Chaos (2003)

Synopsis: Hélène and Paul are a bourgeois French couple who are constantly racing through the day to keep up with all of their obligations, barely taking the time to look at each other. As they are rushing... Hélène and Paul are a bourgeois French couple who are constantly racing through the day to keep up with all of their obligations, barely taking the time to look at each other. As they are rushing off to an engagement, Paul and Hélène witness Malika, a young prostitute, being violently attacked by a group of men just outside of their car. As Malika is beaten and left for dead, Paul locks the doors and speeds off. Malika ends up hospitalized and in a coma.

The following morning, Hélène is overwhelmed by guilt and decides to locate the woman she saw victimized. She finds Malika in the hospital and becomes determined to care for the young woman. Helene puts all of her obligations aside to be with Malika and help her recover.

While caring for her, Hélène becomes aware that the pimps who attacked Malika refuse to leave her alone. So, she makes herself responsible, not only for restoring Malika's health, but also maintaining her safety. As she nurses Malika through her recovery, Hélène realizes that her life has been changed forever. She can never return to her selfish husband and son. She belongs with Malika, who desperately needs her, as the criminals who beat her have no intention of letting her live.

With Hélène gone, her husband Paul is revealed as being totally helpless, unable to complete even the simplest of household tasks. Their hypocritical teenage son Fabrice is a mirror image of his Dad, and soon gets into hot water with both his fiancée and his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, Malika tells Hélène her shocking history. She ran away from her family after her father sold her to an Algerian businessman. Homeless, living on the streets, she was turned into a sex slave by a vicious criminal organization, using the name Noémie. But Malika has worked out an elaborate plot to get both her freedom and her revenge, and she enlists Hélène to aid her… -- © New Yorker Films [More]

Starring: Rachida Brakni, Catherine Frot, Vincent Lindon, Line Renaud

Starring: Rachida Brakni, Catherine Frot, Vincent Lindon, Line Renaud, Aurelien Wiik, Chloe Lambert, Ivan Franek

Director: Coline Serreau

Director: Coline Serreau
Screenwriter: Coline Serreau
Producer: Alain Sarde
Composer: Ludovic Navarre
Studio: New Yorker Films

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