Eva Darlan Movies

Michel Blanc stars as Aymé, a grumpy recently widowed farmer, in writer/actress Isabelle Mergault's directorial debut, the romantic comedy You Are So Handsome. When Aymé's work partner and wife dies suddenly in an unfortunate accident, he quickly realizes that he needs someone around to help him with the womanly half of the chores. An unsentimental sort, within days he's contacted a service to find him a new wife. This brings him to Romania, where he's introduced to a lot of much younger women, most of whom take the wrong tack, dressing skimpily and telling Aymé how handsome he is. Elena (Medeea Marinescu), a single mother, is as eager to move to France and make some money as the next girl, but she takes the time to assess the situation, puts on a sweater, and tells Aymé, in her charmingly broken French, how much she's always wanted to live on a farm and work with animals. Her strategy works, and Aymé decides to bring her back to France, but, embarrassed about what he's done, he comes up with a lame cover story to fool his best friend, Roland (Wladimir Yordanoff), and the rest of his neighbors. He tells them she's a distant relative who's visiting the farm as an "intern," and has Elena pretend that she speaks no French at all. Elena expects them to have a real marriage, and is disappointed when she realizes that Aymé just wants her to work. Eventually, Aymé realizes his feelings for Elena go deeper than expected, but by then, her frustration and homesickness are becoming too much to bear. You Are So Handsome was shown as part of The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in 2006. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide

The gay drama Just a Question of Love stars Cyrille Thouvenin as Laurent, a young man whose relationship with his female roommate allows him to hide his homosexuality from the public eye. He meets Cedric (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié), a man very comfortable with living publicly as a homosexual. The two fall in love, and soon Laurent meets Cedric's mother, who offers her son nothing but love and support. Soon the couple comes to a crossroads when Laurent is unsure he can come out of the closet, but Cedric tells him their relationship can not continue otherwise. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

After a 10-year absence, 27-year-old Amelie (Florence Pernel) returns home to suburban Paris and the decaying motorcycle-dealership/junkyard where she was raised. Her hope is that time has healed the open wound of hostility between herself and her alcoholic older brother Adrien (Dominique Pinon). Amelie dusts off an ancient motorcycle, revs it up, and practices riding inside the immense sphere of metal latticework constructed by her late father. The local popularity of this stunt suggests a broader appeal plus profits, so soon the act goes on the road, where emotions spin out of control. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

This experimental drama is something of an actor's challenge: see if you can convincingly play an age range from six to thirty six without any makeup or costume changes, just by using your gifts as a performer. In this film, the role of Victorine poses just such a challenge to Anouk Grinberg, who appears as this child of the Marseilles slums. At any moment in the film, she is likely to be any age. The young girl cowering at her mother's feet becomes a sexual wunderkind, as well as observing the bizarre and often sexual antics of her multiracial neighbors. If there is one theme for the movie beyond Victorine's odd life, it is that everyone needs affection and support. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Bertille (Giuletta Masina) has a lovely home in the French countryside -- and plenty of grab-happy children and relatives who want a piece of the inheritance they expect from her. That's why, even though she's not their favorite relative (nor they hers) they all appear at one final reunion on the estate before she sells it. However, truth will out, and in little ways and large ones, the disagreeable relatives show cracks in their "let's make nice" facade. Meanwhile, Bertille is hoping that her youngest son might appear, since the event was advertised in the local papers. He has been in prison for the past dozen or so years on a bank-robbery charge. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Martin Morel (Jean Poiret) is a philandering executive who talks his friend Guillaume (Jacques Villeret) into posing as the husband of his teenage mistress in this uneven romantic comedy. Morel's indulgent wife Beatrice (Eva Darlan) must decide whether or not to forgive Martin after Guillaume and the mistress fall in love. All the action takes place at the Morel family's Alpine ski resort. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Luis Rego stars as a philandering husband who runs a concession stand in this uneven sex comedy. He is successful for years juggling his amorous adventures between his wife and mistress. When he falls for a sultry lounge singer with a sadomasochist streak, he takes on far more than he can handle. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The sentiments of producer, co-writer, and star Alain Delon provide the particular slant in this routine thriller about vigilante justice over other vigilantes. The angry hero (Delon) leaves France in a fury because of a technicality in the justice system that failed to convict the murderers of his wife. After lazing away his days in a Congolese village, sleeping with whatever woman he chooses or playing cards, he finds out that vigilantes have murdered his daughter because they are intent on ridding France of undesirables -- which include delinquents (a category mistakenly attributed to her) and North Africans, as well as drug dealers. Now really out of control, revenge propels the bereaved father to return home and murder the vigilantes one by one, maiming them first to watch them suffer. Justice, of course, is too blind to catch up with him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Servolle (Claude Brasseur) is a police inspector and Faguet (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is a real estate dealer who become good friends because of their shared love of bicycling -- something they do each Sunday with others of like mind, circling a wooded park area. While they are pedaling away one Sunday morning, Faguet's wife is murdered by a sniper that had been the target of Servolle's investigations for many months. Outraged at this tragedy, he vows to Faguet that he will find the killer. But as time passes, the inspector begins to wonder if Faguet did not curry his friendship in order to get him (Faguet) off the list as a suspect in his wife's murder. This preoccupies Servolle, as he discovers that Faguet has lied to him several times already. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Rien ne va plus, by director Jean-Michel Ribes, is a series of comedy sketches of disparate quality, on the social, cultural, and political foibles that make the French, French. Various settings and character types are given a once-over, including pseudo-intellectuals, punk bikers, right-wingers, and patrons of a low-end cafe. Some of the skits seem to revolve around a good idea, but when the script and dialogue have to deliver, the idea tends to deflate before being realized. Comics Jacques Villeret and Roland Blanche are among the actors featured here. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

When a real-estate promoter attempts to take over the homes of two electronics whizzes and boot them out, they contrive ingenious ways to inconvenience and harass him. Louise (Catherine Deneuve) specializes in robots and artificial intelligence, and Leo (Claude Brasseur) makes miniature machines. By pooling their knowledge, they are able to pull off a crucial robbery using a very special box of chocolates. The bond they form while fighting their common enemy transforms into one of love. Despite their victory over the tycoon, they accept the patronage of an Arab king and leave for a place where their unusual skills are appreciated. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide