Histoire de Marie et Julien

A film by Jacques Rivette

Julien is a loner who restores antique clocks. He is blackmailing the rich and mysterious Madame X who trafficks in fake antiques. By chance he encounters Marie, the beautiful woman with whom he fell in love one year earlier. Julien attempts to rekindle the affair but is unsettled by the enigmatic Marie's strange and distant behaviour. Only Madame X holds the key to unlock Marie's terrible and devastating secret.

The story unfolds almost trance-like, where clear divisions between dream and reality are uncertain. Julien first dreams of his encounter with Marie and then they meet in person. Both have recently lost their lovers. Julien seems to be frozen in time and place. He lives and works in a house where clocks abound, yet time seems to have deserted his life. Marie explains that she is waiting, having returned from a faraway place in order to repent for a wrong she committed against her former lover, now dead, leaving her unable to accomplish her task. As their relationship develops and they fall in love, Marie begins to use Julien as a proxy for her former lover, hoping to win his forgiveness and thus release. Working both consciously and unconsciously, directed by her dreams, Marie's behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre.

Madam X, who meets Marie during a blackmail payoff, immediately identifies the situation, drawing parallels between her own sister and Marie. She shares her knowledge with Julien, who after some research into Marie's past, is able to piece together her story, deciding that it matters little to him. The facts, whilst astounding, make no difference to his love for her but their relationship is left at an impasse. Since life without her would now be unthinkable, Julien is willing to do anything for Marie, either she will stay with him or he will follow her. Eventually, Marie decides she must accept her punishment for failure, rather than put Julien at risk, but in doing so she is forced to observe Julien's sad and lonely life without her in it.

A beautiful, intriguing and atmospheric mystery of the netherworld and how with love, nothing is impossible.

Un long dimanche de fiançailles

A Very Long Engagement
a film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

In 1919, as World War I draws to an end, Mathilde is 19 years old. Two years earlier, her fiancé Manech left for the Somme war front. She has received word that he is one of five wounded soldiers who have been court-martialled for self-inflicted injuries and pushed out into no-man's land between the French and German armies, to an almost certain death.

Like millions of others, the official records state that he died on the field of honour, but Mathilde refuses to accept this. If Manech were dead she would know it, and she clings to her intuition as if it were the only thread connecting her to her lover. Her unfailing faith and determination send her on an extraordinary counter-investigation. Confronted by false hopes and uncertainties, at each turn she receives a different heartbreaking variation on how Manech must have spent those last days, those last moments.

Mathilde will gradually uncover the truth concerning the fate of Manech and his four comrades. The road is full of obstacles, but she is fearless and nothing seems impossible to those who defy fate. Mathilde follows her investigation to its conclusion, convincing those who might help her and ignoring those who will not. As she draws closer to the truth about the five unfortunate soldiers and their brutal punishment, she is drawn deeper into the horrors of war and the indelible marks it leaves on those whose lives it has touched.

Amélie

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
a film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Amélie Poulain is a girl who grows up isolated from other children. Raphaël, her father, a taciturn and anti-social ex-Army doctor, mistakenly believes that she suffers from a heart condition. Her mother Amandine, a neurotic schoolteacher, arranges Amélie's education at home. After her mother's sudden death, Raphaël withdraws even further and devotes his life to building a rather unusual shrine in the garden in Amandine's memory, which houses her ashes and a garden gnome the deceased had previously banished to the shed. Left to amuse herself, Amélie develops an unusually active and eccentric imagination.

As a young woman, she lives in Montmartre, working as a waitress at the Café des deux Moulins on rue Lepic, staffed and frequented by a group of eccentrics. Having spurned all romantic relationships following several failed attempts, at the age of twenty-two Amélie has devoted herself to simple pleasures, such as dipping her hand into sacks of grain, cracking crème brûlée with a teaspoon, skipping stones across a lock on the Canal Saint-Martin, and generally letting her imagination roam free.

On the day that Princess Diana dies, Amélie's life begins to change. While watching the news on television she drops the top of her perfume bottle, knocking loose a bathroom wall tile and revealing an old metal box of childhood memorabilia hidden by a boy who lived in her apartment decades ago. Fascinated by the find, she resolves to track down the now-grown man who put it there and return it to him. She meets her reclusive neighbour, Raymond Dufayel, known as 'The Glass Man' because of his brittle bone condition, who continually repaints Renoir's Le déjeuner des canotiers. With his help, she tracks down the former occupant and anonymously returns the box to him. Upon opening the box, the man is moved to tears as long-forgotten childhood memories come flooding back. On seeing the positive effect she had on him she discovers her true vocation in life, resolving from that moment on to do good in the lives of others.

Amélie becomes a secret matchmaker and guardian angel, executing complex but hidden schemes impacting the lives of those around her with subtle, arm's-length manipulation. She escorts a blind man to the métro station, giving him a rich description of the street scenes he passes. She persuades her father to follow his dream of touring the world by stealing his garden gnome and having an air-hostess friend send pictures of it from all over the world. She matches a colleague with one of the customers at the café. She convinces the unhappy concierge of her building that the husband who abandoned her had in fact sent her a final love letter just before his death. She supports Lucien, the young man who works for Monsieur Collignon, the bullying owner of the neighbourhood épicerie, undermining his confidence by playing practical jokes on him until he questions his own sanity.

But as Amélie devotes her life to others, she is also disregarding her own needs and thus damaging her personal quest for true love. However, Monsieur Dufayel is observing her and begins a conversation with her about his painting of the Renoir scene, which he has repeatedly painted because he cannot quite capture the excluded look of the girl drinking a glass of water. Together they discuss in depth the meaning of this character who comes to represent Amélie and her lonely life. Through their discussions Amélie is forced to examine her own life and her attraction to a stranger, a quirky young man who collects the discarded photographs of others from passport photo booths. She begins to observe Nino from a distance and when he loses his photo album Amélie recovers it, devising a cat and mouse game with him around Montmartre to anonymously return his treasured album. However, she is too shy to actually approach him and almost loses hope when, having finally attempted to orchestrate a proper meeting in the café, she misinterprets events when he enters into a conversation with one of her colleagues. It takes Raymond Dufayel's insightful friendship to give her the courage to overcome her shyness and finally meet with Nino in order to find the love she has always dreamed of.

One of the most successful films of French cinema. A masterpiece of outstanding cinematography and special effects which combines perfect craftsmanship with a wonderful story, humour and emotion, plus a magnificent score by Yann Tiersen.

Manon des sources

A film by Claude Berri – the second part of an adaption of the novel L'eau des collines by Marcel Pagnol.

Ten years after the death of Jean Cadoret, Ugolin's carnation growing business is prospering. Manon is now a beautiful, free-spirited shepherdess who spends her time in the hills and valleys surrounding les Bastides, tending her goats. She lives nearby at le Plantier with Baptistine – ignoring, and ignored by, the villagers who call her 'la sauvageonne', the wild child. In the village of les Bastides, a new school teacher arrives, Bernard Olivier. He has a keen interest in geology and begins to walk the hills in search of specimens, his presence eventually attracting the attention of Manon.

One day, when out hunting, Ugolin comes across Manon who has been bathing and is dancing naked whilst playing her father's harmonica, unaware that she is being overlooked. Ugolin is captivated by Manon's beauty and falls passionately in love with the girl, but is too shy to approach her. He traps birds and rabbits which he then places in Manon's traps as gifts, albeit anonymously, and soon becomes completely obsessed with her. César Soubeyran, realising that something has happened to Ugolin, presses him into a confession, eventually, and after some reservation is delighted with the news, congratulating Ugolin on his choice of partner. Manon reminds César of Florette Camoins, her grandmother, for whom he has many fond memories. However, Ugolin then timidly makes a very clumsy and inappropriate proposal to Manon, at which she is repulsed and runs away from him.

Sometime later, Manon overhears two hunters from les Bastides, discussing how Ugolin had plugged the spring on her father's property, and the fact that everybody in the village knew of the existence of the spring but kept quiet about it. Manon is utterly crushed, she runs away, crying and screaming and swears to take revenge upon Ugolin, César, and the whole village. Her opportunity arrives when, searching for a goat that has strayed and fallen into a cave, Manon discovers the underground stream that serves the whole area, the source of water for both the village and Ugolin's property. She diverts the flow and soon the spring and the village fountain run dry – a catastrophe for the entire population. Ugolin is forced to fetch the water for his flowers from the spring at le Plantier, in exactly the same way Jean Cadoret had done, but soon realises that his carnation business is doomed. The village too is threatened by the absence of water, so the council summons a Government expert to investigate, who tells them nothing can be done and that they are on their own.

The following Sunday, the church is packed for High Mass and the priest tells the congregation that the disaster is God's response to a criminal act which has been perpetrated by one of them. He then calls for a procession to bring the spring back to life. Following the service, the entire village gathers in the schoolyard to celebrate Bernard's birthday when Manon publicly accuses Ugolin and César of having plugged the spring. Her accusation is backed up by Eliacin who had witnessed the deed all those years before. Although admitting to no wrong-doing, Ugolin totally breaks down and falling to his knees, implores Manon to marry him. Many of the assembled villagers then confess to their treachery, as a crushed Ugolin runs back to his house. Sometime later César summons the mayor, Philoxène to les Romarins where Ugolin is found hanging from a tree.

Bernard convinces Manon that she must unplug the spring and they set out in the middle of the night to release the water. The next day, as the priest's procession is taking place, the water begins to flow once more from the village fountain. The devout among them believe they have witnessed a miracle, others dismiss it as mere coincidence. Bernard and Manon marry, and soon she is with child. An ancient resident of the village, the old, blind Delphine returns to les Bastides. She often meets with César in front of the church at dusk to exchange memories of the old days. During one of these meetings, Delphine recalls to César a certain letter that Florette had sent to him while he was away serving in the army, a letter he had never received – and a revelation that will finally shatter his life.

A captivating, emotionally powerful and beautifully photographed epic of innocence, evil, greed and revenge.

Jean de Florette

A film by Claude Berri – the first part of an adaption of the novel L'eau des collines by Marcel Pagnol.

Ugolin has just returned to his native village, les Bastides Blanches in Provence, having completed compulsory military service. He has an idea to grow carnations on the land owned by his childless uncle, César Soubeyran, which he will inherit one day. At first sceptical, César soon realises the commercial potential of Ugolin's plans as a way of securing the Soubeyran fortune. Needing more land and a vital supply of water that will support their venture, he offers to buy his neighbour, Pique-Bouffigue's property, les Romarins, where there is also a copious natural spring. Pique-Bouffigue is antagonistic towards César, probably because César never married his sister, Florette. An argument ensues which results in the accidental death of Pique-Bouffigue.

Still hopeful of securing the property, César learns that les Romarins is to be inherited by Jean Cadoret, a city dweller and a tax collector, the son of Pique-Bouffigue's sister. Realising that les Romarins would be practically uncultivable without the almost forgotten spring, César and Ugolin plug it with cement, and then conceal it. César also ensures that the new owner will not be told of the existence of the spring by spreading the news amongst the local inhabitants that Jean Cadoret comes from the much hated village of Crespin. Jean, a hunchback, with his wife Aimée and their young daughter Manon, arrive at les Romarins with an ingenious idea to raise rabbits, grow produce and live the rural idyll. But his ambitious project is in direct competition with César's for the precious, scarce resources of arable land and water. César bides his time, instructing Ugolin to befriend the family so that when Jean's project fails he will be more than willing to sell the property to them.

After the Cadoret's first winter at les Romarins, planning their project in great detail, the springtime brings the family remarkable success, both with the growing of produce in their kitchen garden and the breeding of rabbits for market – much to the envy of the Soubeyrans. But after the arrival of summer, with a long period without rain, Jean's well soon runs dry and the family are forced to fetch water from a spring located several kilometres away at le Plantier. Despite his best efforts, Jean cannot transport sufficient water for his needs and so, in the baking heat of the Provence summer, his garden fails, his rabbits die, and the money they brought with them the previous year is all but gone.

But Jean does not accept failure. After mortgaging his property to César, he reads about dowsing in one of his books, convincing himself that he will locate an underground source on his land by divination. At a spot where he believes water to be, he digs down until he reaches bedrock. Still convinced he will find water, he dynamites the bedrock but is hit by falling rocks in the explosion and dies from his injury. Jean's wife, Aimée is forced to sell the property to César and prepares to depart from les Romarins. Triumphant, César and Ugolin rush to the hidden spring and unplug it, not noticing Jean's daughter, Manon, who witnesses their actions and the gushing forth of the water that her beloved father has lost his life for.

Fair Stood the Wind for France

A TV mini-series by Martyn Friend

Returning from a bombing mission in Italy, John Franklin is forced to bring his plane down in occupied France during the Second World War. He is responsible for the safety of his crew and has a badly injured arm. The crew find refuge with a mill owner's family who risk their lives to hide them.

The condition of Franklin's arm worsens and he has to remain until he regains his health. Over the following summer months his situation is further complicated by his feelings for Françoise, the mill owner's daughter. As the German patrols close in, his only chance of survival is to escape from France.

A beautiful and sensitive adaption of the classic novel by H E Bates in which the strengths of love and faith endure at a time when all else seems lost.

In My Father's Den

A film by Brad McGann

When his father dies, Paul Prior, a battle weary war photographer, returns to his remote New Zealand home to face the past he left behind seventeen years ago. Reluctantly re-visiting the dilapidated family property, he discovers the old den, tucked away in the equipment shed. It belonged to his father, Jeff, who away from his puritanical wife Iris, had secretly harboured a love of wine, literature and free-thinking philosophy. When Paul as a child had accidentally stumbled upon this wondrous book-lined universe, he had been included in his father's secret, promising never to tell anyone about it.

Against his better judgement, Paul befriends the daughter of his first girlfriend, the enigmatic and feisty sixteen-year-old Celia, who hungers for the world beyond her small town. However, the friendship is condemned by members of both their families and when Celia goes missing, Paul is immediately blamed for her sudden disappearance. As the violent and urgent truth gradually emerges, Paul is forced to confront the family tragedy and betrayal he ran from as a youth, and to face the grievous consequences of silence and secrecy that has surrounded his entire adult life.

A haunting, atmospheric and intricately layered mystery, set against the stunning landscapes of New Zealand.

— —

Hope
by Celia Steimer

Hope, her mind is a graveyard, her heart is an island. She and I are not good friends but I have known her all my life. She sits in my belly, hollow and distant, though her whispered words of encouragement will never comfort me. I'm onto her tricks, her false promises. Go away I tell her, I'm busy today, I've got things to do. But this aquaintance never knows when to leave. It's not a question of why she befriended me in the first place, it's more a question of why I chose to let her stay.

— —

The Day The Tide Went Away
by Celia Steimer

One day, in a town at the edge of the world, the tide went out and never returned. The sea just left without warning. At first, people were little more than puzzled. They continued to gossip and fight over the same old things. But soon a silence began to permeate the township. A desert of unbelievable magnitude was forming before their very eyes. Weeks passed and there was still no sign of the ocean. The people grew worried. It was decided to send a small group to search for it, in the hope of bringing it back.

As the days went on, more and more people went looking. The people searched far and wide, but the ocean had vanished without a trace. The quiet land, once bountiful, had become hard and unyielding. Then a shape appeared on the horizon. Through a blaze of heat, the people saw what looked like tumbling water rolling towards them. A wave of excitement passed through the town, as they anxiously watched the ocean return. But as it grew closer, the shape began to alter and mutate. What looked like tumbling water, was in fact wild horses. Everywhere they turned, they saw horses drawing closer and closer. Their excitement turned to fear, and their fear became panic, for it seemed that nothing could stop their advance – which, as the ocean's disappearance, had come without warning. But then no one, not even for a moment, had stopped to question why the ocean had left in the first place.

The people had no choice but to trust that the horses would lead them to their ocean. Without reins or saddles, they rode the horses across the barren land. But the ocean had disappeared for good. And the people, together, alone, had no choice but to face each other in their loss. They made a home for themselves in a new environment, although one that had changed forever. They learnt to live in the space the ocean had left, although it lingered in their dreams.

Perfect Strangers

A TV mini-series by Stephen Poliakoff

If you dig hard enough there are at least three great stories in any family. When Daniel attends an extraordinary family reunion with his parents, he discovers a world he hardly knew existed. Seduced by the glamour of this new world, Daniel adopts the role of go-between for his glamorous Aunt Alice and his cousins Rebecca and Charles. But even the most honourable of intentions have the potential to go disasterously wrong.

A vivid and captivating tale in which Daniel meets his wider family – people whom his father had detached himself from many years before. One by one Daniel listens to each person's story, becoming obsessively drawn into every new experience whilst slowly building a picture of the family's past. It is a picture full of amazing and very beautiful stories but also of pain and guilt. Eventually Daniel discovers himself in that picture too, as a young child in fancy dress at a children's party long ago. As distant memories are stirred for the first time in his life, he becomes even more compelled to uncover his own part in the story. The complex interweaving of each separate story finally brings acceptance, understanding and peace to each member, and reconcilliation to the family as a whole.

Developing themes explored in Poliakoff's earlier work, Shooting the Past, Perfect Strangers captures the magic and wonder surrounding such things as war stories, mysterious photographs, dark secrets and hidden stories from family trees.