Jacques Mercier Movies
- 1995
Leslie Nielsen makes a return appearance as "legendary" Canadian mountie Sgt. Buck Frobisher, as do Alex Carter and Mark Melymick as well-meaning but bumbling FBI agents Ford and Deeter. Frobisher is among a group of singing mounties on board a train bound for an American concert. These redcoated songbirds as hijacked by a group of terrorists, led by Randal Bolt (Kenneth Walsh), who intend to kill everyone on board the train whether their demands are met or not. The climax involves a runaway choo-choo and Frobisher's sudden attack of "excess gas." Drama students will appreciate the character names given the members of the phony movie production crew. First broadcast on Canadian television, this episode made its US debut on April 12, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Gross, David Marciano, (more)
- 1986
The personal tragedy of an alcoholic hemmed in by a domineering wife is the focus of this drama of hope lost and regained. Simon (Christophe Malavoy) is a solo violinist in an orchestra managed by his wife Laura (Jane Birkin). Haunted by specters of his own inadequacy, he loses his insecurities in drink, but that only results in rejection from his fellow musicians. They do not want him playing in the next major concert, which puts Laura in a bind. She fights for him to continue playing, not realizing that he may actually need time off. Simon begins to turn himself around when he meets a recovering alcoholic who introduces him to AA-style meetings and new friends. They understand his problem from their own perspective, yet he still has his increasingly belligerent wife and his future as a musician to handle. La Femme de ma vie was awarded Best First Film by the French Academy of Cinema. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Birkin, Christophe Malavoy, (more)
- 1969
This suspenseful sea story from Herman Melville takes place in the tradewinds of the Caribbean. An American captain comes to the aid of Spanish Captain Benito Cereno (Ruy Guerra) when the ship seems to be in trouble. An expedition to the ship reveals an uneasy situation where Cereno is ill and being cared for by an over-anxious slave. The sailors give furtive looks to the visitors but remain silent. Cereno explains that his crew has taken ill with scurvy, including the human cargo imported from Africa, and they are down to only a few healthy men. The American sends for more food and water to help the stricken Spaniard. Tension mounts on board until the new supplies arrive. When the rescue boat is ready to leave, Cereno makes a mad jump for the boat. He tells a harrowing tale of a slave revolt that resulted in the death of his partner and owner of the ship. After the owner was killed, his body was tied to the prow of the boat and left to rot as a macabre trophy and constant warning to others. The body was covered with burlap whenever another ship approached. The slaves are tried for their crimes and hung as pirates, but the relationship between Cereno and his over-attentive charge is never fully explained. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
