Eric Berger Movies

A couple of ne'er-do-wells fight the global economic setbacks of the early 21st century with a unique brand of crime - and establish themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods - in this zany caper comedy from France. After 17 years spent working in one of Paris's most elite banks, Julien (Gerard Lanvin) believes he's only a few days from fulfilling his dream of leaving this dead-end job and opening a local bistro with his pal, the brasserie chef Etienne (Jean-Pierre Daroussin). Then both men's bids for a bank loan are rejected, and Julien's billionaire boss adamantly refuses to help them out. Seething with a desire for revenge, Julien takes advantage of his job by picking up tips on the stock market gleaned during bank luncheons, and using it to his and Etienne's financial advantage. Inevitably, Julien's neighbors get wind of the scheme and request that he invest their money, which gets Julien in way over his head - especially when the local off-track betting group takes advantage of the situation by changing their game from horsetrack betting to gambling on the stock market. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

In 1645, the French playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin -- better known as Molière -- mysteriously disappeared for several weeks, and this lavish comedy drama imagines a scenario that could explain what may have happened to him. At this time, Molière (Romain Duris) is touring the French countryside with his traveling theater company, and he's yet to be recognized as one of the continent's great authors (or achieve significant financial success). Molière is put in jail after skipping out on some unpaid debts, but is freed after his fine is paid by two strangers. Molière discovers his benefactors are acting on behalf of Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), a very wealthy man who has a beautiful wife, Elmire (Laura Morante) and two lovely daughters. However, Jourdain has fallen head over heels for Celimene (Ludivine Sagnier), a gorgeous widow, and he's written a short play in order to demonstrate his feelings for her. Jourdain needs someone to help him polish his script and serve as an acting coach, and he's recruited Molière for the job. Needing the money, Moliere accepts, but he poses as a man of the cloth, Monsieur Tartuffe, to keep his identity a secret. Molière soon realizes that Jourdain's talent exists only in the rich man's imagination, and that Jourdain already has a rival for Celimene's affections, the charming but duplicitous Dorante (Edouard Baer). Molière was written and directed by Laurent Tirard. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this tart comedy from France, Raphael (Edouard Baer) is a glib but talented author who has built a career out of ghost-writing autobiographies for a variety of celebrities. Raphael is also happily dating Muriel (Marie-Josée Croze), a successful architect, but that begins to change when he begins his latest project, a book on soccer superstar Kevin (Clovis Cornillac). While wading through Kevin's monumental ego and strange creative notions is a challenge in itself, what really sets Raphael's mind off course is the discovery that Kevin is dating Claire (Alice Taglioni), the object of Raphael's unrequited affection while he was in college. Raphael is suddenly determined to win Claire away from Kevin, though he hasn't figured out how to do this without alienating his wife and his client. Mensonges et Trahisons et Plus Si Affinité (released in English-speaking territories as The Story of My Life) was screened in competition at the 2004 Avignon Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This dramatic retrospective from Marco Ferreri eulogizes the passing of cinema as a culturally vital art form. While not all will agree with Ferreri's thesis that cinema for the masses is a lost art and has become an elitist endeavor, the director, using a combination of archival documentary footage, wide-ranging snippets from old and new films, and reenactments, makes some compelling arguments. One of his chief theses is that the decline of cinema was marked by the loss of the great movie houses where people from all walks gathered to form a unique, transitory microcosm of society that abided, if only briefly, by different rules from those in the "real" world outside. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi