Juliette Binoche

Damage
$24.98
Louis Malle's "Damage" is not the movie that launched Jeremy Iron's career as our reigning upper-crust sex pervert. That would be David Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers" shot 5 years before this film. Mr. Irons would follow this performance with turns in "M. Butterfly" and "Lolita", cementing his reputation as the actor most willing to go to the dark side of sexual perversion, a journey his characters never return from in one piece, if they survive at all. When I read Josephine Hart's 1991 novel of the same name, I wondered idly who could possibly play the leads and seeing Irons here, his casting is a no-brainer. There are very few actors who can pull off the tricky combination of aristocratic breeding and sexual depravity, but this is Irons' stock-in-trade.

When we first meet Dr. Stephen Fleming, he is a respected, high-ranking member of Parliament, with a lovely home complete with servants and an equally handsome family. Apart from feeling inferior to his father-in-law, who is the real source of the family affluence, Stephen's life seems about perfect in every conceivable way, his political star destined to rise even higher. But Stephen's a restless man; despite all his successes, he's wrestling with a mid-life crisis, at loose ends in a career that his ambitious wife wanted for him more than he wanted it himself. He is ripe for a Perfect Storm.

Enter the storm in the form of Anna, the dark and mysterious beauty who introduces herself to Stephen at a cocktail party. The two exchange an immediate frisson of carnal recognition, and Stephen is lost. The supremely inconvenient fact that Anna is dating and soon to be engaged to Stephen's son do not stop this pair from embarking on a torrid, wildly inappropriate, ultimately tragic sexual affair. Anna is damaged, she tells her new lover, and therefore dangerous. The 'damage' stems from the adolescent loss of her brother, in whose death Anna was either directly or indirectly complicit--that is for the audience to judge. Anna is not engaging in false advertising here, but her besotted lover does not heed what she says and stay away from her, to the detriment of everyone his life touches.

As Anna, Juliette Binoche has the more difficult, more unsympathetic role. Anna is an enigma, and enigmas are more easily explained on the page than onscreen, where a reader can get into a character's head. Binoche's Anna does a lot of unsettling stone-faced staring meant to be mesmerising, I guess, but despite her austere beauty which captures Hart's physical descripton of Anna closely enough, something vital has been lost in translation. Binoche's Anna lacks the force of any sort of vitality or spirit; for Malle it is enough that she just look beautiful and tortured. Binoche is very attractive indeed, but in the end, her face alone (and her propensity for wearing black stockings) is not sufficient explanation for all that transpires here. Is Anna a completely amoral self-serving Jezebel out to dismantle a happy family and betray all sorts of trust just because she can, being so irresistible, or does the greater share of blame fall on the men who singlemindedly (or using a lesser head) pursue the forbidden fruit she seems to offer? Whichever you believe, the book offers a more substantial portrait of a complicated woman than the one Binoche offers here.

This is essentially a two-actor showcase, and just about every inch of both actors is on display, particularly Irons. Some of the love scenes are unintentially hilarious; if I'm not wrong, Binoche and Irons may have actually invented several new lovemaking positions, none of them elegant to watch. Miranda Richardson as the wronged wife and Rupert Graves as the wronged son/fiance bring memorable poignancy as the collateral damage in this doomed affair. Even as this movie sickens, you will be unable to look away until the inevitable derailment.

Code Unknown
$2.99
This unusual film presents a `slice of life' view of several individuals' lives who reside in Paris. We follow each person, learn a bit about their life, their ups and down, and see how their lives interconnect in random ways. The main characters are an actress, a photographer just back from the Balkans, a teen-age boy, and an illegal immigrant from Romania. Each has their own problems, successes, and failures, and they all have some interaction, often relatively minor. The primary theme of this film is, I believe, to make the viewer more aware of the complex lives of everyone they pass and ignore on the street every day. This is definitely an unusual film in that there is no real plot or grand denouement at the end. The viewer just sees snippets of everyone's daily life, and the action bounces back and forth between the various characters. The style can be a bit off-putting initially and hard to follow as it isn't clear what is going on. Stick with it though as you will, I think, be rewarded for your patience. This is definitely the kind of film that will raise you awareness of strangers as they come into and out of your life - you'll understand the title of the film at the end. This is also a `thinking-person's' film, there is little action and no plot. A good film, but the reason that I give this four stars is that it isn't a film you'll watch over and over again. Once, maybe twice. If you like other Haneke films (such as The Piano Player or The Time of the Wolf), I think you'll find this one worthwhile.

Rendez-Vous
$19.95
Rendez-vous is a beautiful, sexy, art-film. It won several prestigious
international awards and is critically acclaimed. Juliette Binoche is
completely uninhibited and gives a brave, fearless performance where
she bares herself completely...both emotionally and physically.

Thus, this film is not intended for the immature. Those with childish
minds who cannot handle looking at a beautiful woman's body (such as
feminists or other philistines) are advised to avoid this. Another
reviewer called it "pointless drivel" and complained about the
"gratuitous nudity". If seeing a woman's vagina is too much for the
immature mind of that viewer to handle, then their kind should avoid
high-art cinema such as this. Their kind would be better served watching
crude, low-brow gay-porn garbage, loosely disguised as "comedy", such as "Bruno". That type of film is more suited for those misandric simpletons who prefer looking at male genitalia. Those who appreciate complex,beautiful art and appreciate the female form will enjoy this.

Nina (Juliette Binoche) moves to Paris and she becomes the love
interest of three very different men and has tumultuous concurrent
relationships with each. Multiple plot and character lines develop from
this. This movie will challenge you and you'll find yourself pondering
some of the scenes days later. Highly recommended.

Blue (Three Colors Trilogy)
$14.99
This movie was panned and trivialized when it came out and Kieslowski was trivialized as being a arty filmmaker without art. I even debated whether I should go see it. When I did, I loved it! I was glad I went and didn't pay so much attention to movie critics. Later as White and Red received better and better reviews, Kieslowski was more respected and when he died, critics loved him. Juliette Binoche is terrific in the movie Blue which is named after the color of the French flag and stands for liberty. Julie is "liberated" suddenly from family ties by a tragic accident which kills her family. She tries to cut all ties but her attachment to people continues. While her husband was a great composer hired to write music for the coming of the European Union, it comes to light that she might have been writing for him with his composing partner whom she was having an affair. Is it true or merely rumor? Will it be helpful for France to stay alone in the world or join the European Union? Europe and Julie on the edge of a new slightly scary relationship.