Bernard Haller Movies
- 2007
Jean-Jacques Annaud directed and co-wrote this wildly offbeat comic fantasy set in an ancient land in the Aegean Sea thousands of years ago. Minor (José Garcia) was abandoned by his parents as a child and was raised by a pack of pigs; he speaks in porcine grunts and lives and loves much like his fellow hogs. Minor is just human enough to have his head turned by Clytia (Melanie Bernier), a beautiful girl living in the nearby village. However, if Minor's lack of social skills weren't enough to keep Clytia away, she's already been pledged to wed handsome and charming Karkos (Sergio Peris-Mencheta). When Minor runs afoul of the tribal leadership, he's removed from his home with the pigs and forced to live in an enchanted forest, where he attracts the not entirely welcome attentions of Pan (Vincent Cassel), a randy half-man and half-goat willing to couple with anything that breathes. When Minor emerges from the forest able to speak with newfound eloquence, the tribal leaders name him their new potentate, and Clytia suddenly finds him a great deal more appealing, which doesn't sit well with Karkos. Sa Majesté Minor (aka His Majesty Minor) was written by Annaud and his frequent collaborator Gérard Brach, who died shortly after the film began shooting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- José Garcia, Vincent Cassel, (more)
- 2006
A widower's grief leads him down the road to madness in this drama from French filmmaker Jean Marboeuf. Pierre Valois (Pierre Arditi) is an elderly man who is still emotionally reeling from the death of his wife (Marie-Christine Barrault), and he visits her grave nearly every day, even though he hears her voice urging him to get on with his life. Pierre struggles to do just that -- he spends time with his friends, he helps a neighbor's child with their homework, he flirts with a woman working at a nearby flower shop -- but a seething bitterness over his lonely life begins to fester inside of him. Pierre buys a gun and learns how to use it, and over the course of five days his kind and gentle façade begins to collapse. Coup de Sang (aka Headrush) was shot primarily from "first-person" camera angles, which show Pierre's perspective on the world around him. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Arditi, Marie-Christine Barrault, (more)
- 1996
Few people realize that the great movie-character archetypes over time have become real people and walk among us. At least that is the premise the filmmakers of this off-beat and comical parody of old films would have viewers believe. With a nod towards film noir, the story centers on a missing television western sheriff who inexplicably disappears mid-season. This greatly upsets Monica "Mo" Fitzgerald who is in charge of the huge entertainment conglomerate that invented the sheriff, so she hires hard-boiled detective "Same Follow" to find him. In true Raymond Chandler fashion he begins his search and even gets entangled with a blond femme fatale who explains to him how Mo' has brainwashed all the actors working for her into becoming their characters or "sprites" as she calls them. In looking more closely, Follow discovers that it is increasingly difficult to tell the sprites from real people. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Yanne, (more)
Murder and double-dealing among the idle rich sets the stage for this drama. Alan Cross (Adrian Dunbar) is a British detective who travels to a wealthy community along the coast of France in 1938; he's there to attend the funeral of a friend and wants to find out more about the mysterious circumstances behind his friend's death. Cross finds a privileged British family who were close to the deceased and who seem to live by their own set of rules. Helena Graves (Joanna Lumley) was good friends with the deceased, but she claims to know nothing about how he died. Helena's daughter Celia (Gabrielle Anwar) is engaged to a hot-blooded American but has also been involved in an incestuous relationship with her brother Jeremy (Stephen Dorff); Jeremy harbors a dark childhood secret regarding the death of his brother, and he is courting a Jewish woman, much to the chagrin of the anti-Semitic Helena. Cross becomes convinced that someone in the Graves family is to blame for the death, but it's not until someone else dies that the truth begins to bubble to the surface. Innocent Lies was also shown under the title Halcyon Days. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Dorff, Gabrielle Anwar, (more)
Fabled Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima was the guiding hand behind the fast-paced French comedy Max, Mon Amour. The "Max" with whom the elegant Charlotte Rampling falls in love is a circus chimpanzee (played by a short-statured man in a monkey suit). Charlotte's British-ambassador husband Anthony Higgins has long suspected that his wife was cheating on him, but he certainly isn't prepared for her simian paramour. Amazingly, the film never descends into goofiness: Oshima uses his unorthodox plotline to poke holes in the self-protective pretensions of the Bourgeoisie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, Anthony Higgins, (more)
- 1984
Lucky Luke, the cowboy, his faithful horse Jolly Jumper, and his dog Rantanplan, are all out fighting their perennial enemies, the Dalton brothers, in this cooperative animated adventure from Hanna-Barbera and Morris Gascinny. To accommodate American audiences, Hanna-Barbera removed Luky Luke's ever-present cigarette, and eliminated some of his "ethnic" pals to avoid any potential problems in the minority department. For many Luke fans, these alterations were tantamount to destroying a character they have known since 1945, and so the feature was bound to receive mixed reviews by those for and against the changes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Balutin, Roger Carel, (more)
- 1980
This French comedy stars Michel Serrault as a bland corporation functionary who'll never get ahead so long as he remains a dull little man. Unable to be a success on his own terms, Serrault invents an "assistant", the dynamic, go-getting "Mr. Davis". Pretending to be Mr. Davis' intermediary, Serrault at last makes it big in the business world. A crisis develops when Serrault's investors demand to meet Mr. Davis in person--and when several covetous young ladies show up, claiming to be the mothers of Mr. Davis' children! We aren't about to tell you how Serrault wriggles out of his dilemma: we want you to enjoy The Associate yourself. An American version of the same story, released in 1996, stars Whoopie Goldberg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Claudine Auger, (more)
- 1978
In this second animated feature based on the comic-strip western "Lucky Luke," the Dalton brothers plan to escape from the prison Lucky put them in and kill off the judge and all the jury members who convicted and sentenced them. If they can do this, and Lucky can verify it, they may be able to inherit their uncle's money. Curiously, the upright Lucky seems to be going along with them. In reality, he has an extremely clever plan in mind. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Ceccaldi, Pierre Trabaud, (more)
- 1977
After serving faithfully for over 10 years, the mid-level executive in this film has received notice that he is being fired for vague reasons having something to do with "reorganization" rather than his own job performance. As a protest, he tries attending a company party with his pants off, which seems to have no effect whatsoever. Shortly afterward, he hits on the scheme of barricading himself in his old office and going on a hunger strike. No one has seen anything like this before, and his efforts seem to be having an effect. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Michel Lonsdale, (more)
- 1974
This French slapstick comedy stars the musician/comedian foursome Les Charlots, as valets to the Four Musketeers. One of the film's highlights is a mutual kicking session between Cardinal Richelieu, the King, and a monk. This comedy foursome was enormously popular in 1970s France, and they made a huge number of films during that period. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Rinaldi, Gerard Filipelli, (more)
As they travel the Mediterranean, a Guide (Sami Frey) tells many stories to the Interpreter (Delphine Seyrig) -- at her request -- but his biggest story seems to warp reality. A pair of anarchists bomb a government minister's family, killing all except a young girl, who now is guarded by a strange, brain-injured and sleepless man with only one memory. When this guard loses even that memory, he plans to kill himself. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1971
In this French-language film, Albin (Henri Serre) is a mercenary soldier. Sure, he's paid to kill, but he only agrees to jobs where he's killing those who need to be killed. Anyway, he trusts his buddies, and they trust him: in this case with a big haul of money they found in a jungle shoot-out. When he returns to France one of the first things he does, quite by chance, is to go see the act of Le Grande Magic Circus. The circus keeps coming into his life for the rest of the movie, as he tries to live a "regular" life. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henri Serre, Marianne Eggerickx, (more)
- 1989
- R
Michaud (Michel Serrault) is a timid and anxiety-ridden security-systems technician who is prone to daydreams like Walter Mitty. Continually teased by his colleagues and his taunting alter ego, Michaud is victimized by a fellow employee who tries to implicate him in a bank robbery. He emerges from his emotional isolation and daydreams to help trap the crooks. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Geneviève Fontanel, (more)
- 1982
- R
Dirty Dishes is a Bunuel study in alienation, but look again: that's Joyce Bunuel, not Luis, so Dirty Dishes is more user-friendly. French housewife Carol Laure isn't satisfied with her lot, but what else is there? One day the monotony is too much; she snaps, and goes on a one-woman rebellion against the world. At first it's a hilarious orgy of self-discovery--and then Laure goes off the deep end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Laure, Pierre Santini, (more)
- 1978
- R
In this comedy, over-achieving men who are involved in a multi-car automobile accident meet and get to know one another in the hospital. One collects old furniture under the guise of being an antique salesman, another stars in television commercials, and another is an inventor. Meanwhile, the wives of three of them meet and get a taste of freedom without their husbands. Eventually their differences are resolved and happiness is enjoyed by all. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernadette Lafont, Rufus, (more)
