Tobias Engel Movies
- 1993
The sorry story of the Vichy government of France from 1940 to 1945 is the subject of this thoughtful historical drama. In return for a swift surrender in 1940, the French government was allowed to retain, in Vichy an unoccupied portion of the country. There, at the Hotel du Parc, the government enacted and carried out its own decrees, which paralleled the Nazi persecution of Jews elsewhere. While the film itself simply tells its story in a straightforward manner that reviewers found quite creditable, it is remarkable for the fact that it was actually made and released. Why? Because it punctures the convenient illusions so many had constructed about the period, and reveals that far from being coerced into cooperating with the Germans, a large number (perhaps a majority) of Frenchmen were quite enthusiastic. In fact, the producer found it extremely difficult to get anyone to cooperate in making the film, and it took him over six years to bring together the resources to begin shooting. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jacques Dufilho, Jean Yanne, (more)
- 1988
In this mystery, Julien Lerner (Helmut Berger) is haunted by his nightmare of a woman being strangled to death at an aquarium. While traveling to work one morning, he sees the woman he dreamed about and follows her into a bar. He loses track of her but sees the man who murdered her in the dream. Julien becomes obsessed with the characters, quits his job and moves into a fleabag hotel to be near the prostitute Bichette (Sylvie Orcier). He goes from being a respectable businessman to becoming another one of the strange and mysterious characters in the seedy waterfront dive. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helmut Berger, Sylvie Orcier, (more)
One of Luis Buñuel's most episodic films, The Phantom of Liberty focuses on no one particular narrative. In the beginning, a man sells postcards of French tourist attractions, calling them "pornographic." A sniper in Montparnasse is hailed as a hero for killing passersby. A "missing" child helps the police fill out the report on her. A group of monks play poker, using religious medallions as chips, and in the most infamous sequence, a formally dressed social group gathers at toilets around a table, occasionally excusing themselves to go into little stalls in a private room to eat. ~ John Voorhees, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Brialy, Monica Vitti, (more)
