Patrick Chesnais Movies
Prolific and versatile French character player Patrick Chesnais received his formal dramatic training under the tutelage of René Simon and Lise Delamare at the famed Conservatoire National d'Art Dramatique in Paris in the late '60s, and took his premier bow as an actor in 1976, with a small role in Jacques Rozier's The Castaways of Turtle Island. Over four dozen assignments ensued over the following few decades, typically supporting roles for acclaimed directors including Jacques Renard (Monsieur Albert), Diane Kurys (Cocktail Molotov), Michel Deville (La Lectrice), and Claude Lelouch (La Belle Histoire). Chesnais debuted as a writer/director with the 2001 Charmant Garçon, in which he also starred; in that romantic comedy, he played a middle-aged loser who attempts to make a serious play for a woman after hitting her car. Chesnais subsequently netted a fair amount of international attention for his supporting turn as a slightly unctuous physician in Julian Schnabel's festival darling The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1997
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
- Starring:
- Brigitte Roüan, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1992
After years of increasing boredom in her marriage, architect Emily (Cecilia Peck) gets her husband (Patrick Chesnais) to play at being a superspy to spice things up. This gives him a perfect excuse to put on a bright yellow hat and coat and make like Dick Tracy. It also gives some real-life spies the excuse they need to embroil the couple in some pretty hair-raising adventures. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cecilia Peck, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1981
- R
In this tender and sentimental comedy, Ben (Victor Lanoux), a Parisian Jew, copes with the dramas in his everyday life against the background of his family's survival of the Holocaust. Things between him and his wife are not any too easy, and on top of it, he has to heed his father's concerns, even though he lives in Israel now. His grandfather, who lives in the south of France, is a very old man, but is still a romantic obsessed with women. These tensions come to the fore when the family gathers to celebrate the patriarch's 90th birthday. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Victor Lanoux, Jane Birkin, (more)
- 1993
Helene (Anemone) is looking for her love of 25 years ago. She is 43 now, was 18 then. She has returned to the last place she saw him, a large house in the country. Once there, she finds Ariane making love to Matthieu. Matthieu is Sabine's husband; Sabine is younger than he is, she wants a child, Matthieu doesn't. Also at the time Helene arrives, she finds Lena leaning on a door, in tears. she has a lover 23 years younger than her, named Marc. Lena also has a child, Michel, a bright lad. The household also includes Cecile, who thought she was invited to babysit someone, and instead sits at the piano playing light classical tunes by the composer Gottschalk. When Helene is able to get the attention of these busy people, she confides her purpose to them, and in this bedroom farce they all agree to do whatever they can to help her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anémone, Xavier Beauvois, (more)
- 1983
- R
Directors Jean-Henri Roger and Juliet Berto begin this thriller with sequences on the contemporary politics of southern France and the infiltration of organized crime into real estate development there -- the crime bosses were torching forest tracts to make way for their development schemes in the early 1980s. In the fictionalized story, Paula Barretto (Juliet Berto) is caught in this underworld because her father was involved in the drug business, her brother is in the real estate scam, and her lover is an armed thief. Although she tries to get out of her corrupt and dangerous environment, it is not an easy task when even the police officers cannot be trusted, and the underworld has informants everywhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Bohringer, Jean-Claude Brialy, (more)
- 2001
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
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Alexandra Van Der Noot, (more)
- 1980
- R
This youthful drama centers on a group of teens struggling to become adults without losing their youthful aspirations. It begins as Caron leaves the pressure of her home life for Venice in hopes of finding spontaneity and fun. She is followed by her boyfriend Lebas and his friend Cluzet. Lebas hopes that he will convince her to go home. Trouble begins after his car and her stuff are stolen in Italy. When they learn that workers and students have been rioting in Paris, they quickly return, eager to join the fray. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elise Caron, Philippe Lebas, (more)
- 1989
When Corentin (Roland Giraud) marries a young woman, he is unable to consummate the marriage in this costumed comedy. He is threatened under church law with seizure of his property and annulment of the marriage unless he can consummate before the eyes of a prying public tribunal. The film is based on a true story from 17th-century France. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roland Giraud, Muriel Brener, (more)
- 1988
This French drama explores the desolation felt by a young girl whose divorced concert pianist mother and businessman father are too self-absorbed to give her any attention. Louise (Sophie Rochut) stoically attempts to carry on, despite the disregard of those around her. Her stoicism is shattered by a few moments of incidental friendliness from a journalist. She runs away to find him, despite not even knowing his name or address. She returns home, unsuccessful, and throws herself in the river. This suicide attempt momentarily brings mother and daughter together, but we are left with little hope that things will really be better in the long run. Writer/director Michele Rosier tells this sad story with a minimum of melodramatics, which makes it even more effective. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Clevenot, Dominique Valadie, (more)
- 1984
Femmes De Personne is a French "feminist" film that comes off as slightly misogynistic (not to mention misanthropic) at times. Is it possible to be happy in business and still be happy in bed? The four leading ladies, all successful career women, don't seem particularly blissful. On the contrary, their boudoir activity seems to be as much a trial as going to work each morning. Femmes De Personne was directed by novelist Christopher Frank, most of whose books are variations on the theme "It's miserable at the top". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marthe Keller, Caroline Cellier, (more)
- 2007
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
- Starring:
- Michaël Youn, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 1990
In this somewhat odd exploration of human romantic difficulties, the people in the film are all put under extra stress by the fact that on the day in question, they have lost an hour to daylight savings time. In addition, it is a full moon. Neither factor improves their response to the mild stresses they experience, which have been building up for several years. The beginning of the film shows a number of couples getting married, and follows them and a few others a few years later, on the day of the time change. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
- 2002
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
- Starring:
- Cécile De France, Bruno Putzulu, (more)
- 1999
In Oscar-winning director Sam Karmann's feature debut, full-time novelist Simon (Jean-Pierre Bacri) slowly slides off the deep end. Bored and thoroughly self-absorbed, he spends more of his time playing with a revolver and performing oral surgery on himself than on his writing. In a series of morosely defiant voice-overs, Simon ridicules everything from his grown children who he thinks he never should have bothered with fathering to his wife who is having an affair with an ears, nose, and throat specialist. In his tedium, he becomes obsessed with his psychologist's watch, supposedly the very watch that John F. Kennedy had on his wrist the day he was assassinated. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Bacri, Nicole Garcia, (more)
- 1979
Director Robert Enrico has attempted to adapt a novel, by Hortense Dufour, of larger-than-life figures to a larger-than-life screen. The drama in the novel has not translated well. It is a rather routine story of men at a highway construction site in 1965 who guide huge machinery around by day and in the end, have difficulties with their nomadic lifestyle. The work and its conditions are demanding, yet the men and their families do not extend beyond a set series of stereotypes that would be familiar territory to most audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zoe Chauveau, Mario Adorf, (more)
- 1980
A hot topic might be overly simplified for some viewers in this first-time political drama by Stephane Kurc. Marc (Patrick Chesnais) is a leftist and leans more towards militancy than compromise in his work at a Paris television station. Unlike Marc, his friend Françoise (Olivier Granier) is ambitious and has an obliging personality that nets him the shared directorship of a weekly current events show. Ready to help Marc out if he can, Françoise gives him an assignment to report on an Algerian immigrant camp. The results are as freewheeling as Marc's opinions, and a small tempest in a teapot threatens to shape up into a more serious storm. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Chesnais, Olivier Granier, (more)
- 1992
It is a commonplace that past actions affect our present circumstances. This ambitious movie attempts to show how truly distant actions from former lives affect the subsequent lives of the protagonists. In the story, beginning in Roman times, a wanderer (Gerard Lanvin) miraculously tames some wild bees for a group of lepers, who are killed shortly after that by Roman soldiers. In modern times, a group of gypsies enjoy their communal life, full of dancing and merriment, and have a strong affinity for horses. At the same time, a genial female con-artist (Beatrice Dalle) is putting her boyfriend on a plane. When a handsome gypsy (the wanderer in his former life) meets the con-artist (one of the lepers in her former life), it is love at first sight. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Béatrice Dalle, (more)
- 1988
- R
At the suggestion of a friend, Constance (Miou-Miou) places an ad in the paper offering her services as a reader in this romantic comedy drama. Her job leads her to a variety of employers and occasional romantic involvement. Maria Casares plays the widow of an East European general who has Constance read Tolstoy and Marx. Pierre Dux is the local magistrate who prefers to hear the memoirs of the Marquis de Sade. She also has an affair with a harried business executive played by Patrick Chesnais. This film was named the "Best Feature" at the 1988 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miou-Miou, Christian Ruche, (more)
- 1991
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
- Starring:
- Rémy Girard, Coralie Seyrig, (more)
- 1980
In this drama, a provincial girl goes to Paris in search of her fortune. Although she finds the City of Light to be quite different from what she'd imagined it to be, the girl manages to retain her dignity. It is only after she is thoroughly disillusioned by her experiences there that she returns to her country life. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruno Ganz, Patrick Chesnais, (more)
