Pierre Etaix Movies

Though far better known in Europe than in the United States, Eastern European director Otar Iosseliani (who hails from Georgia) claims a bevy of international awards and a devoted fanbase, and commands a formidable amount of respect in film circles for his meticulous cinematic craftsmanship. Almost uniquely for a contemporary filmmaker of his stature, Iosseliani (best known for his 2002 Berlinale Silver Bear winner Lundi Matin) states that an integral part of his creative process involves receiving divine intervention from the Almighty - his everpresent muse. With the documentary Otar Iosseliani: The Whistling Blackbird, filmmaker Julie Bertucelli - a longtime friend of Iosseliani's - follows the 73-year-old director around, camera in tow, and explores his creative process, gaining unparalleled insight into a mind so flooded with projects and plans and visions that most, as he readily admits, will never see fruition. The film observes Iosseliani as he orchestrates preproduction of a film, by collaborating diligently with storyboard artists and his Director of Photography, William Lubtchansky, and engaging in discussions of creative difference that run the gamut from light and witty to heated and caustic. The picture also unveils the degree to which Ioselliani insists on casting his pictures with lay men and women, and his enormous emphasis on the kinesthetics of movement, visual artistry and camera balletics, often at the expense of dialogue - a preference that cannot be tagged with a value judgement, for it is part and parcel of Iosseliani's unique filmic voice. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Fabled Japanese filmmaker Nagisa Oshima was the guiding hand behind the fast-paced French comedy Max, Mon Amour. The "Max" with whom the elegant Charlotte Rampling falls in love is a circus chimpanzee (played by a short-statured man in a monkey suit). Charlotte's British-ambassador husband Anthony Higgins has long suspected that his wife was cheating on him, but he certainly isn't prepared for her simian paramour. Amazingly, the film never descends into goofiness: Oshima uses his unorthodox plotline to poke holes in the self-protective pretensions of the Bourgeoisie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is a somewhat derisive documentary that examines French vacation habits and how the French make and respond to publicity. Among the items shown is an amateur singing contest. This is a French language film with no subtitles or dubbing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A young man nervously waits in a church on his wedding day. His daydream splashes time forward 10 years as he finds himself married and working for his father-in-law. He has a brief but profound affair with a new secretary before returning to his wife. His nocturnal dreams have his bed taking off like an automobile cruising to exotic locales with beautiful women. He passes other men in beds on their way to destinations they will only reach in their dreams. His wife expresses a desire for a vacation and her bed turns into a train in this film that relies heavily on symbolism. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Pierre Etaix directed and starred in this comedy that offers an offbeat look at seemingly normal situations. A physician finds himself even more stressed and sickly than his patients. Another scene finds an idyllic campground being run like a concentration camp complete with barbed wire. There are plenty of sight gags and slapstick as the harried human tries to cope with the increasing stress of the modern world. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The quest for love gets a farcical French treatment in this lighthearted romp, the sophomore directorial effort from writer and star Pierre Etaix. Etaix plays Pierre, a shy youth under pressure from his mother to find a nice girl and settle down. In order to appease her, Pierre proposes marriage to his family's Swedish student boarder, whose poor grasp of French leads to a misunderstanding. Believing that he has been rejected, Pierre commences trying to find the right woman for him. After an abortive assignation with a seductive one-night stand, Pierre becomes obsessed with a popular actress he spots on television. Collecting all the memorabilia he can find associated with the woman, the love-struck Pierre even buys an engagement ring, but when he tracks down the object of his affection, he is surprised to find that she is old enough to be his mother. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Five years after his first appearance, Jacques Tati's M. Hulot returns with Mon Oncle, a film set along the dividing line between Paris' past and its future. Aligned (as is the film) with the former, Hulot lives in a colorful, overpopulated Parisian neighborhood and, lacking employment, spends his days waiting to pick up his adoring nephew from school, and subsequently escorting him to his parents' ultra-modern house. Filled with gadgets, some turned on only to impress the neighbors, the house seems designed specifically to frustrate Hulot, who unwittingly disrupts its operations at every opportunity. Concerned about his future, Hulot's relatives attempt to find him gainful employment and pair him off with a neighbor, with little success on either front. The nearly dialogue-free film is less concerned with the family's attempts as they relate to an overall plot, and more interested in how they play into its overall scheme of contrasts and allow for Tati's unmistakable sight-and-sound gag set pieces. ~ Keith Phipps, All Movie Guide