ISABELLE HUPPERT: a Retrospective 19 & 26 June 2013 (Wednesdays)
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The Cultural Center of the Philippines in cooperation with the Ambassade de France aux Philippines presents ISABELLE HUPPERT: A Retrospective 19 & 26 June 2013 (Wednesdays) CCP Tanghalang Manuel Conde Schedule of Screenings 19 June/Wednesday 04:00PM SAUVE QUI PEUT (LA VIE) by Jean Luc Godard (1979) 07:00PM LOULOU by Maurice Pialat (1980) 26 June/Wednesday 01:00PM UNE AFFAIRE DE FEMMES (STORY OF WOMEN) by Claude Chabrol (1988) 04:00PM LA CÉRÉMONIE (THE CEREMONY) by Claude Chabrol (1995) 07:00PM WHITE MATERIAL by Claire Denis (2009) All screenings are free. First come, first served. For more information, please call CCP Media Arts at 832 1125, locals 1702 & 1704. ‐‐‐ A special photo exhibition on Ms. Huppert, courtesy of Institut Francais, will be presented at the CCP Little Theatre lobby during the screenings. ‐‐‐ Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie) (Slow Motion) Synopsis Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie), a pessimistic but visually stunning film, marks Jean‐Luc Godard's return to cinema after having spent the 70s working in video. The film presents a few days in the lives of three people: Paul Godard (Jacques Dutronc ), a television producer; Denise Rimbaud (Nathalie Baye), his co‐worker and ex‐ girlfriend; and Isabelle Riviera (Isabelle Huppert), a prostitute whom Paul has used. Denise wants to break up with Paul and move to the country. Isabelle wants to work for herself instead of her pimp. Paul just wants to survive. Their stories intersect when Paul brings Denise to the country cottage he is trying to rent and Isabelle comes to see it without knowing that the landlord has been her client. The film is broken into segments entitled "The Imaginary," "Commerce," "Life," and "Music." Each of the first three sections focuses on one character and the last section brings all three characters together. This complex film is often closer to an essay than a story; it uses slow motion and experimental techniques to explore questions of love, work, and the nature of cinema. Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie) was Godard's first film with his frequent collaborator Anne‐Marie Miéville, who edited and co‐wrote the film. Directed, produced, written & edited by Jean‐Luc Godard. Stars Isabelle Huppert (Isabelle Riviera), Jacques Dutronc (Paul Godard) & Nathalie Baye (Denise Rimbaud). 1979, 87 mins. Loulou Synopsis Maurice Pialat's character study eschews traditional plot development in its examination of the power of sex and passion to overturn class restrictions and social conventions. Isabelle Huppert is Nelly, a middle‐class Parisian housewife, married to possessive husband Andre (Guy Marchand). When she meets street thug Loulou (Gerard Depardieu), her middle‐class respectability is thrown out the window and she leaves Andre for Loulou. Loulou, who has no job and resorts to robbery to survive, is more than willing to live off Nelly's money. But Andre won't give her up and, in the mind‐set of a middle‐ class bourgeois, tries to convince her to return. Directed & written by Maurice Pialat. Stars Isabelle Huppert (Nelly), Gérard Depardieu (Loulou), Guy Marchand (André). 1980, 110 mins. Une Affaire De Femmes (Story of Women) Synopsis The women in this story are the customers of amateur abortionist Isabelle Huppert. The time is 1941, and the place is a Nazi‐occupied French town. Struggling to survive, Huppert turns to illegally terminating unwanted pregnancies for a hefty fee. As her income increases, Huppert moves her family from their grimy surroundings to a posh apartment, sharing her digs with her new friend, prostitute Marie Trintignant. Completely seduced by her affluent lifestyle, Huppert ignores her shell‐shocked husband Francois Cluzet, preferring to dally with Nazi collaborator Nils Tavernier. Things take a disastrous turn after one of Huppert's "customers" dies and her disgruntled husband turns her over to the authorities. Story of Women was inspired by the real‐life tale of Marie‐Louise Girard, who in 1943 was executed by the Vichy Government, who'd declared abortion as a Crime Against the State because it diminished the number of potential soldiers. Directed & written by Claude Chabrol. Stars Isabelle Huppert (Marie), François Cluzet (Paul), Marie Trintignant (Lulu/Lucie), Nils Tavernier (Lucien). 1988, 110 mins. La Cérémonie (The Ceremony) Synopsis When Catherine Lelievre (Jacqueline Bisset) hires mousy and taciturn Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) as a housemaid, she thinks that she found a treasure. Mr. Lelievre (Jean‐Pierre Cassel) seems to agree with her, pointing out that the maid just has yet to learn how to serve dinner correctly. Wealthy liberals, they treat her generously enough and expect diligence and reliability in return. However, Sophie didn't tell her new employers that she is dyslexic, and very soon she has terrible troubles with even such supposedly ordinary things as shopping lists. She befriends outspoken postal clerk Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), who occasionally helps her with the above‐mentioned lists and tells her all sorts of gossip about the Lelievre family. Mr. Lelievre, who suspects that Jeanne opens their mail, tells Sophie that Jeanne was charged with the murder of her four‐year‐old daughter and though she was later acquitted, he can't believe in her innocence. Thus he forbids Sophie to invite Jeanne to the Lelievre house, and the tension between Sophie and her employers increases. What could have been a thriller in the hands of a different director, in the case of Claude Chabrol has become another witty and observant social commentary about the eternal confrontation between the rich and the poor. Ruth Rendell's novel A Judgement in Stone was previously filmed in 1986 in Canada. Directed & written by Claude Chabrol. Stars Isabelle Huppert (Jeanne), Sandrine Bonnaire (Sophie), Jacqueline Bisset (Catherine Lelievre), Jean‐Pierre Cassel (Georges Lelievre), Virginie Ledoyen (Melinda). 1995, 109 mins. White Material Synopsis In this drama directed and co‐written by Claire Denis, Isabelle Huppert plays Maria, a white French expatriate living in an African nation that has fallen into political chaos. Maria owns a coffee plantation, and regards her property as her personal domain; she's not about to give up her land, though her stubborn attitude prevents her from admitting that she's putting those close to her in danger, or even acknowledging the gravity of her situation. Maria has two children with her former husband, André (Christopher Lambert), a young adopted boy and dissatisfied twentysomething Manuel (Nicolas Duvauchelle). André is deeply concerned for the safety of Maria and their sons, and has made plans for her and the boys to flee to Europe, but Maria insists that the military will protect her and the others in the area, a belief that seems to be fueled by arrogance rather than fact. White Material received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. Directed & written by Claire Denis. Stars Isabelle Huppert (Maria Vial), Isaach de Bankolé (The Boxer), Christopher Lambert (André Vial), Nicolas Duvauchelle (Manuel Vial). 2009, 102 mins. .