Items25The creator’s order
  1. 1Isabelle HuppertIsabelle HuppertBorn 16 Mar 1953The Piano Teacher (2001) and Elle (2016) offer two demanding introductions to Huppert's French-language work. Both place a difficult, guarded woman at the centre, while leaving the viewer room to question what her reactions mean. Her long collaborations with directors such as Claude Chabrol and…0i
  2. 2Catherine DeneuveCatherine DeneuveBorn 22 Oct 1943Move from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) to Potiche (2010) for a generous stretch of Deneuve's French screen career. Jacques Demy's sung romance builds on her youthful poise, while François Ozon's comedy makes use of an older star's authority and capacity for mischief. The contrast is more…0i
  3. 3Daniel AuteuilDaniel AuteuilBorn 24 Jan 1950Jean de Florette (1986) and A Heart in Winter (1992) show how much French cinema has asked of Auteuil. His awkward, compromised Ugolin in the first is a long way from the inward-looking instrument maker of the second. Follow the difference in posture and emotional availability rather than expecting…0i
  4. 4Toni ServilloToni ServilloBorn 25 Jan 1959Servillo's work with Paolo Sorrentino is a particularly rich route through Italian cinema. In Il Divo (2008), his tightly controlled portrayal of Giulio Andreotti helps turn political power into a strange physical presence; The Great Beauty (2013) gives him the more expansive social performance of…0i
  5. 5Margherita BuyMargherita BuyBorn 15 Jan 1962Mia Madre (2015) offers Buy as a filmmaker trying to manage a difficult production while her mother is dying. Nanni Moretti gives her practical irritation, grief and uncertainty to hold together, making the performance feel lived in without turning it into a display of suffering. Pair it with The…0i
  6. 6Alba RohrwacherAlba RohrwacherBorn 27 Feb 1979Sworn Virgin (2015), performed in Albanian and Italian, gives Rohrwacher a quietly demanding central role in a story about freedom, social rules and a changing sense of self. The Wonders (2014), directed by her sister Alice, is another useful stop in a career closely connected to contemporary…0i
  7. 7Carmen MauraCarmen MauraBorn 15 Sept 1945Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) is a lively way into Maura's Spanish-language career. As Pepa, she gives Pedro Almodóvar's elaborate comic machinery an emotional centre. Volver (2006), where she plays Irene, offers a later reunion with the director and a different balance of…0i
  8. 8Luis TosarLuis TosarBorn 13 Oct 1971Cell 211 (2009) puts Tosar's forceful presence at the centre of a prison uprising as Malamadre. His earlier work in Mondays in the Sun (2002) offers a different social setting and an ensemble shaped by unemployment. The Galician actor's Spanish screen career is worth following for the distance…0i
  9. 9Antonio de la Torre (actor)Antonio de la Torre (actor)Born 18 Jan 1968The Realm (2018) and The Endless Trench (2019) give de la Torre two sharply different kinds of fear. The first follows a politician fighting to survive a corruption scandal; the second casts him as Higinio, hiding for decades after the Spanish Civil War begins. His Spanish-language work makes a…0i
  10. 10Nina HossNina HossBorn 7 Jul 1975Barbara (2012) and Phoenix (2014) are strong starting points in Hoss's collaboration with Christian Petzold. The first makes her an East German doctor under surveillance; the second follows a Holocaust survivor returning to Berlin. Both German-language films depend on the difference between what a…0i