Patrick Chesnais Movies

Meet the Celliers: despite their appearances as an ordinary and seemingly unremarkable French family, a host of severe dysfunctions linger just beneath the surface that continue to upset their lives and threaten to tear everyone apart. Patriarch Henry (Patrick Chesnais), an ex-corporate manager, evinces signs of extreme, multi-leveled regression; his wife Mady (Charlotte Rampling), a sexagenarian housewife, spreads wicked gossip about their two girls; daughter Alice (Mathilde Seigner, still rebounding from two abortions, obsessively paints drug-addled Madonnas; and that's only the beginning. The family's future takes an unusual turn when a mysterious stranger, the jaded, loner policeman Jacques (Olivier Marchal) turns up and wields dramatic influence over everyone. This newcomer succeeds in drawing out long buried neuroses and hang-ups and exacerbating virtually every conflict in the household. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Laetitia Casta stars in director Gilles Legrand's drama concerning an Edwardian-era girl whose fate becomes permanently intertwined with that of the last wolf pack on Mont Blanc. Angele (Casta) is a child who lives in a French Alpine town with her taxidermist father Leon (Patrick Chesnais). Shortly after Leon receives a pile of wolf corpses that he plans to stuff, Angele notices an orphaned black cub descending from the mountains in search of his family. Angele realizes that trappers will kill the cub if they find him, so she quietly releases him back into the wild. Years later, following World War I, a local family named The Garcins have struck it rich from business at their foundry; Leon named the Garcin patriarch, Albert, Angele's godfather. A benevolent and generous soul, Albert has given a local gypsy and her developmentally disabled son Guiseppe (Stefano Accorsi) a lifetime lease on a nearby mountain shack. Giuseppe guards several surviving wolves with his life, taking a special shine to the black pack leader he names Carbone. Meanwhile, Angele - who is now a young woman - longs to become a veterinarian specializing in undomesticated animals. Though the local men scoff at the idea of a female veterinarian, Angele ignores these naysayers. In order to gain some professional veterinary experience, she recruits circus owner Zhormov (Miglen Mirtchev) to fly her into the mountains that tower above her hometown, where she hopes to find wild animals. During the course of their journey, however, the plane crashes and Angele must wait as Zhormov searches for help. But sometimes help arrives in the most unexpected of forms, such as the black wolf that recognizes Angele's scent from the days when he was just a frightened pup. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Turkish directors The Taylan Brothers (Yagmar and Durul) co-helm The Little Apocalypse, a psychological thriller with a distinctly supernatural twinge. The Taylans weave the narrative around the August 17, 1999 earthquake that rocked Istanbul and massacred thousands. The story opens with an extended family - husband and wife Zeki (Cansel Elcin) and Bilge (Koklukaya), their infant son, their school-age daughter Eda (Serra Gurgunlu) and their nanny Filiz (Binnur Kaya) piling into the family car en route to a holiday in Fethive, southwestern Turkey, where they plan to connect with Bilge's niece and nephew. On the way, however, tragedy strikes in the form of the earthquake. Everyone seemingly emerges unscathed and uninjured, but upon arrival at the resort, a number of seemingly inexplicable catastrophes transpire: the "resort" is built on a mosquito infested swamp, next to a graveyard with the names of the family members on the gravestones; bloodthirsty wolves turn up at night to plague the area; and the locals act decidedly odd. Meanwhile, Bilge begins to suffer from recurrent, terror-stricken nightmares about her dead mother. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A talented trompe l'oeil artist finds her dedication to her slacker husband slipping until the aimless but amiable spouse develops an invention that could lead bring the pair fame and fortune in writer/director Michel Leclerc's breezy romantic comedy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Irene (Cecile de France) is a cute but klutzy thirtysomething who hasn't had a romantic relationship in four years. Tired of circumstantial celibacy, the paralegal consistently finds herself drawn to unavailable men, particularly her co-worker Luca (Olivier Sitruk). Her friends, all passionately single, offer no support to Irene's plight. Meanwhile, Francois (Bruno Putzulu), an easygoing handyman Irene had hired to paint her apartment, turns out to be her perfect match. Though it looks like Irene may be too wrapped up in translating the signals sent to her from various male co-workers to notice Francois, she eventually comes to see what has been in front of her all along. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide

Can a man find true love with a woman who could easily do a lot better? Octave (Patrick Chesnais) would seem to fit most people's working definition of a loser -- even though he's over 50, he doesn't have a steady job, still lives with his mother (Micheline Presle), and spends most of his time with his friends Achille (Bernard Crombey) and Hector (Jean-Francois Balmer), with whom he plays in a none too impressive jazz combo. But Octave has self-confidence and charm to spare, and he decides to put them to work when he meets Esther (Alexandra Vandernoot). Octave is immediately smitten with Esther, though she's hardly taken with him at first, probably owing to the fact that he'd just run is car into hers. Esther is a successful artist about two decades Octave's junior, and she has a stylish flat and a handsome boyfriend (Samuel Labarthe), hardly needing someone like Octave in her life. But Octave isn't about to give up, and his willingness to do almost anything to get Esther's attention -- including jumping into the Seine -- eventually makes her warm to her curious new suitor. Charmant Garcon was the first feature directed by noted actor Patrick Chesnais, who also starred as Octave. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A middle-aged woman temporarily abandons her role as wife and mother to embark upon a mad love affair with a man 20 years her junior. Up until the time she meets handsome young Emilio, Diane Clovier had a relatively happy life with her husband, kids and career. Emilio, with his amoral charm, is the antithesis of her life and Diane throws herself into a heated frenzy of lovemaking and romance with him. She shows little regard for the destruction she causes within her family. Her husband Phillipe, a lawyer, finds out about the affair, but does nothing to stop it in the hope that she will come to her senses. But as her relationship with Emilio grows hotter, it looks as if Diane may be lost forever. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

After her gynecologist tells her that her current involuntary celibacy could result in her being unable to enjoy sex in the future, Eva (Evelyne Dress) begins to consider ways that she could take active steps to get some action going in that area. Unfortunately, none of the men she currently knows are interested in going to bed with her, including her business partner, who just might be sexually attracted to trees but certainly isn't to her. That being the case, it is particularly galling that he gets jealous at the very notion of her having sex with business clients. Eva discusses these issues (and a great deal more) with her similarly forty-ish gal-pals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

To a non-French speaker, the word La Pagaille looks charming, elegant, even tidy. However, it means "a mess," and a mess is just what the happily divorced Martin gets into when he and his ex-wife Brigitte, the mother of his children, rekindle their long-dormant relationship and announce that they intend to move back in together. Not only do the children find this whole thing confusing, but the husband's and the wife's lovers are equally befuddled. Add to that the need for Martin to meet Brigitte's lover and vice-versa, and you have the beginnings of a mess. When it begins to seem to Brigitte's former lover that he has offended the Muslims with a book he translated and he is slated for death, the whole thing grows yet more complicated. In this comedy, this list only scratches the surface of the messes these people must confront. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Very few people know that Pierre Marroux (Yves Montand) is the father of the famous terrorist Netchaiev (Vincent Lindon), and that's the way he likes to keep it. His boy is now presumed to be dead, and he has a job to do, protecting the safety of those who pay him. However, the boy has recently returned to Paris with a group on an operation. Netchaiev is tired of being a hunted man and is shopping his potential confession around for the best deal. This puts him at odds with his colleagues past and present, and his life is in great danger. When Pierre learns of the situation, he tries to use his skills to find his son before his killers do. Along the way, he learns that the French government has a very shady deal with the terrorists, and it wants Netchaiev dead, too. This thriller is based on a novel by Jacques Semprun. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide