Zylberstein, Elsa

Modigliani

Andy Garcia brings to life artistic genius Amedeo Modigliani'sstory of tragic love rivalry and excess in the midst of arthistory's golden age when greats like Picasso Rivera Cocteauand Modigliani held court in the salons of post-WWI Paris.System Requirements: Running Time 127 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 602498842478 Manufacturer No: FI4247DVD

Farinelli

This interesting Belgian film from 1994 has a surface subject that might make a few guys wince: an 18th-century castrato, or castrated male opera singer. A superstar in Europe, Farinelli the vocalist--despite compromised equipment--gets his share of groupies and is showered with attention and gifts from rich patrons. Meanwhile, his brother--a so-so composer whose career and fortunes are inextricably linked to his sibling, as per their father's wishes--feels like a sham for enjoying the fruits of another's success. For director Gérard Corbiau, the real story is that of the forced bond between the two men, and their unspoken awareness that their separate destinies have been slowed by the arrangement. Corbiau gives us the best of two worlds: a costume drama with an unusual, even exotic, story line, and a tender, universal tale of real love. The opera sequences are a kick: the breathless crowds, Farinelli's hammy control over the drama, and his stunning castrato voice (manufactured by Corbiau via synthesized merger of male and female voices) and all make for great fun. --Tom Keogh

Time Regained

La Petite Jerusalem

Monsieur N

After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the south Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he died a few years later. Or did he? Using a combination of historical record and creative speculation, renowned director Antoine de Caunes has crafted a fascinating portrait of the Emperor in exile, one that explores a remarkable theory: Napoleon may have escaped from St. Helena in a ruse so clever that to this day it has remained undiscovered. Starring Philippe Torreton and Richard E. Grant.

Metroland

Metroland, based on Julian Barnes's first novel, is a tale of midlife, middle-class malaise reminiscent of Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. It's 1977, and shaggy-haired thirtysomething Chris (Christian Bale) has a lovely wife (Emily Watson) and baby, a solid office job, and a nice house in the London suburb of Metroland. Life is good, until the surprise arrival of old chum Toni (Lee Ross), whom Chris has not seen for 10 years and who was his accomplice in teenage shenanigans and heady visions of a bohemian life abroad. Toni, an inveterate ladies man and rootless poet, disdains his old friend's bourgeois milieu and feels it his duty to revive Chris's passion for women, art, and rock & roll. Meanwhile, Chris can't stop fantasizing about his steamier days as a 20-year-old in Paris with his sultry French girlfriend, and fails to notice that Toni covets his wife and that she has sexual desires of her own. While there's a palpable sexual energy in the movie's proceedings that adds a certain zing to the themes of angst and longing, their eventual epiphanies are disappointingly benign. Lee Ross's swashbuckling Toni and Emily Watson's intelligent, knowing wife carry the movie. --Rebecca Wright

Three Blind Mice

Thomas, a computer programmer, enjoys visiting webcam sites on the internet. One of his favorite sites is that of Cathy, a girl with whom he has developed a friendship, and fallen in love. But while the two are chatting, an intruder enters her room. Thomas has her website address - nothing more - and can only watch in horror as Cathy is brutally murdered. As the only witness, Thomas also becomes a suspect until he and the beautiful detective assigned to the case, Claire, begin to fall in love. In order to draw out the true killer, they start their own website using Claire as bait. But are they setting themselves up to be the next victims and risking a chance at a relationship beyond the computer screen and key pad?

Portraits Chinois

Van Gogh

Tomorrow We Move