Cédric Klapisch Movies
French writer and director Cedric Klapisch is known for making films that explore the ways in which individuals exist in relation to a group of people, whether that group be a family or the denizens of an urban neighborhood. Two of Klapisch's most successful films, Chacun Cherche Son Chat and Un Air de Famille, impressed critics and audiences with their humorous, warm-hearted interpretations of this kind of relationship, and they helped establish their director as a man with considerable talent for capturing the nuances and flow of human interaction.Influenced by the movies of Martin Scorsese, John Cassavetes, and Woody Allen, Klapisch studied film at NYU, which he attended from 1982 until 1985. While in New York, he worked on short films as a camera operator and a director; after returning to France, he directed a series of industrial films and documentary segments for French television. In the late '80s, Klapisch began making short films, one of which, Ce Qui Me Meut (1989), was nominated for a César and won awards at the Berlin and Cannes Film Festivals.
Klapisch earned his second César nomination for his feature directorial debut, 1992's Riens du Tout. A comedy about a Parisian store manager who tries to train his staff in the American way of doing business, the film was a surprise success and helped to establish its director's reputation. Two years later, Le Péril Jeune, Klapisch's drama about a group of high school friends who reunite for the birth of a baby fathered by a recently deceased member of their group, also enjoyed a favorable reception. Also in 1994, Klapisch made a short film as part of 3000 Scenarios Contre un Virus, a series of shorts made about the AIDS virus.
In 1996, Klapisch won international acclaim and recognition with Chacun Cherche Son Chat (When the Cat's Away), his winsome comedy about a young Parisian woman (Garance Clavel) who loses her cat and, in the process of trying to find it, experiences a series of misadventures that introduce her to the people who share her neighborhood. Originally intended as a short, the film -- which was shot in Paris' diverse Bastille neighborhood -- was largely improvised and combined professional actors with non-professionals. Klapisch's knack for improvisation earned him an International Critics Award at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as popular success throughout Europe.
Klapisch repeated this success with Un Air De Famille (1997), a black comedy about the dysfunctional hilarity that ensues during a family's gathering. The film was honored with a number of Césars, including a Best Screenplay award for Klapisch. The director followed up Un Air De Famille two years later with Peut-être, a sci-fi drama about a man who gets the chance to journey into the future and meet his descendants. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
Fate brings together two people who have more in common than the surface would suggest in this drama from filmmaker Cedric Klapisch. France (Karin Viard) is a working-class single mother who finds herself in a tight spot when the factory she's been employed at for two decades is shut down in the wake of a corporate merger. With few prospects in her hometown, she leaves her daughters in the care of her sister and heads to Paris, hoping to find work as a domestic. France lands a job as a housekeeper for Steve (Gilles Lellouche), a smooth-talking businessman who has just relocated to Paris after several years in London, where he negotiated the deal that cost France her job. Steve has a young son, but barely has the time to look after him, and when he's forced to spend a few weeks away on business, he offers France a healthy bonus to take care of the boy. France doesn't mind the work and enjoys seeing how the other half lives, but there's a side to her that Steve doesn't know about, and vice versa. Ma Part du Gâteau (aka My Piece Of The Pie) was an official selection at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Karin Viard, Gilles Lellouche, (more)
Love and life pose dilemmas for a handful of friends in the City of Lights in this romantic drama from French filmmaker Cedric Klapisch. Pierre (Romain Duris) has enjoyed a successful career as a dancer performing in Parisian nightclubs, but when he's diagnosed with a serious heart condition, his doctor warns him that the strain of his work could kill him. Pierre must reinvent his life, and as he ponders his future and his mortality, he turns to his sister, Élise (Juliette Binoche), a social worker and single mother, for help. Élise is facing some life changes of her own; she's tired of being alone, and has developed an infatuation with Jean (Albert Dupontel), a grocer who sells his wares in the city's open-air market. But Jean is recently divorced and is still preoccupied with his former wife, Caroline (Julie Ferrier). Pierre also finds himself falling from afar for a lovely college student named Laetitia (Melanie Laurent), but he has a rival for her affections in Roland (Fabrice Luchini), one of her professors, who is considerably older than her. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, (more)
A French writer finds his life is once again being turned sideways by his footloose European friends in this sequel to the international hit L'Auberge Espagnole. Five years after we last saw him, Xavier (Romain Duris) has given up his aspirations of a career in international finance, but his new path as a writer isn't going as well as he hoped; his novel about his experiences in Spain has yet to be published, and lately he's been writing scripts for a French soap opera. When his French producers enter into a co-production agreement with a British network and Xavier lands an assignment ghost-writing a tell-all autobiography for famous fashion model Celia Shelburn (Lucy Gordon), he finds himself spending plenty of time traveling between Paris and London. In London, Xavier becomes reacquainted with Wendy (Kelly Reilly), whom he met during his time in Spain, and he wonders if he should take another stab at a relationship with her; Wendy is currently involved, but is increasingly frustrated with her boyfriend's drug problems and mood swings. Xavier is also infatuated with Celia, and wonders if a dalliance with the glamorous model might be possible. Needing romantic advice, Xavier turns to another old friend, Isabelle (Cécile De France), a lesbian who offers her understanding of women as well as a spare bedroom in her flat. Xavier also gets pointers from his ex-girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tautou), who has a child from a former beau and is trying to sort out her own romantic troubles. Russian Dolls (aka Les Poupées Russes) also features Kevin Bishop, reprising his role as William from the first film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, (more)
- 2003
- Add Ni Pour Ni Contre (Bien Au Contaire) to Queue Add Ni Pour Ni Contre (Bien Au Contaire) to top of Queue
A not-so-worldly twentysomething gets caught up with some shady Parisians in director Cedric Klapisch's 2003 crime comedy-drama Not for or Against. Wallflower camerawoman Caty (Marie Gillain) is three years into her career and residency in the French capital with little to show for it in the friend category, never mind the fact she is hopelessly single. While on the job filming an interview with a prostitute, Caty gets a tip from the hooker for a quick and profitable money-making possibility. Following up on the lead, Caty meets the handsome Jean (Vincent Elbaz) who offers to pay her to film him while he robs a store. After some perfunctory soul-searching, Caty impetuously decides to take the offer. This start in crime leads her into Jean's gang of criminals, which she rather quickly becomes a member of. As the thieves tend to spend their loot about as quickly as they accumulate it, they begin planning an enormous caper that will enable them to live more comfortably -- if they manage to survive its undertaking. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marie Gillain, Vincent Elbaz, (more)
A man eager to learn Spanish gets an education he wasn't expecting in this comedy drama. Xavier (Romain Duris) is a French economics student who is nearing the completion of his degree and is looking for work. Xavier's father arranges for him to meet a ranking member of the Ministry of Finance, who makes him an offer -- he can give him a good job, but only under the condition that he learn to speak Spanish. Determined not to pass up the opportunity, Xavier enrolls in a language program in Barcelona, despite the misgivings of his girlfriend, Martine (Audrey Tautou). Upon his arrival, Xavier moves into a large house shared by a large group of students from all over Europe. Xavier finds that his ideas and attitudes are challenged in a positive way by the diverse personalities of his housemates, and that his loyalty to Martine is tested by his attraction to Anne-Sophie (Judith Godrèche), a sweet but lonesome woman from France who has been away from her husband for too long. After a visit, most of Xavier's roommates decide they don't much care for Martine and Xavier gets advice on seducing Anne-Sophie from an unexpected source -- Isabelle (Cécile de France), a footloose lesbian living in the house. L'Auberge Espagnole received its world premier at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to earn prizes at the 2002 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the 2003 Lumière Awards, and the 2003 César Awards. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Romain Duris, Cécile De France, (more)
- 1999
What if you could step 70 years into the future from a portal in your bathroom? French director Cedric Klapisch asks this question and many others in this oddball sci-fi flick. The film opens at a wild Buck Rogers-themed New Year's Eve party on December 31, 1999. After smoking a requist amount of drugs, 25-year-old Arthur (Romain Duris) and his girlfriend Lucie get in the millennial spirit with a spontaneous romp in the bathroom. She is aching to have a kid, though Arthur is more ambivalent on the matter, and at the critical moment, he withdraws. Later, he uses that same bathroom for its intended purpose, and he discovers a ceiling panel that transports him to the sun drenched Paris of the 21st century, which could easily be mistaken for northern Africa. Much of the city looks like a Moroccan souk set amid the Sahara. Only the occasional Mansart roof and the now much shorter Eiffel Tower poking out of the sand reminds Arthur that he is indeed in Paris. He soon meets a white-haired old man named Ako (played by New Wave veteran Jean-Paul Belmondo) who informs him that he his Arthur's son. Ako and his offspring beseech the still vacillating Arthur to impregnate Lucie ASAP so that they may exist. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
- Starring:
- Romain Duris, Jean-Paul Belmondo, (more)
- 1998
Micheline, who is pregnant, lives in a home for women from which she tries to observe the world with calm and serenity. Among other women of the home who are also pregnant the frequently asked question is whether they will keep their baby or not. In her first film, director Marie Vermillard succeeds in dealing with a melodramatic subject with a balanced, almost impressionistic point of view. The actors (professional as well-as non-professional) are remarkable, particularly Alexia Monduit who plays Micheline. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alexia Monduit, Genevieve Tenne, (more)
- 1996
- R
When the Cat's Away is a gentle French comedy that explores the problems and anxieties of contemporary urbanites. When Chloe (Garance Clavel), a young Parisian, decides to take a long-overdue vacation, she has to find someone to look after Gris-Gris, her beloved cat. Everyone, including her gay male roommate, refuses to help her, but she finally makes an arrangement with the elderly Madame Renée (Renée Le Calm), who often watches over other peoples' cats and dogs. However, when Chloe comes back, Madame Renée tells her that unfortunately the cat has been lost, and the unlucky owner goes on a search for her dear animal friend. While looking for the cat, she meets many colorful characters who populate the neighborhood. ~ Yuri German, Rovi
- Starring:
- Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, (more)
- 1996
- NR
In this black comedy from France, a family gathers in a tavern, ostensibly to celebrate a birthday, but poking each other's sore spots turns out to be the main order of business. Henri (Jean-Pierre Bacri) runs a saloon that he inherited from his father called "The Sleepy Dad," and in the near-empty bar, he plays host to several members of the family as they mark the 35th birthday of his sister-in-law, Yolande (Catherine Frot). Henri's sister, Betty (Agnès Jaoui), is 30, single, and not very happy about it; his brother (and Yolande's husband), Phillipe (Vladimir Yordanoff), runs a growing software company; Mother (Claire Maurier) is the siblings' strong-willed matriarch; and Henri's dog is on hand, whom someone describes as "like a rug, but alive." It's not been a good day for most of them: Phillipe is convinced that his business will go out the window as a result of the ugly tie that he wore on television; Betty is depressed about the sad state of her current relationship; Henri has just learned that his wife is leaving him; and Mother is tossing caustic barbs at everyone left and right. Henri's bartender Denis (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) is the one neutral party on hand, and he provides the voice of reason in the midst of the bickering. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, (more)
- 1994
This unique French offering is a compilation of 30 short films focused on AIDS. The mini-films were based on over 3,000 ideas put in by French school children and were made by filmmakers on a voluntary basis. Most of the vignettes deal with heterosexuality and AIDS, but one deals with drug-usage, and one with homosexuality. It took four production houses three years to create this inspirational and informative film. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anémone, Daniel Gélin, (more)
- 1994
This French comedy-drama chronicles the reunion of five high school friends who come to witness the birth of a child whose father, a former friend, recently died. The boys graduated in 1975 and now, five years later they have come to a Parisian hospital to await the birth. As they wait, the try to understand the circumstances that caused their friend Tomasi, a formerly happy-go-lucky guy, to become a drug addict and die of an overdose. They also begin to reminisce about their senior year. They talk about everything from their experiences with girls and drugs, to their relationships with teachers and parents. Those times are depicted in detailed flashbacks. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julien Lambroschini, Nicolas Koretzy, (more)
- 1992
Visitors to Paris are forever regaling those back home with outrageous tales of rude or even abusive behavior by shopkeepers, sales attendants, and (in general) just about anyone whose business puts them in contact with the public. Even ordinary Parisians seem prone to this sort of behavior. On the one hand, it is easy to sympathise with the aggrieved tourist; on the other, what if your home were the object of interest for uninterrupted hordes of barely civilized strangers, poking and prying into its every nook and cranny? In this comedy, which was remarkably popular in France (and Paris!), an American-trained store manager (Fabrice Luchini) attempts to inculcate his staff with such unlikely notions as "service" and "the customer is always right," using the latest corporate training techniques. Some of these techniques are humorous in themselves, like the "trust" exercises which became so popular a few years back, or the technique of "bonding" in natural situations, joining together to win challenge matches, etc. The poor idealistic manager who attempts to accomplish this radical transformation in his staff is ill prepared for his program's odd result: the staff now has considerable ésprit de corps, but of a quite different kind than he had envisioned. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fabrice Luchini, Marc Berman, (more)
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