Jean-Paul Salomé Movies

A handful of women use their smarts and allure in the service of the French Resistance in this historical drama set during World War II. Louise (Sophie Marceau) is a beautiful woman recruited into the French underground by her brother Pierre (Julien Boisselier) while Nazi forces occupy their homeland. Maurice Buckmaster (Colin David Reese) is a British agent who smuggles Louise into London to give her a special assignment -- a British scientist working with weapons research has been captured by Axis forces and is being held in a French hospital. Louise is ordered to put together a team of female resistance fighters to find the scientist and smuggle him to safety before he can be forced to tell Nazi intelligence what he knows. Louise's band of heroines includes Gaelle (Deborah Francois), who knows about demolition; Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), a streetwalker more interested in her own survival than the future of France; Suzy (Marie Gillain), a nightclub entertainer who was romantically involved with a German officer; and Maria Luzzato (Maya Sansa), a Jewish noblewoman who is on hand to help the other women when they make their way back into France. Les Femmes de l'ombre (aka Female Agents was inspired by the true story of Lise Villameur, who served with French resistance forces during the Second World War. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The story of a vengeful ghost (which spawned both a popular silent thriller and a mid-'60s TV miniseries that drew record ratings in France) returns to the big screen in this adaptation of the story by Arthur Bernede. A collection of artifacts from an archeological dig in Egypt are brought to the famous Louvre museum in Paris, and while experts are using a laser scanning device to determine the age of a sarcophagus, a ghostly spirit escapes and makes its way into the museum's electrical system. Museum curator Faussier (Jean-Francois Balmer) brings in a noted Egyptologist, Glenda Spencer (Julie Christie), to examine the findings, and she announces that the mummy inside the coffin was actually the evil spirit Belphegor. Lisa (Sophie Marceau), who lives across the street from the museum, follows her runaway cat into the museum after closing time, where she is accidentally given a shock that sends the stray spirit into her body. Soon, Lisa is disguising herself as Belphegor and making off with the rare Egyptian treasures on display at the museum, convinced that they are rightfully hers. When "Belphegor" proves more than a match for the Louvre's security forces, renowned detective Verlac (Michel Serrault) is brought out of retirement to find out why the museum's Egyptian collection has been shrinking. Belphegor: Le Fantome Du Louvre enjoyed the distinction of being the first feature film to be shot in part inside the world-famous museum. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Four clever girls who tire of their mundane lives turn to a life of crime in this light-hearted French comedy. Cecile, an electronics teacher, has a terribly overdrawn checking account. Bijou, after giving birth to her third child is abruptly abandoned by her abusive spouse. Lola has recently served a prison term. Now she's a bus driver, but she can't afford rent and is homeless. Muriel, a ditzy waitress is indebted to her restaurant manger. She is trying to have a baby with her husband who is in a wheelchair. Lola and Bijou begin their exploits after happening into a store during a robbery. When the clerk suddenly leaves to pursue the crooks, the duo help themselves to the cash-filled till. Next, they raid a sex shop, and so it begins. The women keep their criminal lives a secret. During the day, they are the wives, mothers, and upstanding citizens they always were. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi