Stylish but barely mediocre overall

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

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

Monica Bellucci adopts a young Asian child. Years later Bellucci begins having nightmares and someone or something seems to be interested in her son, who it appears has a great hidden power.I love the idea of Bellucci and Catherine Deneuve in a movie together. I only wish the pairing wasn't in a movie as dull as this. Its a been there and done that film (I mean how many films are there where the adoptive parents didn't know their kid was special?) that has nothing new to offer. Its such an "exciting" film and I was so "intrigued" by what was happening that I didn't bother to finish the film when the DVD I wigged out and wouldn't play, I simply put it into the returns slot and let someone else deal with it. I'm guessing that thats whats been happening all along with that particular copy of the DVD. Don't run the risk of getting the bad DVD thats floating around, don't see this film.A snoozer.

first, i'm not sure those who commented previously (and badly) on this film have seen other Jean-Christophe Grangé's adaptations - if you had, you'd admit LE CONCILE DE PIERRE is by far the best. Grangé's books - besides sucking - are hard to adapt, caus way too dense and not cinematographic; that's why directors/writers usually take lots of liberties w/th the storyline, turning it into a big farce w/th a grandguignolesque denouement (remember LES RIVIERES POURPRES and L'EMPIRE DES LOUPS?). knowing that, i expected the worse, but was pleasantly surprised. Guillaume Nicloux managed to keep his own distinctive style, creating a sticky, haunting atmosphere. now about Monica Bellucci... she's good, period. yes, she moans, cries, looks sad/lost, but damn, she's credible. it's totally refreshing to see her in a different role. as for Catherine Deneuve's being over the top, i never thought she was that much of a good actress, so no comment. rest of the cast was OK, and it's nice to see Moritz Bleibtreu in a french film.so basically don't expect too much from this movie and (maybe) you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Some months ago, Italian TV showed a French miniseries called "Dolmen". It was very bad, and they very soon cancelled it and rescheduled it at improbable hours. This film reminded me pretty much of Dolmen. It has the same dark and anguishing atmosphere, the same mythological, esoteric background and, unfortunately, the same bad computer generated wild animals that oppress the characters. The film casts Italian diva Monica Bellucci as the lead character. Quite unusually for her, she wears very short hair and doesn't show much of her celebrated sex appeal. Her acting basically consists in screams and panting. She does the wildest, most improbable things, like crawling in an air conduct and fighting with the previously indicated animals. The most surprising thing in the film is that a great actress like Catherine Deneuve agreed to appear in it. I wonder why - maybe she just needed some money. However, she is barely recognizable. At a point her character turns in a (bad, computer generated) bear (!!). Monica Bellucci even stabs her with a ritual knife. This should explain how ludicrous some scenes are. More, the film is full of clichés, like the Chosen little boy with a mark on his body and magical powers, or as I said, people crawling in air conducts (classic clichè!) and snakes appearing everywhere. At a point I really wanted to leave the theater, I stayed just because I'm learning French and I thought it could be useful for the language. I just hope that if I work very hard, one day I'll speak French as well as the Mongolian people shown in the film... 'cause of course, in this film every old Mongolian man living in an hut in the steppe speak perfect French! Yeah sure! If you want my advice on this film, skip it, you won't miss much. My vote is 4.5/10.