Catherine Frot Movies

As co-directed by Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier, this French spy comedy stars Catherine Frot as the title character - a middle-aged woman with some unusual characteristics. Half Scotch and half Russian, she loves playing rugby and performing on her bagpipes, has a nasty temper, and repeatedly drowns herself in whisky. Though she lives in London, she considers herself an exile. The story opens on a beautiful day in May 1962; as the official secretary at the Amirauté, Imogène visits her superior, Sir Woolish, and promptly expects to be terminated for her wild and unconventional behavior. Instead, she's given a new assignment - Woolish asks her to serve as the convoy, transporting top-secret plans for a new airplane to a contact in Callander, Scotland - which just so happens to be Imogène's place-of-birth. Problems begin to arise, however, when she boards a train and runs headfirst into three ruthless Bolshevik agents. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In a dramatic setup that recalls the opening act of Robert Wise's chiller Audrey Rose (1977), Sandrine Bonnaire (Monsieur Hire) stars as Claire, a mother terrified by the discovery that a strange woman has begun systematically following her little girl, locked within the grip of obsession. In the mean time, we learn more about the other woman, Elsa (Catherine Frot) - an emotionally imbalanced mother locked in a divorce battle for custody of her young son, who finds herself almost magnetically drawn to Claire's little girl after innocently glimpsing the child at a local birthday party. She's drawn not merely to observe, but to covet and ultimately possess, which sends Claire into a maelstrom of terror as she feels compelled to confront and contend with this threatening new presence, and to obtain an answer that will account for the woman's seemingly irrational behavior. But in time, it is Claire whose behavior begins to seem off-center, as she demonstrates a growing paranoia and a willingness to go to almost any length to protect herself and the little girl. Throughout the film, director Safy Nebbou plunges headfirst into a deceptively innocent and placid domestic realm of subdivisions, nursery schools and children's parks while subtly unveiling the potential for devastation that lies beneath all of it. The title phrase - "mark of an angel" - refers to the tiny indentation above the upper lip of each newborn baby, said to be an angel's thumbprint that makes each child unique. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Neophyte director Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's French-language romantic comedy Odette Toulemonde concerns the unlikeliest of relationships that develops between two Parisians. The title character (Catherine Frot) is a forty-year-old saleswoman, saddled with two children (an adolescent daughter and a hairdresser son), who spends her days hawking cosmetics from behind the counter of a Parisian department store. Odette has absolutely no reason to feel limitless joy or to retain a bright, positive outlook on life, but experiences both - thanks in no small part to the novels of her favorite author, Balthazar Balsan (Albert Dupontel). Meanwhile, Balsan ostensibly has everything - money, fame, success - and yet feels unbridled emptiness inside. These two lives suddenly intersect and complement each other in fantastic and unexpected ways. Nicolas Buysse, Jacques Weber, Nina Drecq and Fabrice Murgia co-star; Schmitt authored the original script. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Years after her once-promising career as a professional pianist is tragically sidelined, a young musician still haunted by the past receives a second chance at making things right in director Denis Dercourt's elegant tale of shattered dreams and delicate mutual dependence. Upon performing for the examination board in order to gain entrance into the prestigious musical Conservatory, young pianist Mélanie (Julie Richalet) finds her concentration shattered when the chairwoman of the jury - herself a famous concert pianist - carelessly signs an autograph for a fan. Her endless hours of rigorous training suddenly rendered useless by the pass of a pen, Mélanie remains unable to regain her composure after the incident and subsequently gives up music altogether after failing to pass the test. Years later, Mélanie is a file clerk at a well-renowned law firm whose skills soon catch the eye of senior partner M. Fouchécourt (Pascal Greggory). Impressed by her solid work ethic and unwavering dependability, Fouchécourt hires Mélanie as a live-in nanny whose duty it will be to watch over his son during an extended business trip. Upon arriving at Fouchécourt's lavish countryside mansion, Mélanie makes the acquaintance of Mme. Fouchécourt (Catherine Frot) - the very same pianist whose thoughtless action sent Mélanie's life into an irreversible downward spiral. It seems that now the tables have turned, and Mme. Fouchécourt herself has lost the confidence to perform. Her frazzled nerves somehow calmed by the presence of the quiet new helper, Mme. Fouchécourt implores Mélanie to sit in on her recitals and become her personal page turner as she attempts to overcome her debilitating fear of failure. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The comedy Chouchou has a cross-dressing gay immigrant as a main character. Chouchou (Gad Elmaleh) arrives illegally in Paris, where he finds a home thanks to a pair of kindly priests. He eventually finds work with a parishioner who allows him to clean her house while dressed in women's clothing. Soon Chouchou is working at night at a local club where he falls for Stainslas (Alain Chabat), who introduces Chouchou to his parents. Chouchou's illegal residency may be the hurdle that the couple cannot clear on their way to happiness. The film was adapted from a one-man play originally written and performed by Elmaleh. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Un Couple Épatant (An Amazing Couple) is the second installment in the ambitious French-language trilogy directed by Belgian-born filmmaker Lucas Belvaux. Where the first film, Cavale (On the Run), was a film noir thriller, this sequel is a lighthearted romantic comedy in the style of a classic French farce. Schoolteacher Cecile Costes (Ornella Muti) is worried about her husband, Alain (François Morel). He's overly concerned with his physical health and well-being, so much so that he keeps his hospital appointments a secret from his wife. Thinking he's been having an affair, Cecile hires Pascal Manise (Gilbert Melki) to spy on him. Alain then starts to suspect Cecile of being unfaithful, even though he knows Pascal is married to her friend Agnes (Dominique Blanc). An Amazing Couple was following by the third installment in the trilogy, the melodrama Après la Vie (After Life). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

After Life is the third film in Lucas Belvaux's ambitious Trilogy, following On the Run, a thriller, and An Amazing Couple, a romantic comedy. After Life features the same characters as the other two films and happens over the same time period, but it's a melodrama, and the focus is on Pascal (Gilbert Melki), a cop, and his wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), a teacher, who is also a morphine addict. Agnes depends on Pascal to supply her with morphine, and he in turn has an arrangement to procure the drug from a nefarious local businessman, Jaquillat (Patrick Descamps). When a violent radical leftist, Bruno (Belvaux), escapes from prison and kills an associate of Jaquillat's, Jaquillat threatens to withhold Pascal's morphine supply until Bruno is dead. As his wife's mental and physical health deteriorates, Pascal feels compelled to subvert his moral qualms about turning the criminal over. His investigation leads him to detain Jeanne (Catherine Frot), a co-worker of Agnes' with past ties to Bruno. Cécile (Ornella Muti), another of Agnes' co-workers, begins to suspect that her husband, Alain (François Morel), is having an affair, and asks Pascal to look into it. Pascal finds his interest in the case is more than professional when he begins to develop feelings for Cécile. Meanwhile, Agnes, feeling neglected and desperate, goes out into the street to try to find her fix. She ends up running into Bruno, and the two forge an unlikely alliance. Belvaux's Trilogy was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

The foibles of a group of genial eccentrics scattered through the city of Nantes set the stage for this comedy-drama, taking place during one particular Wednesday. Martin Socoa (Vincent Lindon) is a well-meaning loser juggling more than his share of problems when, after a marathon card game, he remembers it's his day to look after Victoria (Victoria Lafaurie), his daughter from his first failed marriage. It's an especially bad day for Martin to play babysitter; he needs to close an important deal at work, he has a court date involving unpaid alimony, and his girlfriend (Catherine Frot) thinks its time she gave him the boot. Meanwhile, a group of kids discover a three-year-old who has managed to wander away from his parents, and they watch after him for the rest of the day, preferring not to get any grownups involved. Elsewhere, as Chief of Police Pelloutier (Olivier Gourmet) has to deal with unrepentant shoplifter Marie Therese (Armelle), his wife Marie (Anne Le Ny) prepares for a trip out of town related to her position in the Navy, even though she's in the last month of pregnancy. And two pairs of love-struck teenagers each figure out their own ways to slip away from their parents as they set out for a romantic trip on the Loire River. The film's French title, Mercredi, Folle Journee!, roughly translates into English as Wednesday -- Crazy Day!; one unstated plot point that may be lost on audiences outside Europe is that many French schools are traditionally closed on Wednesdays. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In the offbeat comedy La Dilettante, Pierette (Catherine Frot) is a woman who describes herself as having "opted for the temporary on a permanent basis." After 15 years of living the good life in Switzerland, Pierette one day packs her bags full of fashionable outfits and returns to her native Paris with no idea of what she'll do. Pierette, however, leads a charmed life; while her son is forced to work the graveyard shift at a factory due to poor job prospects, she's able to find a job right away at a high school. Pierette soon reintroduces herself to her 23-year-old daughter (Barbara Schulz) and one-time best friend (Nathalie Lafaurie), trying to use her charm to skate over years of neglect. She just as suddenly finds a new beau, Ackerman (Bernard Verley), and starts helping him out with his antique business. However, what would seem like a simple matter -- buying a clock from an elderly woman -- soon turns out to be very complicated and fraught with consequence. The first directorial effort in eight years from Pascal Thomas, La Dilettante was shown as part of the 1999 Moscow Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Martin Lamotte made his directorial debut with this French comedy. Building contractor Patrick (Sam Karmann) is unaware that Helene (Catherine Frot), his wife for 15 years, intends to celebrate their wedding anniversary with a surprise party. She's invited friends and relatives to spend the weekend at their blue house. Elsewhere down the road, at an identical blue house, Patrick and his other love, Elizabeth (co-scripter Carol Brenner), the mother of his two-year-old daughter, are planning an engagement party for the son of their neighbor. Neither woman knows about the other, and this sticky situation requires Patrick to rush back and forth from one blue house to another throughout the evening. The story is told in flashback by Patrick -- from his hospital bed. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Alain Berberian directed this French comedy about night watchman Franck (Patrick Timsit), who skips out on work to attend a soccer match. He sits next to a TV star who's photographed. The photo makes the cover of a national magazine, prompting Franck's boss to fire him. He can't bring himself to tell his beautician wife Evelyne (Catherine Frot), but he asks for compensation from the magazine. Franck becomes friends with paparazzo Michel (Vincent Lindon) without learning that it was Michel who got him fired. The film's commentary on paparazzi and privacy surfaces: Michel discovers he can't seem to get rid of the nerdy Franck, who constantly follows him about. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi