Jean-Christophe Bouvet Movies

French success d'estime Luc Besson (La Femme Nikita) follows up his children's fantasy Arthur and the Invisibles (2006) with this high-adrenaline, action-charged crime comedy that he produced and scripted but did not direct. At the heart of the tale is a nitwit Marseilles cop, Police Commissioner Gilbert (Bernard Farcy), prone to making outrageous blunders such as mistaking soccer star Djibril Cisse (in a cameo) for an illegal immigrant, and a hotel chambermaid for a terrorist. The other major member of the force is Emilien (Frederic Diefenthal), a hard-working soul, yet one perhaps too genial to be a cop. He's best friends with taxicab driver Daniel (Samy Naceri), an individual low-key to the point of anemia; their young sons enjoy playing together. As the tale opens, a manically insane, hyperactive Belgian criminal, "La Belge," (Jean-Luc Couchard) undergoes extradition to trial in Africa; en route, he temporarily lands in the Marseilles police department for a few hours and bamboozles Emilien into believing that he's actually a Belgian embassy employee railroaded by the real crook, who is now at large. Emilien foolishly buys the story and sets La Belge free -- prompting an outrageous and explosive series of complications. Meanwhile, Emilien's achingly beautiful wife (sex symbol Emma Sjoberg-Wyklund) has been assigned to infiltrate La Belge's gang on an undercover level -- so far undercover that Emilien himself isn't even aware of her role. Upon release, Taxi 4 shot to the top of the French box office charts to qualify as a local blockbuster, topping numerous American releases in the process. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard once again poses a number of provocative questions about art, politics, and the nexus point between them in this drama in three acts, "Hell," "Purgatory," and "Paradise." After a collage of film clips illustrate a meditation on the nature of war and conflict in society, Godard introduces his central set piece, in which a group of authors, artists, and noted thinkers gather for a symposium taking place in the battle-scarred city of Sarajevo. Olga Brodsky (Nade Dieu) is a young journalist who is French and Jewish by birth and Israeli by choice; she has come to discuss the conflict between her adopted nation and Palestine with some of the many notables in attendance, in particular a celebrated Palestinian author. As Olga wrestles with issues of conflict, identity, and culture along with others at the conference, one of the participants, Jean-Luc Godard, points out the frustrating similarities between the grammar of cinema and human nature, and posits the notion that it's the essential differences of the peoples of the world, rather than their similarities, which are at the root of our culture. Notre Musique was a prizewinner at the 2004 San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it was named Film of the Year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this tart comedy from France, Raphael (Edouard Baer) is a glib but talented author who has built a career out of ghost-writing autobiographies for a variety of celebrities. Raphael is also happily dating Muriel (Marie-Josée Croze), a successful architect, but that begins to change when he begins his latest project, a book on soccer superstar Kevin (Clovis Cornillac). While wading through Kevin's monumental ego and strange creative notions is a challenge in itself, what really sets Raphael's mind off course is the discovery that Kevin is dating Claire (Alice Taglioni), the object of Raphael's unrequited affection while he was in college. Raphael is suddenly determined to win Claire away from Kevin, though he hasn't figured out how to do this without alienating his wife and his client. Mensonges et Trahisons et Plus Si Affinité (released in English-speaking territories as The Story of My Life) was screened in competition at the 2004 Avignon Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Nicholas Cuche's supernatural comedy Jojo La Frite (Accidental Saint) stars Didier Becchetti and Frederic Saurel as a pair of small-time con artists. Ralph (Becchetti) and Swan (Saurel) barely survive by committing petty thefts and scams. At Christmastime Swan stops a mugger from getting away with a woman's purse. Suddenly a halo appears above Swan's head. He is now an angel. This gives his partner Ralph fits as Swan is no longer able to engage in immoral activities. When Swan performs a miracle, crime boss Benz (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) becomes interested in exploiting them for profit. Accidental Saint was screened at the Avignon Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The cast and crew from the 1998 Gallic megahit Taxi return for this high-octane sequel about a crime-bustin' cabby and a defrocked cop. The film opens with Daniel (Samy Naceri) rushing a pregnant woman to the hospital in his souped cab through the streets of Marseilles. Meanwhile, taciturn cop Emilien (Frederic Diefenthal) finally passes his driving test after flunking 27 times in a row. The action really gets rolling when blonde bombshell police woman Petra (Emma Sjoberg) gets kidnapped on the toilet by ninjas and added to their collection of hostages, including the Japanese minister of defense. The yakuza are out for trouble, and nothing stands between bedlam and civil order but two guys and one wicked-cool cab. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

The directorial debut of Manuela Viegas, Gloria is an adolescent rite-of-passage tale set against the backdrop of a rural landscape slowly disappearing in modern Portugal. The small border town of Vila de Santiago, once a booming trade center for illegal trafficking, is about to become a ghost town. A new motorway is to bypass the city, the railway station is being closed, and its stationmaster, Vincente, is preparing to retire. Many young people have moved out, leaving the children to be brought up by elderly neighbors, including a streetwise thirteen-year-old named Gloria. Gloria finds it hard to stay in one place very long; she likes to play on the hills and in between the ruins. A drizzly autumn has come on, and the smell of charred trees and shrubs (victims of a terrible forest fire) still fill the air. The young girl's life is suddenly changed by the arrival of Vincente's son, Mauro, who has just come out of prison and is ready to settle some accounts. Rumor has it that it was Mauro who burnt Vincente's house. As soon as he makes his appearance, Mauro begins to charge around the station on his motorbike, threatening his brother, while Gloria's friendship with Ivan is put to test on account of her attraction to Mauro. Director Viegas has been working as an editor since the late 1970's, which is evident in her work. At the heart of Gloria is a strong sense of time -- the seasons following one another, the community slowly dying. things happening that change the young lives irrevocably. Gloria was screened in competition at the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

This French comedy parodies horror movies and detective films. It is set at the Cannes Film Festival. There, Odile, a sincere publicist, tries to promote the horror movie "Red Is Dead." The movie tells of a killer in a welding mask who wields a hammer and sickle with deadly results. The trouble begins when a real killer with the same m.o. begins knocking off projectionists at market screenings. In true publicist form, Odile immediately brings the film's star to the festival. To protect him, Odile hires a handsome bodyguard. Odile finds herself romanced by a police commissioner. Meanwhile a stranger lurks in the distance. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Young, naive and innocent, Pierre (Manuel Blanc) has dreams of becoming an actor. He is a good-looking and personable boy, and he has just moved to the city to see if he can't accomplish his dreams. He gets a job as an orderly at a hospital and is further supported by an older woman (Helene Vincent), a nurse he has met there, in return for his sexual favors. However, in his acting class, he quickly discovers that he is not overflowing with talent, and his dream of becoming an actor grows dim. Instead, despite the advice of a knowledgeable and worldly older gay man (Philippe Noiret), he becomes a sex worker. It has long been a staple of the movies that certain hustlers and prostitutes maintain a distinction between their work and their lives by not kissing their clients, hence the title of this film, J'embrasse Pas. He grows to love the seedy, degraded lifestyle, and seems to be adapting well to his new profession until he has the poor judgement to fall in love with a high-class prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) and earns the antagonism of her pimp. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Oliver Megaton's action thriller Red Siren, an adaptation of Maurice G. Dantec's La Sirene Rouge, concerns the unusual friendship that develops between a 12-year-old girl, Alice (Alexandra Negrao) and a jaded, 40-year-old hired killer, Hugo (Jean-Marc Barr), who finds, in her, a new lease on life. A group of bad guys are hunting the girl because of her evil mother - relentlessly trying to track her down. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

Claude Chabrol's Comedy of Power stars Isabelle Huppert as a French judge who attempts to bring down the very powerful but corrupt CEO of a large corporation. As she digs deeper into the case, she uncovers criminal activity that stretches into the highest levels of government, and her life is turned upside down by death threats as well as her sudden celebrity. The film follows as her career affects her family. Loosely based on real events, Comedy of Power had its North American debut at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide