Michel Vuillermoz Movies

Alain Resnais, one of the towering figures of the French New Wave, demonstrates he still has plenty to say in this drama based on a novel by Christian Gailly. Marguerite (Sabine Azéma) is a successful dentist with a busy practice and an offbeat hobby, flying small airplanes. One day, while running errands, Marguerite loses her wallet, and it's found by Georges (André Dussollier), a seemingly happy man with a wife, Suzanne (Anne Consigny), and two children (Vladimir Consigny and Sara Forestier). As Georges looks through the wallet and examines the photos of Marguerite, he finds he's fascinated with her and her life, and soon his curiosity about her becomes an obsession. Georges' attempts to integrate himself into Marguerite's life begin to alarm her, and she hires a private security team (Mathieu Amalric and Michel Vuillermoz) to keep him away, but Georges is determined that his new love for her will not be denied. Les Herbes Folles (aka Wild Grass) received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A mischievous girl accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit, only to find that her words have irrevocably and permanently changed the lives of all involved in a film that re-teams the filmmakers behind Pride & Prejudice to adapt the best-selling 2002 novel by author Ian McEwan. The year is 1935, and as the summer heat takes hold, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis watches her older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley), get undressed and go frolicking in the garden fountain on her family's country estate. The housekeeper's son, Robbie (James McAvoy), a childhood friend and recent Cambridge graduate, also witnesses the innocent act. When Robbie and Cecilia subsequently cross a particularly sensitive boundary and the scheming Briony accuses Robbie of an unspeakable transgression for which the boy is wholly innocent, the repercussions of her unfounded claim threaten to affect all three for decades to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A simple cottage in the country becomes an increasingly difficult matter for cash-strapped husband in this French comedy. Charles Boulin (Dany Boon) works for a mortgage company, where he has the unenviable job of overseeing the repossession of homes when owners default on their loans and supervising the renegotiation of financing agreements. Charles's work has taught him to be frugal, and while he shares a comfortable and spacious apartment with his wife Anne (Michele Laroque) and their teenage daughter, their lives are short on luxury. Anne has become increasingly and vocally weary of Charles's reluctance to part with a franc, and he decides to surprise her for their anniversary with an unexpected extravagance -- a vacation home in the country. Charles is able to find a bargain with the help of realtor Jean-Pierre Draquart (Daniel Prevost), but he soon learns Jean-Pierre was far less than honest about the condition of the house, which stretches the boundaries of the phrase "fixer-upper." Charles hires a pair of handymen to get the place in order, but Mouloud Mami (Zinedine Soualem) and Donatello Pirelli (Laurent Gamelon) prove to massively incompetent, and Charles's "bargain" is becoming perilously expensive. Matters go from bad to worse when Charles loses his job and he has to find a way to pay the growing stack of bills on the house, all without spoiling the surprise for Anne. La Maison du Bonheur was the first directorial effort for actor Dany Boon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A fresh-faced orphan from the provinces labors away at the last old-fashioned café on Avenue Montaigne as the Paris theater elite prepare for the biggest night of the year in Jet Lag director Danièle Thompson's whirlwind comedy of intersecting lives. Jessica (Cécile De France) may have been orphaned at the tender age of four, but her doting grandmother (Suzanne Flon) did her best to bring the motherless girl up right. A one-time ladies' room attendant at The Ritz, Jessica's grandmother was a woman well known for her extraordinary taste. Upon arriving in Paris to work as a waitress at a modest café nestled between a renowned concert hall, a venerable theater, and a high-profile auction house, Jessica soon finds herself interacting with a curious cross section of the thriving entertainment industry. As rehearsals for the upcoming shows get under way and Jessica is assigned the task of delivering food to the hardworking actors and low-earning stagehands, she soon discovers that even the most famous of people are often forced to make difficult decisions in life.

Jean-François Lefort (Albert Dupontel) is a classical pianist whose devoted wife has him booked at venues across Europe for the next six years. As the free-spirited musician struggles to eschew the formality of his upcoming concert appearance, self-made businessman Jacques Grumberg (Claude Brasseur) takes time out from his May-December romance and his stressful medical treatment in order to auction off a collection that he has been building his entire life and reach out to his estranged intellectual son, Frédéric (Christopher Thompson). Meanwhile, back on the theater front, popular television actress Catherine Versen (Valérie Lemercier) prepares to star in a farcical play, a famous American film director (Sydney Pollack) begins auditioning actors for an upcoming film about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and a cheerful concierge on the verge of retirement (Dani) enjoys her final stint rubbing elbows with the biggest and brightest stars in Paris. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The last frantic days before the Germans seized France in 1940 provide an unlikely backdrop for this dark comedy. Viviane (Isabelle Adjani) is a glamorous and well-known film actress who attracts the attentions of many men -- often many she has no interest in knowing. One night, at a reception following the premiere of her latest picture, Viviane finds herself pursued by Beaufort (Gérard Depardieu), a government official whose girth exceeds his charm. To throw him off her trail, Viviane allows a cranky older man, André Arpel (Nicolas Vaude), to escort her home. During the evening, Viviane and André quarrel, and after slapping him, she discovers that he has simply dropped dead. An understandably terrified Viviane calls a former boyfriend, Frédéric Roger (Grégori Derangère), and asks him to help her get rid of the body. In hopes of reviving their romance, he agrees, but after an auto accident, Frédéric is caught with the body, and is taken to jail to await his trial. When word gets out that German troops are due to arrive in Paris at any minute, Frédéric and his fellow prisoners are instructed they're to be moved out of town; Frédéric is handcuffed to petty thief Raoul (Yvan Attal), and en route the two are able to make their escape. When Frédéric learns that Viviane has fled to Bordeaux, along with much of the French upper crust, he makes his way there, where he finds he has a new rival for her affections -- Beaufort, who no longer seems such a poor prospect. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Actor Vincent Perez makes his feature-film directorial debut with the romantic drama Once Upon an Angel, which he cowrote with his wife, Karine Silla, and Jerome Tonnerre. Young Angèle (Morgane Moré) sets out to find work in order to ease the burden for her poor, debt-ridden parents and finds a job as a maid. By chance, she meets Gregoire Berthelot (Guillaume Depardieu), who takes a carnal interest in the young woman and seemingly nothing more. Intensely attracted to Gregoire and against all reason, Angèle spends an evening with the fiery stranger who promptly leaves her the next morning -- but he comes away from the tryst with more feelings toward Angèle than he hoped. For her part, Angèle is also left with more than fond memories of her experience with Gregoire and she eventually tracks him down -- but discovers that a couple of major complications may prevent them from developing a meaningful relationship. Once Upon an Angel was chosen as a competing film in the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide

The son of actor Bernard Blier, director Bertrand Blier is known throughout France for his documentaries and dark depictions of sex and its impact on society. Though his influences and personal opinions clearly shine through, Les Acteurs is a satirical take on the ups, downs, and numerous implications of life in showbiz as told by a variety of real-life French actors. Among the featured cast are André Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jacques Villeret, Claude Rich, and Pierre Arditi, all of whom play themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

James Huth co-scripted and made his directorial debut with this French comedy offering inventive and appealing aspects not unlike the memorable innovations that distinguished Delicatessen (1990). Crime fiction editor Claire (Michele Laroque of Ma Vie en Rose) lives in a jazzy, glass-bricked duplex apartment and works for a publisher who displays vintage pulp art on the company's line of thrillers. Attending her dinner party, on the eve of her 35th birthday, are jack-a-dandy Sacha (Antoine Basler), proper physician Charles (Michel Vuillermoz), and cool Hakim (Zinedine Soualem). When Claire surprises the assembled group by announcing that she intends to choose a husband from the trio, the men resent the idea, putting Claire in an edgy frame of mind. The fourth dinner guest, Ruitchi (Gilles Privat), isn't attracted to women, so he's the odd man out. Straight-arrow Cop Cellier (Albert Dupontel), keeps returning to the door while searching for two burglars in the neighborhood. Claire is in the kitchen cooking duck with blood sauce when an accident results in one less potential husband. As the evening wears on, a process of elimination does away with others on her list. The unpredictable story takes place almost totally in the stylish decor of Claire's apartment. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide