Eric Besnard Movies

A man who has lost his only child will stop at nothing to bring the men responsible for the death to justice in this taut thriller from France. Raoul Kraft (Clovis Cornillac) is a hard-bitten loner who works as a lumberjack in a woodland community and after a hard day of felling trees prefers to spend his evenings in solitude. Raoul was never a good prospect for a happy long-term relationship, and his only marriage ended in divorce, but he loves his son, who is now college age. When Raoul's son dies under mysterious circumstances, he's crushed, and his despair turns to anger when activist Diane (Marie-Josee Croze) tells Raoul his son died while undergoing an experimental drug testing program for a leading pharmaceutical firm. Enraged that corporate malfeasance and irresponsibility has taken his son from him, Raoul sets out to find out who runs the company in question and make them pay for their misdeeds. However, in time it becomes evident that Diane's information may not be as reliable as she's led Raoul to believe. Le Nouveau Protocole (aka The New Protocol) also stars Stephane Hillel and Dominique Reymond. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In Housewarming (the original title of which translates as Remodeling: You Know When It Starts...), Carole Bouquet stars as Chantal Letellier, a wealthy, powerful, and happily divorced Paris attorney who devotes a lot of her time to helping the city's poorly treated immigrants. Chantal literally dances her way through the courtroom, winning over the judges with ease. Her busy life seems to be going swimmingly until she decides to remodel her massive apartment. She hires a brilliant but mercurial former client from Colombia, Eduardo (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo), as her architect. He and his illegal immigrant crew are highly qualified, just not in the jobs they've been hired to do, and they quickly begin to demolish her home. A few other problems arise. Poncin (Jean-Pierre Castaldi), an obnoxious wealthy former client, has fallen in love with Chantal and begun stalking her. Her young daughter, Pulchérie (Giulia Dussolier), apparently has a crush on a worker with a questionable background who speaks no French and calls himself Betamax (Geovanny Tituaña). Chantal's teenaged son, Martin (Ferdinand Chesnais), quickly grows irritated with the destruction, and the workers' devil-may-care attitude. As Eduardo's ambitions grow, and the project's costs mount, Chantal's immense reserve of patience begins to wane. Housewarming, directed by Brigitte Roüan, marks the last filmed appearance by legendary producer Humbert Balsan, who committed suicide in 2005. The film also stars Aldo Maccione, Didier Flamand, Sotigui Kouyaté, Bernard Menez, and Françoise Brion. Housewarming was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center as part of their Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in 2006. ~ Josh Ralske, 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

Hong Kong action icon Michelle Yeoh stars alongside American muscle Vin Diesel in this science fiction thriller concerning a nun who is charged with the task of caring for a young girl who may be the carrier of a deadly virus. Based on author Maurice Dantec's Babylon Babies, this tale of genetic manipulation comes to the screen courtesy of director Mathieu Kassovitz. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi