Roland Amstutz Movies

This French comedy-drama is loosely inspired by Crime and Punishment. The title refers to an unnamed country where lovers use silence to express their love for each other. Slightly unstable office worker Rak (Francois Cluzet) is not silent but rambles in monologues, describing himself in the third person. Fired from his job, he goes into "business" for himself -- sitting in a cafe and interviewing salesmen for a position selling a non-existent encyclopedia. When he sees a real estate agent evict young musician Lucie (Elina Lowensohn), he uses a toy gun to rob the agent (who dies of fright) and then offers Lucie space in his spacious but seedy apartment, where the two find love. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

In this satiric comedy-drama from France, Paul (Mathieu Amalric) is an assistant professor of philosophy disenchanted with teaching and distracted enough that he can't (or won't) finish the dissertation that would allow him to become a full professor. Esther (Emmanuelle Devos) has been his girlfriend for nearly a decade; while he's no longer happy with the relationship, he has trouble working up the courage to break it off. He's smitten with Sylvia (Marianne Denicourt), the lover of his best friend Nathan (Emmanuel Salinger); Paul and Sylvia had a brief fling two years ago, and he can't get her out of his mind. However, once Paul gives Esther her walking papers, he starts chasing after Valerie (Jeanne Balibar), while also keeping his eye on Patricia (Chiara Mastroianni), the girlfriend of his cousin (and roommate) Bob (Thibault de Montalembert). It's hard to imagine Paul having much time to think about anything else amidst all this romantic tumult, but when Rabier (Michel Vuillermoz), a former friend, gets a top spot in Paul's department, it leads to an ongoing argument that both adds to and reflects the turmoil of his romantic life. Amalric's performance earned him a 1997 César Award as Most Promising Young Actor. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

What there is of a plot in this drama serves mainly as a vehicle for the exploration of character. In the story, Michel (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) is a recent widower. As the story opens, he and his friend Andre (Philippe Nahon) are sharing a drink on Christmas Eve. He takes a yellow scarf from a woman he knows (Laura Morante) and teasingly refuses to return it. Throughout the remainder of the film, the scarf reappears, as does the woman, until they wind up in bed together at the end of the film. Before that happens, Michel wanders around Paris, viewing the festivities with a jaundiced eye which serves to heighten the unattractiveness of those he observes. Later he has dinner with a group at Andre's house, and his poor opinion of human nature is amply supported by the events that occur then. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this musical, in their little Swiss village, Jacques and Françoise are in love with one another. However, the girl's father is the biggest landholder in the region and doesn't want his daughter marrying a handsome nobody. It is 1788, and he arranges for the boy to be shipped to the court of Louis XVII in Versailles, as a member of a contingent of Swiss Guards. The French Revolution (1789) soon puts an end to that tour of service, and Jacques is able to return and win his girl. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Nouvelle Vague marks the beginning of a period in Jean-Luc Godard's career in which he made films that looked back on his previous work. In these retrospective films, Godard asked himself whether it is possible to continue as a film director under the conditions imposed by international commercial cinema. Appropriately enough, Nouvelle Vague concerns the return of a man (Roger Lennox / Richard Lennox, played by Alain Delon, superstar of 60s and 70s international cinema) who may or may not have returned from the dead. The film's narrative is extremely disjointed and might be better understood as an essay on the idea of returning. The theme of a return from the dead gives Godard the opportunity to come back to the religious imagery and theological considerations that interested him from 1983's Hail Mary. The film's dialogue is a patchwork of unattributed quotations from works of literature, philosophy, and economics, a technique that Godard adopted in most of his films after this one. Even if the film's "story" is not easy to understand, the beauty of its images and sounds, along with the sublime rhythms of the editing, may be enough to ravish some audiences. ~ Louis Schwartz, Rovi

Alberto's family traditions are quite unusual. Living in Paris with his pregnant wife, he is now expected to return to Rome to pay back every cent that his family spent raising him. Totally without the kind of money expected of him, as Alberto speeds by train toward his family he tries to raise the cash by various desperate means from the other passengers aboard the train so he will not have to face his father empty-handed. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Based on a popular French comic strip, this lavish and erotic adventure fantasy (said to be one of the most expensive films in the history of French cinema) chronicles the exploits of a sexy young girl who escapes from a convent to go looking for the father she has not seen in many years. The story features plenty of female nudity. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This children's fantasy tale by Michel Deville was inspired by a real-life drama of some British schoolchildren who smuggled themselves into France and had quite a good time until the police eventually caught them. In this version, three girls and four boys living in London hop on a car transporter without a penny between them, and once at the English Channel, they sneak onto the ferry for the ride across. After reaching France, some menacing figures start to loom larger than life: a tattooed nun, a priest riding around in a Rolls-Royce, and a family of pirates. The children have several adventures but in the end must escape from this motley crew of strange people -- out to experiment on them with their diabolical aging machine. As this film turns gradually into a fantasy, the scripting and action are less inspired -- the adult writers may have needed more of a child's imagination. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In his final film before taking his own life, Patrick Dewaere stars as Serge, a writer whose life is disrupted by an affair with the enigmatic Carol (Clio Goldsmith). ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie), a pessimistic but visually stunning film, marks Jean-Luc Godard's return to cinema after having spent the 70s working in video. The film presents a few days in the lives of three people: Paul Godard (Jacques Dutronc ), a television producer; Denise Rimbaud (Nathalie Baye), his co-worker and ex-girlfriend; and Isabelle Riviera (Isabelle Huppert), a prostitute whom Paul has used. Denise wants to break up with Paul and move to the country. Isabelle wants to work for herself instead of her pimp. Paul just wants to survive. Their stories intersect when Paul brings Denise to the country cottage he is trying to rent and Isabelle comes to see it without knowing that the landlord has been her client. The film is broken into segments entitled "The Imaginary," "Commerce," "Life," and "Music." Each of the first three sections focuses on one character and the last section brings all three characters together. This complex film is often closer to an essay than a story; it uses slow motion and experimental techniques to explore questions of love, work, and the nature of cinema. Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie) was Godard's first film with his frequent collaborator Anne-Marie Miéville, who edited and co-wrote the film. ~ Louis Schwartz, Rovi