Francois Boyer Movies

In this French tragicomedy, once Pierre sees Auriele, he cannot rest until he finds her. Pierre is just minding his own business, when this woman walks by. He does not know who she is, where she lives, what she does or anything. Pierre, a music critic and TV commentator, uses his resources to try to find her. His life is pretty meaningless otherwise; even now he contemplates suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This French comic action/adventure film tells the rollicking story of Flemish Vincent Van Horst (Jacques Brel), a World War I veteran, who travels to the backwoods of Canada to search for a lost love. He teams up with a young man for an adventure which includes lovemaking and feuds, and a murder or two. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A French soldier is discharged from the army and returns to his village in the early days of World War ll. His daughter is pregnant, but the father is the son of the local mayor, who refuses to let his son marry the girl. When Italy declares war on France, two Italian workers are nearly lynched by an angry mob. The film takes a seriocomic look at the effect World War II has on the small French town. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu, this satirical concentration-camp drama from Turkish-born French director Henri Verneuil stars Anthony Quinn as Johann Moritz, a Romanian peasant who experiences the horrors of World War II when the Nazis invade his country. Because local police chief Dobresco (Gregoire Aslan) is anamorous towards Moritz's wife Suzanna (Virna Lisi), he has the lowly fieldhand falsely labeled a Jew and sent to a work camp. Moritz's troubles continue to mount, as his wife is threatened with losing their property unless she divorces him. Also starring Michael Redgrave, La Vingt-cinquième heure is also known as The 25th Hour, though it should not be confused with and bears no resemblance to the 2002 Spike Lee film of the same name. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In this gentle anti-war comedy, a class of French schoolboys divides into two factions who begin to battle each other, with the victors claiming the buttons off the clothes of the vanquished. One day, some of the boys pull a strategic coup by running into battle naked, therefore leaving their enemies nothing to steal. However, after this stunning victory, one of their number turns traitor to the other side, helping them plot a secret attack that leaves the recent champions in defeat. The informer is eventually found out and punished for his crimes, so he takes the matter to a higher authority and tells his parents he's been beaten up by bullies. Soon Mom and Dad are making trouble for their son's schoolmates, with the culprits facing a stay in juvenile hall. La Guerre des Boutons was written and directed by Yves Robert, who had a distinguished career both in front of and behind the camera in the French cinema. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Murder, illusion, and lies form the basis of this convoluted drama that centers around twin sisters and the man that loves one of them. The girls work as a circus illusionist. People love their act because the girls are adept at making the audience believe that there is only one of them. To keep the illusion alive, the girls sign a contract that keeps them publicly separated. A man falls in love with one of the twins without knowing that she has a sister. The other sister becomes terribly jealous of the affair. The man's alcoholic mother is also jealous of the affair and murders one of the twins. Unfortunately, she murdered the wrong one. Meanwhile, news of the murder is kept secret to preserve the illusion. The poor man, in a confused rage, thinking his love to be the jealous twin, kills her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

One of the first films to see the horrors of war through the eyes of children, Forbidden Games was a critical smash, winning prizes from the New York Film Critics, the British Academy, and the Venice Film Festival. Adapted by Francois Boyer, director Rene Clement, and two others from Boyer's novel, the story focuses on Paulette (Brigitte Fossey), a five-year-old refugee from Paris taken in by a peasant family after her parents are killed during a bombardment of a civilian convoy. Michel Dolle (Georges Pujouly), the family's 11-year-old son, becomes her best friend, and they create a cemetery in which Paulette's dog is interred, along with other animals and insects, some of whom the children kill themselves. The Dolle family is too busy feuding with the Gouards, their neighbors, to notice the absence of the children. Eventually, authorities locate Paulette and insist that she be placed in an orphanage for legal adoption. Unsentimental and yet heartbreaking, Forbidden Games demonstrates the strategies of children who witness war to deal with the constant presence of death. It's also a bitter condemnation of the selfishness of adults who could offer their charges more love and protection. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide