Jacques Perrin Movies

Winged Migration co-directors Jacques Cluzaud and Jacques Perrin re-team for this documentary produced for Walt Disney Studios' Dieneynature banner and exploring the many mysteries of our planet's oceans. Almost three-quarters of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, yet strangely we seem to know more about deep space than the world of the sea. There's no question that the ocean has played a crucial role in the history and sustenance of humankind, but what secrets does the underwater world hold? Follow filmmakers Cluzaud and Perrin beneath the ocean waves as they seek out the answer to this and explore the many dangers and mysteries of the deep. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Love is in the air but not everyone is breathing easy in this romantic comedy with music from director Stephane Kazandjian. Eric Mericourt (Pierre Francois Martin-Laval) is a filmmaker who is given to wide mood swings and has trouble holding on to long-term relationships. Lately things are going well for him -- his latest movie, a musical called "Modern Love," is doing great business, and he's involved with a beautiful and caring woman, Anne (Melanie Bernier). But Eric is still haunted by his busted romance with Marie (Clotilde Courau), who left him three years before on New Year's Eve. One day, Eric bumps into Marie, who apologizes for leaving him and suggests they get together to catch up. To Eric surprise, Marie informs him that she and her current beau want to have a baby, but he's been diagnosed with a low sperm count and Marie asks Eric if he'd be willing to help her conceive a child. Meanwhile, lovelorn Elsa (Berenice Bejo) wants nothing more than to settle down with the right man, but hasn't had much luck finding him. Elsa is convinced she's discovered the guy of her dreams when she meets Jerome (Stephane Debac), who is good looking, personable and financially secure, but she's can't seem to interest him in getting serious and she wonders if he's actually attracted to women. Modern Love also stars Alexandra Lamy and Stephane Rousseau as the stars of Eric's movie, who appear in several song-and-dance numbers from the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Director Danis Tanovic picks up where the late-Krzysztof Kieslowski left off by taking on the second installment of Kieslowski's "Heaven," "Hell," and "Purgatory" trilogy (the first was adapted by Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer) with this tale of a family whose dark past returns with a vengeance. Loosely modeled by screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz on the second act of Dante's Inferno, Hell tells the story of sisters Sophie (Emmanuelle Béart), Céline (Karin Viard), and Anne (Marie Gillain), whose lives were turned upside down when their father was imprisoned and their mother was rendered a wheelchair-bound mute. As the estranged sisters are slowly brought back together by a mysterious and handsome stranger who is somehow involved with the tragic events of the past, the questions that had for years gone unanswered slowly begin to drift into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Pierre Schoendoerffer has made many film about the French in Indochina, and Above the Clouds finds the 75-year-old director covering that territory again. A female journalist (Florence Darel) becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Henri Lanvern (Jacques Perrin), a filmmaker who disappeared while shooting in Thailand in 1978. Although it appears that many of the men in her life have some of the answers for which she is looking, the reporter remains cut off from the truth. Because this film features many performers who have previously worked with the director, Schoendoerffer utilizes clips from his old films in order to provide flashbacks for this film. Above the Clouds was screened out of competition at the Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

French legend has it that a creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan -- a huge, wolf-like monster -- was responsible for the violent deaths of over 100 persons in the mid-18th century, and this horror fantasy blends the lore of this fabled beast with a story of two men who set out to capture it. After a number of mutilated corpses begin appearing across the French countryside, naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is dispatched by the King to find and capture the animal responsible for the killings. Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian from Canada and an experienced hand in the wilds, is hired to assist de Fronsac in his work. Gregoire's assignment earns him the acquaintance of Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), the lovely daughter of the idly wealthy Count de Morangias (Jean Yanne), but Gregoire receives a much chillier welcome from her brother Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel), who, despite having lost an arm to a lion in Africa, is quite the huntsman himself. As Gregoire and Mani arrive in the village of Gevaudan, they're drawn to a local house of prostitution, where the animalistic allure and supernatural powers of Sylvia (Monica Bellucci) prove to have a profound effect on the naive Gregoire. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the special-effects expertise for the creation of the Beast of Gevaudan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As the title would suggest, this film, directed by Frederic Schoendoerffer, is a noirish crime drama about two forensic cops on the trail of serial murderer. Georges Fabian (Charles Berling) and Jean-Louis Gomez (Andre Dussollier) are put on the case when Marie -- the teenaged daughter of a couple who own a roadside cafe -- vanishes the day after the family dog disappears. Georges' schoolteacher wife is expecting their first child, while Jean-Louis' spouse walked out on him days after their daughter left home. The two discover a magazine daubed with Marie's blood in the eatery's lobby, and with the help of a police dog, they discover a canine corpse across the street. Later, when the bodies of a young white woman and a black man are unearthed sans heads and hands, Georges and Jean-Louis think that they have at last found Marie. In fact, they've hit upon a ritual murder similar to a series of killings that baffled the Belgian police in 1993. The two then begin to doggedly gather clues and witnesses. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Himalaya, l'Enfance d'un Chef is a fiction film about the forgotten people of Tibet, focusing on their daily lives and traditional customs. In a remote village in the Dolpo in the northwestern Himalayas of Nepal, Tinle, a charismatic old chief, has just lost his eldest son. He refuses to allow his son's friend Karma, whom he holds responsible for his son's death, to lead a caravan of yaks. Karma defies the old man's anger and the shaman's advice and moves the caravan, with the help of other village youtha, before the date set by the ritual. On the day indicated by the gods, Tinle gets together the village elderly and sets out on the same journey with his second son and his grandson, who is destined to be the next chief. The ancestral struggle between the old man and the mountains begins all over again. Eric Valli traveled in the region for many years and studied the ways of the people before making this film, which is based on the epic lives of two of his Tibetan friends. The film was shot over a nine-month period with a small French crew working under extreme conditions at an altitude reaching 17,000 feet. Scenic shots are spectacular, particularly those depicting the crossing of the high pass. Himalaya, l'Enfance d'un Chef was shown out of competition at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Utilizing special macroscopic photographic techniques, filmmakers Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou created this fascinating and visually spectacular look at the hidden worlds in the life cycle of an ordinary meadow in France. When seen through the lens of Nuridsany and Perennou's cameras, insects become gigantic beasts, blades of grass turn into towering monuments, and raindrops form puddles that resemble vast oceans. The filmmakers find humor, drama, and beauty in the lives of these tiny flora and fauna as caterpillars transform themselves into butterflies, beetles struggle with their day's foraging, and snails reproduce their species. Microcosmos was a multiple prize winner at the 1996 French Academy of Cinema Awards; the American release version features narration by actress Kristin Scott Thomas. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This French documentary is comprised of almost 300 clips from the past 100 years of cinema Francaise. The images within the documentary are free flowing and not in chronological order; they are also not hindered with unnecessary narration or lengthy introductions. The film represents the collaborative efforts of a collective of the country's finest filmmakers. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This poignant Italian drama tells the tale of a producer who would do just about anything to have actress Kim Novak appear in his next film. Enrico, a producer, needs $250,000 so he can hire Kim Novak for his film. The problem is that he is almost broke. He wants to sell his palatial family home but cannot unless his wife Emilia consents to it. Unfortunately, they are separated and she is involved with a new man. She has tried to convince her son Luca, that his father is a rat. Enrico's passion for Kim Novak is revealed through his memories of his youth which included a series of orgies with a sexy barmaid who was the spitting image of Novak. Eventually Luca, returns to his father determined to help him out and the two share many wonderful times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The seemingly endless chain of assassinations of judges who seek to end (or at least curtail) the pervasiveness of organized crime and deep corruption in Italian political life, is the topic of this political thriller. As the film opens, Carla (Carla Gravina) is the gynecologist wife of a judge (Jacques Perrin) who is determined to prosecute the country's gang lords with the help of an informant. His life is constantly under threat. Despite the pervasive presence of police bodyguards, the inevitable happens, and he and his informant are killed. Carla, infused with his mission and angry at his death, takes the notes he had hidden and contacts the widow of the informer. With that material, she produces a television documentary featuring the widows of assassinated judges. Of course, this puts her and many others in danger also. Despite this, it begins to appear that she has roused the women of the country to action. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This powerful, pointed and multi-layered political satire from Senegal's great director Ousman Sembene will provide considerable food for thought; especially amongst those who consider foreign charity a beneficial humanitarian action. It also provides insight into Sembene's thoughts on cultural genocide, AIDS, and corruption. The story centers around the funeral services of the outspoken Pierre Henri Thioune or Guelwaar (meaning Noble One) as his friends and family call him. Guelwaar was a prominent Catholic, the holdover religion from the now ousted French colonialists, who believed that most of his country's problems stem not from racism, nor even from colonialism, but from losing their self-respect by willingly accepting the food and supplies donated to impoverished Senegal by richer countries for the past three decades. Guelwaar maintained that these hand-outs have enslaved his people by causing corruption amongst those who exploit the international good-will for their own gain. It is something that destroyed the country's economy and has kept corrupt officials involved promote continued tension between Muslims and Catholics to keep the people fighting. Guelwaar's inflammatory opinions may well have caused his mysterious death. Afterward many important people come to visit the deceased's surviving family which is comprised of Nogoy Marie, his wife, Sophie, his daughter who sells her body in Dakar, and Barthelemy, his eldest son who loves the French and lives in Paris. His second son, Aloys is crippled and lives with his mother. All gather to mourn Guelwaar's death. The trouble begins when his corpse suddenly disappears from the town funeral home. Barthalemy calls the police and Officer Gora, a Muslim is sent to investigate. Gora is no fan of Guelwaar and his suspicious activities, but he always respected him. He despises Barthelemy because he has abandoned his culture in favor of French to the point that he refuses to speak anything but French. Tensions in town mount as rumors fly about the reason for the corpse's disappearance. But then Gora discovers that Guelwaar's body was accidentally buried in a Muslim cemetery and had nothing to do with ideological differences. Still, this is not the end, for now the Catholics want his body back for a proper burial while the Muslims refuse to defile their sacred burial ground by digging up the corpse. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide