Emmanuelle Seigner

Average customer rating:

The Doors
What were they thinking?
Of books, bibliophiles, and the devil!
Interesting
What happens when you waste a great book, director, and actor

The Ninth Gate
Starring: Johnny Depp , Frank Langella , Lena Olin , Emmanuelle Seigner , and Barbara Jefford
Director: Roman Polanski
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( N ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

From Hell (Widescreen Edition)
Nick of Time
Sleepy Hollow
The Man Who Cried
Don Juan DeMarco

ASIN: 6305897786
Release Date: 2000-07-18

Customer Reviews:

The Doors.......2007-05-19

I liked "The Ninth Gate" for its incredibly long credit sequence at the beginning of the film. The music is dramatic as it sweeps through door after door after door, all of which look exactly the same. After about the fourth door, it becomes silly and laughter sets in. It's like listening to an old vinyl record that is skipping, but not getting up to move the needle.

After this, the movie goes downhill a bit, but Roman Polanski puts on a good show. Particularly interesting is the consummation sequence in which his real-life wife Emmanuelle Seigner plays the green-eyed girl & does the deed with Depp to a background of flames. It's not many men who would want their wives to do that, but Polanski's viewpoint has always been unique. He is a great filmmaker. His Best Director Oscar for "The Pianist," nominations for "Chinatown" & "Tess" plus his screenplay nomination for the legendary "Rosemary's Baby" prove the point. Even if 9th Gate begins to get a bit muddled, he has more than fulfilled his promise since his first film "Knife in Water" got a Best Foreign Language Film nomination back in 1963.

Johnny Depp is also usually very interesting to watch. He scored a couple Best Actor nominations for very different roles from "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" in 2003 to "Finding Neverland" in 2004. As book dealer Dean Corso, I found the character's moral ambiguity to make him unattractive. You couldn't really cheer for him; but he was interesting as he worked his way through the maze of facts in this old book mystery.

Frank Langella has had a long career from "Diary of a Mad Housewife" back in 1970 to "Good Night & Good Luck" in 2005. As the rich book collector Boris Balkan, he was very cerebral, but lacked a certain evil pizzazz to really make you cheer as he bursts into flames. It felt more like he was pathetically weird. Maybe that was what Polanski wanted.

Lena Olin is such an interesting actress to watch. She makes you feel like at any moment she could do almost anything. She would work again with Depp in "Chocolat" and had a sole Oscar nomination in the supporting category in 1989 for "Enemies: A Love Story." The role of Liana Telfer maximizes her strengths. She goes from making love to Depp to trying to kill him with a hair-trigger temper. Tony Amoni as her bodyguard with the cropped blond hair makes a visual impression.

British stage actress Barbara Jeffords who appeared in films sporadically from "Hamlet" in 1959 to "Madame Bovary" in 2000, makes a memorable appearance as Baroness Kessler, another book collector. The last sequence with her wheelchair banging repetitively into the wall as Corso awakes to find the flat aflame is visually brilliant. James Russo who played Sheriff Poole in one of my favorite films, "Open Range," puts in a good appearance as Bernie the bookseller who doesn't last too long holding onto Corso's rare tome.

"The Ninth Gate" isn't the most dreadful film ever. Polanski is far too good a director for that to occur. But it bogs down in plot details that never really seem to fit together. For instance, how did all the pictures in the books once the three editions came together actually enable Boris Balkan? Or they didn't, which is why he burned up -- and if that's the case, then was the film really all about something that didn't exist? Yet, we see the Green Eyed girl flitting about; so we must conclude that something was going on, but what? Did Depp's Corso become like Mia Farrow in "Rosemary's Baby"? Who knows? After a movie as long as this, it should have been clear. Perhaps we should just go to "Pirates 3" and not worry about it. Next!

What were they thinking?.......2007-05-16

The premise of this film was intriguing, it just got lost in too many long scenes. Depp's acting was flat and the direction seemed off. Not one of his best by a long shot.

Of books, bibliophiles, and the devil!.......2007-04-08

Even though this movie has received its fair share of scathing reviews, I must say I enjoyed it. I read the book too, and yes, the movie does not do justice to the book, nevertheless I found the movie to be entertaining. Johnny Depp is famous for playing understated roles, and here he plays the ruthless book dealer Corso with a measure of indifference, and yet, his character sucks you into the plot as he ventures deeper into a web of deceit & evil. Frank Langella's Boris Balkan is intellectual and possessed of a greed for forbidden things. Lena Olin as the 'grieving widow' with devilish designs is sexy as always, but nothing more. I found the character of the 'guardian angel' who is always getting Depp out of trouble [played by Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner] to be the most intriguing...her glances and looks [esp those eyes] hint at something more sinister underlying the surface.
The score is haunting...one gets the feeling there are malevolent forces at work, and permeable evil throughout the movie. Although some reviews found the movie to be plodding, I didn't...if you are a serious book collector as I am, then you will be able to understand the thrill of the hunt, oftentimes very ardous and slow as you search for that one elusive title...so here Corso's quest in tracking down the other two copies of the Nine Kingdoms & unearthing their secrets...only his quest takes him into a dark, forbidding world filled with devil worshippers, and a stranger who holds the real key to all his questions.

Interesting.......2007-03-31

The reviews are about as interesting as the movie. Most people can find faults with the movie, yet most are intrigued by it at the same time. Some are offended due to religious sensibilities, others are offended because they read the book.

I just find the movie interesting. I find Corso likeable. I like most of Depp's acting, he's usually understated and underrated. His deliveries are always more on the subtle side, a method I highly prefer. And the movie is subtle and low keyed as well. And what a lovely devil. Seems that the devil is not what it's cracked up to be. Of course, in reality, neither is the real devil--namely, there is no devil. This truth, if it were really believed, would come as a complete shock to the majority. How much they would miss him, as he's a part of all of us, just as is the god.

What happens when you waste a great book, director, and actor.......2007-03-09

If you believe in the Devil, and I mean *really* believe in the devil, I can't think of one good reason why you'd want to summon the Devil into this world. At worst, he's purported to be the father of lies, and one of the fallen angels. This means that anything he tells you is suspect, anything he gives you is suspect, and he probably has the power to make you believe in him. Yikes. Not a safe trip. Not a terribly sane trip, for that matter.

Yet that is precisely what Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) desired. He had one copy of "The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadow", and there were three extant. One or all of these books is a forgery, and one or all holds the secret to summoning Satan. He hires Corso (played a bit too understated by Johnny Depp) to research the other texts.

The movie is based on the novel "The Club Dumas" by Arturo Perez Reverte, which I favorably reviewed.

I can't give a similar review to The Ninth Gate for a number of reasons. First, Depp's portrayal of Corso was one dimensional, and Corso was a multi-dimensional character. Whether that's the filmmaker's fault or Depp's I don't know, but Depp's Corso was a dreadful bore.

A mysterious girl appeared and became an ally of his, demonstrating supernatural abilities. We are never given ample evidence as to why she might have had an interest in helping Corso, or in what her abilities might have been (never mind her identity). Yet since this is a character from the book, I know why she was there, I have a pretty good idea who she was (and good job to the author on how he handled that!) and her character's interests and abilities could have been better communicated, with very little difficulty.

Also, in a rather silly departure from the book (departures are fine...I'm not being a book snob), they substitute an average sized platinum-blonde haired black male for a character in the book who was tall, white, and physically imposing. There's nothing that irritates me more than a "quota substitute". I don't think this particular sub had any speaking lines, which makes it that much more of an insult.

I love intelligent thrillers. (I didn't care for The Da Vinci Code.) This was a thriller that spent time in libraries, that examined woodcuttings drawn, perhaps, by Lucifer himself - yet I wasn't engaged.

In 1999, when the film was released, I couldn't sit through it. After reading The Club Dumas and then discovering that there was a connection between the two, I approached the film again, hoping that understanding where the book was coming from would help. It did not. In fact, it raised more questions.

I would give this movie 2.5 stars and round it up to 3; however, I'm reviewing the DVD and the DVD gets a big spanking for not having subtitles. There's no excuse, in this day and age, for a mainstream DVD not to offer subtitles.

Average customer rating:

Every element fits as they should in good art works
One of my all-time favorites/A No Spoiler Review
Minor Polanski
An ending you'll never forget
Be happy with what you have...

Bitter Moon
Starring: Hugh Grant , Kristin Scott Thomas , Emmanuelle Seigner , Peter Coyote , and Victor Banerjee
Director: Roman Polanski
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Black Comedy | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

Comedy | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Death and the Maiden
Tenant (1976) (Ws Sub)
Repulsion
Sirens
Frantic

ASIN: B00008YLV7
Release Date: 2003-06-03

Amazon.com

Unquestionably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Roman Polanski (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) turns his talents to the realm of sexual perversity and its emotional toll. While on a Mediterranean cruise, Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas) find a young French woman named Mimi (Emmanuelle Seigner) crying in a bathroom. Mimi's paraplegic American husband Oscar (Peter Coyote) forces Nigel to listen to how Oscar and Mimi fell in love--as well as how they discovered kinky erotic games and finally arrived at a curdled, mutual sadism. Bitter Moon veers erratically from salacious erotica to black comedy to clumsy psychodrama, but individual scenes have a definite punch. Coyote chews the scenery with glee, Seigner (Polanski's wife, adding a hint of lurid autobiography) flounders moodily, and Grant seems miscast, but Scott Thomas gives the movie some actual dignity. --Bret Fetzer

Description

A comtemporary drama about an American in Paris who falls in love with a young French woman and how their relationship deteriorates into sexual extremes.

Customer Reviews:

Every element fits as they should in good art works.......2007-03-06

A story within a story on a cruise ship - the surface story is of a `seven year itch'. A staid and respectable, childless British couple celebrating that volitile aniversary, are heedlessly advised (in regard to the husband anyway) by an Indian sage that children are better marital therapy than a cruise to India. Lust takes over the seemingly conservative Brit played perfectly by Hugh Grant and makes a fool of him. Yes this happens to men all the time.

On said cruise the British couple run into the sexy French siren and her crippled, older, storytelling husband who latches on to the Brit husband to tell his never-published autobiographical novel slash cautionary tale. And as for the interior story of the writer and his French obsession, it shows how`greediness' for hedonistic fantasy can lead to dark, sadististic or at least regrettable behavior. Suffice to say, everyone learns this lesson in their own way in the end.

A subtle theme here is the portrayal of the failed writer, who buys into fantasy too strongly and tries to make life imitate art until both his life and art fall short of any success, (this, like the lust in the male seven year itch, is another truism - failed artists often go too far into fantasy forgoing realism which ultimately causes frustration and failure) other than telling his story orally to one mere chump on a cruise who completely misses the point and is ready to cash in his perfectly respectable life for a brief scandalous trist in the very manner that made the cripple such an abomiable obnoxious loser. Much like the Siren song from Homer (who was also cruising the Mediteranian, wasn't he?)

Great score by Vangelis too, capturing romance and tragedy in one theme.

One of my all-time favorites/A No Spoiler Review.......2007-01-19

I happen to be fairly picky, and I don't like a lot of movies. This, however, is definitely jockeying for position as my #1 all time favorite. I first saw it ten years ago, during a library movie night that I'd ran with a friend. We saw a preview for Bitter Moon during another movie and it looked fun so we rented it. When it ended, the whole audience sat in silence for about two minutes. We were frankly shocked by the ending...it was absolutely NOT what we had expected.

Bitter Moon is about a couple who go on a cruise to India to celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. Almost immediately, they meet Mimi, who almost effortlessly weaves a spell around the husband, Nigel, played by Hugh Grant. He's restless and eager for diversion, a fact that doesn't escape the notice of Oscar, Mimi's wheelchair bound husband. Almost immediately, Oscar begans to play a game with the besotted husband, offering him Mimi if he'll only listen to their tale first. And Nigel is immediately sucked into their wild yet desolate and depraved world, with occasionally darkly hilarious and inevitably devastating consequences.

I thought the cast was incredible for this film. Emanuelle Seigner, playing Mimi, seems to get most of the criticism in the reviews. Admittedly she's no Meryl Streep but she brings a vulnerability to the role of Mimi, even when the vixen's at her worst. Hugh Grant is a bit stiff as Niles, but it suits the part well. Peter Coyote is a sneering fiesta of bitterness and hilarity, and Kristen Scott Thomas steals the show as a wife determined not to be played for a fool.

Make sure the kids aren't around and spare an evening for this one-it's worth it.

Minor Polanski.......2006-12-17

Bitter Moon is minor Polanski, an overlong but enjoyable black comedy about sexual obsession. It's not particularly deep, but it is occasionally very funny (the poodle and the toaster are particular highlights), with Polanski constantly aware how close to comedy the sexual act is in all its more desperate variations. Perhaps its this sense of pervading black humor amid the emotional sadism that prevents the finale from having the sting it's aiming for, but it's an interesting voyage.

An ending you'll never forget.......2006-09-01

I find that the true measure of depth for a movie is evident in its' projected empathy. If you're looking for a touchy-feel good movie this definitely is not it. Bitter Moon emphasizes the worst in humanity and provokes a guttural disgust for the characters played by Peter Coyote and Emmanuel Seigner. Hugh Grant and Kristen Scott Thomas represent the pawnish almost innocent characters within Oscar and Mimi's sadistic game of emotional chess.

I would never identify this movie as a "Black Comedy" but more of an erotic drama dealing with the dark side of the human libido. You're drawn into the relationship of Oscar and Mimi as outsiders listening to the story of their life. Along with Hugh Grant's character, you listen to their story ...from the inception of their lusty affair to their tortured life where the only reason that they exist as a married couple is in a vain attempt to limit their damage to the rest of humanity. Two people bonded together in a never ending battle to inflict torture upon the other...where everyone else is pawns and collateral damage. The content is definitely not for kids and not for the timid.

If you enjoyed Glen Close and John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaison's or the War of the Roses, then this is a film for you! With one of the best endings I've seen in a film dating back to the early 90's...I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Be happy with what you have..........2006-08-22

I don't know why, but I am mesmerized by this movie... The story drwas you in, although shocking at times and incredibly cruel. The moral of the whole thing is twofold: the grass is always greener and the more you dig, the dirtier it gets.

Average customer rating:

Excellent Performances, OK Movie
Never Assume...Never Presume...Good Courtroom Whodunit
Polanski in a slump
Edge of your seat suspense!
Good suspense

Frantic
Starring: Harrison Ford , Betty Buckley , Djiby Soumare , Emmanuelle Seigner , and Dominique Virton
Director: Roman Polanski
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

4-for-3 Action & Adventure | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

All Deals | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( F ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Presumed Innocent
Witness (Special Collector's Edition)
The Fugitive
The Devil's Own
What Lies Beneath

ASIN: 6305133476
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

Living in exile in Paris after eluding a controversial charge of statutory rape in America, director Roman Polanski seemed professionally adrift during the 1980s, making only one film (the ill-fated Pirates) between 1979 and 1988. Then Polanski found inspiration--and a major star in Harrison Ford--to make Frantic, a thriller that played directly into Polanski's gift for creating an atmosphere of mystery, dread, escalating suspense, and uncertain fate. Set in Paris (Polanski couldn't go to Hollywood, so Hollywood came to him), the story begins when an American heart surgeon (Ford) arrives in the City of Lights with his wife (Betty Buckley) for a medical convention. They check into a posh hotel, and in a brilliantly directed scene, Ford takes a shower and emerges to find that his wife has vanished. This mysterious disappearance--and a confusion between two identical pieces of luggage--leads Ford into the Paris underground and a plot that grows increasingly dangerous as he approaches the truth of his wife's disappearance. The plot gets too complicated, and the pace drops off in the cluttered second half, but in Polanski's capable hands the film is blessed with moments of heightened suspense in the tradition of classic thrillers. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Performances, OK Movie.......2006-10-13

Roman Polanski's 1987 film "Frantic" was another Harrison Ford as the hero film and introduced Polanski fans to the beautiful foreign actress Emanuelle Seigner (who would later become Polanski's wife). Looking at the back cover, a reviewer proclaims "Heart-stopping. Polanski's Best Film Ever. Ford is the Ultimate Hero." The film wasn't heart-stopping, this is not Polanski's best film (Chinatown anybody?), and Ford is a pretty good action hero but not the best. Having just, pretty much, bashed the film. I did like it. It has it's moments, Ford and Seigner are great; The movie isn't as elaborate as it tries to be, but it's entertaining for the most part. Ford plays Richard Walker, an American doctor in Paris with his wife Sondra (Betty Buckley) to give a speech. Walker is also planning a little quality-time with his wife. While Walker takes a shower, his wife yells something to him which he doesn't hear, and when he gets out of the shower she's gone. After asking questions, it seems that she's ran off with a man...So when Walker files a missing persons report, the police don't really take him seriously. When he learns from a drunk that his wife has been kidnapped, Walker begins doing whatever he can to find her. Then he finds Michelle (Seigner), a French-woman who is in the habit of smuggling drugs across borders for people.
Michelle's suitcase got mixed up with Walker's wife, for the record. Anyway, Michelle seems to know a lot more than she lets on and she begins helping Walker find his wife. The conclusion is less-than-satisfying. Polanski is really good at two things when he makes films. Cinematography and suspense. The cinematography is in top form in the film, there's some great shots of Paris and some great shots in general. The suspense, however, is almost nonexistent. There isn't any really heart-stopping things that happen in this film. Ford does his best with the material and the movie holds your interest, but it's no masterpiece.

GRADE: B-

Never Assume...Never Presume...Good Courtroom Whodunit.......2006-09-10

"Presumed Innocent"(VHS-PAL edition)

Director Alan J Pakula with his usual flair for suspense("Klute"/"The Pelican Brief"), really draws us in and keeps us guessing in this courtroom thriller. The cast is also wonderful at keeping the mystery alive as they portray their parts perfectly, never giving away anything.It stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia and Greta Scacchi.

Ford is a prosecuting attorney. He's one of the best around, so when a fellow attorney is brutally murdered, he is assigned the case. He is a bit reluctant though. This fellow attorney, was a brilliant lawyer,as well as a beautiful and sexy woman, and one other thing...he was having an extra marital affair with her and when it ended, he became obsessed with winning her back. Uh Oh...all the evidence eventually points right at him! Don't rule ANYBODY out in this edge of your seat courtroom drama.

An above average murder mystery, with a great cast and brilliant director. The music of John Willilams also adds just the right touch of suspense. I hadn't seen this one for quite a while, so I actually forgot whodunit, until almost the end, and I enjoyed it as much the second time around as the first.

Also I must mention the really terrific performances of the supporting cast. Paul Winfield(with his oh so recognizable voice) as the Judge, John Spencer, as the Detective helping Ford with evidence, and Anna Maria Horsford as an assistant in the office.

This is a PAL VHS (ASIN:B00004CNGB) That would be mostly for players compatible in Europe, Australia, China, and parts of the Middle East.Language tracks listed are English and French. Some VHS players may be compatible in all regions.Check your manual, and links to other formats on the product info page for best prices and availability. If purchasing from an outside merchant, you may want to check with them to make sure you are getting the edition you need.

A terrific addition to your suspense collection.
Never assume....Never presume....
Go for It...Laurie

Polanski in a slump.......2006-08-28

An American doctor in Paris (Harrison Ford) searches for his wife (Betty Buckley), who has been kidnapped due to a luggage mix-up at the airport. It begins with promise, but the plot never really develops any momentum and culminates with a desultory gunfight that offers no suspense, no revelations, and no excitement. Roman Polanski is a gifted director. He made some brilliant films before this and he would make some great ones later, but "Frantic" feels like its on autopilot.

Edge of your seat suspense!.......2006-03-24

While Roman Polanski was avoiding authories in America in 1988, he managed to put together a superb suspense thriller. It stars Harrison Ford in a rather unique role; that of a doctor, an every man type such as Jimmy Stewart in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" without the Indiana Jones hype. Although filmed 18 years ago, it seems more contemporary that ever. A fine thriller that even Hitch would approve!

What is NOT contemporary is the fact that we consumers here in Region 1 - North America, that's right, Canada too, get nothing but JUNK & GARBAGE from the releasing studios. Lousy, grainy transfers in the edited Pan & Scan format; not fit for anything but a 7" DVD personal viewer, MAYBE! Why is this and most any other post-1953 movie presented in it's original aspect ratio available in Region 2 - Europe but not on this side of the pond? Disney is by far the major offender in this area but hey, what say you Warner Bros.?

It was always thought that the mighty oceans would protect us from our enemies, both foreign and domestic. 9/11 proved that wrong, and I guess nobody though of Hollywood as a band of American Home Video terrorists, a silly statement but ever so true! This Region 1 DVD release of "Frantic" says it all.

Good suspense.......2006-02-16

If you've never seen this movie before, it keeps you on the edge of your seat as the plot thickens step-by-step. Ford's acting here is top-notch as always. I like the cinematography in the scene where he goes through Michelle's suitcase. It focuses on the suitcase and his hands, not his face. At The Blue Parrot, you can see the man he's been reduced to...an respected American doctor reluctantly snorting coke in the men's room at a Parisian nightclub...just to get the answers he's searching for. In the dancing scene at A Touch of Class, he seems close to breakdown as Michelle seems to want to get closer to him physically and emotionally. He clutches her for a moment in what could be construed as human need...a body in his arms. I never tire of this movie...one of my favorites with Ford.

Average customer rating:

Great Romantic Comedy. Buy it if you love French movies.
Good Light-Hearted Movie to Watch
An Unknown Gem - Surprisingly Well Done!
Love Audrey
When you smile I find you handsome

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

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( V ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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

Customer Reviews:

Great Romantic Comedy. Buy it if you love French movies........2007-03-26

`venus BEAUTY institute' written and directed by Tonie Marshall, in French, with English subtitles, strikes one, on first viewing, as being like some other French movies where nothing of any real consequence seems to happen. The example which comes to mind is Jean Renoir's `The Rules of the Game', one of the all time great movies, and yet not much happens except some intense interaction between the characters, and a seemingly inconsequential accident / murder (ambiguous).

While Audrey Tautou gets second billing on the cover, this is due entirely to her later successes. She plays a less important character than Mathilde Seigner or Bulle Ogier, who are billed below her.

For one who is not up on French cinema beyond Francois Truffaut's early classics, the great treat in this flick is the performance of Nathalie Baye, who does a job easily comparable to some other great French classics such as Katherine Deneuve and Jeanne Moreau. If this were not a `Romantic Comedy', her role would be comparable to Diane Keaton's dangerous life in `Looking for Mr. Goodbar'.

Like `Rules of the Game' and `Jules and Jim' and unlike the fantasies of Ingemar Bergman and Fredrico Fellini, the values in this movie grow out of the reality we see in these characters as they reflect, maybe, some of our own tendencies.

I was genuinely astounded at the number of films in which Ms. Baye has appeared (including some late Truffout works such as `Day for Night'). It made me look forward to the pleasures of seeing more of their work, as her performance is what elevates this from a routine comedy to something on the level of `Hannah and Her Sisters' or `When Harry Met Sally'. And yet, it has a distinctly Gallic flavor that I suspect neither Woody Allen nor Rob Reiner could ever capture (although it would be very interesting to see Woody do a parody of a French comedy.)

Probably the most endearing invention is the basic venue of a Paris beauty salon whose products and services are probably only marginally effective in making women beautiful and staving off the ravages of age. And yet, Ms. Maye, who has appeared in movies since the 1970s seems to have that ageless quality of Madame Moreau.

Terrific flick!

Good Light-Hearted Movie to Watch.......2006-09-09

I first saw this movie on cable but never had the chance to see it from the beginning to see what it was about. And it never came back on cable again so I could get the chance to see it. Coming back to school I looked forward to spending a Friday night watching rented movies after a week of school and work.
"Venus Beauty Institute" is a great movie. Ms. Marshall does a great job at examining the lives of three women who toil in a beauty parlor. Angele is cynical about love after she has experienced a lousy relationship with a guy who didn't even acknowledge her. She has been hurt by love and she becomes the aggressor. But being the aggressor doesn't exactly make her a powerful person. She has doubts as to what could have happened if she were patient. Marianne, the optimist, finds love with a widower and former pilot. Angele looks out for her because she fears that she will be hurt by this man. And Samantha is just outrageous. She flirts around but is very selective. She is unhappy with being at the institute.
Antoine observes Angele and finds himself drawn to her. Why is he drawn to her? That is what she can't understand. Love has never been fair to Angele. Her father killed her mother thinking that she had a lover behind his back. When he found there wasn't one, he turned the gun on himself. She grew up with her spinster aunts in Poitiers. Although they have their cynicisms about men, they are still optimistic about men. Angele is fearful of love and being loved.
Antoine, a young man finds this woman attractive and full of life despite her misery. He looks from a distance at her in the salon she works at. He tells her that he loves her and knows how much in love with her he is. He brings out her inner beauty and allows for her to feel joyful.
I loved the scene with Marianne and her beau making love. It was a movie in itself because Angele and Antoine were enthralled to explore their passion for each other rather than break up the affair with them. This movie does have some quirkiness to it. Madame Buisse appears naked to have her daily tanning, a married woman who comes into the salon because her husband wants her to look a certain way for him, and Sam's replacement who tries to turn the salon into a department store.
This is a movie that women can enjoy in a group or by themselves. I would definitely watch this movie the second time around. This movie is a lesson in love--it can hurt as well as heal.

An Unknown Gem - Surprisingly Well Done!.......2006-05-16

I got this movie because it stars Nathalie Baye and expected it to be a light hearted romantic comedy (i.e. a chick flick) based on the cover photo and the text on the back of the case. That will teach me to never judge a book by it's cover. I was VERY pleasantly surprised upon watching it, this film has considerable depth and complexity. The story is about a woman (Nathalie Baye) who works as a beautician and who is looking for love. She was crushed by a previous relationship and now carries many scars. She refuses to emotionally commit herself to another relationship, prefering instead to pursue short lived affairs with no attachments, although deep inside she would like to find someone, even if she won't admit it to herself. Her life changes dramatically when a man comes up to her from out of the blue and expresses his undying love. He is currently engaged to another woman who loves him deeply, but he is so profoundly attracted to Baye's character that he will leave her. This may sound like some bizarre, confused love triangle, but in fact this film is extremely well done. The pacing of the story is perfect, and the complexities of the emotions and the characters are on full display without being melodramatic in any way. There are a few side plots in this film (Audrey Tautou's relationship with an older man), some of which enhance the story and some of which are a pointless distraction (the woman who comes to the salon to tan in the nude). There is a realism in this film (and French films of this genre in general) that is totally lacking in comparable American films. We can feel and sympathize with Nathalie Baye's fear and anguish about committing herself again. This is not Baye's best performance (Le Retour de Martin Guerre), but she is still outstanding, one of the world's best actresses. I would rate this film as 4.5 stars if I could, rounding up to 5. If you are new to French cinema, this would be a great film to start with. If you are a connisseur of French cinema or Nathalie Baye, this is a must have. An (unexpectedly) outstanding film.

Love Audrey.......2006-01-21

Although Audrey did well as usual, this movie was just okay with me. Had its moments of romance, but could have been better.

When you smile I find you handsome.......2004-11-03

This isn't a bittersweet romance movie. Instead, it's a bittersweet romance-in-the-making. Nathalie Baye shines as the center of a trio of beauticians who struggle to find love. It lacks the warmth of a really dynamic look at love, but it is pretty and sometimes heartwarming.

Angèle (Nathalie Baye) is about forty, and works at a pink, perfumed beauty salon where women and men alike come for skin care, tans and massages. Because of a lover's scarred face, she has sworn off love. Now all she wants are flings and one-night stands, out of fear that her heart will be broken.

But one day she is dumped nastily, and a sculptor named Antoine (Samuel Le Bihan) sees everything. Despite being engaged, he falls in love with Angèle. But the love-wary Angèle pushes him away, and he pursues her even so, determined to break down her defenses and make her see how much he loves her.

Tonie Marshall does a fairly good job with a film that looks at love, beauty, and the bitterness that can keep potential love away. It's definitely a unique story, with a beautiful older woman finding love again, but without age jokes or painless romances. It has false starts, misunderstandings, awkwardness and mistakes -- like love.

Marshall's film does have some flaws, however. Jacques (Jacques Bonnaffe) is Angèle's ex, the guy who has some scarring on his face. They're not particularly bad scars, but the characters act as if he need to wear a half-mask and haunt the Paris Opera House. That superficiality seems reflected in the pretty, shallow look of the salon.

But the love stories are quite sweet, including two younger women, one a tough girl and one a sensitive sweetie. Though Angèle originally sees love as an enslavement, the movie doesn't see it that way. In here, love is an emotion that can change your life -- it's not enslavement, and it's not perfection. But it can bring happiness.

Baye does an excellent job as the embittered Angèle, whose fear of love comes from shooting her ex. She stays on the same level as the young women, who are expected to be single. Backing her up is the tough, depressed Samanthe (Mathilde Seigner), and the sweet naive Marie (Audrey Tautou), who is the mistress of a man old enough to be her dad.

Despite the picture of Tautou in the middle of the cover, this is Baye's movie. And despite the superficial, cold moments here and there, the bittersweet "Venus Beauty Institute" is worth checking out.

Average customer rating:

THE CHILD DEVIANT!

The Ninth Gate
Starring: Johnny Depp , Frank Langella , Lena Olin , Emmanuelle Seigner , and Barbara Jefford
Director: Roman Polanski
Manufacturer: Lionsgate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Drama | Kids & Family | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)
The Kovak Box
Fantastic Voyage (Special Edition)
Venus
Donnie Brasco (Special Edition) [Region 99]

ASIN: B000NQRR1Q
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Description

Johnny Depp unlocks the gates to hell in Roman Polanski's newest thriller. Depp stars as Dean Corso, an unscrupulous rare-book dealer who is hired to locate the last remaining copies of "The Nine Gate of the Shadow Kingdom," a demonic manuscript that can summon the Devil. Corso becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving murder, theft and satanic ritual, and ultimately finds himself confronting the devil incarnate.

Customer Reviews:

THE CHILD DEVIANT!.......2007-06-13

This cult classic Johnny Depp Film directed by Roman Polanski (Rosemary's baby, Valley Of The Dolls) is a wonderful occult thriller that is shure to entertain any inteligent viewer. The acting is superb, and the story is verry imaginative. This movie is about a serach for Satan...I will tell you know more as I wouldn't want to spoil a wonderful film for you if you haven't ever seen it.

Average customer rating:

AN ATTACK !
read Proust first!
Time in a Boring Bottle
Proust, Captured on Film
A Worthy Interpretation Of The Classic On Film

Time Regained
Starring: Catherine Deneuve , Emmanuelle Béart , Vincent Perez , John Malkovich , and Pascal Greggory
Director: Raoul Ruiz
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Period Piece | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Swann in Love
Place Vendome
Genealogies of a Crime
Nearest To Heaven
Comedy of Innocence

ASIN: B0000584ZF
Release Date: 2001-03-27

Customer Reviews:

AN ATTACK !.......2006-07-10

It seems Jargo that you are hypocritical. You say that films are supposed to move you. You are absolutely right, as this film has moved you; it has moved you to vent your anger and disgust against "snobs". Perhaps you hate your social betters because you wish to be part of them, but you will never be. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha !

read Proust first!.......2005-07-08

This is a wonderful film, a tribute by the Chilean-born direct Raoul Ruiz, in French with subtitles that occasionally are hard to read against the gold-white light of Marcel's retrospections. The most astonishing performance is John Malkovich's as Charlus, despite the fact that he doesn't resemble him in the slightest (Proust described the baron as so fat that he waddled, and his head as enormous).

The film is based on the novel's final book, which we now know as Finding Time Again, and begins with Marcel on his deathbed, dictating in a ghostly voice the novel that will be his triumph over death. The dying writer never reappears; what we get instead are scenes from the story of his life, including Little Marcel with his magic lantern at Combray, Young Marcel meeting Charlus at Balbec, and Middle-Aged Marcel attending the final society concert chez Prince de Guermantes, It's very difficult to follow, and should by no means be regarded as hors d'oeuvres to the feast of In Search of Lost Time, but rather as a digestif to follow it. -- Dan Ford at readingproust dot com

Time in a Boring Bottle.......2004-12-02

This film at best, is nothing but amateurish detritus which not only bores the viewer but makes him contemptuously dislike all forms of snobbery or upper middle class portraits.

I've read a few of the other reviewers who attempt to become apologists for the director's lack of talent at establishing even a modicum of interest, they say if you haven't read Proust then you will have a difficult time comprehending this, which in itself is entirely fatuous and pomp. Imagine everyone having to read one of the most lurid and over-rated books of the 20th century to see a film which should substantiate itself. What an exaggerated claim. There's no place for "intellectual hubris" or their own "in-group manifesto" here.

I had high hopes for this film actually but after the first hour I saw that it was devoid and lacking any duality which would allow us to reflect on what is occurring. It is played by rigid, high handed oafs who are spoiled to begin with.

Most of the first hour is infested by artless vignettes which are probably the deluded Proust's memory, and they are reworked in such a disordered way that what comes out is merely a bunch of meaningless, trite and vacuous scenes with banal jargon, not only because they hold absolutely no interest for us, but because they do not invite a further contemplation of what 'time' was to Proust, imagine listening to a bunch of snobs talk about the weather, well, that is what this basically is, how philosophical can one get from that point of reference? It begins to wear thin after the first scene and you pray that there will be no more discussions by those prosaic characters. And it doesn't help that Proust himself is an insipid dandy who parades around in his best suits with his neatly trimmed moustache and becomes a voyeur, if you are asleep already, I don't blame you.

Many of the scenes deal with characters which are entirely void of any human warmth or expression, they are petty aristocrats, snobs who sit and drink tea and eat stuffy food while looking down at the poor. They are [...] who visit [...] brothels and think themselves noble because they hold high office positions during the war while the common man spills his guts out at the front lines. This is a complete waste of time!

Malkovich is even an absurd caricature in here, and his little dubbed French voice is entirely insipid. I laughed at most of this. We learn that he is a libertine who likes to visit male brothels and be whipped by sincere proletarian scum, wow, what a revelation on the mystery of human existence. From the looks of the period pieces and the arrangements, it was expensive but that doesn't carry a film with people walking around with no reference to the viewer. Film is supposed to move us in a way, either disgust us or interest us in some form of merit which it presents itself to us in human understanding but boredom to me is no artistic achievement. Don't even bother with this pretentious and ennui filled work.

Proust, Captured on Film.......2003-07-31

Suffice it to say that Chilean-born director/screenwriter Ruiz tackled a monumental assignment. Reducing Proust's lengthy Trilogy (Remembrance of Things Past), to a few hours of screen time would have been beyond the capabilities of most filmmakers. That he has succeeded so well is a great credit to him and to his creative crew.

The film is told in a series of flashbacks as Proust lies on his deathbed. The flashbacks are not sequential, so at points one has to pay attention to follow along. The rewards are numerous, however. This is one of the most beautifully filmed works that I've seen in ages. The director is particularly adept at pan-shots. The moving tableaux are breathtaking, like living impressionist paintings. This is particularly true in a scene of a music recital at a country chateau. The various figures are situated on moving platforms, so in addition to the moving camera pans, the platforms also slide slowly back and forth, which makes for a kaleidescopic montage unlike anything I've seen in cinema. Ruiz and cinematographer Jorge Arriagada are artists in the truest sense.

Ruiz also managed to collect a top notch cast for the enterprise. Marcello Mazzarella is elegantly stoic as Proust. He is the artistic, calm eye of the storm as the hurricane of WWI France swirls aound him. Emmanuelle Béart, is stunningly beautiful, as always. Catherine Deneuve is a perfectly cast Mme De Crecy, though her on screen time is relatively brief. John Malkovich's French sounds pretty fair to my untrained ear. He definitely has the juiciest role as a jaded, decadent Baron of the Boulevard. Pascal Greggory chews up some scenery, as well as a boefsteak, as the gung ho, effete warrior, St-Loup (well named, as the guy really is quite loopy).

The movie is slow going at times, which well befits an adaptation of Proust, who's not exactly known for his frenetic pacing. This is a film to savor with several repeated viewings. The DVD is an excellent transfer and the English subtitles are accurate and legible. Highly recommended.

BEK

A Worthy Interpretation Of The Classic On Film.......2003-04-06

Director Raul's version of Marcel Prousts' Remembrance Of Things Past is captured beautifully and faithfully on film. It was made only recently in 1999, but it is essentially timeless. The strength of the film lies in the many dimensions it has, as with the novel. Proust's vision and world comes to life through the cinema, through good performances by the actors, period details and such beautiful, wistful music. The music and the way the film changes time frames, different perspectives, and the Impressionist, sensory images in memory that Proust created in the book are captured with great effect.

For those who have read the long book, and for those who are Proustian, this film is a sumptuous cinematic feast. You don't have to appreciate French literature and film interpretation, you can just love costume dramas. The French are a different breed. They love their champagne, their waltzes and always, Paris. The frivolous lifestyle depicted in Odette's courtesan climate is but one element of French society, at least as it was in the late 19th century. Swann, as we know, is the author himself. Proust put himself in Swann, and became the restless, troubled youth searching for himself but unable to find peace of mind in a corrupt world of money and societal conventions, a world who looks innocent and glossy but hides a dark secret of prostitution and frail morals.

Product Description

Adolescent Lucie worships the celebrated singer Lauren Waks, an enigmatic and inaccessible artist whose photos cover her bedroom walls. It's how she escapes from the reality of stifling small-town life with her mother and kid brother. Until the day when an unforeseen opportunity will allow the young fan to enter her idol's private world. Innocently, she dives into a passionate relationship with the star of her dreams. But, determined to ensure Lauren's happiness despite her, Lucie concocts a crazy and self-destructive plan.

Customer Reviews:

"She likes to appear wild, but underneath she's as dead as her stuffed deer.".......2007-05-06

We've all read newspaper stories about crazed, obsessed fans who stalk the famous objects of their worship. While most fans are content to stay at a distance, some go so far as to build entire fantasy lives built around a non-existent relationship with their idol. And then there are a few fans who apparently feel driven to actually invade the lives of those they worship. The French film "Backstage" from director Emmanuelle Bercot examines what happens when a fan is permitted access to her idol--a pop singer who seems to be a cross between Madonna and Blondie. For a television special, the singer Lauren (Emmanuelle Seigner) descends with her entourage on the home of an unsuspecting fan, Lucie (Isild Le Besco). Lucie is so overwhelmed by Lauren's presence in her home, she's speechless and rapidly becomes overwrought. The singer leaves, and Lucie is left thinking that she's missed her big moment with her idol.

Lucie decides to leave everything behind and go to Paris. Here she haunts the streets outside of Lauren's hotel surrounded by other obsessed fans. But whereas the other fans have to content themselves with a glimpse of their idol, Lucie decides to take matters into her own hands, and she tries to shove her way into Lauren's room.

The relationship between crazed fan and pop idol certainly promises some rich possibilities, and the film does a good job of including a few scenes that depict the love-hate nature of the fan/idol relationship. There's one scene when disappointed fans watch (and scream) as Lauren is hustled away in a car. The fans have waited for hours, but they get no acknowledgement, and their rage shows. As one fan bitterly states, a word or a glance from Lauren would have "cost her nothing." It's moments like these that underscore the hole in the psyche of the crazed worshippers--a hole that they imagine Lauren can fill, and of course, she can't. Oddly enough, the film seems to do a better job of depicting Lauren's relationship with her fans en masse, than it does depicting Lauren's up and close and personal relationship with Lucie. When the film enters these more difficult waters, the story flounders.

The main problem with "Backstage" is Lucie's character. Lucie is not easy to put on the screen--after all, she's someone whose entire identity and focus is based on the worship of a pop star, and the pop star is having an identity crisis of her own. Lucie--who's described as a "parasite" by one of Lauren's entourage--is mostly overwrought when she's in Lauren's company. The film becomes mired down in close-up after close-up of Lucie's tear-stained face as she turns yet another besotted, worshipful gaze towards Lauren. It presents a challenge to make a hollow character carry so much of the film, and while Lucie seems to come to life when she's out of Lauren's orbit, unfortunately since much of the film is about being within breathing distance of Lauren, Lucie's hysterical behaviour dominates the story. In French with subtitles--displacedhuman

One for the Girls.......2007-03-30

"Backstage"

One for the Girls

Amos Lassen and the Cinema Pride

Strand Released is issuing an intense drama on April 3, 2007. "Backstage" is a mesmerizing film which tells the story of a pop star and an admirer and the film deals with the line of separation between star and fan or fanatic. Lucie (Isild Le Besco) obsessively admires pop diva Lauren Waks (Emmanuel Seigner who happens to be Mrs. Roman Polanski) and manages to somehow worm her wife into the life of her idol. Here in a variation of "All About Eve" we have drama that is so tense I almost felt like I was watching an entire new film genre.
"Backstage" looks at sanity in the world of rock and roll. Is the star who narcisstically searches for approval, love and acceptance as
crazy as the obsessive fans who spend hours and days waiting to get a glimpse of the person they so idolize? What is it about celebrities that make people act so out of the ordinary?
After seeing Lauren sing at a concert, Lucie is surprised (to say the least) when Lauren comes to her home and sings a love song to her while cameras record the activity. Lucie had been selected to participate in a new variety show, "Backstage" and this interlude is her reward. Lucie is overwhelmed to the nth degree and emotion so overtakes hr that she escapes to her bedroom which is almost a museum dedicated to Lauren.
The following day Lucie takes off for Paris to search for Lauren in order to stay in some kind of contact with her. Together with other fans she camps out in front of the hotel where Lauren is staying and is successful in getting inside by throwing a fit outside of Lauren's suite. She also gains acceptance into Lauren's group of personal fans and
even does small chores for her idol. She is even there to comfort Lauren when she faces insecurity and exhaustion. Lucie has an even stranger plan in mind for Lauren--she plans to have her ex-boyfriend impregnate her and then give the baby to Lauren. The behavior of the two women is bizarre--we do not usually see this kind of fan/star obsession so openly played out.
What makes this movie so fascinating is the approach it takes as it looks at the strange relationship between star and star-struck. The way each side relates to the other is with dependence. The star has little to depend upon apart from image and a need for acceptance and attention. It is the fan who supplies that. At the same time the star fears and sometimes even dislikes the fan. As the lives of the two mesh and come together we see where each side is emotionally dependent upon the other. In "Backstage" that co-dependence leads the characters to the verge of destruction.
Everything about this move is first class. The music is outstanding and the stars fill and take on their roles with greatness. The script is excellently written and the movie is like a fine novel that you do not want to end because you enjoy it so much. "Backstage" is a fine piece of filmmaking that should not be missed.

Average customer rating:

Four Last Songs
Starring: Karl Johnson , Marisa Paredes , Emmanuelle Seigner , Stanley Tucci , and Rhys Ifans
Director: Francesca Joseph
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

In a Dark Place
The Last Run
Big Nothing
The Only Witness
The 4 Musketeers

ASIN: B000P296BM
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Average customer rating:

How's YOUR Marriage?
"Don't start in with that stupid romantic paradigm."
Love and Marriage...and other consequences
The best food fight scene

Happily Ever After
Starring: Anouk Aimée , Keith Allen (VII) , Claude Berri , Jérôme Bertin , and Alain Chabat
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Private Resort [Region 99]
The Libertine
The Source
The Brave / The Piano II
The Man Who Cried

ASIN: B0009XRZKQ
Release Date: 2005-10-11

Amazon.com

Call it The Mind of the Married French Man. In his second film with Charlotte Gainsbourg (21 Grams), Yvan Attal (Bon Voyage) looks at monogamy through the prism of three middle-aged Parisians who work at the same luxury auto dealership. Georges (Alain Chabat) is unhappily married to the combative Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner), the single Fred (Alain Cohen) is seeing several different lovelies, and Vincent (writer/director Attal) has a seemingly idyllic relationship with realtor Gabrielle (Gainsbourg, Attal's companion)--complete with precocious urchin. In reality, they're in a rut. So while Fred swears his is a lonely life, his frustrated friends aren't convinced. One day in a record store, Gabrielle locks eyes with an attractive stranger (Johnny Depp in a mostly wordless, if effective cameo) while listening to Radiohead's "Creep," with its somber "I don't belong here" refrain. Things go no further, although Gainsbourg's expressive face clearly registers a longing for more. Vincent, on the other hand, surrenders to temptation. As in his feature debut, My Wife is an Actress, in which Attal imagined Gainsbourg having an affair with suave co-star Terence Stamp, his Vincent is the weaker of the two, although Gabrielle is a less unwitting victim this time. Happily Ever After, their fifth film as co-stars, treads a fine line between comedy and pathos before giving way to a fantasy concerning Depp. Or was it all in Gabrielle's head? Attal leaves it up to the viewer to decide. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

How's YOUR Marriage?.......2006-12-10

This movie will make you question your own marriage. If you don't overanalyze what the characters "shoulda, coulda, woulda" done this or that while watching, you'll truly enjoy this film. The title IS ironic. Why do married men and women do the things they do? Well...look at your marriage.

"Don't start in with that stupid romantic paradigm.".......2005-11-05

The French film "Happily Ever After" explores the ambiguity of human relationships through several couples and asks the eternal question: "is there love after marriage?" Car salesman Vincent (Yvan Attal) is married to real estate agent Gabrielle (Charlotte Gainsbourg). To Vincent's friends and workmates, Fred and Georges, Vincent's marriage looks enviable. Gabrielle is attractive, quiet, and nice. In theory, Vincent should be a happy and contented married man.

Georges is married to feminist Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner), and their explosive relationship often results in noisy fights. Both Vincent and Georges (Alain Chabot) envy their single friend, Fred (Alain Cohen)--a man whose bedroom hosts an ever-rotating line of women. Georges feels that it's a dilemma for men to chose "one woman or all the others."

Gabrielle begins to suspect that Vincent has a mistress, and as she's trying to deal with conflicting emotions, temptation arrives in the form of an attractive stranger (Johnny Depp).

"Happily Ever After" glances at the lives of its characters but fails to produce much interest in their actions. Instead of adding some gritty confrontational scenes, the film slides into sentimentality, coincidence and silliness at several crucial moments. In one scene, Vincent's aging parents (Claude Berri and Anouk Aimee) eat at a restaurant to the background of the film's theme music. Yes, they've been married for a long time, but so what? In another scene, Vincent and Gabrielle indulge in a preposterous food fight. Gabrielle is willing to indulge Vincent in his ritual foreplay--whereas Vincent's mistress expects a little better treatment. But this wise observation leads us nowhere. The film's sweeping view of the various relationships in the film--while stressing ambiguity--leaves the viewer with a sense of indifference. Yvan Attal (who also directs the film) is married to Charlotte Gainsbourg in real life. In French with English subtitles--displacedhuman

Love and Marriage...and other consequences .......2005-10-25

"Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" ("Happily Ever After") is a cleverly written examination of contemporary views on love, lust, marriage, infidelity, and the single life. Writer/Director/Actor Yvan Attal has come up with a winner, an entertaining, funny, and ultimately thoughtful treatise on how we cope with partnering.

Three men work together in a car dealership. Vincent (Yvan Attal) is the apparently happily married man with a beautiful wife Gabrielle (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and child. Georges (Alain Chabat) on the other hand is in a tumultuous marriage with Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner) who has gender issues that go far beyond feminism and negatively influence their child. Fred (Alain Cohen) is single, bedding every lovely woman he encounters, balancing trysts between mornings, afternoons, and evenings and is deeply envied for his Don Juanism. But Fred actually longs for the sense of belonging that married men enjoy.

The men's lives intertwine on many levels. Most important, we discover that Vincent has a lover (Angie David) despite his idyllic married life and while it is Georges whom one would expect to seek solace from a lover, he remains faithful to his nagging wife! Gabrielle senses Vincent's affair and encounters a sexy man in a music shop (Johnny Depp) who begins to preoccupy her thoughts. She is a real estate broker and comes close to an assignation with a client but remains faithful. All the while she daydreams about her brief encounter with Depp and satisfies her wandering eye with those memories. Fred discovers that one of his paramours is pregnant and happily decides to leap into the married fray. The only 'adults' sharing advice here are Vincent's long married parents (Anouk Aimée and Claude Berri in very welcome comeback cameos!) and it is this 'standard' that adds the final humor to the film.

The manner in which all three men deal with their living situations asks as many questions as it gives answers. Attal finds joy in all forms of coupling and is careful to offer all sides of decisions his characters make in arriving at what provides them happiness. This is a smart movie with terrific twists. There is just enough slapstick (an all out food fight between Vincent and Gabrielle - real life husband and wife team Attal and Gainsbourg - that proves to be one of the fun-loving bits of silliness that binds their marriage) to keep the mood light. Not a profound film, but a joyous French comedy handled by total pros! In French and English with subtitles. Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

The best food fight scene.......2005-10-14

Happily us an interesting French movie and love and marriage and what comes after. It has its good parts (food fight) and its bad ( a little slow in some parts) The most interesting part is a cameo by Johnny Depp.

Average customer rating:

Slowwwwwly lures you in
I'd probably never watch it more than once.
Dull
Awesome Indie
Brilliant, disturbing, original... Beautiful!

Buddy Boy
Starring: Aidan Gillen , Emmanuelle Seigner , Susan Tyrrell , Mark Boone Junior , and Harry Groener
Director: Mark Hanlon
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Ice from the Sun
11:14
Paranoia: 1.0
Red Cockroaches
Cold Blood

ASIN: B000A59Q6E
Release Date: 2005-09-27

Description

Shy, withdrawn Francis (Queer as Folk's Aidan Gillen) spends his lonely days caring for his domineering invalid stepmother (Forbidden Zone's Susan Tyrrell)...until the arrival of beautiful Gloria (Bitter Moon's Emmanuelle Seigner), a new neighbor whose daily activities become the center of his life. However, he soon comes to suspect that she's harboring a horrific secret, one that will change his life forever... A stylish and disturbing psychological thriller in the tradition of David Lynch and Roman Polanski filled with powerful performances and dazzling visuals, Buddy Boy will keep you riveted until the final shocking scene!

Customer Reviews:

Slowwwwwly lures you in.......2007-05-04

There's much not to like about this movie, true. Unlike a previous viewer, I would never recommend Eraserhead. I'm glad I saw it, but being able to say I saw it is the only thing I've taken from that movie. The tone and general vibe in Buddy Boy does resemble Eraserhead somewhat, but this movie is more watchable and more enjoyable. It's still quite weird, but the weirdness is palatable in a way that it wasn't in Eraserhead.

The pacing of this movie, like similarly-themed movies from the compared directors Lynch and Polanski, is slow. As such, the movie must rely on its mystery and the way it gradually unravels. It must use the slow pacing to its advantage, so to speak, and on this front it does a pretty good job. It's a movie of quiet, soft-spoken dialogue and very minimal action. So as you're leaning in to hear the dialogue, you find yourself falling into the story.

When the male lead observes his vegetarian girlfriend scarfing down a huge, half-raw steak in the middle of the night, that's the only hook this movie needs. Now you simply must find out what's going on. Did she lie when she told him she doesn't eat meat? Is he imagining seeing something that's not really happening? Does she have a meat-eating twin sister? The answer isn't nearly as interesting as the mystery, but the ending is just ambiguous enough to prove satisfying. Along the way, you may occasionally get a tad bored, have your head spin at the improbability of a hotty like Seignor falling for a sleeper of a loser like Gillen's character, or just get weirded out, but stick with it. In the end, there's just enough reward to make it worth the ride.

I'd probably never watch it more than once........2006-12-19

I've always been a big fan of Aidan Gillen, so I decided to purchase this film on sale. I got it pretty cheap, so I'm not complaining. The film was pretty good...not great, but definitely not a torture to sit through. Francis's apartment reminded me a bit of Silent Hill...

This film is definitely not for everyone. If you happen to like obscure independent films, however, you'll probably enjoy it a great deal. If you liked the film 'Pi', I'd tell you to give it a shot. My only complaint is the sound; the DVD menu is loud, and then the film is REALLY quiet throughout most of the movie, then gets obnoxiously loud at a few parts, which was kind of annoying. Shouldn't be a problem though if you have one of those TVs or surround systems that automatically normalize sound.

Dull.......2006-05-31

Scattered across the front and back case of this movie is a comparison to Oscar nominee David Lynch (Best Director, Mulholland Dr.) and Oscar winner Roman Polanski (Best Director, The Pianist). Notice the Oscar is front of both their names. A couple critics said this film was in the same vein of movies by both these directors. I guess I can see that, there's just one huge difference. Those directors are brilliant, the writer/director of this film Mark Hanlon had an OK idea that he just really couldn't express onto film that well. In "Buddy Boy" we meet Francis (Aidan Gillen), a shy and withdrawn kid with a bad stutter who lives with his invalid mother. His already contaminated world gets worse when a bathroom repairman begins hanging around his house and his mother a bit too much. Things change when a lady named Gloria (Emmanuelle Seigner, "The Ninth Gate") moves in across the road from him. From a small hole he is able to watch her through her windows. Fate throws a curveball when he stops a man from mugging her and trying to repay the favor, she frequently invites him over and the two end up having sex. Francis can't understand why Gloria is attracted to him and Gloria can't really figure it out either. Despite being with her, Francis continues to watch Gloria through the little hole and eventually begins to see Gloria doing fairly disturbing things. Problem is, Francis is unstable. That's evident from the very beginning of the movie, so it's starting to look like a bad remake of "The Machinist" (the Christian Bale film which is simalar, but ten times better). The movie obviously takes inspiration from David Lynch, I found myself thinking of "Eraserhead" several times while watching this movie...Even Francis's hair is all screwed up, simalar to the way Jack Nance had his hair in "Eraserhead". The problem with this movie is that it started to pick up almost at the end. The first 70 minutes of the film is about as entertaining as watching paint dry on a wall (that's a slight exaggeration, it wasn't that bad). But once we find out a little secret about Mama it starts to get good. I also thought they could've elaborated a bit on the end about just exactly what were we seeing, but I do think the end was fairly effective. I am giving this movie 2 stars, with the one star for the last 30 minutes of the film or so. It had a chance to redeem itself and almost did, which prompted me to almost give it 3 stars; but I can't recommend this movie. Really, don't waste time or money on it (rent Eraserhead or The Machinist instead), but if a friend has it or something you might want to check it out just to form your own opinion.

GRADE: D+

Awesome Indie.......2006-01-26

Not for every taste, but a satisfying film that features wonderful performances by Aidan Gillen (from british Queer as Folk), Emmanuelle Seigner, and the brilliant Susan Tyrrell (Fat City, Forbidden Zone, Cry Baby, etc).

Brilliant, disturbing, original... Beautiful!.......2005-11-05

Aidan Gillen, Susan Tyrrell from Warhol's "Bad", and Roman Polanski's wife Emmanuelle Seigner give award-worthy performances in this dark, bizarre, and even quite funny psychological thriller. When I first saw this film on IFC years ago I immediately called IFC the next day and asked how to obtain a copy. I was instructed it was only available from Japan. So I bought a region-free DVD player and bought the DVD from Japan and it was worth every dime. Now I'm looking forward to the special features in this US release. Definitely worthy of its place in film history along side Polanski and Lynch. Definitely worthy of it's place on your DVD rack. This is a MUST see... Well, for those who can handle it!

Actress:

Actress

Actress