Christian Charmettant Movies

During his adolescent years, Sami, a French teen, saved 15-year-old buddy Patrick from a potentially fatal skiing accident - causing Patrick to feel long indebted to his friend. Years later, Patrick (Clovis Cornillac) has evolved into a congenial husband, father and businessman with a handsome Parisian flat and a gorgeous wife named Justine (Alice Taglioni), but the poor Sami (Pascal Elbe) failed to make an equally smooth transition into adulthood. He developed a severe case of hypochondria - so severe that he's now a basket case and spends inordinate amounts of time in the hospital undergoing every medical test in the books, and presumably torturing his insurance company in the process. So begins Gerard Bitton and Michael Munz's outrageous comedy-of-errors The Cactus. When Sami endures a brain scan and overhears a conversation between a doctor and a nurse, indicating that the patient "is suffering from a severe case of white spots" and "won't last the winter" - his paranoia leads him to conclude that they are discussing the results of his procedure; unbeknownst to him, the discussion pertains to the office cactus. Terrified of impending death, Sami leans more heavily than ever on Patrick and Justine (for whom he carries a serious torch) - first moving into their house, and then carting the Patrick along with him on a trip to India to consult with a famous healer. Alas, the two men's problems are only beginning, and when Patrick's decides to skip work in order to help his friend, it marks the beginning of a journey full of outrageous errors and mishaps that collectively turn each man's life upside down and inside out. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

French director Elie Chouraqui adapts the novel of the same name into this drama, that, although set in 1991, became tragically topical in the weeks before its release due to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Andie MacDowell stars as Sarah, a photo editor for Newsweek and the happily married wife of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Harrison Lloyd (David Strathairn). Harrison has been reconsidering his career of covering the world's war zone "hot spots" in order to spend more time with his family, and is accused by his colleague, Kyle (Adrien Brody), of playing it too safe in his risky profession. Harrison elects to accept one more combat assignment to cover the simmering tensions in Croatia, a conflict that quickly erupts into a full-scale, genocidal Civil War. Informed that Harrison is believed to have been killed in the fighting, Sarah refuses to accept her husband's death and becomes convinced that she's seen him, alive, in a news broadcast. She travels to Croatia on a quest to find him, and is eventually aided by Kyle, as well as two of Harrison's other colleagues, Yeager (Elias Koteas) and Stevenson (Brendan Gleeson). The group, armed with cameras instead of weapons, witnesses the horrors and atrocities unfolding in the region, while tracing the elusive path of Harrison, who may well be dead already. Harrison's Flowers was distributed by Universal Focus, the art house division of Universal Pictures that previously released Mulholland Drive (2001) and Billy Elliott (2000). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

French TV star Nagui, described by Variety as "popular for his lowbrow-Letterman approach," portrays Zak, who learns about "the curse of Onan" experienced by males in his family. If Zak does not impregnate a woman before his 33rd birthday, the joys of sex evaporate forever. However, Zak's interest in married women creates a roadblock. Even his current girlfriend, art auctioneer Florence (Cristiana Reali) is a married mother of triplets. So Zak's rabbi cousin Joseph (Thomas Langmann) fixes him up with an attractive supermodel (Joanna Rhodes). It's a race against time before permanent impotence strikes. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A little philosophy can be a dangerous thing. Especially if it comes from the sudden blinding insights of the none too bright. Such insights, based upon totally illogical conclusions form the basis of this devilishly dark, distorted French absurdist comedy. At the beginning of the eccentric tale, a noted author deliberately drives his car into a brick wall, a suicide method employed by the protagonist of his last novel. Taxi driver Evangila and her brother North are deeply upset their favorite author's sudden death. They discuss the deeper implications of his act, and deduce that the author killed himself because he was increasingly obsessed with the notion that he was actually a character in someone else's novel. Finding their conclusion perfectly sound, the duo make the next logic leap and decide that they too are literary characters in someone else's book. That being the case, then all responsibility for their actions lies on the writer's shoulders, not theirs; therefore, they can do whatever they want with no consequence. Meanwhile the writer's bereaved widow, Karenina, decides she wants to join her husband in death. She makes several sucide attempts, but someone always 'rescues' her at the crucial moment. In desperation, she decides to simply leap from a tall bridge. As Karenina plots her demise, North and Evangela continue to wrestle with their newfound philosophy. The newest twist is that the author of their lives is in reality their god. Since he is the tangible, living being who dictates their every move, they decide to consult a priest in the hope that he can convince their Creator to meet them and answer a few burning questions. Unfortunately the priest can't help them and suggests that perhaps someone near death could provide more insight, someone about to commit suicide perhaps? Evangela and North, figuring a tall bridge is a good place to encounter a suicide immediately go to a certain bridge and end up meeting Karenina. When a spiritualist and God Himself get involved the story really goes off the deep end and that is when the fun really begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this French slapstick comedy, a boozy boxer, is again beaten to a pulp in the ring and decides to head for the Mediterranean resort of Norbonne where his brother owns a pizza wagon. En route he teams up with an aspiring con man, who has also been beaten up. As they travel southward, they meet many odd characters and have a variety of madcap adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

The sorry story of the Vichy government of France from 1940 to 1945 is the subject of this thoughtful historical drama. In return for a swift surrender in 1940, the French government was allowed to retain, in Vichy an unoccupied portion of the country. There, at the Hotel du Parc, the government enacted and carried out its own decrees, which paralleled the Nazi persecution of Jews elsewhere. While the film itself simply tells its story in a straightforward manner that reviewers found quite creditable, it is remarkable for the fact that it was actually made and released. Why? Because it punctures the convenient illusions so many had constructed about the period, and reveals that far from being coerced into cooperating with the Germans, a large number (perhaps a majority) of Frenchmen were quite enthusiastic. In fact, the producer found it extremely difficult to get anyone to cooperate in making the film, and it took him over six years to bring together the resources to begin shooting. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Yet another incarnation of Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein, this uneven spoof by Alain Jessua casts Victor Frankenstein as a cybernetics wizard who constructs his monster with a notable lack of aesthetic sense but invests him with great microprocessors, and the newly-minted ogre finds life rather lonely until he sees Frankenstein's lover and is smitten. In the meantime, the warped doctor has also created a lithesome female out of the sundry body parts of slain go-go dancers who went-went, and he falls in love with his creation. The original odd couples then flounder a little as director Jessua loses his grip on the story, and the cybernetic protagonist heads for Frankenstein's castle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Martin (Jean Rochefort) is a coward who is swept up in the revolt by French students in May, 1968 in this Gallic comedy of errors. He helps the rioters destroy his own auto as his wife and children watch the proceedings in disbelief. Martin wakes up in a student commune and sees the beautiful Eva Catherine Deneuve, and the smitten coward follows her to Amsterdam where she secures a job as a cabaret singer. When her jealous boyfriend comes calling, Martin runs back to Paris. He pretends to have amnesia to get out of trouble at home, but he finds she has taken another lover in his absence. Martin races back to Amsterdam and brings Eva back to Paris in hopes of marriage after her boyfriend dies. After the ceremony, Eva reveals she is married to the American businessman Charlie (Robert Webber). Martin accepts a position as a chauffeur, content to be Eva's lover during Charlie's frequent business trips. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide