Hervé Truffaut Movies

This French remake of Claude Autant-Lara's black comedy classic details the adventures of a group of travelers who stop for a rest at Auberge du Croûteux, an inn in the Pyrenees. Little do these wayfarers realize that the establishment is run by a group of psychopaths with a penchant for systematically murdering and robbing guests; when a clergyman opts to hear the confession of the innkeeper's wife, and learns about the impending fate of the travelers, he makes a series of comical attempts to get everyone to leave without violating his confidentiality rule. Gérard Krawczyk directs; the cast features Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier and Gerard Jugnot. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Eric Judor and Ramzy Bedia, a popular French comedy team, co-star in this farcical parody of American action films. Stephanie (Marina Fois) is the devious niece of a fabulously wealthy businessman, and with the help of a hired killer (Serge Riaboukine) and his crew of henchmen, she plans to steal 50 million francs from her uncle's offices in Paris' biggest office complex. Only two things stand in her way -- Judor and Bedia, a pair of inept window washers who find themselves foiling her plans at every turn, though they're hardly doing it on purpose. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A lighthearted and nostalgic drama about life among a group of close-knit friends, Les Enfants du Marais/Children of the Marshland tells the tale of a girl named Cri-Cri, who in flashback recalls growing up in a community along a quiet marsh in France. Her father, Riton (Jacques Villeret), has a good heart but a weakness for wine, and has never entirely gotten over being left by his wife (and Cri-Cri's mother), even though he's since remarried. His best friend is Garris (Jacques Gamblin), a laborer who lives in a cabin left to him by an old friend (Jacques Dufilho) and finds himself infatuated with Marie (Isabelle Carre), who works as a domestic in a nearby town. Both men are still dealing with their experiences from World War I, as is their friend Mr. Richard (Michel Serrault), who turned a junk business into a successful metal foundry but still visits his old pals at the marsh, because he feels they're the only ones who understand him. Despite lukewarm reviews, Les Enfants Du Marais/Children of the Marshland proved to be a significant box office success on its initial release in France. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This French comedy-thriller is directed by Patrice Leconte, who was Oscar-nominated for Ridicule (1996). The film reunites Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, almost three decades after they appeared together in Borsalino (1970). Unaware of her father's identity, car thief Alice Tomaso (Vanessa Paradis) is released from prison one month after her mother's death. She plays an audiocassette in which her mother tells her that 20 years earlier she loved two men and thus never knew which was Alice's father. In true Belmondo fashion, Alice steals a sports car and drives toward the south of France to seek out both possible papas, now semi-retired businessmen. Auto dealer Leo Brassac (Belmondo) and successful Julien Vignal (Delon), who flies his own helicopter, dislike each other, but they team up after Alice steals a car with $50 million of Russian Mafia money in the trunk. The Russian syndicate wants Alice to turn over the money, but she can't; it was taken by undercover cop Carella (Eric Defosse), tracking each illegal Russkie move. Fortunately, former Foreign Legionnaire Leo and jewel-thief Julien have both the weapon power and smarts to help Alice thwart all mob machinations. The French equivalent of Heat -- in which Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are seen noshing during a quiet coffeeshop encounter -- contains a scene where famed French icons Delon and Belmondo order burgers at McDonalds. But then the two gear up for action, and composer Alexandre Desplat heightens the nostalgic mood with Claude Bolling's familiar Borsalino refrain. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A troubled young woman goes in search of the father she never knew in this French drama. In 1979, Elisa (Florence Thomassin) is an unhappy and unstable woman who -- after trying to strangle her two year old daughter Marie -- kills herself on Christmas Eve. Sixteen years later, Marie (Vanessa Paradis) has grown into a young woman with more than her share of problems; she's wise beyond her years when it comes to men, and she lies as often as she tells the truth. With her friends Solange (Clotilde Courau) and Ahmed (Sekkou Sall), Marie makes her way through a variety of small-time confidence games, but she's obsessed with discovering the identity of her father, who abandoned her after the death of her mother years before. After intimidating a number of civil service workers, Marie learns that her father is Jacques Desmoulins (Gerard Depardieu), a successful but reclusive songwriter who lives on a small island where he uses alcohol to keep him company. Marie makes her way to Jacques' island in the hope of getting even with the man she blames for many of her troubles. Leading lady Vanessa Paradis is also a successful pop singer in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Paris has its share of homeless people, and some of them live in little communities near the oldest bridge in the city, the Pont-Neuf. In the story, street-person Alex (Denis Lavant) has passed out along a much-traveled road, and a taxi has slightly injured his leg, which was in the way of traffic. When he limps back to his usual resting spot under the bridge, he finds a surprisingly unspoiled young woman (Juliette Binoche) wearing an eye patch sleeping there and confronts her about it. They become acquainted, and he learns that she is Michèle, a painter from a good suburban family who has taken to the streets in order to practice her art uninterruptedly until the time when she will inevitably lose her vision to a degenerative eye disorder. Alex earns his booze money through doing street theater: fire-eating and gymnastic routines. The two become buddies and lovers, share many adventures while practicing the arts of street survival, and even have some fun along the way. So close do they become that, when Alex is imprisoned for a violent act of jealousy, a newly cured Michèle visits him in prison and promises to meet him on the bridge when he is released. Despite this film's setting among the poor, it cost a lot of money to make: one of the big costs was the need to build a replica of the Pont-Neuf. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi