Jean-Pierre Alessandri Movies
- 1998
French novelist Vincent Ravalec made his directorial debut with this French drama about small-time crook Gaston (Yvan Attal) who poses as a millionaire after he picks up hitchhiking 16-year-old Marie-Pierre (Virginie Lanoue). Actually living in a seedy apartment, Gaston deals in stolen goods, but he soon climbs to bigger heists, including car thefts. Concealing his illegal activities, Gaston operates his company, Extramill, out of upscale, posh offices, while he and Marie-Pierre move into a sedate upper-middle-class neighborhood. Life is sweet, but the onset of paranoia, kinky sex activities, and police probes eventually culminate in violence. Shown in the Cinemas en France section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yvan Attal, Virginie Lanoue, (more)
- 1989
- R
One of the first films by Polish director Agnieszka Holland to gain international acclaim, this drama is a joint French-American production based loosely on the real-life story of the dissident Polish priest Jerzy Popieluszko. In the early 1980s, as the democracy and labor movement known as Solidarity was challenging Soviet authority in Poland, an outspoken priest, Father Alek (Christopher Lambert), defies martial law and continues to rally followers around the cause of Solidarity. The Soviet-controlled Polish government enlists a police official, Stefan (Ed Harris), to stop the priest. Stefan, a devoted party follower, finds that the only way he can silence Father Alek is to have him killed. Along the way, however, the priest has a profound influence on Stefan. Among those in minor roles are Joanne Whalley-Kilmer, Pete Postlethwaite, and Tim Roth. Holland would go on to direct The Secret Garden and Washington Square. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lambert, Ed Harris, (more)
- 1988
This is a remake of the 1982 film Savannah Smiles. Colin (Jacques Higelen) and Mailland (Daniel Martin) are small-time crooks on the run who are surprised to find the seven-year-old runaway Savannah (Elodie Gautier) is along for the ride. The police and her parents fear she has been kidnapped, and a massive manhunt is launched with orders to shoot to kill the alleged perpetrators. The lovable little girl soon melts the hearts of the crooks, as the trio enjoy an unlikely but sentimental friendship. The late Marcel Bozzuffi makes his last screen appearance as Coplan, the confident cop in charge of recovering Savannah. Rene Feret plays Savannah's father, a hypocritical politician. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Higelin, Daniel Martin, (more)
