Renée Faure

Rich young Anne-Marie thinks she has found her vocation when she joins a Dominican convent as a novice... (imdb)

The film takes place at Christmastime in a small French village where the local children eagerly await the annual arrival of Santa Claus -- actually toymaker Cornuese (Harry Baur) in disguise. This year, however, a pall has been cast on the festivities: a valuable ring has been stolen from a reclusive baron, and another man dressed up like Santa has been found murdered. What, if anything, this has to do with the jovial Cornuese is a mystery that everyone is eager to solve. (nytimes.com)

France, 1893. Joseph Bouvier, a former Sergeant in the French military, shoots his beloved and attempts to kill himself. Having survived with two bullets in his brain, he is released from the Dole medical facility. Then begins a five-year period of wandering on the roads of the South East of France, during which Bouvier rapes and eventually kills two dozen defenseless shepherds and farm servants of both sexes. (imdb)

At 73, France's ex-president, Emile Beaufort, faces declining health, but he still plays a vigorous role behind the scenes as a philosopher and, potentially, as a power broker. In particular, his relationship with Philippe Chalamont comes into play: Chalamont seems in line to be the next Prime Minister, and Beaufort's history with him is long, deep, and problematic. As Beaufort dictates his memoirs, his narrative take us to occasions, 15 and 20 years before, in which Chalamont and he clashed. (imdb)

Fabrice del Dongo, a young archbishop, gives his all to romance rather than to the Church, creating complications for everyone around. The Countess of San Severina, is but one of the women who love him a la folie, spurring jealous retribution in high places from those who in turn want her. From his prison window, Fabrice falls in love with the jailer's daughter who takes a vow to the Virgin Mary to never see him again if his escape succeeds. (imdb)

Lisa, a young Italian living in Paris, waits at home for her lover to arrive. Late at night a phone call informs her that he is at a night-club with a pretty "Lolita"... Hurt deep inside, she attempts suicide but is saved by her neighbour. Luckily, the misunderstanding is soon cleared: the young girl was her lover's daughter in search of fatherly advice. Lisa learned the hard way that lovers are not the most important thing in men's lives... (movie-time)

Since the suicide of his wife, Jacques Loursat has gone downhill. Estranged from his daughter, his lawyer's pratice in ruins, he consoles himself with drink. One night he is woken by a gunshot and catches sight of a young man fleeing the house. Isabelle, his daughter, claims to know nothing about it, even when he finds the body of a young man. (imdb)

A horse dealer is making his way across the mountains in a snowstorm when he is suddenly attacked by a stranger. His assailant is Jean-Baptiste, a reclusive man known locally as the Bellman. Having killed the horse dealer, Jean-Baptiste flees with his gold. He intends to share these ill-gotten gains with Fabret, a simpleminded old man whose daughter he has taken a fancy to. In fact, Fabret's daughter, Catherine, is in love with another man, a woodcutter named Peter.

Gregory Iefommovich Raspoutine is a monk with healing powers and a liking for debauchery who manages to insinuate himself into the court of the Romanoffs thanks to Princess Dikvona. Being the only person able to heal he son of Czar Nicolas II and Czarina Alexandra from his hemophilia, he becomes a very powerful man. This infuriates many of the nobles, who begin to plot his demise.