Jean-Pierre Darroussin Movies

Noted French screenwriter Daniele Thompson makes her directorial debut with this lighthearted romantic comedy. After the December 21st funeral of Yvette's (Francoise Fabian) second husband, she is consoled by the three daughters from her first marriage to Stanislas (Claude Rich), a Russian-Jewish violinist. The oldest, Lorba (Sabine Azema), lives with her father and makes a living by singing ballads in a Russian cabaret, Sonia (Emmanuelle Beart) is a fastidious middle-class housewife, and Yvette's youngest, Milla (Charlotte Gainsbourg), is a go-getting businesswoman. As Christmas celebrations gather steam, Louba learns that at age 42, she is unexpectedly pregnant by Gilbert, her married lover of 12 years. Meanwhile, Sonia develops a habit of taking five-finger discounts while shopping, and Milla takes up with a mysterious drifter who lives as a boarder in Stanislas' house. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Noted French director Michel Couvelard creates this bleak, understated drama about midlife crises. Twenty years ago, Robert (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) left his home in the provincial northern town of Boulogne to make it as an actor. His career never amounted to much, as he managed only a couple of acting jobs on TV. Without warning, he returns to his hometown and drops in on his sister (Catherine Frot) who is in the throes of a sordid affair with her married boss. Later, Robert drops in on his younger brother, who is mentally retarded and lives with his elderly mother. As the film progresses, it quietly, sensitively depicts Robert's disruption of the lives of the members of his family. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

From the director of Marius et Jeannette, this story of two working-class families is a fable with an optimist streak. A young black man, Francois, is wrongly accused of rape by a racist policeman. The story is told in voiceover by his childhood friend, neighbor, and the mother of his future child, Clementine, who is white. The city is Marseilles as in the previous film, symbolic with its churches, prisons and ruins. Except in this film, director Robert Guediguian also ventures outside, taking the story to Sarajevo; two different cities, one devastated by war, the other by a bad economy and unemployment. A la Place du coeur won a Special Jury Prize at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival and was also shown at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival and the 1998 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

A couple puts faith in love to get them through times of extreme poverty in this comedy-drama that was a major box office success in its native France. Jeannette (Ariane Ascaride) is a single mother living in a working-class community in Marseilles; she tries to support herself and her two kids on her salary as a check-out girl at a supermarket and lives in an apartment complex where everyone is thrown into close proximity with everyone else (thankfully, they all get along). Marius (Gerard Meylan) is working as a security guard at a cement factory that has gone out of business; he's also squatting in the building, since the plant is soon to be demolished and he'll be needing his money later on. One day, Jeannette happens by the factory, and spotting several cans of paint, tries to take two of them home with her. Marius spots her and tries to chase her away, while she rails at him with curses against the capitalist system. The next day, an apologetic Marius appears at her doorstep, cans of paint in hand; the two soon become friendly, and a romance begins to bloom, though it quickly becomes obvious that Jeannette's romance novel fantasies about passionate embraces in the sunset are a bit off the mark from what the more pragmatic Marius has in mind. Ariane Ascaride won a Cesar Award (the French Oscar) for her performance in Marius Et Jeannette: Un Conte De L'Estaque; she's married to the film's director, Robert Guediguian. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this mainstream French comedy, a television writer creates a hit series based on the experiences of her housekeeper. The writer Nathalie does this in desperation as she has a deadline and is utterly blocked. She goes to Petlet and begins transcribing her memories of the lively goings on in her rural home village. Each memory is an episode in itself, and the show becomes a smash hit, but when Petlet realizes that her boss has been cashing on her life stories and taking all the credit, she gets angry and quits leaving Nathalie with no maid and no one to watch her children. Later Petlet's adult children demand that their mother return to demand credit and a piece of the action. But Petlet remains undecided. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A successful prostitute attempts to fashion a homeless man into her ideal pimp in this unconventional, darkly humorous French drama. Marie (Anouk Grinberg) has no real need for a pimp, being a self-reliant, unabashed woman so fond of her job as a hooker that she is able to convince strangers to try it themselves. Indeed, her financial success allows her to take care of Jeannot (Gérard Lanvin), an impoverished vagrant whom she finds on the streets. She provides him with a bath and a place to sleep, and the two rapidly become lovers. Nevertheless, Marie is soon imploring Jeannot to act as her pimp, begging him to slap her around and take her money. He takes to his new role and soon decides to talk a manicurist (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) into becoming the next member of his stable. The newcomer's inexperience proves to be his downfall, however, as the manicurist lands him in trouble with the law. Director Bertrand Blier attempts to create a controversial look at sexuality by combining black comedy with scenes of smoky sensuality, though many critics found the central premise and the presentation of Marie's contradictory, masochistic character too unconvincing for the film to be fully successful. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Written and directed by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, L'Eau Froide is a romantic drama about young, rebellious love in 1972 Paris. Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet) are 16-year-old lovers who have become frustrated with the aloofness of their families and the general monotony of their lives. When the pair are caught shoplifting, Christine's father ships her off to a home for emotionally disturbed children, temporarily putting space between her and Gilles. Luckily for them, though, she escapes and the couple contemplate running away together. For her performance, Ledoyen was nominated for Most Promising Actress at the 1995 César Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

In this crime comedy set in the interracial slums of Marseilles, the children are pressed into service to run small-time theft rings to pay for their father's drug or booze habits. However, when the whole city is divided up into two rival gangs, the mothers decide they have had enough of this abusive foolishness. They take over the entire criminal business of the city, and ensure that their darlings steal from the rich instead of from other poor people. The story of this revolution is narrated by a sympathetic parish priest (Jean-Pierre Darroussin). ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Long ago, when they were mere lads, the men of this movie had belonged to a rock group. When their lead singer, a woman many of them love, left the group to move to Canada, they broke up and the men went their seperate ways. They remained in contact, friendly, but somewhat distant. The impending arrival of their old lead singer for a concert (she's now a successful pop singer), has brought them back together. All their old romantic feelings and unhealed rivalries come out for an airing, along with reminiscences of bygone days. Each of them has his life revived in some way by this unexpectedly momentous event. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this gentle comedy, Mado (Marianne Groves) is the letter-carrier for her small town, and she is constantly on the lookout for a good Catholic man who shares her enthusiasm for sunrises. She even puts up posters on trees and walls advertising her interest. The townspeople make fun of her, but she isn't discouraged. Her best friend is Germaine (Isabelle Gelinas), a pretty girl whose moral standards are not as strict as Mado's. When a film director (Oleg Yankovsky) arrives in town, everyone is agog, but Mado is particularly keen to find out about him. However, it seems that he has his eye on Germaine, and he isn't really in her league anyhow. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide