Pop minx Kylie Minogue is to marry her French lover Olivier Martinez, the actor's brother has revealed. Vincent Martinez says Unfaithful star Olivier proposed to the pint-sized Aussie on a romantic cruise along the French Riviera - and presented her with a $38,000 diamond ring as proof of his love. The hunky actor has gone all out to prove his devotion after press claims of an on-set affair with Angelina Jolie, and his proposal is the final step. Vincent confirmed the engagement to Australian magazine New Idea, and even revealed that Olivier got his mother's blessing before asking the 35-year-old to be his wife. A source at the magazine says, "Vincent said Olivier had thought about proposing to Kylie for a while but wanted to have a long chat to his mother and some other people in the family before he did anything. Everyone urged him to take the plunge and he did. Vincent said his brother wanted the proposal to be extremely romantic and had taken care to make sure everything went perfectly." Singer Kylie has already taken her man back home to meet his potential in-laws, and even invited him to the El Questro Outback wildlife park, a special place where she goes to escape the pressures of fame. But doubt has been cast on the reports by the singer's own people - her spokesman insists, "As far as I'm aware Kylie is not engaged and has no plans to marry."...
- 9/10/2003
- WENN
Sometimes it seems as if French films exist merely to remind the rest of us that we aren't getting enough sex. In the aptly named "Confusion of Genders", which was recently unveiled at the New Directors/New Films Festival before its eventual theatrical release, the central character is a fortysomething bisexual lawyer, Alain (Pascal Greggory), who juggles a plethora of male and female lovers with the kind of ambivalence that the rest of us can only dream about. Unfortunately, as this talky and less-than-compelling film well illustrates, another person's romantic problems aren't necessarily as engrossing to us as they are to him.
After a long relationship, Alain is finally considering settling down with his beautiful law partner Laurence (Nathalie Richard), who is pregnant with his child. This decision comes despite the fact that their relationship is less than passionate. Alain is far more interested in his latest client, Marc (Vincent Martinez), who happens to be a murderer facing life in prison. Marc's primary romantic obsession is the gorgeous Babette (Julie Gayet), whom Alain promptly at-tempts to seduce. He does this as much to get close to Marc as for its own sake. At the same time, Alain is being ardently pursued by the much younger Christophe (Cyrille Thouvenin), who offers the promise of great sex and lots of it.
Despite the juiciness inherent in this sexual roundelay, director-screenwriter Ilan Duran Cohen's film is an essentially dreary affair, mainly because of the lack of warmth generated by the characters. This is particularly true of Greggory's Alain, who despite his intense demeanor and serious cheekbones is far more dour than interesting. His self-absorption is matched by the rest of the characters in this examination of sexual identity, which only sporadically comes to life. The film looks elegant, and occasionally its dialogue reaches a certain level of lacerating wit -- most evident in the scene in which Alain and Laurence finally attempt to get married, with the inevitable second thoughts. But the net effect is ultimately more depressing than it is provocative.
CONFUSION OF GENDERS
Picture This!
Director-screenwriter: Ilan Duran Cohen
Producer: Didier Boujard
Director of photography: Jeanne Lapoirie
Editor: Fabrice Rouaud
Music: Jay Jay Johanson
Production designer: Francoise Dupertuis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alain: Pascal Greggory
Laurence: Nathalie Richard
Babette: Julie Gayet
Etienne: Alain Bashung
Marc: Vincent Martinez
Christophe: Cyrille Thouvenin
Running time -- 94 minutes
No MPAA rating...
After a long relationship, Alain is finally considering settling down with his beautiful law partner Laurence (Nathalie Richard), who is pregnant with his child. This decision comes despite the fact that their relationship is less than passionate. Alain is far more interested in his latest client, Marc (Vincent Martinez), who happens to be a murderer facing life in prison. Marc's primary romantic obsession is the gorgeous Babette (Julie Gayet), whom Alain promptly at-tempts to seduce. He does this as much to get close to Marc as for its own sake. At the same time, Alain is being ardently pursued by the much younger Christophe (Cyrille Thouvenin), who offers the promise of great sex and lots of it.
Despite the juiciness inherent in this sexual roundelay, director-screenwriter Ilan Duran Cohen's film is an essentially dreary affair, mainly because of the lack of warmth generated by the characters. This is particularly true of Greggory's Alain, who despite his intense demeanor and serious cheekbones is far more dour than interesting. His self-absorption is matched by the rest of the characters in this examination of sexual identity, which only sporadically comes to life. The film looks elegant, and occasionally its dialogue reaches a certain level of lacerating wit -- most evident in the scene in which Alain and Laurence finally attempt to get married, with the inevitable second thoughts. But the net effect is ultimately more depressing than it is provocative.
CONFUSION OF GENDERS
Picture This!
Director-screenwriter: Ilan Duran Cohen
Producer: Didier Boujard
Director of photography: Jeanne Lapoirie
Editor: Fabrice Rouaud
Music: Jay Jay Johanson
Production designer: Francoise Dupertuis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alain: Pascal Greggory
Laurence: Nathalie Richard
Babette: Julie Gayet
Etienne: Alain Bashung
Marc: Vincent Martinez
Christophe: Cyrille Thouvenin
Running time -- 94 minutes
No MPAA rating...
A talky, unchallenging, unarousing lecture about an older woman carrying on with a young bisexual hunk, French director Benoit Jacquot's tedious "The School of Flesh" unspooled recently at the Cannes International Film Festival and failed to graduate as another disappointing selection in competition for the Palme d'Or.
Not surprisingly, the academic melodrama -- which would barely raise eyebrows as a telefilm -- garnered no official kudos and stands little chance of domestic distribution, despite Isabelle Huppert ("Heaven's Gate") in the lead role and the reputation of veteran Jacquot ("A Single Girl").
Based on the novel by Yukio Mishima -- which was set in post-World War II Japan -- "School" centers on mature Paris fashion designer Dominique (Isabelle Huppert), who is talked into visiting a gay club and finds herself drawn to the flirtatious bartender, Quentin (Vincent Martinez). He turns tricks with either sex and likes to work out, prizing his independence, but with a sensitive side and fear of abandonment.
Dominique knows little about him when she invites him to dinner for a first date. Things go well enough until she storms off when he ignores her at a video arcade. But she gathers her courage and comes back. They have sex and the next morning he takes money from her, but it appears this is more than just business for both parties.
The role reversals are obvious: She's responsible and wealthy like an older guy and he's insatiable and mysterious like a young conquest. In fact, the whole movie is obvious, with pitiful attempts at complicating the plot with a secret rival for Quentin's affections. Based on the glimpses of their boring, unsizzling sex, one can't blame this supposedly rough-and-ready guy from straying.
Particularly annoying is the clunky way their affair breaks off and she goes looking for a new mate. One develops no emotional attachment to these cold, colorless coeds in the school of coitus malapropos. While all but one of the uninspired supporting characters are instantly forgettable, Vincent Lindon's cliched portrayal of a gay friend of Quentin's is indicative of the hoary tale's failure to keep one from waiting impatiently for this lesson in ill-conceived filmmaking to be over as quickly as possible.
THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'Ecole de la Chair)
Orsans Prods., V.M.P., La SEPT Cinema,
Bel Age Distribution, Samsa Film
Director:Benoit Jacquot
Producer:Fabienne Vonier
Screenwriters:Jacques Fieschi
Executive producer:Fabienne Tsai
Director of photography:Caroline Champetier
Production designer:Katia Wyszkop
Editor:Luc Barnier
Costume designer:Corinne Jorry-Horlait
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dominique:Isabelle Huppert
Quentin:Vincent Martinez
Chris:Vincent Lindon
Madame Thorpe:Marthe Keller
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Not surprisingly, the academic melodrama -- which would barely raise eyebrows as a telefilm -- garnered no official kudos and stands little chance of domestic distribution, despite Isabelle Huppert ("Heaven's Gate") in the lead role and the reputation of veteran Jacquot ("A Single Girl").
Based on the novel by Yukio Mishima -- which was set in post-World War II Japan -- "School" centers on mature Paris fashion designer Dominique (Isabelle Huppert), who is talked into visiting a gay club and finds herself drawn to the flirtatious bartender, Quentin (Vincent Martinez). He turns tricks with either sex and likes to work out, prizing his independence, but with a sensitive side and fear of abandonment.
Dominique knows little about him when she invites him to dinner for a first date. Things go well enough until she storms off when he ignores her at a video arcade. But she gathers her courage and comes back. They have sex and the next morning he takes money from her, but it appears this is more than just business for both parties.
The role reversals are obvious: She's responsible and wealthy like an older guy and he's insatiable and mysterious like a young conquest. In fact, the whole movie is obvious, with pitiful attempts at complicating the plot with a secret rival for Quentin's affections. Based on the glimpses of their boring, unsizzling sex, one can't blame this supposedly rough-and-ready guy from straying.
Particularly annoying is the clunky way their affair breaks off and she goes looking for a new mate. One develops no emotional attachment to these cold, colorless coeds in the school of coitus malapropos. While all but one of the uninspired supporting characters are instantly forgettable, Vincent Lindon's cliched portrayal of a gay friend of Quentin's is indicative of the hoary tale's failure to keep one from waiting impatiently for this lesson in ill-conceived filmmaking to be over as quickly as possible.
THE SCHOOL OF FLESH (L'Ecole de la Chair)
Orsans Prods., V.M.P., La SEPT Cinema,
Bel Age Distribution, Samsa Film
Director:Benoit Jacquot
Producer:Fabienne Vonier
Screenwriters:Jacques Fieschi
Executive producer:Fabienne Tsai
Director of photography:Caroline Champetier
Production designer:Katia Wyszkop
Editor:Luc Barnier
Costume designer:Corinne Jorry-Horlait
Color/stereo
Cast:
Dominique:Isabelle Huppert
Quentin:Vincent Martinez
Chris:Vincent Lindon
Madame Thorpe:Marthe Keller
Running time -- 103 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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