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Distributor, Kinology reunite after Oscar-nominated Mustang.

Cohen Media Group has picked up all North American rights from Kinology to actress Aurélie Saada’s feature directorial debut Rose starring Françoise Fabian.

The film received its world premiere inat Locarno Film Festival in August and centres on a 78-year-old woman who has just lost her husband of more than 50 years. Devastation gives way to a strong desire to live life to the full even though the woman’s newfound joie de vivre threatens to upset the family balance.

The cast includes Aure Atika, Grégory Montel, Damien Chapelle, Pascal Elbé and Mehdi Nebbou.

Aure Atika, Grégory Montel, Damien Chapelle, Pascal Elbé and Mehdi Nebbou likewise star in the cast of this Silex Films and Germaine Films production, distributed by Apollo. Shot in Paris between 2 November and 15 December, Rose, the debut feature film by Aurélie Saada (who forms one half of musical duo Brigitte) is now in post-production. Gracing the cast is seasoned actress Françoise Fabian, Aure Atika, Grégory Montel (known for his role as Gabriel in the series Call My Agent! and recently at his best in...

MUNICH -- Paramount Home Entertainment Germany said Thursday that it will take over DVD distribution of selected films from Munich-based indie distributor and production house Prokino's catalog, effective immediately. In addition to the popular U.S. documentary Super Size Me and the comedy The Station Agent, two French films, 5x2 and Comme une Image (Look at Me), Chinese sci-fi drama 2046 and the Australian coming-of-age film Somersault will see their DVD releases distributed through the deal. A Prokino spokeswoman said the deal represents all of the company's films planned for theatrical release this year.

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival

TORONTO -- When Jean-Luc Godard famously remarked that all movies should have a beginning, middle and end but not necessarily in that order, he probably did not realize that several generations later so many would take him at his word. Ever since Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, a number of plays, movies and TV films have created a dramatic splash by telling a story backward. The latest exercise, Francois Ozon's 5X2 (Five Times Two), presents five significant scenes in the life of a married couple told in reverse order from their divorce to initial infatuation. It can be said that this device does yield a glimmer of explanation about why the couple split up, but only a glimmer.

Despite the lack of stars, Ozon's name probably ensures theatrical exposure in North America, but the film is too minor to attract the crowds that saw his films 8 Women or Swimming Pool.

The strongest and most curious episode of the film written by Ozon and Emmanuele Berenheim is the first. A judge reads the divorce papers to a downcast Parisian couple, Gilles (Stephane Freiss) and Marion (Valerie Bruni-Tedeschi). After they sign the papers, they retreat to a bare-bones hotel room for one last tryst in bed. Why either would want to do this -- it apparently is Gilles' idea -- is never explained. Afterward, he asks if she would like to take another stab at the relationship. She turns and walks out the door for good.

Next we see the couple entertain Gilles Gay' brother (Antoine Chappey) and his new and much younger boyfriend (Marc Ruchmann). After dinner, Gilles is compelled to recall the time he cheated on Marion in front of her at an orgy.

Then, at the premature birth of their son, Gilles inexplicably cannot bring himself to visit his wife in the hospital. We also meet Marion's bickering parents (veteran actors Francoise Fabian and Michael Lonsdale).

In the first three scenes, Gilles comes off as such a jerk we wonder why Marion sticks by him so long. In the penultimate scene, at what should be their happiest moment, the wedding, we learn that Marion betrayed him that very night with a stranger.

The final episode has the couple getting to know each other at an Italian resort where she has come alone and he arrives with his then-girlfriend (Geraldine Pailhas) of four years.

So a betrayal on the part of each was the germinating seed for the marriage. But this doesn't, of course, explain the marriage's failure. Ozon says he isn't after an explanation, which is fair enough, but none of the scenes provides much food for thought. Played backward or forward, these episodes, while not dull, arrive without preamble or motive and offer little insight into the difficulties of all love relationships.

Tech credits are fine, but it might have been fun if Ozon had played each sequence in a different cinematic style.

5X2

Fidelity Productions

Credits:

Director: Francois Ozon

Writers: Francois Ozon, Emmanuele Bernheim

Producers: Olivier Delbosc, Marc Missonnier

Director of photography: Yorick Le Saux

Production designer: Katia Wyszkop

Costumes: Pascaline Chavanne

Music: Philippe Rombi

Editor: Monica Coleman

Cast:

Marion: Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi

Gilles: Stephane Freiss

Valerie: Geraldine Pailhas

Monique: Francoise Fabian

Bernard: Michael Lonsdale

Christophe: Antoine Chappey

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 90 minutes...

With kids heading back to school and vacationers returning to normal work routines, the overseas boxoffice began to settle down as a batch of new entries attracted degrees of attention in a fragmented marketplace. The Terminal led the charge in the United Kingdom, Italy, Korea and Taiwan; The Village was No. 1 in Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Argentina; Garfield purred its way to the top in Spain; King Arthur overwhelmed Greece; The Chronicles of Riddick headed the boxoffice chart in Germany; Van Helsing took command in Japan; Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid hit the mark in the Philippines and Singapore; and a local film, 5x2 calculated to No. 1 in France. Top weekend honors went to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, which took in an estimated $9.5 million from 2,052 screens in 23 countries, raising its international cume to $45 million. Village captured the No. 1 position in all seven of its new openings, according to distributor Buena Vista International, with Australia providing $2.2 million from 200, said to be 40% better that Shyamalan's Unbreakable; Brazil, $750,000 from 250; Switzerland, $655,000 from 80; and Hong Kong, $421,000 from 20.

With kids heading back to school and vacationers returning to normal work routines, the overseas boxoffice began to settle down as a batch of new entries attracted degrees of attention in a fragmented marketplace. The Terminal led the charge in the United Kingdom, Italy, Korea and Taiwan; The Village was No. 1 in Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Argentina; Garfield purred its way to the top in Spain; King Arthur overwhelmed Greece; The Chronicles of Riddick headed the boxoffice chart in Germany; Van Helsing took command in Japan; Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid hit the mark in the Philippines and Singapore; and a local film, 5x2 calculated to No. 1 in France. Top weekend honors went to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, which took in an estimated $9.5 million from 2,052 screens in 23 countries, raising its international cume to $45 million. Village captured the No. 1 position in all seven of its new openings, according to distributor Buena Vista International, with Australia providing $2.2 million from 200, said to be 40% better that Shyamalan's Unbreakable; Brazil, $750,000 from 250; Switzerland, $655,000 from 80; and Hong Kong, $421,000 from 20.