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The Stone Council
In France, the single translator Diane Siprien adopts an Asian baby named Liu-San in a foundation directed by Sybille Weber. Years later, a weird mark appears on the boy's chest and Diane and Liu share their dreadful nightmares. Diane is assigned for a three-day job in Germany and she leaves Liu with her friend Sybille. However, while going to the airport, Diane finds Liu hidden in the backseat and startles with an eagle flying toward the windshield, crashing her car. Liu falls into a coma and his digital recorder records the boy speaking in an unknown dialect. When Diane searches the translation and the origins of Liu, she is surrounded by mysterious murders. She discovers that the dialect is from the mystic Mongolian Tseven tribe and that Liu is a powerful Observer; further, he is in danger, threatened by sorcerers that need the boy for their Council of the Stone..
| Release : | 2006 |
| Rating : | 4.8 |
| Studio : | |
| Crew : | Production Design, Production Design, |
| Cast : | Monica Bellucci Catherine Deneuve Moritz Bleibtreu Sami Bouajila Elsa Zylberstein |
| Genre : | Adventure Fantasy Drama Thriller Crime |
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Reviews
For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!
A Major Disappointment
When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.
for many people who see this film,there may be the temptation to compare it to Rosemary's Baby,which could be valid.both film move tortuously slow,and have similar subject matter.yet for me,the comparison ends there.i found Rosemary's Baby to have almost no merit, whereas Le council de pierre has some compelling moments,,and some decent characters.i would actually say it compares more favourably with The Omen(1976)although i don't think it is any where near as good as that classic film.Monica Belluci and Catherine Deneuve are the main draws.anyway,as i said this movie is very slow, and some people might not be able to get to the end without giving up.for those that can get through it,whether it's worth it in the is really up to the individual.for me,Le council de pierre AKA The Stone Council is a 5/10
This is a totally by-the-number supernatural thriller that cannot be saved by the aura of its lead, nor by the exotic locales.Le concile de pierre tries hard to hit all the buttons. Tensed atmosphere, amazing locations, some adventurous bits and action... but the wide variety of situations is all poorly thought out and the execution is even worse.It seems the filmmakers were also under the impression that just putting the beautiful Monica Bellucci on screen with a more neglected appearance than usual would turn an Oscar-worthy performance that would carry the film. It is not the case and although Bellucci does have the star power and presence to carry such a film, she turns out an average performance at best. As for the other actors, the performances are even worse, including Catherine Deneuve who goes through the motion and looks like she wanted to collect a paycheck and nothing more.I'd give it a 3 but since some shots are pretty enough, I'll go for a 4.
I selected this film from the Blockbuster new release shelf b/c I like foreign films and well crafted horror/suspense movies.Catherine Deneuve was very impressive as mother Laura's friend Sybille,a lady who is disarming yet distant,she is easy to picture as quite comfortable strolling a white beach on a winter morning."the Stone Council" is effective in it's climax,timing,and presentation.I would recommend to fans of older films of the genre such as "Rosemary's Baby" and the original "the Wicker Man".Monica Bellucci deserves honorable mention for her portrayal of a mother who won't be stopped from saving her adopted son Liu from his kidnappers,who believe their ancient sorcery will make them immortal (come on you creeps - who really wants to live forever....?)
The Stone Council (as it was titled here in Oz) adds further weight to the theory that, though French filmmakers love tearing American film culture a new one at the drop of a hat, they can't help stealing the Yanks penchant for a loopy, spooky premise should the urge take them.This Monica Bellucci starrer bottles the winsome beauty and captivating on screen presence of the Italian glamour as well as any movie I've seen her in. And as the frantic mother trying to find and rescue her kidnapped son from the clutches of an increasingly menacing (and kinda silly) secret society, her performance commits to all the emotional tics and B-movie nuances this type of potboiler demands. All credit to her for keeping the emotional core of her character strong as the plot becomes wildly unwieldy.Shot beautifully with an eye for detail rarely seen in this type of supernatural hooey, the composition of the frame - from its moody lighting to the shadowy, vast set design - provides the film a further grounding in reality and certainly allayed a mounting sense that the film, despite all its fine elements, was asking of its audience a little too much leeway plotwise.With a central characters journey into a bizarre, ritualized society reminiscent of the cult favourite The Wicker Man, and a wildly fantastical but eerily engrossing story that would have served it well as an episode of Le x-Files, The Stone Council is an above-average white-knuckler thats well worth a look.
