Gisele Casadesus Movies
- 2007
A caustic apartment owner finds her attempts to evict the ragtag occupants of a 3,000 square foot rent-controlled apartment challenged in a most unexpected way in director Pascal Thomas' communal comedy. Thanks to a legal loophole known as "the Law of 1948," a cap was placed on some rental units around Paris preventing real-estate speculation. As long as the original resident still resides on the premises, the statue still applies. Though Marie-Antionette (Gisele Casadesus)'s name does indeed remain on the lease, the free-spirited grandmother rarely stays at the apartment for any extended length, leaving Francisca (Laetitia Casta), her husband Martin (Mathieu Amalric), and the couple's daughter the primary beneficiaries of the unique law. Of course with all of that room there's plenty of space for others to enjoy, and in addition to three of Francisca's best friends additional occupants include a senile grandmother (Carmen Durand) and egocentric independent filmmaker Adrien (Pierre Arditi). When acrimonious landlord Charlotte Falingard (Noemie Lvovsky) makes it her mission to clear out the apartment in order to turn a tidy profit, former law student Francesca stands firm in challenging the conviction by putting her education to good use. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laetitia Casta, Mathieu Amalric, (more)
- 2005
Valerie Lemercier's royal comedy Palais Royal! stars Valerie Lemercier as a commoner who is married to a prince (Lambert Wilson). When the king dies, the queen (Catherine Deneuve) pulls strings to have the Prince jump the order of succession and take control. The wife has little aptitude for being the wife of royalty, but soon becomes quite good at it in order to gain some power after she discovers that her husband is sleeping with another woman. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valérie Lemercier, Lambert Wilson, (more)
- 2000
Robert (Andre Dussolier) is a stylish and neurotic 50-year-old with an insatiable appetite for women. One day, he reluctantly accompanies his sister to the hospital where her friend Claire (Emmanuelle Devos) has just given birth. Claire is an old flame of Robert's, and the combined impact of seeing her again and the fact that she has used his name for one of her babies makes Robert realize he is still in love with her. As Claire already has a new partner, the father of her child, Robert is particularly shocked and horrified by this discovery. At a bistro later that same day, he gets a second shock in the form of Marie-Pierre (Helene Fillieres, the sister of the film's director, Sophie Fillieres), a young waitress he's chatting up. In the course of their flirtation, Marie-Pierre makes Robert an offer: she will fall in love with him and conduct a full-blown love affair. This makes Robert feel pretty good, so he accepts, but soon enough he discovers that Marie-Pierre, who is nicknamed Aie (French for "ouch") is a bit of a twisted sister. Prone to vomiting up everything she eats and brushing her teeth compulsively with airline toothbrushes given to her by her pilot father, Marie-Pierre gives Robert's brain pause for thought even as his hormones are stampeding blindly ahead. But before he can break off his involvement with her, Robert decides to pay a visit to Claire's apartment, where he finds Marie-Pierre, and the two end up hiding in a closet together and resuming their affair. On a subsequent visit to her parents' house, Marie-Pierre shares some even more bizarre details about her already off-kilter personal history. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- André Dussollier, Hélène Fillières, (more)
- 1999
- NR
A lighthearted and nostalgic drama about life among a group of close-knit friends, Les Enfants du Marais/Children of the Marshland tells the tale of a girl named Cri-Cri, who in flashback recalls growing up in a community along a quiet marsh in France. Her father, Riton (Jacques Villeret), has a good heart but a weakness for wine, and has never entirely gotten over being left by his wife (and Cri-Cri's mother), even though he's since remarried. His best friend is Garris (Jacques Gamblin), a laborer who lives in a cabin left to him by an old friend (Jacques Dufilho) and finds himself infatuated with Marie (Isabelle Carre), who works as a domestic in a nearby town. Both men are still dealing with their experiences from World War I, as is their friend Mr. Richard (Michel Serrault), who turned a junk business into a successful metal foundry but still visits his old pals at the marsh, because he feels they're the only ones who understand him. Despite lukewarm reviews, Les Enfants Du Marais/Children of the Marshland proved to be a significant box office success on its initial release in France. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Villeret, Jacques Gamblin, (more)
- 1996
A feather-light and funny musing on the nature of love, fate and starting over, Claude Lelouch's comedy begins with the meeting of Fabio Lini, an actor turned undercover Paris cop and the notorious lawyer-cum-businessman Benoit Blanc . Both have come to the same clinic to have their ulcers checked, and as they chit-chat, they realize that they have much in common. Relations with women have played big parts in their ulcers. Both freely acknowledge that male/female relations are always problematic, and yet, despite the hindrances the unions present, neither Claude nor Benoit is able to live without them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabrice Luchini, Bernard Tapie, (more)
- 1988
- R
In this comedy, an American insurance investigator goes to Paris to prove that a crippled client's claim is utterly bogus. While there, the detective finds himself seduced by a pair of beautiful women. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Treat Williams, Joanna Pacula, (more)
In this modern retelling of the classic Dangerous Liaisons, a virtuous young woman becomes the target of the schemes of an amoral womanizer who is in the habit of wooing women and killing their lovers and husbands in duels. When she finally succumbs to him, she discovers his true nature, and her newly awakened joy in passion turns to dust. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sylvia Kristel, Jon Finch, (more)
In this French satire, a meek little bank (Jean-Louis Trintignant) clerk finds fame and fortune when he begins getting lessons from an impoverished novelist (Jean-Pierre Cassel) . Soon the clerk is wowing the Parisians with his ability to make the women swoon, and for his talent at attracting money. The film is also known as The French Way Is. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, (more)
- 1974
In Jury of One, French filmmaker Andre Cayatte once more probes into the intricacies of the Gallic justice system. Sophia Loren plays the widow of a man reputed to be a gangster. When Loren's son Michel Albertini is accused of murder, his father's reputation practically assures a guilty verdict. Desperately, Loren kidnaps Gisel Casadessus, the wife of prosecuting judge Jean Gabin. In order to save Gisel's life, Gabin acquits Albertini, only to discover that his wife, a diabetic, has died after refusing to take insulin. It is up to the conscience-stricken Loren to mete out final justice against herself. Jury of One was also distributed to English-speaking countries under the title The Verdict. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Gabin, Sophia Loren, (more)
- 1947
Road Block is the symbolic English-language title of this French crime drama. Claude Dauphin plays a respected architect who inadvertently becomes a murderer. Covering his tracks, Dauphin is able for a while to elude the law, but he can't escape the "inner voices" of his conscience. Still, he insists upon hiding his crime from the one person who would truly understand, his sweetheart Helene Perdiere. Ironically, when she finds out the truth, she walks out on Dauphin because he didn't trust her. Relentlessly defeatist, Route Sans Issue understandably had trouble finding an American distributor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hélène Perdrière, Gisele Casadesus, (more)
- 1946
This dark drama, based on Dostoyevsky's novella, chronicles the exploits of a jealous widower who is enraged to discover that his child is really the product of a union between his wife and her secret lover. For revenge, the widower forces the lover to take the child. Unfortunately, the child dies, and both men feel horribly guilty. The widower is so angry that he wants to kill the lover. Instead, he simply wanders away. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1946
The great French actor Raimu made his final screen appearance in L'Homme au Chapeau Rond (The Eternal Husband) as Nicolas Pavlovitch. The star is cast as an embittered widower who seems to love the bottle more than his young daughter Lisa (Lucy Valnor). Upon learning that Lisa is not truly his child but the offspring of his late wife's love, Nicolas permits the poor girl to die. This startling denouement is a sharp contrast to the somewhat ribald comic byplay of the film's earlier scenes, but Raimu was an accomplished enough actor to bridge the gap between comedy and tragedy without a ripple on the water. L'Homme au Chapeau Rond was based on a novel by Dostoyevsky. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gisele Casadesus, Louis Seigner, (more)
