Micheline Presle Movies

Inspired by director Vittorio De Sica's 1952 neorealist classic Umberto D., Francis Huster's sentimental drama stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as an aged retiree who is forced out onto the street with his dog after his relationship with a wealthy widow falls apart. A cinematic comeback for Belmondo, who previously retired from acting after suffering a major stroke, un homme et son chien tells the story of Charles, an older man who was invited by his lover to stay in the maid's room in her sprawling home. When the woman decides to marry again, however, Charles and his faithful four-legged companion are promptly shown the door. With no place to call home and no means of earning a living, Charles wanders the streets of Paris with his dog as their pair drift towards an uncertain fate. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a retired police officer is forcefully checked into a senior citizen's home, a fatal accident involving one of the residents leads him to suspect foul play in this lighthearted thriller written and directed by Romuald Beugnon. Simon may be up there in years, but he still feels like he's got more than a few good years left, and the thought of being marginalized as a result of his age is flat out infuriating. Upon being admitted to the Sapins Bleus retirement home against his will, Simon quickly discovers he's not the only one who feels this way: Ageing rocker Francky can still belt out a mean karaoke tune, former executive Jane Latour-Jackson still possesses a good portion of her feisty American spirit, and even nurses aide's Christine and Chantal have a special kind of sparkle in their eyes. After seventy year-old Alfred steps down from his post as the director of the home, Madame Laval takes over and at first it seems like everything is business as usual. Things soon start to get strange, however, when Alfred dies in a fatal accident that Simon senses may have been a homicide. Determined to get to the bottom of this deadly mystery, sharp-minded sleuth Simon enlists the aid of observant sidekick Francky in figuring out who would have benefited the most from Alfred's untimely death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The comedy Chouchou has a cross-dressing gay immigrant as a main character. Chouchou (Gad Elmaleh) arrives illegally in Paris, where he finds a home thanks to a pair of kindly priests. He eventually finds work with a parishioner who allows him to clean her house while dressed in women's clothing. Soon Chouchou is working at night at a local club where he falls for Stainslas (Alain Chabat), who introduces Chouchou to his parents. Chouchou's illegal residency may be the hurdle that the couple cannot clear on their way to happiness. The film was adapted from a one-man play originally written and performed by Elmaleh. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A cross-dressing man allows himself to be used as bait to trap a killer in this crime-drama. Bo Ancelin (Robinson Stevenin) is a twentysomething man from Brussels who feels most comfortable dressing and living as a woman. Some might see Bo's lifestyle as a marked contrast to that of his father, a successful and well-regarded businessman, though it seems father has some secrets of his own after no-nonsense police detective, Paul Huysmans (Richard Bohringer), arrests him on charges of child molestation. While Bo bears his own scars from his upbringing, he's not eager to speak against his father in court, but before long both Bo and Huysmans have bigger fish to fry -- a serial killer is walking the streets of Brussels and choosing as his favored victims prostitutes and cross-dressers. When two of his friends are murdered by the killer, Bo decides he must step in to help catch the killer that Huysmans hasn't yet found on his own, though Bo soon falls into a dangerous position when he falls in love with Johnny (Stephane Metzger), a sullen and street-smart hustler who helps rent-boys find profitable assignations with older women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this screwball comedy from France, Olivier Broche plays Daniel, a dim-witted tollbooth attendant in the French countryside who has always been fascinated by Paris, especially the Eiffel Tower, even though he's never actually been there. One day, despite the advice of his harridan mother (Micheline Presle), Daniel decides to strike out for Paris to visit his cousin Jacques (Francois Morel), who drives a taxi. Once he arrives in the City of Lights, Jacques offers to give Daniel a ride into town in his cab; however, he has to leave his hack in traffic for a moment, and Daniel is suddenly forced to drive a very pregnant woman to the maternity ward. Before long, Daniel has caused a massive auto wreck, landed in jail and finds himself in a mental hospital. The highlight of Le Voyage A Paris is Olivier Broche's deft comic performance as the bumbling Daniel, while director Marc-Henri Dufresne keeps the action moving at a brisk pace. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A visually stylish comedy with dramatic overtones from director Tonie Marshall, Vénus Beauté (Institut) looks at the lives of three women who work at a small but successful beauty salon. Angele Nathalie Baye is an attractive woman just edging into middle age who is looking for companionship without commitment, even when it comes knocking. Her co-worker Samantha (Mathilde Seigner) has more boyfriends than she knows what to do with, and Marie (Audrey Tautou), the youngest of the group, is still learning the ropes of both love and beauty treatment. Fans of classic French cinema will want to keep an eye peeled for guest appearances from Emmanuelle Riva, Micheline Presle and Edith Scob. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A comically accented historical drama with culinary appeal, this film introduces us to Pascal Ichac (Pierre Richard), a French chef with a nose so sensitive that he can decipher the ingredients in a sauce with a single sniff. A true renaissance man, Pascal is a genius in the kitchen and a trained operatic vocalist and former gigolo. When he decides that he's beginning to tire of his surroundings in France, he heads for Russia to find new challenges and tastes in Georgia. En route to the Georgian capitol of Tbilisi, Pascal meets Cecilia Abachidze (Micheline Presle), a princess who is charmed by the suave chef; although he is in his 50s and she in her 20s, love is soon in the air. When Pascal's keen sense of smell helps prevent the president from being poisoned, the chef is given carte blanche to open the restaurant of his dreams. The New Eldorado is soon the toast of Tbilisi, but the arrival of the Soviet Army in 1921 puts an end to the delicious grace of Pascal's eatery, and he is forced to leave Cecilia, who is in turn forced to marry an Army captain. This film was was Georgia's official 1997 entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Not a strict adaptation of the oft-filmed Victor Hugo classic, director Claude Lelouch's ambitious epic instead focuses on the story of two men, a father and a son, whose life stories bear striking similarities to Hugo's character Jean Valjean. The father is Henri Fortin (Jean-Paul Belmondo), a chauffeur (in 1900) wrongly accused of his employer's murder. Like Valjean, he is subjected to a harsh and unfair prison sentence. While Henri vainly attempts to escape his unjust fate, his family suffers, with his wife forced to raise their young son alone. The film jumps ahead several decades to show the adult life of this son (also Belmondo), a former boxer turned furniture mover who agrees to help smuggle a Jewish lawyer (Michel Boujenah) out of France during the Nazi occupation. Along the way, the lawyer reads to the younger Fortin from Les Misérables, and Fortin begins to imagine himself in the role of Jean Valjean, on the run from the obsessive Inspector Javert. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

A private eye finds that her professional and personal lives are beginning to intertwine in this French drama. Maxime Chabrier (Anémone) is a woman in her mid-40s who works as a private detective. Despite her chain smoking and sloppy appearance, Maxime is regarded as a skilled investigator by her colleagues and considered the best PI at her agency by her boss. While Maxime has romantic dalliances with both men and women, she hasn't been involved in a long-term relationship since she left her husband 15 years ago. However, Maxime is hired to look into a case that suggests that her former husband has become involved with insurance fraud, which brings her into contact with her 17-year-old son Baptiste (Gregoire Colin) for the first time since the divorce. Just as Maxime is trying to mend fences with her son and find out what her ex has gotten himself into, she finds herself falling in love with Jacques (Michel Didym), an economist. Pas Tres Catholique was nominated for the prestigious Golden Bear award at the 1994 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Alexandre (Vincent Perez) has been through the cycle of seeing the initial passion in romantic encounters burn off and having the relationship become routine and boring. He thinks that this happens for two reasons: the courtship and wooing dance ends, and mere sex enters the picture. He is determined to prevent this cycle from happening with his latest love-interest, a sexy young woman named Fanfan (Sophie Marceau). However, despite the delightful, romantic and inventive ways he discovers for them to spend time together, Fanfan finds his refusal to go to bed with her increasingly irritating; their burgeoning relationship is seriously jeopardized by Alexandre's attachment to his plan. This film is based on the director's best-selling novel, which was translated into almost two dozen languages. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This documentary explores the mystery of an inexplicable episode in the life of the otherwise highly esteemed Austrian film director G.W. Pabst (1885-1967). He was well known as a supporter of worker's causes and leftist movements up until 1939 and had directed any number of socially responsible films such as the 1931 Kameradschaft about the hard lot of mine workers. In 1933, at the beginning of the Nazi era in Germany, he left Germany and Austria and spent the next six years in France, the U.S., and Switzerland. In 1939, after announcing that he was on the verge of seeking American citizenship, he returned to Austria and made films under the Nazi regime for reasons which are unclear even to this day. The confusion prompted by this move was amplified by his 1948 film The Trial, which denounced anti-Semitism and won that year's Venice Film Festival "Best Director" honors. Among those interviewed in this attempt to unravel this mystery are film scholars, the director's son Michael, and various wartime actors and directors. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide