is a co-credit on an over the top TV soap and his romantic life is equally disappointing. He has one meaningless romantic encounter after another and lines up a confusing series of jobs related to writing. A chance meeting could be the answer to his career and love life but Xavier's lack of direction and will power threatens to turn his good fortune to ultimate heartbreak.

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Dirty Pretty Things
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor , Kriss Dosanjh , Israel Aduramo , Yemi Ajibade , and Nizwar Karanj
Director: Stephen Frears
Manufacturer: Miramax Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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A Very Long Engagement
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]
L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Happenstance
Venus Beauty Institute

ASIN: B00018D3LE
Release Date: 2004-03-23

Amazon.com

The luminous Audrey Tautou (Amelie) stars in Dirty Pretty Things, a riveting thriller about an illegal immigrant in London named Okwe (Chiwetal Ejiofor, Amistad), a doctor in his homeland who now works days as a taxi driver and nights as a hotel desk clerk. When a hooker tells him there's a mess in one of the hotel's bathrooms, Okwe finds a human heart in the toilet. He soon discovers a snare of desperation, poverty, and black-market body organs--and finds that his only friend, a Turkish hotel maid (Tautou), may be the next to be caught. Dirty Pretty Things, skillfully directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, Dangerous Liaisons, My Beautiful Laundrette), fuses taut suspense with an unsettling portrait of life among the British underclass of immigrant service workers. Thanks to the excellent cast and script, the movie makes its social points subtly, while the gripping story coils itself around you. --Bret Fetzer

Description

From Stephen Frears, the Oscar(R)-nominated director of THE GRIFTERS (Best Director, 1990) and DANGEROUS LIAISONS, DIRTY PRETTY THINGS stars Audrey Tautou (AMÉLIE) in a harrowing tale of struggle and survival for two immigrants who learn that everything is for sale in London's secret underworld! Part of an invisible working class, Nigerian exile Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Turkish chambermaid Senay (Tautou) toil at a west London hotel that is full of illegal activity. Then late one night Okwe makes a shocking discovery, which creates an impossible dilemma and tests the limits of all they know! Honored with numerous European film awards and nominations -- including wins at the London Critics Circle Film Awards and the Venice Film Festival -- you'll find this gritty urban thriller to be thoroughly engrossing and impossible to forget!

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]

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He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]
Starring: Audrey Tautou , Samuel Le Bihan , Isabelle Carré , Clément Sibony , and Sophie Guillemin
Director: Laetitia Colombani
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Happenstance
A Very Long Engagement
Amelie
God Is Great, and I'm Not

ASIN: B00005JM48
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Amazon.com

That adorable Audrey Tautou from Amélie plays the central role in this deceptive story of a rather unusual romance. It would spoil the film's clever design to reveal what happens halfway through He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, so let's just say that Tautou plays a winsome girl in the sunny town of Bordeaux, whose relationship with a married doctor has more layers than first it seems. Samuel LeBihan, from Brotherhood of the Wolf, plays the doctor, but it's the casting of cutie-pie Tautou that sets up the movie's gradually sinister undertow. Director Laetitia Colombani's inventive structure plays a satisfyingly tricky game with the audience, and may have some viewers going back to the beginning to make sure they saw what they thought they saw. Just don't go in expecting Amélie part deux, and you should find this an ingenious little number. --Robert Horton

Description

When we first meet rising young artist Angelique (Tautou), she is in the glorious throes of true love, and the whole world has seemingly fallen under her spell. Her handsome lover Loic is madly in love with her, her paintings are winning wide acclaim, and a glorious future seems all but assured. But Angelique's blissful world may not be as enchanting as it first seems, and in a quick startling moment, her life - and our understanding of it -seems to unravel in front of our eyes. Starring Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Samuel Le Bihan (Three Colors: Red).

The Da Vinci Code (Special Edition Giftset) [Region 99]

Average customer rating:

A good film and book.
The biggest secret of all: a cure for insomnia.
Cast Away this one
Suspensful and interesting and well acted!
This Movie Was Almost Great

The Da Vinci Code (Special Edition Giftset) [Region 99]
Starring: Tom Hanks , Audrey Tautou , Ian McKellen , Jean Reno , and Paul Bettany
Director: Ron Howard
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Cars (Widescreen Edition)
X-Men - The Last Stand (Widescreen Edition)
Ice Age - The Meltdown (Widescreen Edition)
The Devil Wears Prada (Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B000I2KJR4
Release Date: 2006-11-14

Amazon.com

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Customer Reviews:

A good film and book........2007-06-12

I read the book on which this film is based before viewing the film. I was surprised that the film did, in fact, replicate the book.

There is some great acting in this film, & it does make the viewer think. Do I actually agree with the premise of the book and film? No.

This is not Tom Hanks' best film, but he did a good job of portraying the film's main character. I liked him better in films like "Forrest Gump" because these films truly show his versatility as an actor.

Even if you don't agree with its premise, I recommend that you read the book and then see this film.

The Da Vinci Code

The biggest secret of all: a cure for insomnia........2007-06-07

Tom Hanks is Robert Langdon, the walking bibliophile of ancient codes and symbols, who is implicated in the murder of one of the Louvre's curators, a man who himself is something of a mystery. Brought to the scene of the crime without being told that he's a suspect, Langdon is shocked to find the body positioned according to Da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", and more shocked to learn that the victim assumed this position himself before dying - a sort of final coded message between two men with a love for codes. Warned of the suspicions surrounding him by Sophie Neveau (Audrey Tatou), the dead man's granddaughter, Langdon escapes and leads the police in a chase across France in a desperate gamble to learn the victim's last, greatest secret. Soon, Langdon's pursuers come to include a homicidal monk dispatched by a Bishop of the reactionary order of Opus Dei, and all events are shown to have been manipulated by a mysterious character known as "Teacher". As Langdon picks up clues, he begins to realize that the mystery may involve the legend of the "Holy Grail", and heads for the home of an old friend, Sir Lee Teabing, the foremost proponent of a particularly unique theory of Grail legend.

Even giving the movie the same allowances as the book, DVC is a horrible movie, slow, pedantic and full of red herrings that no sane moviegoer will fall for. The religious controversy surrounding DVC thinly masks the movie's two cardinal flaws - 1) that it takes itself way more seriously than it deserves (the world is full of distinct religions espousing wholly incompatible beliefs - are we to believe that an admittedly dramatic discovery on one of them will really change the rest of the world? Also, assuming the secret was uncovered, DVC never clears up how it would be proven); 2) it's boring! At over two hours (and boy, will you feel it!) the only secret uncovered is that it's possible to have both Ian McKellan and Tom Hanks in a movie lacking almost any energy. Hanks is serviceable as Langdon, Dan Brown's factotum of symbols nobody really cares about. KcKellen chews up the scenery as Teabing, but ultimately the pointlessness of his character overwhelms McKellen's presence - whether you buy into his theories or not depends largely on the same degree of faith as the religion that Teabing assails. The flick telegraphs its thrills - my wife and I were able to guess what would happen next, who would say what, etc... The novel excelled because skillful pacing kept the action from being overwhelmed by the hot air of its long theories.

The film plays down the novel's attacks on the Church for a more sustained atmosphere of religious antipathy (from disfavored apostles to Isaac Newton, if you've got a mind of your own, the Church hates and fears you, a bit of low-grade demagoguery that the script takes for granted). To add insult to injury, DVC treats the Church as irrelevant (despite their wealth and power, the clergy in DVC are relegated to being unwitting pawns of a higher, if more temporal power). But as I said, the story's attack on religion is itself a smokescreen hiding the fact that DVC is simply inert.

Cast Away this one.......2007-06-04

After hearing and reading all the fuss about this movie, I finally got to see it. Seems the fuss was about the subject matter and not the movie. Tom Hanks gave a mediocre performance at best, taking a back seat to the story I guess. The dots were connected too quickly and easily.

The movie was entertaining, but that was mostly because of the strong performances of Ian McKellen and Jean Reno.

I'm not much for conspiracy theories,so I'm sure I'll get blasted for my review but I have seen better told stories (regardless of the subject).

For some of Tom Hanks best see Cast Away. For some outstanding story telling see Strangers on a Train.

This movie makes for good Cable Fodder, but isn't one that will stand the test of time.

Suspensful and interesting and well acted!.......2007-06-04

Tom Hanks and the ensemble worked well together for this movie. A fast paced intellectual thriller that captures your interest all the way to the end. Wonderful scenes of Paris, etc. I thought the movie was great. Only one 'flaw', throughout the movie there were many night scenes that were too dark to see everything on screen. All in all the movie kept true to the book and that's a rarity. Just a few things were omitted from the book, but that's understandable. A great movie I highly recommend it for all.

This Movie Was Almost Great.......2007-06-03

I know that I'm probably the last American to see this film, but I'm sure mine won't be the last words written on this controversial subject. The film got pretty so-so reviews, which is surprising since Tom Hanks almost always delivers a very memorable film, but after seeing the film, I guess I can understand some of the reviews.

Speaking of Tom Hanks, I thought that he was less than sure-footed in this film which is unusual. At first I thought it was his portrayal of his character, but I don't think that was it entirely. In many moments of repose, he just seemed uncertain, etc.

The female lead was tremendous in the role, and she sailed through the movie as if it were all real, and I felt that the synergy between the two was great !

I enjoyed the angry driven stereotypical French detective, and really responsed to the bad guys, in the ways intented.

My conclusion is that this movie was almost great, and the combination of a bunch of little things, kept it from being great. Timing seemed off, I think that direction could have been tighter and ditto with editing, Tom was tenuous on a number of occasions, and the French detective's reaction to discovering that the truth about the hero seemed really understated, even for the French, and lost a ton of dramatic potential.

I enjoyed the subject matter, found it almost believable, and I suspect that some variation on that theme might be correct. I am pleased that the movie created so much controversy, because that has caused a lot of people to think about all of this, which can only be good.

I personally am going to watch it again, because I am curious to see how it feels to me, the second time around. I recommend this film.

Average customer rating:

Venus Beauty Institute
Starring: Nathalie Baye , Bulle Ogier , Samuel Le Bihan , Jacques Bonnaffé , and Mathilde Seigner
Director: Tonie Marshall
Manufacturer: Fox Lorber
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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L'Auberge Espagnole (The Spanish Apartment)
Happenstance
Pretty Devils
God Is Great, and I'm Not
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not [Region 99]

ASIN: B00005B1WH
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Amazon.com

The carefully unattached existence of working girl Nathalie Baye is suddenly upended when lovesick hunk Samuel Le Bihan introduces himself: "My name is Antoine and I love you." Set in a cute glass storefront with a neon pink and blue façade that could have sprung from a Jacques Demy musical, this bittersweet romantic drama was written for the arresting Baye, who plays a middle-aged "girl" in a uniquely Parisian beauty shop that specializes in facials, body treatments, massages, and emotional confession. Her coworkers, young, sweetly guileless brunette cutie Audrey Tautou and gloomy twentysomething Mathilde Seigner, are like glimpses into her past lives, one full of hope and giddy optimism, the other turned resentful from disappointment. She clings to the girly camaraderie and workaday autopilot of her job while her "patronne" (the incomparable Bulle Ogier) nudges her toward responsibility.

Writer-director Tonie Marshall has a marvelous feeling for the women who work and visit the place, though her soulful bohemian artist Le Bihan is defined by little more than good looks, shaggy charm, and a kind of reckless attraction. The film is at its best with the women: the easy by-play and guarded emotions of the shopgirls, the often uncontrolled outbursts of the offbeat and oddball clients, and especially the haunted and lonely performance from Baye, who warily creeps out of her shell for another chance at intimacy. --Sean Axmaker

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