Desplechin, Arnaud

Kings & Queen

A film can be smart and subtle and still be a roller coaster ride. Case in point: Kings and Queen; Arnaud Desplechin's brilliant, exhilarating movie never takes a predictable turn. We follow two people along mostly parallel paths: Nora (Emmanuelle Devos, from Read My Lips), a chic gallery owner with an ailing father and an impending marriage, and Ismael (Mathieu Amalric), a hyperactive musician who's been sent to a psychiatric hospital against his will. The story of the self-contained Nora can be as scorching as an Ingmar Bergman movie (especially late in the film), while daffy Ismael's tale is a screwball comedy at times--complete with a droll Catherine Deneuve as his bemused doctor. Desplechin's How I Got Into an Argument… (My Sex Life) was one of the best European films of the 1990s (also starring Amalric and Devos), and he is gifted with a sure sense of human behavior as well as cinematic dexterity.. Rarely have so many scenes of people talking in rooms flown by so quickly. Movies need not travel to exotic locales to summon up an adventure, and this is film adventuring of a high order. --Robert Horton

Expertly mixing comedy, tragedy and melodrama, Kings and Queen tells the story of two former lovers who find their lives linked once again, inexplicably. Nora (Emmanuelle Devos) is a 35-year old art gallery director and single mother who has been unlucky in love until now when she meets a successful businessman. When a crisis occurs, Nora must track down her ex-husband, Ismaël (Mathieu Amalric) a disheveled neurotic musician who has descended into a comic nighmare and is mistakenly committed to a mental hospital under the control of a steely clinical psychiatrist (Catherine Deneuve). As their worlds collide, the stage is set for a truly unforgettable ending. Internationally acclaimed director Arnaud Desplechin (Esther Kahn, My Sex Life…) presents an exhilarating new film that is one of the best reviewed movies of the year.

My Sex Life... Or How I Got Into An Argument

Paul (Mathieu Amalric) is a graduate student in philosophy, nearing 30 years of age, and in a state of stasis: mired in the now-stifling world of academia as a junior instructor, he's stuck on a thesis he can't finish and a 10-year relationship he can't end. When a former classmate turned academic rival is hired on as a full professor, it's too much for the self-pitying scholar. About all he can do is engage in endless conversations about heady French philosophers, drink, and escape his stifling existence in a series of sexual relationships with the gorgeous girlfriends of his buddies. Arnaud Desplechin's study of identity crisis on the cusp of adulthood is filled with so much neurosis, jealousy, guilt, denial, rationalization, and malaise that everyone's bound to identify with something. My Sex Life... is three hours long and the characters never stop talking; stripped of its character dynamics and spot-on behavioral observations it might seem like a Gallic apology for libido-driven male behavior. But Desplechin entirely justifies the entire three hours with a film rich in character, wry humor, and genuine affection. --Sean Axmaker

Paul Dedalus is standing at the crossroads of his life. He must choose his direction in life, in his career, and in his love life as he sits in fear of the despairing life that his father is unable to escape from. Featuring an extraordinary cast of France's most promising young actors and actresses, "My Sex Life" is a witty look at a group of twenty-something grad students trying to cope with life, love and everything in between.

Esther Kahn

Esther Kahn is the intriguing tale of a young Jewish girl (Summer Phoenix) who rises to be a leading actress of her day, playing the title role in the London premiere of Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler. Esther's childhood is captured in strangely fragmented scenes that coalesce into a vivid portrait of life in a Jewish slum. As Esther takes to the stage, the movie's focus sharpens, particularly as she undergoes training at the hands of an older actor (Ian Holm, always magnetic). In childhood, Esther kept her feelings deeply submerged to protect herself from her family's mockery. Now, to expand her talent, she sets out to experience love--with consequences that may lead to disaster. The script and direction of Esther Kahn are intriguing; unfortunately, Phoenix portrays Esther's offstage numbness more effectively than her onstage talent. --Bret Fetzer

La Sentinelle

A medical intern finds himself drawn into a world of international intrigue after discovering a shrunken human head in his luggage.

Esther Kahn [Region 2]

Esther Kahn is the intriguing tale of a young Jewish girl (Summer Phoenix) who rises to be a leading actress of her day, playing the title role in the London premiere of Ibsen's classic play Hedda Gabler. Esther's childhood is captured in strangely fragmented scenes that coalesce into a vivid portrait of life in a Jewish slum. As Esther takes to the stage, the movie's focus sharpens, particularly as she undergoes training at the hands of an older actor (Ian Holm, always magnetic). In childhood, Esther kept her feelings deeply submerged to protect herself from her family's mockery. Now, to expand her talent, she sets out to experience love--with consequences that may lead to disaster. The script and direction of Esther Kahn are intriguing; unfortunately, Phoenix portrays Esther's offstage numbness more effectively than her onstage talent. --Bret Fetzer

My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument [Region 2]

Paul (Mathieu Amalric) is a graduate student in philosophy, nearing 30 years of age, and in a state of stasis: mired in the now-stifling world of academia as a junior instructor, he's stuck on a thesis he can't finish and a 10-year relationship he can't end. When a former classmate turned academic rival is hired on as a full professor, it's too much for the self-pitying scholar. About all he can do is engage in endless conversations about heady French philosophers, drink, and escape his stifling existence in a series of sexual relationships with the gorgeous girlfriends of his buddies. Arnaud Desplechin's study of identity crisis on the cusp of adulthood is filled with so much neurosis, jealousy, guilt, denial, rationalization, and malaise that everyone's bound to identify with something. My Sex Life... is three hours long and the characters never stop talking; stripped of its character dynamics and spot-on behavioral observations it might seem like a Gallic apology for libido-driven male behavior. But Desplechin entirely justifies the entire three hours with a film rich in character, wry humor, and genuine affection. --Sean Axmaker