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André Téchiné Films Collection  
 
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Andre Techine 4-Film Collector's Edition(4 disc)

 
  Written and Directed by André Téchiné

France 1981-1994 / Drama / 452 min / Color / Dolby 2.0 / 2.35:1 & 1.66:1 Widescreen Anamorphic / NTSC /  In French with Optional English Subtitles

Andre Techine's extraordinary work with actors and his visionaryapproach to the complexity of emotions have made him one of France'sleading post-New Wave directors. The four acclaimed films in this uniquecollection represent Techine's move toward naturalism and hismasterful ability to examine the human condition. The ANDRE TECHINE4-FILM COLLECTION includes WILD REEDS (LES ROSEAUXSAUVAGES) I DON'T KISS (J'EMBRASSE PAS) HOTEL AMERICA (HOTEL DESAMERIQUES) and MY FAVORITE SEASON (MA SAISONPREFEREE).

Hotel des Amériques(1981)

The beautiful Helene (Catherine Deneuve) works in a hospital as an anesthesiologist and so when she accidentally hits Gilles (Patrick Dewaere) while driving her car, she can jump out and know exactly what to do to make sure he is not seriously hurt. The two start off a relationship based on this "chance" meeting, though the inauspicious beginning should have served as a warning. Gilles does not do very much except live in a room in his family's hotel and hang out. His lethargic approach to life is an anesthetic in itself, and since Helene is still mourning the death of her former lover a few years before, she is not overly anxious to start a new romance. The two of them go back and forth in a cat-and-mouse game until Helene tires of going nowhere and decides to leave for Paris. Considering how difficult it is for Gilles to rise to any action, it seems that Helene may remain alone unless she runs into someone else.
 
       

I Don't Kiss(1991)

Young, naive and innocent, Pierre (Manuel Blanc) has dreams of becoming an actor. He is a good-looking and personable boy, and he has just moved to the city to see if he can't accomplish his dreams. He gets a job as an orderly at a hospital and is further supported by an older woman (Helene Vincent), a nurse he has met there, in return for his sexual favors. However, in his acting class, he quickly discovers that he is not overflowing with talent, and his dream of becoming an actor grows dim. Instead, despite the advice of a knowledgeable and worldly older gay man (Philippe Noiret), he becomes a sex worker. It has long been a staple of the movies that certain hustlers and prostitutes maintain a distinction between their work and their lives by not kissing their clients, hence the title of this film, J'embrasse Pas. He grows to love the seedy, degraded lifestyle, and seems to be adapting well to his new profession until he has the poor judgement to fall in love with a high-class prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) and earns the antagonism of her pimp.