Yan Epstein Movies
- 2001
A woman learns to care for others when she's forced to help people on the wrong side of the law in this drama. Marie-Line (Muriel Robin) is a single woman in her mid-forties who oversees the cleaning crew at a large office building. On the job, Marie-Line is all business, with no patience for laziness and no tolerance for employees who do less than a perfect job. But Marie-Line's bosses are in the midst of a money crunch and they've cut back on her budget, so when several of her employees quit, she has to find new cleaners willing to work for a lower wage. Marie-Line soon finds new workers willing to work hard for low pay, but there's a catch -- most of them are illegal aliens, smuggled into France from Africa, Albania, or the Middle East, and when police begin asking questions about Marie-Line's new cleaners, she has to scramble to cover for them. Marie-Line also discovers that many of her new hires have children they can't afford to leave with sitters or day care, so she finds herself helping to look after the kids, which brings out a compassionate side of her that she has spent much of life trying to keep hidden. Muriel Robin's performance in Marie-Line earned her a Best Actress nomination at the 2001 Cesar Awards (the French Academy Awards). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Muriel Robin, Fejria Deliba, (more)
A cop from the city of lights finds adventure and romance in the Land of the Rising sun in this thriller. Hubert (Jean Reno) is a detective with the French police force who's the kind of cop who doesn't let little details get in the way of catching crooks -- and isn't afraid to speak with his fists if talking doesn't do the job. When Hubert gets in a dust-up with an innocent bystander while trying to apprehend a group of bank robbers, he learns the passerby was the son of the Chief of Police -- and Hubert is put on suspension for two months. Just as Hubert wonders what to do for the next 60 days, he learns that an old flame has died; 19 years ago, he was sent to Tokyo on assignment, and fell in love with a woman named Miko. Even though Hubert hadn't seen Miko in years, he was the sole beneficiary named in her will, and Hubert goes to Tokyo to sort out her effects. Once in Japan, Hubert meets Miko's daughter Yumi (Ryoko Hirosue), who doesn't think much of Hubert and appears to be unaware that he is her biological father. As Hubert tries to bond with Yumi, he examines the facts behind Miko's death and begins to suspect her death was no accident, and with the help of his buddy Momo (Michel Muller), he tries to find out the truth about her death. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Reno, Ryoko Hirosue, (more)
- 1998
Olivier Peray made his directorial debut with this French-Swiss-Spanish co-production reminiscent of Eric Rohmer romances. At a roadside cafe, Sophie (Sarah Grappin) listens while Alain (Vincent Elbaz) tells her a story about Lionel (Bruno Putzulu), seen sitting elsewhere in the cafe. As the tale progresses, the film does a four-year flashback: Alain and Lionel are both employed at a publishing firm where Lionel gains such a rep as a "sex machine" that Alain bets him he can't spend a night with a woman without having sex. Lionel agrees to this bet and chooses to hit on Claire (Smadi Wolfman), a travel agent who initially gives him a false name and address and then later tells him she's married. After much sex-slanted repartee, the two have sex. The movie might end right here (at the 40-minute mark) -- except that Alain reveals to Sophie that he has not related a true account of the actual events. He then launches into a totally different version of what transpired. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruno Putzulu, Smadi Wolfman, (more)
- 1996
Arthur Rimbaud, the title character of this film, was a noted French poet who at the age 26 abandoned his profession to become a North African trader/wanderer. This epic biopic tells his strange and tragic tale. A rather depressive and tormented soul, Rimbaud began his adventures in the early 1800s in a coastal village in Abysinia (modern-day Ethiopia). He joined an expedition and began an arduous journey across the Sahara. During the entire trip, the morose Rimbaud said nothing. Upon reaching their final destination, Rimbaud is horrified to see that the streets are ruled by packs of wild dogs. He attempts to rectify this by poisoning the beasts, an act that makes him unwelcome amongst the locals. Next, Rimbaud begins working with a gun runner and sets off to sell arms to a powerful African ruler. A double cross spells tragedy for the poet. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1994
This "heist" film tells the story of a robbery in a stadium during the Le Mans 24 hour motorcycle race. Throughout the film are constant references to other movies in the genre. A policeman investigating the robbery is surprised to discover that the heist bears striking resemblance to the robbery depicted in Stanley Kubrick's 1956 film, The Killing. The robbery itself was perpetrated by Bernard, an ex-racer who dedicates the theft to a dead peer. He enlists the help of Thierry and several others to steal 6 million francs from the gate. He and his gang then hideout in the stadium until the race is over. Things are working against Bernard though. Two martial-arts experts try to cut in on the action. A gang member's girlfriend squeals to the cops, and an Arab assistant is killed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-François Stévenin, Jean-Pierre Malo, (more)
- 1991
While contemplating her single state, an unmarried woman writer tosses and turns in bed. Her lover, a doctor, wants her to join him in Paris. On the other hand, she thinks maybe she should end the relationship. All of a sudden, as she lies restless in bed, she is struck with inspiration for three separate stories, which the film shows. In "A Man And Two Women," a married woman who has just given birth to a baby is entertaining a female friend of hers at their home and suggests that the friend and her husband start an affair, since all her energy is tied up in the baby. This suggestion heightens the sexual tension already present among the three players. In "One Another," a married woman gets rid of her husband and chooses to become romantically involved with her brother instead. In "Our Friend Judith," a woman finds a sense of renewal while on vacation on the island of Elba by bedding her handsome hairdresser. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Stroh, Lambert Wilson, (more)
- 1991
François (Thierry Lhermitte) has convinced his wife and nearly everyone else that he is a pleasant, downtrodden civil servant who has been immured in a dead-end job. In reality, he is a very competent secret operative for the government. Meanwhile, Helene (Miou-Miou), the mother of his two children, has grown bored with her dull husband and is considering whether or not she should have an affair with an attractively sleazy used-car salesman who has been feeding her his standard seduction line: that he's a secret agent (which, in his case, is a lie). When François discovers this, he concocts a plan to teach his wife a lesson, which grows unexpectedly complicated when the two of them stumble across an international arms-smuggling cartel. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thierry Lhermitte, Miou-Miou, (more)
- 1989
- R
Martin (Remi Martin) is a shy baker's assistant with a stutter who has a penchant for felines and fast cars. He is building a car in his garage, oblivious to the fact that when it is completed he will not be able to drive it out of the structure. The kind-hearted Martin takes in Camille (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu), a chic junkie he hides in the garage. Love blossoms between the unlikely duo, and Camille is soon impregnated. She is able to escape the deadly lifestyle, and Martin finally escapes the grip of his harridan shrew of a mother (Monique Chaumette). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Remi Martin, (more)
- 1986
- PG
This adaptation of Ben Hecht's novel is a satire that unfolds as a mystery story. A Hollywood studio is producing another spectacular when the top billed male stars suddenly show up as corpses, killed before the critics could ever put pen to paper. Under suspicion is a talent agent. Is he guilty or not? These macabre events have everyone off their feed, from the producers down to the lowest gofer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Poiret, Michel Blanc, (more)
- 1986
In this action thriller, Richard Anconina is Willie, a young and lonesome cop who loves lonesome cowboy music. While on a drug case Willie comes across a mulatta named Jo (model Ambre of Senegalese extraction), who is trapped in a dismal life of prostitution by two abusive Lebanese brothers, who also work in the illegal weapons business. Risking his own life, Willie frees Jo from their fierce imprisonment, but the battered woman runs right back again. Understanding her dilemma, Willie keeps at it until she comes around and stays with him -- but by now the two arms dealers have long decided to use their merchandise to wipe Willie off the Parisian streets. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Anconina, Ambre, (more)
