Browse Movies : Completed : 2003 : Foreign (Page #2)

Set during the final days of the war between Iran and Iraq, this is the story of an elderly Iranian Kurd musician who ventures off with his two sons, also musicians, into the dangerous territory of Kurdish Iraq in search of his wife, Hanareh, a singer with an amazing voice, who they fear may be in danger there, after she ran away with the old man's best friend.

Genya Tachibana is a director and the president of a small production company. One day, he is contacted by the famous Gin Ei studios, that ask him to direct a documentary commemorating their 70 years of existence. Genya chooses as a subject the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, a superstar actress who 30 years earlier chose to end her career and disappear from public life. Chiyoko Fujiwara is a cinematographic enigma that nobody ever seemed to shed light on. Genya is obsessed by this fallen star, wanting to unravel the truth behind her secret. Accompanied by a young cameraman, Genya finds his way to Chiyoko, who has transformed into an elderly hermit living alone in an isolated house. At their first meeting, Genya sees that Chiyoko, although touched by the hand of time, has not lost any of her charm or energy. To gain her confidence, he brings her an ancient key that holds sentimental value, that rapidly allows Chiyoko to begin recounting her memories. The interview takes course, and our 3 protagonists are plunged into the past, visiting each fragment of what has been long gone, where the past and present meld together. The actress' recollections soon metamorphosize into a great adventure where cinema confronts her history and an incredible love is unveiled, that conflicted with her rather uncommon lifestyle...

A love story spanning two continents, "Nowhere in Africa" is the extraordinary true tale of a Jewish family who flees the Nazi regime in 1938 for a remote farm in Kenya. Abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany, Walter Redlich, his wife Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and their five-year-old daughter Regina each deal with the harsh realities of their new life in different ways. Attorney Walter is resigned to working the farm as a caretaker; pampered Jettel resists adjustment at every turn; while the shy yet curious Regina immediately embraces the country-learning the local language and customs, and finding a friend in Owuor, the farm's cook. As the war rages on the other side of the world, the trio's relationships to their strange environment become increasingly complicated as Jettel grows more self-assured and Walter more haunted by the life they left behind. As they eventually learn to cherish their life in Africa, they also endeavor to find a way back to each other.

Bruno Le Roux (Elie Belvaux) breaks out of the prison in which he's served 15 years of a life sentence for his membership in an armed wing of a left-wing revolutionary movement, the Popular Army. Bruno is determined to continue the fight against capitalist society, and to avenge his fallen comrades-in-arms. But most of his former associates are dead or behind bars, and the others are either unwilling or untrustworthy. He seeks help from former radical Jeanne (Catherine Frot), but she's now a mother and schoolteacher. Another former contact is local crime boss Jaquillat (Patrick Descamps). Years earlier, Bruno and Jaquillat had been allies in a bank robbery, but now Jaquillat's drug dealing is seriously constrained by the massive police presence as the manhunt for Bruno continues. It's in Jaquillat's interests to finish off Bruno. An alliance between Jaquillat and local cop Pascal Manise (Gilbert Melki) makes things even more dangerous for Bruno. Whatever ideals Bruno might once have had have been distorted by imprisonment and suffering. Bruno is now willing to kill for the most casual reasons -- he's turned into a psychopath with nothing to lose. However, he finds an unexpected ally in Agnes (Dominique Blanc), Manise's junkie wife. Bruno helps her when she is attacked by a street dealer, and, without really knowing who he is, she finds him a place to stay, in the chalet owned by her friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti).

This film tells the stories of the locals living in a resort town in northern France so renowned for its pebble-covered beach that the central character, Marie (Helene Fillieres), works at a pebble processing factory. As the town changes seasonally from being completely empty in the winter and crowded during the summer, the working class lives of the locals whose livelihoods depend upon the money spent while others have a great time on vacation go on...

Nominated for two Cesar awards in 2002, including Best First Feature Film, "The Girl From Paris" tells the story of Sandrine, a young Parisienne who decides to leave the city and pursue her dream of becoming a farmer. Adrien is the older, taciturn farmer who agrees to sell Sandrine his land and herd of goats before retiring to Grenoble. Sandrine allows Adrien stay at the farm for eighteen months, then begins renovations in earnest. Sandrine succeeds where Adrien was sure she would fail; she earns a living in the spring and summer by opening up the farm to tourists and selling goat cheese over the Internet. But the arrival of winter brings a tide change and conflicting emotions: Sandrine faces the harsh isolation of the Rhone-Alps while forming a growing attachment to Adrien. Between their mutual curiosity and misunderstandings, Sandrine and Adrien are forced to live side by side when the only thing they share is their love for mountains and nature.

After his wife leaves him, a man (Jean-Pierre Bacri) hires an unqualified but lovely suburban girl to clean his Paris apartment. The two become close as they chat while she's working, but can the lonely older guy sweep her off her feet?

Set in an unnamed country in a post-apocalyptic future, this is the story of a young female assassin, Yuki (Yumiko Shaku), who discovers that the leader of the band of outlaws she belongs to murdered her mother. Finding herself targeted for elimination after she confronts the group's leader about her mother's death, Yuki goes on the run from her former coworkers. Barely surviving an attack, she finds refuge with a young man who used to be a terrorist, with whom she gradually falls in love, but with trained killers getting closer and closer to finding her, can their love survive?

This documentary is an intimate portrayal of several months at a one-room elementary schoolhouse in a small village (Saint-Etienne Sur Usson) in rural France, where a single teacher, Georges Lopez, gives his small class of thirteen students, ages 3-10, the sort of attention that is dwindling in many other schools in France (and elsehwere), where crowded classrooms are the norm.

Adopted by his grandmother, Madame Souza, Champion is a lonely little boy. Noticing that this lad is never happier than on a bicycle, Madame Souza puts him through a rigorous training process. Years go by and Champion becomes worthy of his name. Now his ready to enter the world-famous cycling race, the Tour de France. However during this cycling contest two mysterious men in black kidnap Champion. Madame Souza and her faithful dog Bruno set out to rescue him. Their quest takes them across the ocean to a giant Megalopolis called Belleville where they encounter the renowned "Triplets of Belleville", three eccentric female music-hall stars from the 30's who decide to take Madame Souza and Bruno under their wing. Thanks to Bruno's brilliant sense of smell, the brave duo are soon on to Champion's trail. But will they succeed in beating the devilish plans of the evil French mafia?