Catherine Deneuve

 

ph: Peter Basch

Catherine Deneuve

 

La vérité (2019)

 

A stormy reunion between scriptwriter Lumir with her famous mother and actress, Fabienne, against the backdrop of Fabienne's autobiographic book and her latest role in a Sci-Fi picture as a daughter of a mother who never grows old. 

Undemanding family drama is amusing for having Ethan Hawke play the helpless bystander to a feud between the titans Deneuve and Binoche.

 

Catherine Deneuve

 

8 Femmes (2002)

A man is murdered, and the eight women in his household each seem to be more eager than the others to know the truth.

A tongue-in cheek homage to Agatha Christie-styled murder mysteries, staged as a closed-room musical and with an otherwise great cast playing their roles in exaggerated hysterics, is not really something one can feel nostalgic for.

On rewatching: Watchable, but could have been so much better...

Halliwell**: "Highly artificial, witty, enjoyable pastiche of a country house murder mystery, with bravura performances from its stellar cast, representing four generations of French acting, who burst into song at unexpected moments."

Maltin**1/2: "Wonderful opportunity to watch some of France's most formidable females in an odd whodunit-melodrama-musical...Fun to a degree, especially when the actresses sing and dance, but awfully forced."

Catherine Deneuve

Catherine Deneuve

Un Flic (1972)

After a shaky first heist, a group of thieves plan an even more elaborate- and more risky- second heist.

A crime drama with style, good performances and some good direction, but slow in pace and not quite suspenseful.

Halliwell (no star): "Glum investigation of betrayal in which atmosphere is all, but not enough to sustain interest."

Maltin**1/2: "Pedestrian melodrama...Delon and Crenna are muscular, Deneuve and the scenery gorgeous."

Catherine Deneuve

ph: Jeanloup Sieff

La sirène du Mississipi (1969)

A wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.

Offbeat Noir thriller treated more like a l'amour fou romance with some typical Truffaut touches, occasionally a bit heavy-handed and with some risible dialogue.

On rewatching: Lively drama omits the novel's noir elements and turns the story into an almost surreal romance;the director and his two stars somehow make it work.

Halliwell*: "Oddly obsessive romantic murder mystery; the hero continues to love the girl who tries to kill him, and at the end they are still together. Interesting when it is not uncomfortable."

Maltin***: "One of the director's few flops, but any film with Belmondo-Deneuve-Truffaut combo is of interest...Always buy brand names."

Catherine Deneuve

Le Choix des armes (1981)

A gangster retires to the countryside after living a full life of traditional crime, but after settling into his new residence with his wife, his home is invaded by an unruly punk with some newideas about the way crime should work.

An otherwise unoriginal crime story is slowly drawn out and achieves some depth by intelligent direction and excellent performances.

Halliwell*: "Interesting but too-leisurely account of people unable to escape their past."

Maltin***: "Well-directed drama...Good performances by excellent cast, especially Depardieu."

Françoise Dorléac & Catherine Deneuve

Le tout nouveau testament (2015)

God lives in human form as a cynical writer with his young opinionated daughter in present-day Brussels, Belgium, but she concludes that her dad is doing a terrible job and decides to rewrite the world, which leaves God angry, powerless and adamant to get his power back.

Idiosyncratic and superficially blasphemous satire presents a fantastical parable which works on several levels and manages to entertain and endear at the same time.

Catherine Deneuve

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

A young woman has emigrated with her son from Central Europe to America where she works day and night to save her son from the same disease she suffers from, a disease that inevitably will make her blind.

Grim and highly artificial melodrama, staged like a study of genre cinema (including the musical); Björk's surprisingly strong gripping performance (and her songs) makes this it worth the watch.

Halliwell**: "A film to divide audiences into those who will respond to the intense emotions on display, many of them heightened by anguished sequences of song and dance; and those who will find the jerky handheld photography a needless distraction, and will reject the melodramatic sob-story as shameless manipulation. Björk throws herself into the role of the most self-sacrificing mother since Stella Dallas with complete conviction."

Maltin**1/2: "Ambitious, brazenlyoff-putting musical (!)...Writer-director von Trier's attempt to expand cinematic musical conventions is certainly thought provoking, but ultimately cold and very literal minded, and not helped by jagged song-and-dance numbers. Björk is impressive..."

Place Vendôme (1998)

Realising a dishonest deal has been found out a diamond merchant commits suicide, leaving the gems in question for his wife who - knowing the business from the time before drink largely took over her life - decides to sober up and sell them herself.

Despite a pedestrian pace and an obscure plot this movies wins solely through Deneuve's outstanding performance.

Halliwell**: "Elegant, intriguing French thriller that provides Deneuve with probably her best role, as a pressured woman recovering her dignity and abilities."

Maltin***: "Deliberately paced story works both as low-key thriller and character study, anchored by Deneuve's excellent performance."

Catherine Deneuve

La sirène du Mississipi (1969)

aka

Das Geheimnis der falschen Braut West Germany
Francois Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid Australia
Mississippi Mermaid USA




The owner of a tobacco plantation sends away for a mail-order bride, who turns out to be a beautiful, but mysterious woman.

Offbeat noir thriller treated more like a l'amour fou romance with some typical Truffaut touches, occasionally a bit heavy-handed and with some risible dialogue.

Le concile de pierre (2006)

A French translator adopts an Asian child who seems to have certain psychic powers, and soon mother and son are amidst a conspiracy which is centered in Mongolia...

Yep, it's true, the story is that silly, and it gets even sillier as the plot moves on.
I'd say, Monica Bellucci and Catherine Deneuve could have been put to better use. Peter Suschitzky's camera is outstanding, though.