Jean Gaven Movies

Juillet (Laetitia Gabrielli) is a young orphan girl who returns to the town she was born in to find her mother. She tries to befriend her yuppie neighbors Marie (Anne Parillaud) and Jacques (Eric Damain) with comic consequences. The thrilling part (supposedly) of the film finds Marbas (Daniel Desmars) as a timid psycho killer who targets pretty young women. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this tragic tale of misunderstanding, obsession, and increasing madness, "she," a beautiful young woman (Isabelle Adjani) settles into a small town in the south of France with her introverted mother (Maria Machado) and physically handicapped father and soon becomes the subject of wild speculation because of her aloofness and at the same time, her obvious sexuality. The young woman is actually caught up in the desire to avenge the long-ago rape of her mother, a rape committed by three Italian immigrants, one of whom is associated with a player piano. An attractive car mechanic (Alain Souchon) is enamored of her, and the woman suddenly sees him in a different light when she learns that his father, now dead, was an Italian immigrant who owned a player piano. Intent on taking action against the mechanic's family to right the wrong suffered by her mother, the daughter begins to lose her grip on sanity when she finds out that the men she suspects of the rape are actually innocent. In fact, her father long ago exacted his own vengeance on the three rapists. This knowledge pushes her over the edge, and she has to be institutionalized. Meanwhile, the young mechanic misunderstands what has happened and sets in motion events that cannot but lead to tragedy. L'Été Meurtier garnered four different Cesars in the 1983 competition: "Best Actress" (Isabelle Adjani), "Best Supporting Actress" (Suzanne Flon), "Best Original Screenplay," and "Best Editing." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Max (Robert Morley) is a wealthy, world-class conoisseur of fine food, who cannot stop himself from eating when the food is first-class. His doctor has given him stern warnings that he must lose over one hundred pounds, or he will die of heart failure. The presence of so many four-star chefs in Europe is a hazard for him. When many of these same chefs are found murdered in inventive ways, each related to the chef's specialty, it begins to appear that Max is the prime suspect in their deaths. Meanwhile, the ex-wife (Jaqueline Bisset) of a fast-food tycoon (George Segal) has earned the right to cook the dessert course at a dinner billed as "the world's most fabulous meal." Despite their profound disagreements, he is worried that she will be one of the murderer's victims.This film, which was loved by some critics and hated by others, is based on the best-selling novel Someone is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe by Nan and Ivan Lyons. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

During World War II, Denis (Olivier Jallageas), a schoolboy, goes to visit some soldiers in a military hospital. There, he meets the nun Clotilde (France Dougnac) whom he immediately likes. The chemistry between them is so strong that they begin an affair. Though others suspect something is not quite respectable between them, they manage to see quite a lot of one another before they are discovered. The boy is then sent off to a strict boarding school and the nun leaves her religious community in order to wait for him. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In this offbeat crime drama, a French fugitive heads for Canada and ends up joining a gang of desperate criminals who have been plotting to kidnap a crimelord's retarded daughter. Things go well until she accidentally dies. Despite the unfortunate turn of events, the crooks decide to keep on as if things were fine. The English language version was retitled to And Hope To Die and cut to 95 minutes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French crime thriller, Marty (Jean-Claude Bouillon) is a small-time criminal who wants to give up his life of crime. He goes on a robbery with Tom, a friend of his with similar feelings, and things go sour. As the police kill Tom, wound Marty and prepare to finish him off, Marty kills the cop in self-defense. He is assisted by a sympathetic nurse in the hospital, and is able to stave off another police attack and make his escape from the hospital. He intends to try to protect his girlfriend and to stop a crooked lawyer from framing him for a crime he didn't commit. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This violent crime drama finds police chief Joss (Jean Gabin) on the trail of a murderous mob boss. When the mob talks Joss' friend into turning to a life of crime, the maniacal mastermind kills the friend, along with the other robbery participants. Joss swears revenge and beats the crooks to the punch by robbing their next intended target. He leaks word to the mob where he can be found and uses a human decoy in an attempt to gun down the vicious murderer and clear his own name. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Dany Carrel is an amnesiac girl who is supposed to be a rich heiress. Her guardian Jeanne (Madeleine Robinson) tries to help her to regain her memory. The mystery unfolds in a series of flashbacks in which the girl finally realized who she is. This psychological mystery is based on the bestselling, virtually unfilmable novel by Sebastien Japrisot. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this crime drama, a nightclub singer discovers that she is being pursued by the police, an insurance agency, and the mob as she endeavors to resume her profession after being released from prison. All of them are after information concerning the whereabouts of her former lover. It is the mob that sends a handsome fellow to win her heart and glean information. Unfortunately for them, he really does fall in love with her and decides to go straight. In the end, the hapless chanteuse is poisoned by the man's former boss. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A forest in Indo-China holds the secrets of gold as five treasure seekers all strive to claim the loot for themselves. ~ Rovi

Si Tous Les Gars du Monde is an entertaining tribute to the ham radio operators of the world. The story begins when a French shipping boat takes on an Arab passenger. While on the high seas, the Arab becomes seriously ill with a communicable disease that threatens the lives of everyone on board. Unable to reach the proper medical authorities, the boat sends out a desperate S.O.S., whereupon several amateur-radio enthusiasts of different nationalities spring into action. Directed and co-scripted by noted filmmaker Christian-Jacque, Si Tous les Gars du Monde is more familiar to Late Late Show devotees under its English-language title, If All the Guys in the World ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi