André G. Brunelin Movies

In this romantic story, a couple (Michel Serrault and Virna Lisi) who have been married for over forty years are forced to separate, one to each of their two children's families, when they can no longer pay the rent on their longtime apartment. Absence, in this case, refreshes their memory of the love they have shared, and they take to meeting one another furtively in hotel rooms for sex and affection. One summer, as each of their daughters families takes them on separate vacations, they have had enough, and elope, finding contentment as lighthouse keepers off the coast of Sicily. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Last Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst is a non-fiction book by Ron Hall and Nicholas Tomblin about a man who first cheated to win an international sailing competition and then disappeared from his sailboat in the final lap of the race -- a story that serves as the inspiration for this film. Director Christian de Chalonge and writer Andre G. Brunelin have changed the setting to France, with a Frenchman named Julien Dantec (Jacques Perrin) as the sailboat enthusiast and the international race is now a French competition. Julien is actually an electronics professional who is down on his luck when he decides to enter the race. He is led astray from his original good intentions by a low-life press agent who convinces him it would be well worth his while to win the race by illegal maneuvering. As he sets off, flashbacks tell how he came to be on the sailboat; later he has long monologues -- several of them, and in-between he occasionally battles to stay afloat on an uncooperative sea. For awhile, he sets down in Brazil when he considers abandoning the race, but seemingly compelled to finish what he started, he continues onward with his ill-fated journey. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Bertin (Victor Lanoux) has accidentally killed his wife during an argument. He is the owner of a tannery which employs most of the inhabitants of the town he lives in. Rather than subject himself to the indignities of a police inquiry, he attempts to cover up the killing by saying that she has left him. At first, his tale is believed, because he has been openly seeing another woman who is pregnant with his child (and heir). Later, a judge magistrate (the French lawman with responsibility for criminal investigations) discovers the woman's corpse, and puts Bertin on trial for murder. The factory owner is determined to be acquitted, and he blackmails the townspeople so that the trial turns out to suit him. He wins his freedom, but loses his mistress, who is thoroughly repulsed. This drama is based on the novel The Lesser Evil by Jean Laborde. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

With fear and trepidation, the military division encamped in a desert fort await the return of a Tartar army--which attacked the fort years ago. One young soldier (Jacques Perrin), however, can't wait for the boredom to end and the fighting to begin. Ennio Morricone provided the musical score. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

When a young Englishwoman (Mimsy Farmer) crosses the paths of an annual hunting party, two of the hunters rape and try to kill her. She manages to shoot one of them and escape. The rest of them decide to hunt her down. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Nolan (Serge Reggiani) was set up to take the fall for a crime committed by his whole gang, and as a result, his brother is dead and he is forced to do a stint in prison. Nolan comes out of prison looking for his former compatriots, and not just to shake their hands. He runs into an old girlfriend, Madeleine (Jeanne Moreau), now a respectable doctor's wife. Another woman he encounters, Lea (Simone Signoret), betrays him to an enemy. The remaining cast includes a number of fine French actors who add depth to this suspense thriller (Charles Vanel, Marcel Bozzuffi, Andre Pousse, Michel Bouquet, Amidou and Jean Desailly). This is a French language film, with no dubbing or subtitles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide