Julien Poulin Movies

As scripted by Quebecois raconteur Fred Pellerin and directed by Luc Picard, this offbeat fantasy comedy details the adventures of Babine (Vincent Guillaume Otis), the son of a witch and a village pariah, as he ventures forth into the world and narrowly evades death. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

The sprit of Elvis Presley is alive (sort of) and well (or at least as well as can be expected) somewhere in the French portion of Canada in this broad comedy from Quebec. Though Elvis impersonator Bob Gratton (Julien Poulin) died at the end of the film Elvis Gratton, Le King Des Kings, as this one kicks off Bob has mysteriously risen from the grave. Taken to a hospital for tests, Bob seems remarkably chipper, considering the fact his brain is displaying no activity at all. Bob and his best friend Meo (Yves Trudel), who doesn't speak, head out to the country for a well-deserved rest after Bob's 14 years in a coffin. However, their pastoral idyll is interrupted by Donald Bill Clinton (Barry Blake), a shifty agent from the United States who fast talks Bob into signing a deal that will put him on the road to fame and fortune. Suddenly Bob is making like Elvis at concert halls around the world while a French filmmaker is dispatched to make a movie about his life (or whatever it is he's leading now). Laced with political satire supporting the Quebec separatist movement, Elvis Gratton II -- Miracle A Memphis was a major box-office hit in Quebec, where the original film has developed a sizable cult following its release on video. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Filmed in Quebec, Henri stars Eric Brisebois in the title role. The victim of an unhappy household and bedevilled by taunts from his peers, Henri is determined to prove his self-worth by winning a cross-country race. His father (Jacques Godin) has been brooding for months because he allowed his wife to drown while trying to rescue their daughter. It is the hospitalized daughter (Lucie Laurien) who acts as catalyst for the ultimate reconciliation between Henri and his dad. Henri is an effective character study, though it might be too low-key for audiences expecting the much-vaunted cross country race to be the film's focal point. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Le Party of the title is an event held in a men's prison periodically, featuring outside entertainers. Many of the prison staff and their families (and most of the prisoners) attend, and feelings run high. In this film, various female outsiders meet, have encounters with, and occasionally run afoul of the male prisoners. In addition to these main stories, several others include the efforts of a prisoner to escape through dressing up in drag and impersonating the female guest of a prison official, and the suicide plans of a man prevented from attending. This gritty drama is based on the prison recollections of scriptwriting consultant Francis Smiardi). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This TNT miniseries stars Alec Baldwin as Robert Jackson, the Supreme Court justice who served as the head prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal that took place in Nuremberg after the horrors of WWII and the Holocaust. The film follows Jackson from his preparations for the trial to the outcome of the trial itself, paying particular attention to the interplay between Jackson and the Nazi thugs he is trying to prosecute. Brian Cox co-stars a Hermann Goering, Hitler's right-hand man, while Christopher Plummer plays British prosecutor Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe, and Jill Hennessey portrays Elise Douglas, Jackson's invaluable secretary and sometime lover. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

In this early work from director Denys Arcand (Jesus of Montreal), Vincent Padovani (Jean Lajeunesse) is a French-Canadian contractor whose new superhighway is about to open. At a party he throws with the local money-men and political honchos, Padovani willingly indulges in the sort of debauchery that is permissible only in the highest social circles. The revelry is interrupted -- briefly -- when the ex-wife of the highway financier turns up; the financier's bodyguards promptly rub her out and have her body dumped in cement...and by film's end, the unfortunate woman winds up a left turn on Padovani's highway. The anti-establishment ambience of Réjeanne Padovani has a bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you feel, inasmuch as the film was financed by a government grant. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi