Madeleine Damien Movies
- 1984
The interwoven love stories in Et La Tendresse?... Bordel! No 2 contrast three different ways of being together in modern French life. Carole is the mistress of Francois, a man who not only has a wife and children, but who makes a habit of having sexual liaisons with women besides his mistress and wife. The immaturity and vagueness of Regis and Julie undermines their initially very loving relationship once they get married. Finally, the straightforward friendship between Luc and Eva evolves into a love based on respect and understanding. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diane Bellego, Fabrice Luchini, (more)
Directed by TV-anthology veteran Jeannot Szwarc, Enigma has a certain small-screen "feel" to it. Adopting a musical-comedy foreign accent, Martin Sheen plays Alex Holbeck, an Iron Curtain defector who returns to East Germany at the behest of the CIA. His mission is to save five political "undesirables" from the communists. Holbeck runs up against some formidable opposition, namely ambitious KGB agent Dimitri Vasilkov (Sam Neill) and a quintet of highly trained Soviet assassins. Brigitte Fossey co-stars as Holbeck's former love, whom he involves in his escape plans by asking her to romance the susceptible Vasilkov. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
It's love at first spark plug for Herbie, the spunky Disney Volkswagen, in Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo. Herbie reunites with Jim Douglas (Dean Jones), his driver from the original The Love Bug, as they participate in the annual Monte Carlo road rally. Herbie holds his own in the qualifying races, but he blows a gasket over a lovely powder-blue Lancia named Giselle. Jim also catches the eye of the attractive driver of Giselle, the fresh-faced Diane Darcy (Julie Sommars). With the love bug biting again, the romantic infatuations of man and metal end up interfering with the auto race. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dean Jones, Don Knotts, (more)
In this French satire, a meek little bank (Jean-Louis Trintignant) clerk finds fame and fortune when he begins getting lessons from an impoverished novelist (Jean-Pierre Cassel) . Soon the clerk is wowing the Parisians with his ability to make the women swoon, and for his talent at attracting money. The film is also known as The French Way Is. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Romy Schneider, (more)
- 1972
In this French suspense drama, Paul (Jean-Claude Brialy) is a decent man in an ugly situation. His wife (Stephane Audran), who was crippled in their second year of marriage, has become a bitter and unpleasant virago. Though he keeps company with a lovely mistress (Catherine Spaak), the wife is still a considerable burden. When she dies in an automobile accident, he is relieved. That relief is short-lived, however, because his sister-in-law (Stephane Audran, again) comes to live with him immediately. For reasons of her own, she re-creates his wife's shrewish persona and even uses her wheelchair. At the same time, someone tries to blackmail him by suggesting that he killed his wife. Naturally, when the blackmailer (Robert Hossein) is found dead, he is the chief suspect. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Catherine Spaak, (more)
- 1969
- R
Leonardo (Franco Nero) is a painter who retreats to a house in the country to regain his lost inspiration. He is plagued by the presence of an erotic apparition. The gorgeous ghost soon moves the painter to the point he wishes to carry on a relationship with her. Leonardo is several bristles shy of a brush as he sinks deeper into insanity. When his fiancé arrives for a visit, she is murdered and chopped into little pieces by the troubled artist. Vanessa Redgrave and Gabriella Grimaldi also star in this story of madness and horror. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franco Nero, Vanessa Redgrave, (more)
- 1969
Laurent (William Holden) is willing to give his terminally ill son Pascal (Brook Fuller) anything to make his last days comfortable. The unfortunate boy is stricken with leukemia after being showered with radioactive poison when an airplane exploded. Laurent takes Pascal back to Paris where he and his girlfriend Catherine (Virna Lisi) and his war buddy Verdun (Andre Bourvil) try to cater to his every wish. He buys a farm tractor and with the help of the faithful Verdun steals some wolves from the Paris zoo. Father and son spend as much time as they are allowed in this sentimental family story. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Virna Lisi, (more)
- 1967
Louis Malle directed this light comedy about crime and class in the City of Light. Georges Randal (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a young man living in Paris at the turn of the century who is due to inherit a considerable fortune. However, his uncle, who is acting as his guardian, manages to spend Georges' money before he ever gets a chance to see it. Georges is also deeply in love with Charlotte (Geneviève Bujold), his cousin, and wants to marry her; however, the same uncle has promised her hand to another, a man Charlotte does not love. Understandably angry, Georges makes plans to steal the family's jewelry, intended for Charlotte, away from his dishonest uncle. Georges soon discovers that he enjoys being a thief, and begins robbing the wealthy as protest against the bourgeoisie. However, as Georges' ill-gotten nest egg grows, he finds himself becoming a member of the idle rich he professes to despise. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Geneviève Bujold, (more)
- 1967
This amiable French comedy stars Philipe Noiret as Alexander, an shiftless farmer who prefers sleep to work. After his nagging wife dies, Alexander becomes even lazier. The farmer becomes entranced by a beautiful young woman, and proposes marriage. But when his prospective wife gives evidence of being just as domineering as wife number one, Alexander balks at the altar and retreats to his previous life of ease. Originally titled Alexandre Le Bienhereaux, Very Happy Alexander was directed by Yves Robert, best known for his international success The Tall Blond Man with the One Black Shoe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Françoise Brion, (more)
The second screen version of Octave Mirbeau's novel (originally filmed in 1946 by Jean Renoir), Diary of a Chambermaid charts the ambitions of Celestine (Jeanne Moreau), a woman who comes to work in the 1930s for a Normandy estate occupied by Monsieur Rabour (Jean Ozenne), his daughter (Francoise Lugagne), and the daughter's husband, Monsieur Montiel (Michel Piccoli). Celestine quickly learns that M. Rabour is a more or less harmless boot fetishist, his daughter a frigid woman more concerned with the family furnishings than in returning the affections of her husband, who, in turn, can't keep his hands off the servants. The gamekeeper, Joseph (Georges Geret), is a fascist who keeps his masters informed of all the doings downstairs, and the next-door neighbor (Daniel Ivernel) is a veteran who can't stand Monteil and is sharing a bed with his housekeeper. Celestine picks her way through this minefield carefully, spurning the advances of all of the men until it's convenient for her. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeanne Moreau, Michel Piccoli, (more)
