Peter Semler Movies

Not a strict adaptation of the oft-filmed Victor Hugo classic, director Claude Lelouch's ambitious epic instead focuses on the story of two men, a father and a son, whose life stories bear striking similarities to Hugo's character Jean Valjean. The father is Henri Fortin (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a chauffeur (in 1900) wrongly accused of his employer's murder. Like Valjean, he is subjected to a harsh and unfair prison sentence. While Henri vainly attempts to escape his unjust fate, his family suffers, with his wife forced to raise their young son alone. The film jumps ahead several decades to show the adult life of this son (also Belmondo), a former boxer turned furniture mover who agrees to help smuggle a Jewish lawyer (Michel Boujenah) out of France during the Nazi occupation. Along the way, the lawyer reads to the younger Fortin from Les Misérables, and Fortin begins to imagine himself in the role of Jean Valjean, on the run from the obsessive Inspector Javert. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo (Jean Reno) are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men (he even considers a school of dolphins as his extended family). As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johanna (Rosanna Arquette), a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea. Le Grand Bleu ran 132 minutes in its original French version, but it was trimmed to 118 for American release, with the original score by Eric Serra replaced by music from Bill Conti. While the film did middling business in the U.S., it was a huge success in Europe, and director Luc Besson released an expanded 168-minute version in 1998. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The black humor of director (and lead actor) Jean-Pierre Mocky takes over in this attempt to make a lunatic killer appear not so different from his victims -- or the police chasing him. Ralph Enger (Mocky) was a doctor before he was institutionalized, and after his escape, he takes two hostages: Steff Muller (Peter Semler), an out-of-work carpenter selling his expensive Mauser for needed funds, and Liliane (Patricia Barzyk), a gorgeous dancer. Ralph not only gets two hostages, he gains a weapon at the same time. His goal is to force the wealthy nerds living in the Riviera's luxury district to put up funding for a children's hospital to treat kids who are victims of war. When the elite do not comply, he starts uses the Mauser. Leaving an obvious trail for the police to follow, the over-the-edge doctor and his two hostages are soon corralled and it looks like Ralph's charity work may have ended -- or at least, that's how it looks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Considered more as a vehicle to display Jean-Paul Belmondo than as an independent, wartime action story, Les Morfalous rides the crest of the French actor's popularity and delivers a tale that highlights his persona. Belmondo is a member of the French Foreign Legion sent with others to Tunisia in 1943 to recover a fortune in gold from a certain French bank before the Germans get to it. Then the Legionnaires are ambushed by German troops and the few left alive manage to get hold of the treasure but they cannot agree on what to do with their booty. Between their disagreements and the surrounding German army, the action heats up. Belmondo fans will be disappointed that he does not perform any of his famous stunts in this film -- always a drawing card -- and some viewers may find the humor too crude. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This tragic musical drama chronicles the star-crossed love between beloved French singer Edith Piaf and World Middleweight boxing champion Marcel Cerdan who died in a plane crash. The tumultuous affair is paralleled by the love affair of a French POW and his young pen pal who get engaged after writing to each other for four years and having never met. Their romances are framed by the sad, torchy songs of Piaf. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi