Every week, tMF will pick a couple of movie trailers- for their uniqueness and relevance and for their entertainment value. Most of them feature some of our favorite actors, who may play lead or supporting roles in these movies. But most of all, these movies are definitely worth your while:

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Trailer # 1: Miracle at St. Anna

We're probably one of the few sites that ignored the recent 'word war' between two fine filmmakers, Spike Lee and Clint Eastwood. Acclaimed director Spike Lee has the reputation to be quite 'brutally frank' about his opinions, most especially involving racism. The controversy started when Lee remarked that black soldiers were "conspicuous by their absence in Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. " Perhaps now is the chance for Lee to pay tribute to his fellow African-American brothers by the release of his latest film- Miracle at St. Anna.

The movie stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Matteo Sciabordi, John Leguizamo, Kerry Washington and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

But it seems controversy will continue to hound Lee. Even his new movie is becoming more and more controversial. Reports Peter Popham on the production:

Lee is basing his film on a novel, The Miracle of Sant'Anna, by James MacBride, a black veteran of the Second World War, the story of four black GIs abandoned high in the Appenines while the Allied troops fought to drive the Germans across the so-called Gothic Line and northwards. His main aim in the film, he told journalists in Rome, was "to restore the voice of black soldiers who fought in the war. Black soldiers always fought with great courage and sacrifice for democracy; they were always distinguished by their heroism and humanity, but back home they were still considered second-class citizens."

But by getting justice for black soldiers, voices in the village say, he risks doing a grave injustice to history. One scene in the film has convinced some villagers that he is going to depict the massacre as a reprisal for partisan attacks; in fact, the German attack was gratuitous and planned in minute detail. [ read more ]

Adds the director:

"This will be an R-rated film," offers Lee shortly after finishing the scene. "We have a total of four battles, and while we're not doing what Spielberg did on Private Ryan - this isn't D-Day - there are some hard moments in this movie. There was a terrible massacre of civilians in the hills at St Anna and we went back there to create it. Shooting something like that, knowing you were in the real place, that was spooky. Really, this is a fascinating story."

Read more about the movie from the Touchstone website and from two excellent posts: The Telegraph article and from The Independent: Miracle of Sant'Anna: Rewriting history?

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Trailer # 2: Girl Cut In Two (La Fille coupée en deux)

Cahiers du Cinéma member Claude Chabrol is back! Just like fellow CdC member Eric Rohmer, the prolific French filmmaker remains active in his film career. This new film marks his second feature for the new decade, after Le Demoiselle d’honneur.

The French master of suspense returns with the razor-sharp, darkly seductive, A Girl Cut in Two. Gabrielle Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier of Swimming Pool) is an independent, ambitious TV weather girl torn between her love of a distinguished author several decades her senior (Francois Berléand), and the attentions of a headstrong, potentially unstable young suitor (Benoit Magimel). An unspoken past between the two men heightens tensions, and though she’s initially certain of her love for one them, the see-saw demands and whims of both men keep confusing - and darkening - matters. Before long she’s encountering emotional and societal forces well beyond her control, inexorably leading to a shocking clash of violence and passion. Inspired by the sensational Gilded Age murder of Madison Square Garden architect Stanford White, A Girl Cut in Two is trademark Chabrol: fiendishly entertaining and impossible to shake.

Remarked Boyd van Hoeij @european-films.net:

The story, inspired by true events that happened in the US in 1906, is full of sharply observed details and offers all of the characters enough moments to become full-bodied personalities. The film’s treatment of human relationships and the length to which some people are willing to go to get what they want is unusually complex for what could have been such a straightforward romantic drama-turned-thriller. Chabrol practically X-rays the contemporary French bourgeoisie and it is not a pretty sight.

But neither does the French master of suspense simply settle for the message that rich people are rotten (something that some of his previous efforts were guilty of). Paul is not simply a spoilt brat, though the fact that he is used to getting what he wants is certainly an important part of his personality, as he explains to Gabrielle in a hilarious and biting shard of dialogue (the film is quite possibly Chabrol’s funniest to date). And Charles might seem perfect to Gabrielle, but is he really perfect for anybody? [ read more ]

A Showcase for Ludivine Sagnier: The last time I watched Ludivine Sagnier is in Molière, where she played a supporting role to Romain Duris. In Girl Cut In Two, Sagnier is in her elements- she's passionate, seductive, strong-willed, and powerful, as she tries to relate to two men who are both passionately in love with her. Sagnier was outstanding as Julie in Francois Ozon's Swimming Pool and in this movie, she is equally remarkable. It only proves the fact that Sagnier is one of France's most talented actresses.

More about the movie from the official movie site and get to know more of Ludivine Saginer and Benoît Magimel at IMDb.

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Trailer #3: The Last Mistress ( Une Vieille Maitresse )

The Last Mistress (original title Une vieille maîtresse, literally “An old mistress”) is a 2007 French-Italian movie based on a controversial novel by the French writer Jules Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly. It stars Asia Argento and Fu'ad Ait Aattou as two main characters. The movie was directed by famous and controversial French filmmaker Catherine Breillat.

I will always remember Asia Argento in her scene stealing role in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, where she plays Madame du Barry, the King's mistress and the outcast among the French royalties. She was deliciously sexy and wicked and defiant, while trying to hide her insecurities amidst all the glamour and celebration in the French palace. Argento is extraordinarily beautiful and the perfect showcase of a strong, independent woman. In The Last Mistress, she gets to play the lead part and carry the film to a higher level.

What's the Movie About: Ryno de Marigny (Fu'ad Aatou) before getting married to the young and innocent Hermangarde (Roxanne Mesquida) makes a last visit to Vellini (Asia Argento), his Spanish mistress, to bid goodbye in an act of passionate lovemaking. His liason to Vellini is the subject of the Parisian gossip, and before Hermangarde's grandmother gives her blessings, she wants to hear from Ryno everything about his relationship. Ryno reveals a temptestuous story but indicates that his ten year romance is over; he now is in love with Hermangarde. After the marriage, the newlyweds move away to a castle at the shore. They are happy and soon Hermangarde conceives. But the "last/old mistress" reappears, and while Ryno tries to keep her out of his life, she is not to be rejected, and Hermangarde finds out about it.

Says Roger Ebert in his review:

"The Last Mistress" is the latest film from the French director Catherine Breillat, famous for the explicit eroticism of such films as "Fat Girl" and "Romance." Here she makes an elegant period piece, with all the costumes, carriages, servants, chateaus and mannered behavior we would expect, and then explodes its decorum with a fiery performance by Argento. Does she love her young prize, with his lips full as a woman's? Does he love her, with her two front teeth tilted inward like a vampire's? Love has nothing to do with it. They are in the grip of erotomania. [ read more ]

A film clip from The Last Mistress: " You are my prisoner...", courtesy of youtube:

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A new talent on the Scene: Playing the role of Argento's young lover is former male model Fu'ad Ait Aattou, who was exceptionally handsome and quite fearless in his first feature film. Says Fu'ad about being cast for the role of Ryno de Marigny:

"I approached her," he says, "I told her I liked Romance" — her controversial 1999 exploration of female desire — "and I said to her, may I give you my number, and three months later, she called me."

Despite the fact that he was cast in the lead role in his film debut, it's not a tale of overnight success. "I grew up in the north of France," he says, "and I came to Paris almost 10 years ago, to be an actor. I went to acting school for three years. I went to lots of auditions, but nothing happened."

When Breillat called, she brought him in for a reading, and it didn't go well. "I did a scene from La Maman et la Putain" — Jean Eustache's devastating 1973 exploration of male-female relationships — "it's one she does for all her movies, when I'm begging a girl not to leave me. And she didn't like it. She told me to try again, two weeks later, with a scene from An Old Mistress, and this time" — he says with a smile, the relief still palpable — "she liked it".

Read more about the film and its cast from Mongrel Media and an article about Fu'ad from Australia's The Age. Asia Argento also has an official site to learn more about her upcoming films and the latest news about the actress.

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Comments (3)

young french actors

what about young french actors like jeremy elkaim , aurelien wiik , vincent rottier , johan libereau , pascal cervo , yann tregouet , gregoire leprince ringuet , malik zidi and louis garrel ?

shatipavi , August 19, 2008

young french actors

I also forgot gregoire colin , julien baumgartner, edouard collin and adrien jolivet . Sorry for this 2 comment . Thanks !

shatipavi , August 19, 2008

French actors on the spotlight!

I'll be posting another article called A Tale of 2 Young French Actors soon! I'll be on the look-out for some of the names you've mentioned as this is the first time I've heard of them. Thanks for the info!

jed , August 19, 2008

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