Vincent Elbaz Movies

This intense French action saga concerns a group of five closely-knit but very different brothers, raised by a mother who grew too old too quickly, their father long dead. One spent years geographically separated from the family, but suddenly reappears under unusual circumstances, pursued by a gang of drug traffickers. He hides out among the others and reveals a secret unbeknownst to any of them. Now aware that their father was violently assassinated, the men band together and make a pact to avenge the patriarch's death. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Inspired by Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure The Three Musketeers, director Pierre Aknine's period swashbuckler that adds a supernatural twist to the familiar tale. When the legendary Three Musketeers meet up with reckless romantic D'Artagnan and malevolent mystical forces begin to emerge from the darkness, the stage is set for breathtaking adventure. Tcheky Karyo, Emmanuelle Beart, and Vincent Elbaz bring this timeless tale to life as never before. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Patrice Leconte directs the period drama Rue des Plaisirs, set in Paris during the 1940s. Born to a prostitute, Petit Louis (Patrick Timsit) grows up in a brothel called the Oriental Palace. He is raised by the family of prostitutes and eventually becomes the brothel's handyman. Having developed an idealized romantic nature, Petit Louis instantly falls in love with the new girl, Marion (supermodel Laetitia Casta). Though she doesn't return his affections, he shows his love by finding her auditions to develop her singing career. He also tries to find her the perfect mate in Dimitri Josco (Vincent Elbaz), who ends up being less than expected. After the end of World War II, the government shuts down the brothels just as Marion, Petit Louis, and Dimitri find themselves in trouble. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A group of friends and mutual acquaintances embark on a number of vacations -- concealed or otherwise -- for relaxation and unexpected romantic hijinks in French actor/director Michel Blanc's fourth directorial effort, the romantic ensemble comedy See How They Run. While hosting a dinner party, the well-to-do Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Bertrand Lannier (Jacques Dutronc) learn that their neighbors Veronique (Karin Viard) and Jerome (Denis Podalydes) -- who used to be successful but are currently hiding their financial woes -- will be vacationing in the same resort town at the same time. Impulsively, Elizabeth invites her friend, and fellow dinner party guest, Julie (Clotilde Courau), to join them and thus make a party out of the event. However, Bertrand backs out of the trip while claiming to have to work -- only to schedule a rendezvous with his lover, his transsexual secretary (Mickael Dolmen), instead. Meanwhile, the Lannier's teenaged daughter, Emilie (Lou Doillon), has been planning a parentally endorsed vacation to the United States with one of her friends, but is in actuality going on a romantic retreat with one of her father's employees, Kevin (Sami Bouajila). As the separate excursions commence, a number of romantic couplings spring up -- as well as a number of new friendships -- that will have long-lasting effects on all of the vacationers' lives. See How They Run received the honor of being selected for inclusion into the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Author Francoise Giroud once descibed the 15-year span from 1967 to 1981 as La parenthese enchantee, the era when the sexual revolution raged in France, beginning with the legalization of the birth control pill and ending with the dawn of the AIDS pandemic. Michel Spinosa's drama examines the lives and loves of five people who lived through this time. Longtime friends Paul (Roschdy Zem) and Vincent (Vincent Elbaz) meet Eve (Karin Viard) and Alice (Clotilde Courau) while on a vacation in 1969. Paul and Eve's first night together results in her becoming pregnant, and they soon marry. Vincent is attracted to Alice, but she disappears until the day he marries Marie (Geraldine Pailhas). Several years later, Eve is bored with Paul and feels sexually unsatisfied; Paul tries to learn how to be a better lover by reading the latest self-help books, while Eve begins having an affair with Vincent, who is unhappy with Marie. Alice, meanwhile, becomes an outspoken feminist activist after undergoing a dangerous illegal abortion. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A clown from Romania (Ticky Holgado) has more than amusing tricks for children on his mind -- he has in his possession a computer disc with information wanted by the police, several organized crime figures and the European Agency for Atomic Energy. After he's chased through Prague by a number of people who want this information for their own purposes, the clown is taken in and protected by a priest (Bruno Putzulu), who was once a clown himself in Russia. This unique crime drama, directed by Eric Besnard, offers equal parts action, philosophy and character study. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

French filmmaker Manuel Boursinhac directs this bleak, gritty film about addiction and redemption. Fledging writer Eric (Vincent Elbaz) and his girlfriend (Laurence Cote) consort with junkie thieves. After getting busted by the cops for drug possession, he chooses to enter rehab over going to prison. Helped by his sympathetic roommate and his writing muse, Eric finds temporary relief from the pain of withdrawal. Un pur moment de rock 'n' roll was screened at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

In this French box-office smash, director Thomas Gilou once again trains his sights on working-class immigrants living in metropolitan Paris, as he did with Black Mic-Mac. This time the subjects are the Sephardic Jews working in the garment district of Sentier. Eddie Vuibert (Richard Anconina) is an unemployed man who gets a job working in the stock room of a wholesale fabric dealer because the owner, Victor Benzakem (Richard Bohringer), believes that Eddie is Jewish, just like him. The opportunistic Eddie owes his job to this mistaken identity, and he does his best to preserve it, comically navigating the dangerous waters of learning strange customs and behavior. Eddie is promoted to a salesman and tries to romance Victor's daughter Sandra (Amira Casar), but she is involved with another fabric dealer, a corrupt man. Eddie must prove himself worthy on his own terms. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

In a Brussels courthouse, notoriously brutal killer Julius Mandenne stands trial for dismembering a woman and cryptically painting the letter "s" on a wall with her tongue. Attending the gruesome trial are his four illegitimate off-spring, none of whom knew the other existed. With grim Gallic humor, this serpentine tale follows what happens when the four team up to learn more about their enigmatic sire. The now-grown children couldn't be more different. Forty-four-year old Parisian barmaid Sylvette loves life and free-love while 41-year-old Sophie is utterly bourgeois and uptight. Twenty-eight-year old Susan is a radical American feminist who wants to be an actress. After their father is sentenced to 20-years in jail, the threesome encounter their half-brother Sandro who at 39, works as an auto mechanic. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi