Marc Lavoine Movies

Yet another incarnation of Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein, this uneven spoof by Alain Jessua casts Victor Frankenstein as a cybernetics wizard who constructs his monster with a notable lack of aesthetic sense but invests him with great microprocessors, and the newly-minted ogre finds life rather lonely until he sees Frankenstein's lover and is smitten. In the meantime, the warped doctor has also created a lithesome female out of the sundry body parts of slain go-go dancers who went-went, and he falls in love with his creation. The original odd couples then flounder a little as director Jessua loses his grip on the story, and the cybernetic protagonist heads for Frankenstein's castle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A young aristocratic military cadet gets a dose of reality that shakes his high ideals to the core when he is called to fight in the Spanish Civil War in this French anti-war drama. Rafael, is the boy. He comes from a prominent Spanish family of military heroes and has spent his teens studying in a prestigious French military academy run by Dominicans. By October, 1936, Rafael had become a lieutenant; his life forever changes when he is suddenly called back to France to fight against the Communists and defend Franco. He is assigned to report to Col. Masagual, an outwardly tough officer who is flamboyantly effete in his private life. Masagual orders Rafael to first serve on the firing squad to prepare him for the atrocities of the front. In this capacity, the innocent Rafael is forced to slaughter all manner of prisoners, including women and children. It takes a heavy toll upon him and while he and the others shoot the guilty, the colonel and his aristocratic guests, who have come to watch the festivities, gaily sip tea and chat. Soon Rafael has become a literal killing machine, with little emotion. His first experience with sex degenerates into brutal rape. Then Rafael is ordered to kill a renegade priest. Suddenly he remembers his ideals and double-crosses the cruel colonel. This leads to a moral sparring match between the priest and the colonel. The gist of their argument is to demonstrate the stupidity of war. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

French novelist Vincent Ravalec made his directorial debut with this French drama about small-time crook Gaston (Yvan Attal) who poses as a millionaire after he picks up hitchhiking 16-year-old Marie-Pierre (Virginie Lanoue). Actually living in a seedy apartment, Gaston deals in stolen goods, but he soon climbs to bigger heists, including car thefts. Concealing his illegal activities, Gaston operates his company, Extramill, out of upscale, posh offices, while he and Marie-Pierre move into a sedate upper-middle-class neighborhood. Life is sweet, but the onset of paranoia, kinky sex activities, and police probes eventually culminate in violence. Shown in the Cinemas en France section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Loosely based on Jean-Pierre Melville's French film noir Bob le Flambeur, this heist film from director Neil Jordan (Interview With the Vampire, The Crying Game) stars Nick Nolte as Bob, an aging American thief living in the French city of Nice. Addicted to both heroin and gambling, Bob is in the midst of an extended personal losing streak when he rescues a new girl in town named Anne (Nutsa Kukhianidze) from her pimp. When the opportunity to steal a fortune in rare paintings from a Monte Carlo casino comes along, Bob hopes for a score big enough to let him retire from his life of crime. His only hindrances are Anne's man troubles and his nemesis, local police chief Roger (Tchéky Karyo). The Good Thief also features acting performances by Emir Kusturica (director of Underground and Arizona Dream) and Ralph Fiennes. ~ Tom Vick, All Movie Guide

Fate brings together two people with seemingly nothing in common in this French romantic comedy. Helene (Carole Bouquet) is a single mother living in an upscale apartment complex in Paris with her teenage son Jeremy (Jean Senejoux). Helene is a successful author and a bit of a control freak who lives a carefully ordered existence. However, the same can't be said for her new next-door neighbor Valentin (Marc Lavoine), an aging slacker has lost both his job and his flat and will be spending the next few months in his uncle's spare home in Paris. Helene is more than a little appalled with Valentin and his lack of ambition and fashion sense, but her cat keeps finding its way into his apartment, and they can't seem to avoid one another. Valentin also strikes up a friendship with Jeremy, who offers the sort of male role model that's been missing in his life. Despite her initial annoyance with Valentin, Helene begins to warm to her new neighbor, but can love stand a chance with this mismatched pair? ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide