Malcolm Conrath Movies

Zac is a well-respected French filmmaker who creates a major uproar when for no apparent reason he suddenly vanishes from his posh Parisian apartment leaving behind his lover Helene, a popular star. Marcus, his producer searches for eight months before locating Zac who has since become a homeless street bum in an expensive neighborhood. Marcus sends Zac to a posh hotel. He then sends Daisy, an ambitious secretary and aspiring screenwriter to learn what happened to the great director. It takes a lot of mutual verbal sparring and false turns (which are presented as creatively filmed vignettes that are done using a variety of techniques) from Zac before he finally tells her the truth. The two then decide to turn the story into a film. As they write, Daisy and Zac slowly fall in love. At the same time, Marcus has his hands full trying to avoid some tough Russian Mafiosos who want the money they invested back. In order to make Zac and Daisy's film, the whole production is moved to the relative safety of South Africa. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Chance meetings provide the central theme for this Parisian film comprised of three loosely related episodes. The first, "Le Rendez-vous de 7 heures," centers on Esther, who tries to make her womanizing boyfriend jealous by finding her own new lover. She finds a likely candidate in a Montmartre market; they begin talking and agree to meet at the Beaubourg cafe that night. There, he steals her wallet. Later a stranger returns it. The stranger mentions that she must go to the Beaubourg to meet her ex-lover. Esther accompanies her and gets a big surprise. In the second episode, "Les Blancs de Paris," two would-be lovers hold a series of conversations in various Paris locales. The problem is that she is trying to find the courage to leave her fiancé. The new man, a young professor, asks her to move in with him. Instead, they end up planning to spend three days in a Montmartre hotel while her fiancé is out of town. There the woman meets with an unfortunate coincidence. In the last vignette, "Mere et enfant 1907," an artist and his Swedish lady friend go to an art gallery. There the painter sees a young woman admiring Picasso's 1907 canvas Mother and Child. He then abandons his friend and takes off after the woman through the winding streets. Eventually, he ends up at her studio where he meets with disappointment. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Ernesto and Valentina are sure of their relationship. It is late in the 19th century in Europe, and this sophisticated married couple consider that a little openly conducted outside dalliance only adds spice to their partnership. When the architect (Ben Kingsley) and his wife (Marie-Christine Barrault) spy an attractive and very much in love set of newlyweds at the resort hotel they are staying at, they set their sights on seducing both of them. However, though their effort to bring about the corruption of the newlyweds' innocence succeeds, it brings them far less satisfaction than they imagined it would. Though this is an Italian and French co-production, it was filmed separately in English and French. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide