Tonie Marshall Movies

The idea for this film about a generation and its lost ideals came to Romain Goupil after attending several funerals of friends in the fall of 1996, where the '68 generation, now in influential positions in media or politics, kept meeting each other. It seemed as if the revolution that they had tried to make was being buried with each coffin. A mort la mort is in some ways an homage to this generation, now in their fifties. They were a privileged generation that thought that they could change the world, doing everything that their parents failed to do. There were no actual deaths in France as there were in Germany or Italy, but the system was not ideal for personal issues or for love. There was always a scapegoat for the injustices of the world, be it capitalism or imperialism. That way the blame could be placed somewhere else. Some of the '68 generation are still faithful to the principles of their youth and still continue to fight for the illusions of the past. But with the war going on in Kosovo, the only way is to take direct action against Fascism. While narrating the story of a generation, the director uses humor, making fun of the thousand ways of fidelity to ideas, to passion and to women and how the ideal of fidelity fares when confronted with reality. The protagonist, Thomas (played by Goupil himself) tries to face life that has passed with a theory of offense. That is why he has to say "'Death to Death'' to put an end to all deaths, but this is an illusion, it is fiction which only cinema can make real. The film tries to face all issues by taking a contrary approach. 52nd Cannes Film Festival, 1999. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Michel and Juliette have just broken up over Michel's affair with the much younger Romance. Alice and Nicolas are still together, but maybe this is because Nicolas does not know of Alice's affair with handsome sports photographer Gaspard. This sly sex comedy, the sophomore effort of Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux, follows the covert sexual misadventures of the troubled foursome. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A private eye finds that her professional and personal lives are beginning to intertwine in this French drama. Maxime Chabrier (Anémone) is a woman in her mid-40s who works as a private detective. Despite her chain smoking and sloppy appearance, Maxime is regarded as a skilled investigator by her colleagues and considered the best PI at her agency by her boss. While Maxime has romantic dalliances with both men and women, she hasn't been involved in a long-term relationship since she left her husband 15 years ago. However, Maxime is hired to look into a case that suggests that her former husband has become involved with insurance fraud, which brings her into contact with her 17-year-old son Baptiste (Gregoire Colin) for the first time since the divorce. Just as Maxime is trying to mend fences with her son and find out what her ex has gotten himself into, she finds herself falling in love with Jacques (Michel Didym), an economist. Pas Tres Catholique was nominated for the prestigious Golden Bear award at the 1994 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this romantic farce, former opera-singer and current music festival organizer Hermance (Judith Magre) is married to Charles-Henry (Jean Roquel). However, she still has a passion for her former lover Simon (Carlo Brandt), but he has a thing for Francoise (Sabine Haudepin). Meanwhile, Nathalie (Tonie Marshall) keeps trying to put the moves on Hippolyte (Jacques Bonnafe), who is either unaware of or is ignoring her efforts, while her lackluster former lover Christian (Michel Gauthier) looks on and stays out of the whole mess. Who comes out the worst in this deal? Naturally enough, it's Christian, the fellow who has, for good or ill, kept the most distance from it, when Hermance, who seems jealous of everyone, tries to get even with Simon for running off with Francoise. Don't worry, it's supposed to be confusing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

An older American Broadway legend living in Paris is attempting to put together a small production of Hamlet. Unfortunately, his Ophelia is suffering from radiation poisoning, and may or may not recover in time to appear. She was exposed to radiation in a reactor accident in southern France. At precisely the same moment the accident was taking place, in Paris, a rare Carpathian mushroom suddenly sprang up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. It was harvested by a young woman who recognized it. It is reputed to have mysterious healing powers. Her boyfriend wants to use it commercially, but her brother (who is associated with the Hamlet production) wants to use it for the ailing Ophelia. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

How couples unite, interact, separate, reunite or find other partners is the focus of this off-beat romantic drama by Jacques Davila. The links in this chain begin with Christian and Nathalie, who are coworkers and friends. Christian discovers that his lover Francoise is having an affair, and Nathalie advises him to give his feelings some time to heal, about two years. Nathalie is angry that her lover Mark does not want to see her more often, while he is jealous of the men in her past. Meanwhile, Francoise finds out that her new lover is not that interested in her anymore, and after they split, she encounters him with someone else. As romance fluctuates like the lunar tides, the myth of one true love takes a beating. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Spiced with French humor and insouciance, this otherwise routine comedy is carried by the acting talents of Jean-Luc Bideau as Jean-Luc and Jean-Pierre Sentier as Mathieu. Jean-Luc is a wood carver of decorative, functional works that keep baguettes on the table while he longs to write his first mystery novel. Mathieu sculpts in spite of a lack of evidence of any talent. His real problem lies in his anxiety over marrying the woman he loves: whenever he walks up to the altar he turns around and exits in a hurry. Meanwhile, Jean-Luc has fallen in love with a woman who has about as much enthusiasm for the altar as Mathieu. ~ 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