flicks
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
audrey tautou
b. August 9, 1978. in Beaumont, France.
showed an interest for comedy at an early age and started her acting lessons at `Cours Florent'. In 1998 she won the best young actress award in the ninth `Jeune Comedien de Cinema Festival' in Bezier. Then, she came to the attention of Tonie Marshall who gave her a role in her film Vénus beauté (institut) (1999) for which she won a Best New Actress Cesar. It came as a surprise to even Audrey: "I was so certain I could not be chosen that I told her that she probably dialled a wrong number." The director chose her for her natural nature: "She came, she gaffed, she turned reddish, her ears were in a funny position and her hair was relaxed. In five minutes, she gave me the heart of the character, a petite young girl who would like to be a lady and will become a woman." In 2000, Audrey was again nominated for a Cesar and her movie Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) has been a phenomenal success worldwide.
Trivia
She nearly never got the chance to play the wonderful Amelie Poulain, as Director Jean Pierre Jeunet was considering British actress, Emily Watson, for the Role of Amelie.
Engaged to writer Lance Mazmanian.
Was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in June 2004. Is now a member.
She speaks excellent English.
# Poupées russes, Les (2005) (filming) .... Martine
... aka Russian Dolls, The (2005) (literal English title)
# Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004) .... Mathilde
... aka Very Long Engagement, A (2004) (International: English title) (USA)
# Nowhere to Go But Up (2003) .... Val Chipzik
... aka Happy End (2003) (France) (USA)
# Pas sur la bouche (2003) .... Huguette Verberie
... aka Not On the Lips (2004) (International: English title) (USA)
# Marins perdus, Les (2003) .... Lalla
... aka Lost Seamen (2003) (International: English title)
# Dirty Pretty Things (2002) .... Senay
# Auberge espagnole, L' (2002) .... Martine
... aka Pot Luck (2003) (Canada: English title) (UK)
... aka Auberge espagnole, L' (2002) (USA)
... aka Casa de locos, Una (2002) (Spain)
... aka Euro Pudding (2002) (International: English title)
... aka Spanish Apartment, The (2003) (USA)
# À la folie... pas du tout (2002) .... Angélique
... aka He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not (2002) (International: English title)
# Dieu est grand, je suis toute petite (2001) .... Michèle
... aka God Is Great, I'm Not (2002) (USA: festival title)
... aka God Is Great, and I'm Not (2002) (USA: video title)
# Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) .... Amélie Poulain
... aka Amélie (2001) (France: working title) (International: English title) (USA)
... aka Amelie from Montmartre (2001) (International: English title)
... aka Amelie of Montmartre (2001) (International: English title: festival title)
... aka Fabelhafte Welt der Amelie, Die (2001) (Germany)
... aka Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain, The (2001) (USA: literal English title)
# Battement d'ailes du papillon, Le (2000) .... Irène
... aka Happenstance (2001) (UK) (USA)
... aka Amelie 2 (2003) (Hong Kong: English title: DVD title)
... aka Beating of the Butterfly's Wings, The (2000) (International: English title)
# Libertin, Le (2000) .... Julie d'Holbach
... aka Libertine, The (2000) (International: English title)
# Voyous voyelles (2000) .... Anne-Sophie
... aka Bad Girls (2001) (Australia: TV title)
... aka Little Grifters, The (2000) (USA: cable TV title)
... aka Pretty Devils (2002) (USA: new title)
# Épouse-moi (2000) .... Marie-Ange
... aka Marry Me (2000) (International: English title)
# Triste à mourir (1999) .... Caro
# Vénus beauté (institut) (1999) .... Marie
... aka Venus Beauty Institute (2000) (USA: literal English title)
... aka Venus Beauty Salon (1999) (UK)
# Boiteux: Baby blues, Le (1999) (TV) .... Blandine Piancet
# Vieille barrière, La (1998) .... La jeune fille du quartier
# Casting: Archi-dégueulasse (1998) .... Comédienne 1
# Chaos technique (1998) (TV) .... Lisa
# Bébés boum (1998) (TV) .... Elsa
# Vérité est un vilain défaut, La (1997) (TV) .... La standardiste
# Coeur de cible (1996) (TV)
god is great, and i'm not, 2004? (description said it precedes amelie, but advertising uses tautou's amelie fame in promoting)
audrey tautou = michele; she's a model, who cycles through religions. we see her as a catholic, then a buddhist; judaism for him. and at the end a "burgundian".
m-w.com's burgundian =
1 region & with varying limits former kingdom, duchy, & province E France S of Champagne
2 former county France E of Burgundy province; later called Franche-Comté
on wikipedia =
The Burgundians or Burgundes were an East Germanic tribe which may have emigrated from Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr (the Island of the Burgundians), and from here to mainland Europe. (and more, but more historical and cultural)
she's still fun to watch. her character is cute, doesn't it make it easy on her mother who is a former alcoholic?, unhappily married to her husband and feels trapped, doesn't want to talk about michele's father, who died. has a sister who works as the calming force. stepfather = jean, who did carry her back to the house when she wandered out and fell asleep on her father's tombstone.
michele's 20, 21 - it's hard to take her quests seriously. but she works really hard on it.
edouard baer = francois. veterinanian (he has a golden retreiver), 32yo. parents live in israel, have an aptmt when they visit him. father not in good health, but surviving.
plot =
michele broke up with bertrand the day before (bike helmet, "nitwit"), and is bummed. group of friends. francois follows her home, instant chemistry. next morning at the kitchen table - she's ashen - has tried to commit suicide. he thinks it's screwed up and he doesn't stay in touch with her after the hospital.
they run into each other again. still interested. get together. symbolism of having keys. eventually they're going to jewish classes (12-18 months?) on the track to get married. francois just falls apart - pa's not feeling well, cold feet - and she tells him to get lost.
they run into each other at the theatre, each with someone else. she's not serious about her date. his date is beautiful - and jewish. that really gets to her and she leaves.
valerie, a mutual friend, is getting married to her first therapy patient. he comes up behind her, and wants to be around her again. he says he believes in her, though he doesn't believe in any other religion much.
um = the movie ends as "to be continued"...?
i don't think francois was very nice. he reminds me of a cross betw django and enrich, for worse or for better. can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to keep michele - his comments that she can be a "pain", is less hurtful with time. started with the mezuzah. they both don't have problems finding people. his handling of her possible pregnancy was the usual disappointment. his comments were unacceptable though - i don't see you when you're around, i can't talk to you, etc. just an unnecessary hardness. in regards to judaism - a lot of family history, with extended family either deported, or possibly killed.
don't think i really got the film. makes me want to be french, and be cute.
i think i'll try to see every audrey tautou movie, don't think it'll be very extensive.
rented from library yesterday. um, was supposed to just watch while knitting 2 rows. only did one complete row. movie was short, 95 minutes.
director = pascale bailey; ? who is she?
Monday, November 22, 2004
crying game, 1992?
stephen rea - fergis. likable fellow. simple, straightfwd. stayed within that character. feel like i've seen him before. attractive in a rough, scrappy way.
- del. debut. very "convincing" as a woman. cute as a male as well. does an excellent job.
forest whitaker - freddie. didn't like his char as much - well, mostly b/c he was a kidnappee.
plot
IRA kidnaps fellow (freddie). didn't get their demands, and so fergis is supposed to kill him. freddie gets free, and fergis can't shoot him in the back. freddie runs out into the road, and gets hit by a truck, which is holding troops that bomb the IRA compound.
fergis finds del, freddie's girl out of his dying wish to have her looked after. they end up getting together. eventually del lets him know that he's a he - and fergis vomits in the bathroom. still likes him, but assumes a more protective stance.
jude, fergis' IRA compatriot find him out. [her hair is in the same style as the woman in pulp fiction] he's forced to work with them on deals, or they'll harm del. he tries to have him cut off his hair, which is traumatic for del. del ties up fergis after he tells him about the story of how he met freddie. so he misses an assignment. peter, an IRA compatriot gets killed out of his rashness. jude, comes to the aptmt to do fergis in, and del does her in. after getting in a tirade of some sort, acknowledging that she lured freddie in. then fergis tells del to leave, and takes the wrap for him.
ending = del visits fergis in jail. he still calls him "hon" (can't help it...). and he tells him about the scorpion and frog, the same one that freddie was telling him.
story of the frog and scorpion. moral = people can't help who they are.
music - "crying game".
i guess the duran duran version was a remake. the original and a lot of that beaded curtain background music.
del sang it in the bar, in a super sequin-y dress.
rented from the library. originally as part of film and medicine list, but not doing the elective. watched in segments as i was knitting.
