Fanny Cottençon Movies

Two men find themselves sharing a lifetime of experiences and observations over the course of a summer in this low-key comedy-drama from France. After the death of his mother, an artist (Daniel Auteuil) well known for his nature studies inherits his family's vacation house in the country. The artist notices that the house's once-impressive vegetable garden has fallen into neglect, and he hires a local gardener to put it back into shape. To his great surprise, the gardener (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) turns out to be an old friend from his school days, and as the gardener gets to work, he and the artist talk about where their lives have gone since they last saw one another. Over the next several months, the gardener and the painter chat about life, love, work, family, vegetables and anything else that crosses their minds as they casually pass along their life's stories and what they learned along the way under the warmth of the summer sun. Dialogue Avec Mon Jardinier (aka Conversations With My Gardener) was adapted from the memoirs of artist Henri Cueco. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

An analyst discovers just how troublesome his most difficult patient can be in this darkly witty comedy drama. Michel Durand (Jean-Hughes Anglade) is a divorced psychiatrist in his early forties with a successful practice in Paris. One of his patients is Olga Kubler (Helene de Fougerolles), the beautiful wife of a prominent business man with a less than scrupulous past. Olga is dealing with a number of interwoven neuroses, including a strong taste for painful, degrading sex and a compulsive habit of stealing things. Olga has already used Durand as an alibi when questioned by the police about the theft of some valuable jewels, and while Durand told the authorities that Olga was in consultation with him at the time of the robbery, the truth is he's not sure where she was and imagines she's probably guilty. Durand is also afraid to admit that he's become quite bored with Olga's stories about her unconventional sexual liaisons, and one day as she goes on about her favorite subject, he falls asleep. A few minutes later, Durand wakes up, and discovers Olga is dead. Durand has no idea what happened to Olga and isn't sure what to do with the body, but he's too frightened to call the police, so he tries to hide her in his office. Soon, Durand finds himself followed by a mysterious stranger (Miki Manojlovic), dumped by his increasingly suspicious girlfriend (Valentina Sauca), and bothered by Olga's husband (Yves Reiner), who insists the doctor find some valuables that Olga stole from him. Mortel Transfert was the first dramatic feature in eight years from director Jean-Jacques Beineix, who previously helmed the international hits Diva and Betty Blue. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The loosely interrelated romantic difficulties of six people living in Paris provide the framework for the drama Nos Vies Heureuses/Our Happy Lives. Cecile (Cecile Richard) is an impulsive bohemian who documents the lives of her friends with her camera. One of her closest friends is Emilie (Camille Japy), who is trying to work her way through a dying relationship with her boyfriend Antoine (Alain Beigel), even though he still seems to have feelings for her. Julie (Marie Payen) is on the rebound from a busted romance and falls for Ali (Sami Bouajila), a Moroccan who washes dishes in a restaurant and is having trouble staying in France. Ali's boss, a chef named Lucas (Jean-Michel Portal), has just watched his marriage crash and burn and is starting to ask himself serious questions about his sexual identity. The first feature after a series of highly praised short films from director Jacques Maillot (and quite a feature at 147 minutes), Nos Vies Heureuses/Our Happy Lives was shown in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Before was made into the famous Mozart opera, Le Mariage de Figaro was an incredibly famous French comedy and political satire by Beaumarchais (1732-1799). Beaumarchais was at least as interesting a character as any in his plays; among other things, he was a litigious watchmaker, a playwright, and spy who was also one of the fundraisers for the American Revolution. Even though this otherwise completely silly and very popular story was written by a man who was (at the time) spying for the monarchy, it was also considered seditious, and Louis XVI tried (unsuccessfully) to have it banned. So much for the powers of an absolute monarch. This filmed production of the play is most notable for having been financed by ticket subscriptions. The familiar story concerns the trials and tribulations of the duplicitious Count Almaviva (Claude Giraud), as he tries to have his cake (marriage to the lovely Suzanne, played here by Fanny Cottencon) and eat it, too, by avoiding a contracted marriage to Marceline (Line Renaud), to whom he owes a lot of money. The figures in the story scheme and plot for and against one another in the most vigorous manner possible, and they eventually discover some unlikely truths. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Yann (Pierre Richard) has his artistic eye on Florence (Fanny Cottencon), who desires her for more than her aesthetic beauty. His efforts are continually hampered by his neighbors Boris (Richard Bohringer), an insanely jealous layabout and his beautiful wife Eva (Emmanuelle Beart). Michel Creton and Eric Blanc play the confused cops called on to settle the situation. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Roger Coggio wrote, directed and starred in this black comedy. The sexual frustration and social climbing of a lowly clerk from St. Petersburg leads to sensual sensory overload and insanity. He suffers from erotic hallucinations and Freudian imagery to the point that he must be institutionalized. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Sam (Roland Giraud) enjoys his romantic rendezvous with his ex-wife Vanessa (Fanny Cortencon) and others in this routine sex farce. He lives with up-and-coming actress Elodie (Fiona Gelin), but quickly falls for pretty female physician Joanna (Marianne Basler). Sam soon is globe-trotting after the doctor who storms his dreams. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Mixing real locations with a Louis XIV stage setting, director Michel Mitrani interprets the story first told in Moliere's play of the same name, written for the stage. A slightly supercilious country gentleman, Monsieur de Pourceaugnac (Michel Galabru) has arrived in Paris to marry Julie (Fanny Cottencon) the woman promised him, but he does not know that Julie is in love with a handsome young man and has no interest in marrying the grand Monsieur, at all. She and her lover ask the cunningly clever Sbrigani (Roger Coggio) for help, and he concocts a wild array of characters with claims on the easily gulled Pourceaugnac's attention, including arrogant doctors and women with supposed liens on his matrimonial intentions -- actually no more valid than the ostensible creditors out to collect imaginary debts from the unwary gentlemen. The dialogue and situations are as funny as when Moliere first wrote them, but Mitrani's version may be a bit long and slow for some tastes. Some viewers may want to compare this cinematic interpretation with the 1932 version of the same play. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this so-so actioner, a cop possessing expert knowledge of computer software (a detail revealed late in the proceedings) also comes into possession of some incriminating tapes, putting him and an attractive woman on the hit list of a murderous band of thugs. It seems they could land some VIPs in prison or worse if the tapes are ever made public. The chases, confrontations, mayhem, and final computer coup are riddled with dialogue that is too tried and true to ring with any originality, though the final electronic "publication" of the damning evidence is great. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Femmes De Personne is a French "feminist" film that comes off as slightly misogynistic (not to mention misanthropic) at times. Is it possible to be happy in business and still be happy in bed? The four leading ladies, all successful career women, don't seem particularly blissful. On the contrary, their boudoir activity seems to be as much a trial as going to work each morning. Femmes De Personne was directed by novelist Christopher Frank, most of whose books are variations on the theme "It's miserable at the top". ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this plodding drama about a man searching for his friend's wronged lover, there is neither high action nor high suspense to keep -- or even reach -- a quick-paced storyline. A shallow womanizer (Jean Rochefort) plays the trumpet in an orchestra conducted by his steady and stable friend (Philippe Noiret). One day a woman bursts into the womanizer's dressing room and tries to shoot him down for what he did to her sister. As he goes into hiding for his own safety, he asks the orchestra leader to find out who he wronged, and try to help him correct the problem. The rest of the film concerns that search, and its resolution. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide