Guillaume Depardieu Movies

Six of the world's most talented graphic artists and animators come together to breathe vivid life into their greatest nightmares in this animated horror omnibus featuring the work of Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Caillou, Pierre di Sciullo, Lorenzo Mattotti, and Richard McGuire. Inspired by the creeping shadows that lurk in the darkest depths of each artist's psyche, this monochromatic meditation on the things that make us wake up screaming aims to recreate the atmosphere and mood of an actual nightmare. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Guillaume Depardieu, Jeanne Balibar, and Michel Piccoli star in director Jacques Rivette's adaptation of the Balzac novella The Duchesse de Langeais, which tells the tale of a Parisian socialite who is romantically pursued by a Napoleonic war hero. The story begins as grieving French general Armand de Montriveau (Depardieu) arrives at a Majorcan church to speak with French nun Antionette le Langeais (Balibar). General de Montriveau believes le Langeais to be a woman he once loved dearly, but eventually lost. As the pair is reunited under the watchful eyes of the presiding priest and mother superior, their romantic past gradually comes into focus. It was five years ago that bored socialite Antoinette first became enamored with the wounded soldier whose rousing tales of adventure offered exciting contrast to her highly refined lifestyle. Though she was married at the time, the coquettish cosmopolitan quickly fell under the spell of the commanding military man -- who vowed that very night that Antoinette would be his lover. As their romance grows more complicated, the passionate pair finds it increasingly difficult to deny the powerful connection that binds them. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Jean Verber's horror film The Pharmacist takes Yan Lazarrec (Vincent Perez) as its main character. By day he is a mild-mannered pharmacist, but by night he slaughters those who pollute the environment and others who threaten public health. As Yan devises ironically appropriate ways for each of his victims to die, a police investigator is closing in on him. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A father and his estranged son hit the road under less than ideal circumstances in Jacob Berger's 2002 film A Loving Father. Famed novelist Leo Shepherd (Gérard Depardieu) has just been notified, via his daughter Virginia (Sylvie Testud), that he is to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. His son Paul (Guillaume Depardieu) also learns of his father's good fortune and attempts to call with his congratulations -- adulations that fall on deaf ears due to a falling out Paul had with his father several years previously. Leo, rather rashly, mounts a motorcycle to make the journey northward from his remote domicile in Switzerland to Sweden to collect the prize, against the advice of his family and close advisors. Paul, still wishing to connect with his father, attempts to catch up with him on the road -- doing so at the scene of an accident that Leo has barely managed to survive. Paul stows his dazed father into his car and sets out to find a hospital. Leo, ever the curmudgeon, strongly denies any need for the hospital and insists he be let on his way, forcing Paul to harness his father to the back seat of his car. Now provided with the opportunity to reach out to his father, Paul continues the voyage his father started and the two are forced to reconcile their differences along the way. A Loving Father was screened at the 2002 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

Victor Hugo's classic story of one man's struggle to redeem himself -- and another man's efforts to bring him down -- is brought to the screen again (there have been at least 18 previous screen adaptations) in this epic-scale television production with a distinguished international cast. Jean Valjean (Gerard Depardieu) is a man forced by circumstance into a life of crime when he steals bread to ease his hunger, ending up behind bars for 19 years. Upon his release, the destitute Valjean attempts to rob the home of a bishop, but the bishop takes pity on him, and Valjean turns over a new leaf, becoming an honest and upright businessman and civic leader. But Javert (John Malkovich), a former guard at the prison where Valjean served time, is now the Chief of Police, and he's determined not to let Valjean live down his criminal past. Les Miserables also features Jeanne Moreau, Virginie Ledoyen, Christian Clavier, and Asia Argento; the miniseries was produced in two versions, a French-language version for European television that ran eight hours, and a four-hour English-language adaptation that was broadcast in a pair of two-hour installments on January 7 and 8, 2001, on the Fox Family Channel. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Eight years after Les Amants du Pont Neuf (1991), which failed at the box office, Léos Carax returned with Pola X, a French/German/Swiss co-production with Catherine Deneuve and the young Guillaume Dépardieu in a story of love, incest, and descent into hell. Pierre (Dépardieu) lives with his mother in Normandy, not far from the banks of the Seine River where Victor Hugo's daughter drowned with her lover. The good-looking mother and son are happy, healthy, and wealthy, and they love each other deeply. Pierre is romantically attached to the beautiful and delicate Lucie (Delphine Chuillot) and visits her every morning with the motorcycle he has inherited from his father. One summer night, his mother tells him that she has chosen a date for his wedding. Overexcited, Pierre rushes through the night to break the news to Lucie. As he is speeding down the road, a strange creature with a familiar face suddenly leaps from the dark. She tells him in broken French that she is his sister. Pierre is shocked, but he decides to believe her and make up for the mistake of his father.

The film took its inspiration from Herman Melville's Pierre, or, the Ambiguities, which Carax read when he was 18, the same age as the hero of the story. The first part of the film sets an idyllic tone with a fairy tale atmosphere of life among the rich and beautiful. This is in sharp contrast to the world Pierre plunges into when he meets Isabelle (Katerina Golubeva), who claims to be his half-sister. Carax, who has been against nudity in his films, shows the two literally engaging in mutual oral sex onscreen, although this was not included in the original script. (One may insert here that Golubeva, who is known from Sarunas Bartas and Claire Denis films, was the girlfriend of Depardieu in real life.) The fusion of the two leads to the creation of Pierre's book. This is a highly stylized film that is at times reminiscent of German expressionism. It is constructed in opposites: black and white, high and low, good and bad. Elements of fantasy are mixed with reality. Carax tries to introduce a new film language, often at the expense of the emotional quality of the film. Despite its weak points, it is still a work that exhibits the exceptional talent of its director. Golubeva exudes a certain magic in depicting the half-real, half-imaginary character of a vulnerable and somewhat lost Madonna. The title is an acronym of the French title of Melville's book, Pierre, ou, les Ambiguites. The film screened in competition at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

Director Jean-Pierre Mocky has gone too far past the limits of bad taste, disgusting sex, and pastiche sequencing to attract many viewers to this release. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Two losers find an especially bad way to beat the high cost of living in this off-beat comedy from France. Antoine (Francois Cluzet) aspires to write plays, but in the meantime he scrapes together a living writing articles for a martial arts magazine and creating crossword puzzles; he spends his spare time talking with his friend Sylvie (Judith Henry) about the sad state of his love life. His buddy Fred (Guillaume Depardieu), on the other hand, doesn't do much of anything; on those rare occasions when he rises from the couch, it's to plot new schemes to pick up women, which are usually doomed to failure. However, this routine is shattered when Antoine and Fred discover that their apartment is being sold and they need to come up with some money to get a new flat. With little cash on hand and few prospects, Antoine gets an idea: rob the offices of the magazine for which he's been writing. Co-star Guillaume Depardieu is the son of French superstar Gérard Depardieu. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Jazzman-turned-director Alain Corneau brings his extensive musical savvy to All the Mornings of the World. Jean-Pierre Marielle stars as legendary 17th-century baroque composer and cellist M. de Saint Colombe. Believing the only "true" music is that which is written down, Sainte Colombe is vehemently opposed to performing in public. This stance is challenged by the composer's protégé, Marin Marais (Gerard Depardieu), a man of more commercial sensibilities. Leisurely and luxurious, All the Mornings of the World deservedly swept France's Cesar Awards (the Gallic equivalent of the Oscars). Watch for Gerard Depardieu's real-life son Guillaume Depardieu as the younger Marin Marais. All the Mornings is better known by its original French title, Tous les Matins du Monde. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi