Jacky Nercessian Movies

Claude Chabrol's Comedy of Power stars Isabelle Huppert as a French judge who attempts to bring down the very powerful but corrupt CEO of a large corporation. As she digs deeper into the case, she uncovers criminal activity that stretches into the highest levels of government, and her life is turned upside down by death threats as well as her sudden celebrity. The film follows as her career affects her family. Loosely based on real events, Comedy of Power had its North American debut at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This drama examines three amoral young people living in Paris. 18-year-old Nathalie (Marie Gillain) works in a clothing store and dreams of opening her own boutique in the United States. She shares an apartment with her boyfriend Eric (Olivier Sitruk) and his slow-witted pal Bruno (Bruno Putzulu); she pays the rent while they stay home and watch crime movies on television. All three are looking for a fast and easy way to make some money, so together they devise a plan. Nathalie will hang out in nightclubs, meet prosperous-looking men, and go home with them. Once she's inside their apartments, she'll let in Eric and Bruno, and they'll rob the place of cash and valuables. The plan works well at first, before things go wrong one night and Eric commands Bruno to kill their victim. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This metaphorical drama, about the changes brought to French society by revolution, stars Gérard Depardieu as Chabert, a French soldier who served under Napoleon in 1807 and was thought to have died in battle. In fact, Chabert was nearly buried in a mass grave with a large number of deceased soldiers, but he managed to crawl from the pile of corpses and has been wandering through the French countryside ever since. In the ten years since his "death," Chabert's wife (Fanny Ardant) has spent his fortune and gone on to marry Count Ferraud (Andre Dussolier), which has made her a woman of wealth and power. When Chabert, now a lumbering tramp, confronts the Countess, she refuses to admit that he was once her husband, and Chabert takes her to court to recover his money and property. Colonel Chabert was based on a novella by Honoré de Balzac, and it marked the directorial debut of Yves Angelo, previously one of France's top cinematographers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Romane Bohringer plays a young pianist ekeing out a living in Nazi-occupied Paris. When her favorite coworker, singer (Yelena Safonova), relocates to London, Bohringer goes along, much to the discomfort of Safonova's possessive husband-manager. The latter role is played by Romane Bohringer's father, veteran character actor Richard Bohringer, a fact that adds several subliminal layers to the already multitextured storyline. Avoiding the cruder implications of its material, The Accompanist is a model of taste and decorum -- perhaps too much so. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

From time to time a deceased novelist or artist is sufficiently revered that, as a form of homage, his disciples will take one of his unfinished projects and attempt to bring it to completion. The screenplay for La Petite voleuse was written by Claude Miller, Luc Beraud and Anne Miller based on a scenario co-authored by the late French cinema great Francois Truffaut. It brings a respectful, unsentimental, and unflinching eye to bear on the life of Janine Castang (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a 16-year-old girl beset with antisocial drives due in part to an unpleasant home life. After the Second World War, her mother was made an outcast for consorting with the Germans, and she entrusted Janine to the doubtful care of her milquetoast brother and his highly unsympathetic wife. Janine has a vivid fantasy life, and a problem with kleptomania. After she's caught stealing she's forced to go to work as a maid rather than continue in school. Soon afterward, her romantic nature flowers in a number of new relationships which place new obstacles before her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi