Three TV Movies

Catherine Breillat scripted three films for French television in the 90's... None of these are available on DVD currently, and I wouldn't hold my breath - but, hey; we can hope. =)

Viens jouer dans la cour des grands (there's no English title, but Google translater makes it Come Play With the Big Boys) aired in 1997. Directed by Caroline Huppert (yes, related to Isabelle Huppert - she's her sister, though Caroline has apparently had a pretty full career in television herself, writing and directing for television) tells the story of a young girl (Isabelle Carré) who moves to Paris to work as a secretary at a large company where she gets romantically caught up with an American CEO.

Le Secret d'Elissa Rhaïs (again, no English title, but it translates to The Secret of Elissa Rhais) is an adaptation of Paul Tabet's book by Breillat and four other writers, including director Jacques Otmezguine. It's a true story about a celebrated Algerian author, Elissa Rhais, who became quite famous in France during the 20's and 30's... until it was discovered that she was actually an illiterate whose semi-autobiographical works were ghost written by Raoul Tabet (Paul's father).

Lastly, in 1990, Breillat adapted Raymond Radiguet's novel Le diable au corps (Devil In the Flesh) with director Gérard Vergez. This had been made into films twice before: once in France by Claude Autant-Lara in 1947, and more recently (1986) in Italy by Marco Bellocchio who - as you may remember from my last post - Breillat worked with on Gli Occhi, la bocca. It's about a high school student who falls in love with an older woman after her husband is sent away to the frontlines of World War 1.