StudioCanal (France): 46

Burn After Reading (2008) is a black comedy film created by the Coen brothers. When Osbourne Cox gets demoted for drinking, he quits his job as a CIA analyst and decides to write a memoir. His wife Katie secretly files for divorce and resumes her affair with U.S. Marshal Harry Pfarrer, who is prone to paranoia. Katie gives her lawyer a copy of Osbourne’s digital records and other personal files, which include an early draft of his memoir. The lawyer’s assistant copies the files onto a CD-R and accidentally leaves it at Hardbodies gym. Personal trainer Chad Feldheimer and coworker Linda Litzke come across the ...

Il divo (2008) is a biographical drama directed by Paolo Sorrentino that delves into the life of former Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti. The film competed at the Cannes Film Festival and received the prestigious Jury Prize. It follows Andreotti’s political career, which was plagued by accusations of Mafia connections and scandalous events such as his seventh election in 1992, his unsuccessful attempt at becoming President, and his controversial trial in 1995. As the film begins, Giulio Andreotti reflects on his ability to endure a tumultuous political career, unlike his ...

RocknRolla (2008), a gangster crime comedy film by Guy Ritchie, follows the story of mob boss Lenny Cole as he dominates London’s real estate business with help from corrupt councillor and right-hand man Archy. When billionaire Russian businessman Uri Omovich plans a lucrative land deal, everyone in the city wants a piece of it — including Stella, Uri’s devious accountant, and a gang known as ‘The Wild Bunch’ led by small-time crook ‘One-Two’, his partner ‘Mumbles’, and their driver ‘Handsome Bob’. In exchange for €7,000,000 to bribe the Council, Uri lends ...

Hot Fuzz (2007) is an action-packed buddy cop comedy directed by Edgar Wright and co-written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg also takes on the lead role alongside Nick Frost. After his promotion to Sergeant in the Metropolitan Police Service, highly capable constable Nicholas Angel is transferred to Sandford, Gloucestershire – a quaint town that regularly wins the title of ‘Village of the Year’. Meanwhile, ...

Smokin’ Aces (2006) is a thrilling American action film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. Infamous Las Vegas magician and aspiring criminal, Buddy ‘Aces’ Israel, finds himself holed up in a Lake Tahoe hotel while his agent negotiates for him to receive immunity from the FBI. With mob boss Primo Sparazza offering a million-dollar reward for Israel’s heart, various hitmen have been summoned to collect the bounty: master of disguise Lazlo Soot, contract killers Sharice Watters and Georgia Sykes (hired by Sparazza’s right-hand man), mercenary Pasquale Acosta, and three merciless neo-Nazis ...

The Italian film, The Family Friend (2006), was directed by Paolo Sorrentino and was showcased at the Cannes Film Festival that year. Geremia, an elderly tailor and money lender, lives alone with his ill-tempered mother in a rundown house. Known for his selfish and frugal ways, Geremia develops a peculiar obsession with money and uses it to meddle in others’ affairs under the guise of being their ‘family friend’. One day, he is approached by a man seeking a loan for his daughter Rosalba’s wedding. Instantly smitten with the charming young woman, Geremia enters into an unconventional relationship ...

The American spy film, The Good Shepherd (2006), was both produced and directed by Robert De Niro. Following the disastrous end of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, suspicions arise about a potential ‘mole’ within the CIA. Senior officer Edward Wilson returns home to find a photograph and audio tapes that have been tampered with, leaving some details unclear. Flashing back to his time at Yale University in 1939, Wilson is invited to join the Skull and Bones fraternity where he reveals that he discovered but never read his father’s suicide note. His father, an admiral who had been considered for ...

Babel (2006), a psychological drama, was directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. This multi-narrative film features an ensemble cast and interweaves stories set in Morocco, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. It is an international co-production between companies from the US, Mexico, and France, completing Arriaga and Iñárritu’s Death Trilogy that also includes Amores perros (2000) and 21 Grams (2003). The ...

Anthony Zimmer (2005), a French romantic thriller film written and directed by Jérôme Salle, follows the story of a brilliant career criminal who is wanted by police worldwide. Evading authorities with his clever tactics, Zimmer legally launders money through fake corporations that file lawsuits against international companies. The elusive Zimmer is also on the run from the ‘White Collar Barons’, a powerful Russian mafia he once worked with. After undergoing plastic surgery, there is no known description of his appearance, making him even harder to catch. However, detective Akerman is determined to bring him ...

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) is a historical drama, directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. In medieval France, Balian, a grief-stricken blacksmith, is approached by a band of Crusaders visiting his village. Their leader, Balian’s father Baron Godfrey, invites him to join their journey to the Holy Land, but he declines. That night, Balian learns the truth about his wife’s death from his half-brother, the town priest, and in a fit of anger kills him. The next day, seeking redemption for his actions and peace for his wife’s soul ...

Clint Eastwood directs, co-produces, scores, and stars in the American sports drama Million Dollar Baby (2004). Written by Paul Haggis and based on stories from F.X. Toole’s Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner, this film follows the journey of Margaret ‘Maggie’ Fitzgerald, a waitress from the Ozarks who seeks out the guidance of Frankie Dunn, a cantankerous Irish-American trainer at his rundown boxing gym in Los Angeles. Despite initially refusing to train her due to both her gender and ...

The British film, Shaun of the Dead (2004), is a romantic zombie comedy directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Pegg. In London’s Crouch End neighborhood, 29-year-old electronics salesman Shaun faces disrespect from his coworkers, a strained relationship with his stepfather Philip, and a recent break-up with his girlfriend Liz due to his failed attempt at planning an anniversary date. Seeking solace, Shaun turns to his go-to spot, the Winchester pub, where he drowns his sorrows with his slacker best friend Ed. Meanwhile, their roommate Pete ...

The Australian-British film Ned Kelly (2003) is based on the 1991 novel Our Sunshine by Robert Drewe. Directed by Gregor Jordan, the adapted screenplay was written by John Michael McDonagh. As a child, Ned saved a young boy from drowning and was awarded a ‘hero sash’. Growing up in Victoria, where he was born, the Catholic Irish settler lives with his widowed mother Ellen, younger brother Dan, and sisters Kate and Grace. At their house, Ned’s friend Joe and Dan’s friend Steve are frequent ...

Directed by Jon Amiel, The Core (2003) is an American science fiction disaster film. A series of diverse incidents involving the Earth’s magnetic field prompts geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes and his colleagues, Dr. Serge Leveque and Dr. Conrad Zimsky, to conclude that the rotation of the Earth’s molten core has ceased. If not reactivated, this would result in the collapse of the field within months, leaving the surface vulnerable to harmful solar radiation exposure. To address this crisis, the U.S. government initiates a covert project to construct a vessel capable of drilling into the core and deploying ...

Love Me If You Dare (2003) is a French romantic comedy-drama film directed by Yann Samuell. The story follows the unlikely friendship between Sophie, a young girl being bullied, and Julien, a kind-hearted boy. After helping her retrieve her belongings from bullies, Julien gives Sophie a tin box as a token of their newfound bond. In return, he asks to borrow it back occasionally, which she agrees to. However, when Julien requests the box back immediately after giving it to her, Sophie challenges him to prove its significance. Without hesitation, Julien disengages the bus handbrake and their game begins – with each ...

The film Johnny English (2003), directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and William Davies, follows the journey of a bumbling but well-meaning MI7 agent who longs to be the agency’s top spy. When Agent One and all other MI7 agents are killed at his funeral due to his inadvertent blunders, Johnny is left as the only agent capable of completing Agent One’s mission. His latest task is to stop a scheme to steal the newly returned Crown Jewels ...

The American war film We Were Soldiers (2002), written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson, tells the story of a group of soldiers faced with an ambush from the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War in 1954. Eleven years later, in 1965, US Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore is tasked with training and leading a battalion during the Vietnam War. When their base is attacked, Moore’s 400 men are ordered to pursue and eliminate the North Vietnamese attackers, despite being unaware of their numbers according to intelligence reports. Upon landing in ...

Tiptoes (2002), an American comedy-drama written and directed by Matthew Bright, follows the story of Carol, a talented and independent painter who falls in love with Steven. Despite not knowing much about him other than his perfection, their love blooms. However, when Carol becomes pregnant, it prompts Steven to reveal his deepest secret – his family. In a family of dwarfs with his twin brother Rolfe being one of them, Steven happens to be the only average-sized person. As they come to terms with the possibility of their child being born a dwarf, Steven’s fears intensify as he does not want them to go ...

The international anthology film, September 11 (2002), features a total of eleven short segments directed by filmmakers from eleven different countries. Each segment offers a unique perspective on the tragic events of September 11, 2001 in New York City, with a duration of 11 minutes, 9 seconds, and one frame. 1. Iran (Samira Makhmalbaf). The information about the events of September 11, 2001 reaches an Afghan refugee camp where bricks are being made for new shelters, in anticipation of potential attacks from the United States. In this setting, a young teacher ...

John Madden directed Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001), a war film based on Louis de Bernières‘ 1994 novel of the same name. The Italian Army, accompanied by a few Germans, occupies Greece’s Ionian Islands and takes over the peaceful island of Cephalonia. The island’s inhabitants surrender quickly. Among the invaders is Captain Antonio Corelli of the Italian 33rd Acqui Infantry Division. He is known for his cheerful personality and love for playing the mandolin. Despite his troops never having fired a shot before, he teaches them to sing in ...