Géraldine Pailhas Movies

Vincent Regan stars in this French-language paranoia thriller as Peter Burton, a diabolically brilliant young man. In lieu of pursuing a formal education and a 9-to-5 office job, Peter ankled the standard route to success and now makes his living as a serial thief, lifting the valuables of patrons at an airport where he's nominally employed as a baggage handler. His life takes an astonishing turn when one of his colleagues, Gerard, pries open the suitcase of a Syrian diplomat and is promptly blown up by a terrorist bomb; the DST (Directorate of Territorial Surveillance) then approaches Peter, acknowledges that it knows all about his criminal activities, and offers him an ultimatum: it will arrange immunity for all of the pickpocketing if the thief helps the agency track down the parties responsible for the bomb plant. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A down-and-out sleight-of-hand artist tries to pull off the trick of a lifetime by keeping a decaying cabaret in business in this comedy-drama with music from director Thierry Klifa. Gabriel Stern (Claude Brasseur) has spent over four decades running the Blue Parrot, a Parisian nightclub where he regularly appeared in a drag act as "Gabriella." One evening, a weary Gabriel asks his friend and confidante Nicky (Gerard Lanvin), a magician who regularly appears on the Blue Parrot's stage, to finish closing up the club so he can go home. Nicky agrees, and the next morning he gets the sad news that Gabriel died in his sleep. Gabriel's son and daughter, both in their thirties, come to Paris to handle the funeral details -- Nino (Michael Cohen), a gay accountant who brings along his younger lover (Pierrick Lilliu), and Marianne (Geraldine Pailhas), who edits a well-known magazine for women. Also on hand are Simone (Miou-Miou), Gabriel's ex-wife, Marianne's mother and Nicky's former co-star; Alice (Catherine Deneuve), another of Gabiriel's exes who's also Nino's mom; and a number of the regular performers at the club. When Gabriel's will is read, to the surprise of many the ownership of the Blue Parrot is handed over to Nino and Marianne; the two have no interest in running a nightspot and announce the place is up for sale. Nicky wants to keep the Blue Parrot open, but doesn't have the money to buy the club, even though Gabriel's ghost frequently visits him, imploring him to find a way to prevent it from closing. Le Heros de la Famille (aka Family Hero also stars Emmanuelle Beart and Valerie Lemercier as members of the club's stable of regular performers. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a Mirage 2000 is hijacked and two pilots learn that a beautiful secret agent is looking to blast them out of the blue sky, the fight is on for the future of the free world in this high-flying action entry from Taxi director Gérard Pirès. "Walk'n'" Marchelli and "Fahrenheit" Vallois are the "Maverick" and "Ice Man" of the 21st century. Two heroes who are unafraid to fight against terrorism at any altitude, "Walk'n'" and "Fahrenheit" blast into the clouds upon learning that a Mirage 2000 has been overtaken by the enemy. With time running out and disaster on the horizon, the fearless duo soon find their mission compromised when the agent who was sent to help them is revealed to be a dangerous traitor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The rise and fall of one couple's marriage goes under the microscope in this drama from French filmmaker François Ozon. Gilles (Stephane Freis) and Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) have filed for divorce following several years of marriage, and after the judge declares their union is over, the film follows the couple through five lengthy flashbacks, presented in reverse chronological order, in which glimpses of their lives together are shown, ending with the couple meeting for the first time. As the film follows the peaks and valleys of Gilles and Marion's relationship, viewers witness a few of the many small events that make up a marriage. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

French filmmaker Philippe Le Guay writes and directs the ensemble comedy Le Cout de la Vie (The Cost of Living). Set in the city of Lyon over a period of a few days, the film reveals people's relationship to money through the intersecting lives of several characters. Fabrice Luchini plays the wealthy Brett, who likes to hang on tightly to his money, while Vincent Lindon plays the generous Coway, who has spent way more than he earns. Geraldine Pailhas plays Helena, a high-class escort with expensive tastes, while Isild Le Besco plays a down-to-earth young heiress who cares more about love than money. Meanwhile powerful businessman Nicolas de Blamond (Claude Rich) puts loads of people out of work when he shuts down his factories after he learns of his failing heath. The Cost of Living was shown at the 2003 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

A man who thinks he's found an easy ride through the Army during World War I has his world turned upside down when facial injuries render him unrecognizable in this wartime drama. In the summer of 1914, Adrien Fournier (Eric Caravaca) is an engineer conscripted into the French Army, where he is made a lieutenant and assigned to join a group of soldiers helping to design and build a bridge to move troops near the front lines. While scouting a suitable location for the bridge, Fournier and his fellows are caught in the middle of an attack, and a shell explodes in his face. Fournier survives the attack, but while his limbs and his body suffer only minimal damage, his face is torn to shreds -- only landing in the mud prevents him from bleeding to death (the dried muck seals off a number of key blood vessels severed by the blast). It is some time before Fournier can be moved to an Army hospital, and he cannot talk through his ruined mouth, communicating with notes scratched onto a small chalkboard. Fournier finds himself in a special hospital wing for officers who've suffered severe injuries (a relatively comfortable area a good bit different from the crowded and spartan wards for common foot soldiers), and as a dedicated surgeon (Andre Dussollier) struggles to rebuild Fournier's face with the primitive means available to him, the once-handsome engineer ponders an uncertain future. Commiserating with Fournier are Alain (Jean-Michel Portal), his best friend from college; Pierre (Gregori Derangere) and Henri (Denis Podalydes), a pair of fellow officers also suffering facial injuries; and Anais (Sabine Azema), a patient and warm-hearted nurse who brings hope to the hospital's most severely injured men. La Chambre Des Officiers was screened in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

What if you could step 70 years into the future from a portal in your bathroom? French director Cedric Klapisch asks this question and many others in this oddball sci-fi flick. The film opens at a wild Buck Rogers-themed New Year's Eve party on December 31, 1999. After smoking a requist amount of drugs, 25-year-old Arthur (Romain Duris) and his girlfriend Lucie get in the millennial spirit with a spontaneous romp in the bathroom. She is aching to have a kid, though Arthur is more ambivalent on the matter, and at the critical moment, he withdraws. Later, he uses that same bathroom for its intended purpose, and he discovers a ceiling panel that transports him to the sun drenched Paris of the 21st century, which could easily be mistaken for northern Africa. Much of the city looks like a Moroccan souk set amid the Sahara. Only the occasional Mansart roof and the now much shorter Eiffel Tower poking out of the sand reminds Arthur that he is indeed in Paris. He soon meets a white-haired old man named Ako (played by New Wave veteran Jean-Paul Belmondo) who informs him that he his Arthur's son. Ako and his offspring beseech the still vacillating Arthur to impregnate Lucie ASAP so that they may exist. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

A psychiatrist treats a most unusual patient, only to find that the doctor is the one who gains the most from their sessions in this philosophical romantic comedy. A young man in a mask and cape (played by Johnny Depp) is standing atop a billboard, threatening to jump. When the potential suicide is finally talked down, he's brought to a psychiatric facility where after one doctor washes his hands of the case, he's placed under the supervision of Dr. Jack Mickler (Marlon Brando), an aging psychiatrist soon to retire. The patient informs Mickler that he is actually the great lover Don Juan, who has seduced over 1,500 women, but has fallen into a deep depression after being unable to win the hand of the woman of his dreams. Mickler has ten days to work with "Don Juan," after which he will either be released on medication or committed to a long-term stay in a mental hospital. As Mickler talks with the young man, who speaks rapturously of the art of love, the doctor finds that his philosophies are helping to kick start his failing relationship with his wife (Faye Dunaway), and he slowly becomes convinced that his patient might really be Don Juan after all. Don Juan DeMarco's theme song, "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman," became a major hit for singer and songwriter Bryan Adams; after working with Marlon Brando on this film, Johnny Depp cast the legendary actor in a key supporting role in his directorial debut, The Brave. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An ego-maniacal, manipulative, man uses a young gigolo to enact the fantasies he is too sick to perform in this thriller set in a hotel penthouse on the French Riviera. Chris is the young Dutch gigolo who preys on wealthy older women at the hotel. Glover the wealthy, wheelchair bound gent who lives in the hotel's top floor suite. Chris, thinking he killed his last customer while haggling for money, bursts into Glover's suite to hide. The old man not only lets Chris stay in the spare room, he also wines, dines, and supplies a series of beautiful call girls to the young man. It is only later that Chris discovers that his "benefactor" is video-taping his sexploits. Appalled, Chris wants to leave. Glover makes him a new offer: he will pay Chris an incredible amount of money to find a beautiful woman and kill her. Chris agrees and chooses Helen, who works in a perfumery. Helen is lucky, figures it out, and thwarts Chris, but when she must deal with Glover, her luck runs out. As the credits roll, the song "Sweet Sixteen" is played. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French adventure, two Parisian street kids embark upon a strange journey to Grenoble in the back of a delivery truck. One of the lads is an adolescent Spanish graffiti artist while the other is an 11-year-old black rapper. Once there, the young boy is delighted to see his first snowfall. The two steal a car and discover an old man sleeping in the back. The boys then discover, that he is not a man at all, but an enigmatic forest spirit who teaches them important lessons about nature and life. This was the last film of classic French actor Yves Montand, who died of heart failure (as did his character in the film) during the shooting in 1991. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

While the Nazis occupied most of France, Jacques (Vincent Perez) has been active in the liberation underground. Now that the Allies have freed a significant portion of their country from German control, he and his buddy Michel (Matthieu Roze) can join the Free French army and fight with them to help bring about the downfall of the German empire. Both of them are quite young men, and their first love turns out to be the same woman, a lovely nurse named Christiane (Geraldine Pailhas). Michel woos her first, and she becomes pregnant by him. However, she is much more interested in Jacques, even though she is considering marrying an American solely for practical reasons. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi