Marina Fois Movies
An outsider becomes a witness to the shocking and sometimes chaotic world of a special police force in this drama from writer and director Maiwenn. The Child Protection Unit is a team of police officers who deal in cases that involve minors, and an ordinary workday finds them dealing with child abuse, youthful thieves, molestation, teen prostitutes, and families on the run from the law. The work is emotionally taxing, and the members of the Child Protection Unit count on each other for support, though they often have issues with one another as well. Nadine (Karin Viard) has a close friendship with Iris (Marina Fois), but in the wake of her divorce, Nadine has becomes jealous of her work partner, which sometimes explodes into vicious arguments. Chrys (Karole Rocher) has just discovered she's having a baby, complicating her relationship with Mathieu (Nicolas Duvauchelle), who is secretly in love with her. And Fred (Joeystarr) is going through a messy divorce that has taken him away from his young daughter, making him volatile and high strung, and while the group leader Balloo (Frederic Pierrot) tries to cover for him, his behavior is hard to explain to those outside the unit. This becomes clear when Melissa (Maiwenn), a photojournalist, is assigned to follow the men and women of the CPU for an upcoming magazine piece and becomes part of their dysfunctional family. Poliss (the title comes from a child's misspelling of the French word for "police") received a Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for fourteen Cesar Awards (the French Oscar), winning two.
~ Mark Deming, Rovi
~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karin Viard, Joey Starr, (more)
- 2010
Retired gangster Charlie Matteï (Jean Reno) embarks on a violent quest for revenge after being pumped full of bullets by his former associates, and left for dead in this pulpy crime thriller from director Richard Berry. Few men could survive having 22 bullets tear through their flesh, but somehow Charlie has managed to get back on his feet. Upon discovering there is a price on his head Charlie sets out to learn who signed his death warrant as police work to track down his would-be-killers. When all clues lead Charlie back to his childhood friend Tony Zakia, he is forced to consider the prospect that he may have been betrayed by one of his closest allies. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Successful family man Paul Exben (Romain Duris) gets a second shot at living the life he's always dreamed about after committing an impulsive crime of passion, assuming a new identity, and moving to a sleepy seaside community. Director Eric Lartigau teams with screenwriter Laurent de Bartillat to adapt the bestselling novel by author Douglas Kennedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Romain Duris, Marina Fois, (more)
Two couples discover how hard it is to set boundaries in an open relationship in this drama from writer and director Antony Cordier. Vincent (Nicolas Duvauchelle) is a web designer who is hired to create a new Internet presence for Rachel (Marina Fois), who sells jewelry and wants to promote her business. While Vincent and Rachel talk business at first, they find they're immediately attracted to one another, and when they set up a dinner so they can meet their respective spouses -- Teri (Elodie Bouchez), who before marrying Vincent was a champion gymnast, and Franck (Roschdy Zem), an interior designer specializing in feng shui -- Teri and Franck discover they feel passion for one another as well. The two couples quickly begin swapping partners, and at first everyone is happy with the new arrangement, but before long the couples feel they need to establish ground rules for their marital and extramarital partnerships. Codifying their relationships, however, unexpectedly brings jealousy and possessive feelings into the picture for the first time. Four Lovers (aka Happy Few) was an official selection at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marina Fois, Roschdy Zem, (more)
- 2009
- NR
A recently divorced mother of two struggles to make the right decisions for her two young children amidst constant meddling by her overly intrusive family, who refuse to stop hassling her until she's found true happiness. Now the harder Lena (Chiara Mastroianni) works to get over her divorce from Nigel (Jean-Marc Barr), the more she realizes her family is the true source of her misery. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Chiara Mastroianni, Marina Fois, (more)
Recalling such prior successes as The Big Chill, Peter's Friends, and Return of the Secaucus 7, director Danièle Thompson's seriocomedy A Change of Plans follows a group of four French couples who converge in an apartment over the course of one lengthy summer's eve and spend the time chatting about life, personal goals, relationships, and sex. The said event unfurls during the perennial "Fête de la Musique" in the City of Lights. Attendees include the shark-like divorce attorney who owns the apartment, ML (Karin Viard), and her out-of-work husband, Piotr (Dany Boon); slick, unctuous attorney Lucas (Christopher Thompson) and his slightly stuck-up homemaker wife, Sarah (Emmanuelle Seigner); gynecologist Melanie (Marina Fois) and her oncologist husband, Alain (Patrick Bruel); and ML's sister, Juliette (Marina Hands), and her much older boyfriend, Erwann (Patrick Chesnais). As the night unfurls, it becomes readily apparent that none of the partners are happy and that virtually all have cheated or are planning on cheating on each other, which turns the film into an extended meditation on dissatisfaction and infidelity among the Parisian upper crust. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karin Viard, Dany Boon, (more)
- 2008
Two women are caught in a rivalry over the love of a child in this period drama, loosely adapted from a short story by Gustave Flaubert. Felicite (Sandrine Bonnaire) is a passionate woman eager to find love, and when her ardor scares off her boyfriend Theodore (Pascal Elbe), she takes a job as a domestic, working for wealthy Madame Aubain (Marina Fois). Aubain is a frail and troubled woman raising two children, Paul (Antoine Olivera) and Clemence (Melissa Dima); Felicite develops a close bond with the children, who in turn show her the sort of unconditional affection she's always longed for. Aubain, however, becomes deeply jealous of Felicite's warm relationship with the youngsters, and insists on criticizing her in their presence. Aubain, who is romantically involved with the children's music teacher (Thibault Vincon), finally decides to cut off the friendship between Felicite and teenaged Clemence (Marthe Guerin) by sending her daughter away to a private boarding school. Clemence's absence is a heavy blow to Felicite, and while she tries to fill the hole in her life by looking after her nephew, she never fully recovers from the loss. Un Coeur Simple (aka A Simple Heart) was the first feature film from director Marion Lane, who previously distinguished herself as an actress. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sandrine Bonnaire, Marina Fois, (more)
- 2006
French director Pierre-François 'Pel' Martin-Laval's romantic comedy Try Me opens with the gentlest of promises: at 9 years old, Yves-Marie proposed to his childhood sweetheart, Jacqueline. She accepted, on the sole condition that he become an astronaut and chart the heavens. He kept his vow; she forgot hers. When Yves-Marie (Laval) waltzes back into Jacqueline's (Julie Depardieu) life as an adult , then, with the news of his astronaut career, and expects to sweep her off her feet, he is horrified to discover her pending engagement to another man, Vincent (Kad Merad). Not one to be daunted, Yves-Marie then convinces Jacqueline to "try him out" for a day, prior to following through on her marital commitment. Surprisingly, Vincent agrees - for it will give him a chance to slip off on a hunting trip and enjoy one more day as a "meat-eater" before marrying vegetarian Jacqueline. Unfortunately, Yves-Marie's nutty father (Pierre Richard) isn't far behind his son and Jacqueline, and in doing his best to help, makes the pivotal day infinitely more complicated for the former sweethearts. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pierre-François Martin-Laval, Julie Depardieu, (more)
- 2006
The story of how an ordinary guy became the greatest hero of the French space program comes to the screen in this satiric sci-fi comedy. While some folks train all their lives to become astronauts, Stephane (Kad) becomes one the easy way -- along with Yanis (Guillaume Canet), he's one of two French civilian who win a special lottery that entitles them to spots aboard Europe's new space shuttle and a visit to their sister space station. The voyage is being headed up by humorless Col. Beaulieu (Olivier), with Capt. Soizic (Marina Fois) as his second in command. The voyage is to be the last for the longtime head of mission control (Andre Dussollier), but between the antics of the two hapless amateurs and the presence of an unfriendly alien aboard the shuttle, his swan song turns out to be anything but a smooth ride. Un Ticket Pour L'espace (aka Ticket To Outer Space was written by cast members Kad and Olivier, and directed by Eric Lartigau who had previously collaborated with the comedians on Mais qui a tue Pamela Rose? ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kad Merad, Olivier Barroux, (more)
- 2004
Two warring caveman tribes find their 800 year feud coming to a head in this French comedy featuring Gerard Depardieu and Jean Rochefort. The filthy primitives in the Dirty Hairs have yet to discover the secret of shampoo, while their counterparts the Clean Hairs keep their manes clean and tangle free. When the chief of the Dirty Hairs sends his daughter undercover to steal some shampoo from the Clean Hairs, her mission is complicated by an unforeseen crime. The Clean Hairs' healer has snapped, killing two of his own tribesmen. Of course no one suspects the healer to be a murderer, so in order to root out the culprit the chief of the Clean Hairs dispatches two of his best men - curly-haired Pierre and blond-haired Pierre. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Maurice Barthelemy, Jean-Paul Rouve, (more)
- 2004
Fanny (Marina Foïs) is in her thirties, and single, and she's decided she's sick of being lonely. She's invited Paul (Julien Boisselier), a computer programmer she met at work, over for dinner, and she's determined to have her way with him. She dolls herself up and places a condom in a convenient location. Naturally, things don't go according to plan. Paul calls to say he'll be late, and Fanny suspects he's on a date with another woman. In a fit of pique, she decides to toss the meal she's made for them, and when Paul arrives, she tells him she wants to go out to eat. But Paul's just procured a rare CD and wants to listen to it, so she relents and invites him in. They start to talk, and after a bit of miscommunication, Fanny resumes her plot. But Paul gets a call from his sister, who is distraught because she thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her. He decides to go console her, but Fanny has other ideas. Eventually, Paul recognizes that he's being seduced, however clumsily, and decides to act, but by then Fanny has had another change of heart. J'me Sens Pas Belle marks the feature debut of writer/director Bernard Jeanjean. The film was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their 2005 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- 2003
A thirtysomething Parisian couple finally follow their dream of owning a rural bed and breakfast, only to discover that dreams aren't all they're cracked up to be in Claude Duty's 2003 comedy Bienvenue a gite (Bed and Breakfast). Bertrand (Philippe Harel) and his girlfriend Caroline (Marina Fois) buy a multiple room bed and breakfast in Provence and eagerly leave their big city, Parisian lives behind for what they imagine to be a more relaxing and introspective rustic existence. Arriving in their new home proves to be a much bigger change than either expected, however, with little actually changing in Caroline's outlook on life other than the focus of her incessant micromanaging. Bertrand, after some difficulty, begins to acclimate to his new surroundings and makes some new friends, including Peter (Michael Maloney) and Julien (Sebastian Barrio), the owners of a nearby gay-orientated bed and breakfast. The defining moment for Bertrand and Caroline's relationship -- and sanity -- comes when Caroline volunteers to spearhead the village's millennial anniversary, which proves to be a much larger undertaking than anything she tried to do while still living in Paris. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marina Fois, Philippe Harel, (more)
- 2002
Based on the original '60s French comic books by René Goscinny, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre is the big-budget sequel to the 1999 box-office hit Astérix and Obélix vs. Caesar. Empress Cleopatra (Monica Bellucci) makes a wager with Julius Caesar (played by writer/director Alain Chabat) that her people can build a beautiful palace in three months. She chooses architect Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze) for the project, which must be completed in time or he will be fed to the crocodiles. Numerobis travels to Gaul to get help from the superpowered Panoramix (Claude Rich) and the warriors Astérix (Christian Clavier) and Obélix (Gérard Depardieu), along with their faithful pet Dogmatix. They use their magic potion to make the Egyptian slave-labor population into superheroes, thereby building the palace in no time. Meanwhile, the angry architect Amonbofis (Gérard Darmon) and Julius Caesar don't want to see them succeed. At the time of its release, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre was the most expensive French film ever made, with a budget of $50 million. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, (more)
Claude Duty's feature-length debut Filles Perdues, Cheveux Gras (Hypnotized and Hysterical, (Hairstylist Wanted)) is an offbeat comedy about three women. Elodi (Olivia Bonamy) is a struggling single mother. Natacha (Marina Fois) is an upbeat alcoholic hair stylist whose beloved pet cat has disappeared. Marianne (Amira Casar) is drawn to a roguish, sexually adventurous art dealer. Their lives intertwine in a variety of ways. Song and dance numbers, as well as animated sequences, punctuate the film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Amira Casar, Marina Fois, (more)
- 2002
Nicolas Cuche's supernatural comedy Jojo La Frite (Accidental Saint) stars Didier Becchetti and Frederic Saurel as a pair of small-time con artists. Ralph (Becchetti) and Swan (Saurel) barely survive by committing petty thefts and scams. At Christmastime Swan stops a mugger from getting away with a woman's purse. Suddenly a halo appears above Swan's head. He is now an angel. This gives his partner Ralph fits as Swan is no longer able to engage in immoral activities. When Swan performs a miracle, crime boss Benz (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) becomes interested in exploiting them for profit. Accidental Saint was screened at the Avignon Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Didier Becchetti, Frederic Saurel, (more)
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