Guillaume Canet Movies

A handful of old friends make some unexpected discoveries about one another in this comedy-drama from French writer and director Guillaume Canet. Eight pals who are settling into middle age have observed an annual tradition for years in which they get together to enjoy some vacation time. However, fate puts a damper on this year's gathering when one of the group, Ludo (Jean Dujardin), ends up in the hospital after an auto accident. His friends decide to go away together anyway, but Ludo's troubles portend a week of difficult feelings and awkward situations. Max (Francois Cluzet), who is paying host this year at his summer home, is startled by a declaration of love from Vincent (Benoit Magimel), which comes as an unwelcome surprise to the married and very straight Max. Meanwhile, Marie (Marion Cotillard), Eric (Gilles Lellouche), and Antoine (Laurent Lafitte) are all dealing with various forms of romantic disappointment, and seemingly everyone has a skeleton in the closet that he or she is hiding from the group. Les Petits Mouchoirs (aka Little White Lies) received its world premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

An espionage agent begins working against his own country for the good of the world in this drama based on a true story. Sergei Grigoriev (Emir Kusturica) is a Soviet intelligence operative who has become deeply disillusioned with life under Communism -- while he believes in the ideals the U.S.S.R. was founded upon, he feels they have been become hopelessly compromised by their current leadership, and that the old government must be brought down for the sake of future generations. With this in mind, Grigoriev strikes up a friendship with Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a French engineer who is living and working in Moscow and has no idea his new pal is a spy. Once Grigoriev has gained Froment's confidence, he begins passing classified documents along to Froment with the understanding that they will then be forwarded to French intelligence. It soon becomes clear that what Grigoriev has to share are American state secrets and classified scientific documents confirming the KGB has been digging deep into U.S. security; when the CIA finds out just how much the Russians know, it sparks an international incident and fierce reprisals against the U.S.S.R. Directed by Christian Carion, L'Affaire Farewell (aka Farewell) was based on the true story of KGB agent Vladimir Vetrov; the film also stars Fred Ward, Willem Dafoe, and David Soul. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Acclaimed director Claude Berri (Jean de Florette) helms the whimsical romantic comedy Ensemble, c'est tout (Hunting and Gathering, 2007). A box office blockbuster in France, the picture follows the romantic couplings that form in the lives of several lonely Parisian singles. The lead characters include: an emotionally fragile, exhausted cleaning lady named Camille (Audrey Tatou) who is suffering from anorexia; a well-to-do young man named Phillibert struggling with his own sexual orientation (Laurent Stocker) but who begins to drift toward heterosexuality and a stable relationship with a woman; and Phillibert's rebellious pothead roommate Franck (Guillaume Canet), who can never quite breach the possibility of committing to one woman, or come face to face with his dream of opening a French restaurant - until he meets Camille and the pieces begin to fall into place. Writer-director Berri adapted the novel by Anna Gavaldi. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

An innocent man is on the run after he's accused of murder and his spouse seemingly returns from the grave in this thriller from France. Alex Beck (François Cluzet) is a doctor who has slowly been putting his life back together after his wife Margot was murdered by a serial killer. Eight years on, Alex is doing well enough until he finds himself implicated in the murder of two people, with plenty of evidence pointing to him as the killer even though he knows nothing of the crimes. The same day, Alex receives an e-mail that appears to be from Margot (Marie-Josée Croze), which includes a link to a video clip that seems to be recent and features his late wife looking alive and well. Margot's message warns Alex that they are both being watched, and he struggles to stay one step ahead of the law as a gang of strong-arm men intimidate Alex's friends into telling whatever they might know about him. Alex's sister Anne (Marina Hands) persuades her well-to-do lover Helene (Kristin Scott Thomas) to hire a well respected attorney, Elisabeth Feldman (Nathalie Baye), to handle Alex's case. While Elisabeth tries to keep Alex out of jail, she learns that her client has a warrant out for his arrest, and Alex goes on the lam while he and his lawyer struggle to find out the truth about the murder as well as Margot's reappearance. Tell No One (aka Ne Le Dis a Personne) was based on the international best-selling novel by Harlan Coben. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The year is 1914, and as World War I continues to rage across the European countryside, four individuals stuck on the front lines find themselves faced with the unthinkable in director Christian Carion's Academy Award-nominated account of the true-life wartime event that would offer hope for peace in mankind's darkest hour. When the war machines began rolling in the summer of 1914, the devastation that it waged upon German, British, and French troops was palpable. As the winter winds began to blow and the soldiers sat huddled in their trenches awaiting the generous Christmas care packages sent by the families, the sounds of warfare took a momentary backseat to the yearning for brotherhood among all of mankind. It is here that the fate of a French lieutenant, a Scottish priest, a German tenor, and a Danish soprano's lives were about to be changed forever. On Christmas Eve of that year, the lonely souls of the front lines abandoned their arms to reach out to their enemies on the battlefield and greet them with not anger or hostility, but with the simple, kindly gesture of a much needed cigarette or a treasured piece of chocolate, and to put their differences aside long enough to wish their brothers a sincere "Merry Christmas!" ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

As one brother (Vincent London) is proving himself as a soldier, the other (Guillaume Canet) is noting the last requests of his dying mother, a respected herbalist within the community. Though Arnaud (Canet) promises to carry on the family tradition, his plans are thwarted by a vicious band of horsemen who beat him into a three-day coma. When he wakes unable to speak or recognize his family, his wife (Melanie Doutey) sends a mercenary to find Thomas (London). Guillemette (Douty) and Thomas set off in hopes of finding a book containing the plant know-how they need in order to honor the late herbalist's wishes, but the tradition is primarily oral, and the books available on the subject are closely guarded by the clergy. Though Guillemette herself cannot read, she realizes her family's future depends on the existence of such a book. Making things even more complicated is the romance blossoming between Guillemette and Thomas, despite the shared relationship with Arnaud. This costume drama is set in southern France during the middle of the 13th century, and was directed by Pierre Jolivet. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Vidocq (1775-1857) was a noted French detective who was one of the great trailblazers of modern criminal investigation; he's been credited with establishing the first private investigation firm, and pioneered a number of scientific techniques that are still being used today. Vidocq was also a master of disguise and a former thief with no small sense of adventure, and his exploits have been fodder for a number of novels, plays, and motion pictures in France; Vidocq is a high-tech retooling of his legend that employs cutting-edge digital technology to bring a new visual dazzle to his story. Vidocq (Gerard Depardieu) dies an unexpected death while battling his arch-nemesis the Alchemist, and Boisset (Guillaume Canet), an opportunistic journalist, sets out to write his life story, convincing Nimier (Moussa Maaskri), Vidocq's partner, that he had made arrangements with the great man himself to collaborate on such a book before his death. Boisset begins interviewing Vidocq's cohorts, but it seems someone is following the reporter, as his interview subjects have a habit of dying sudden and violent deaths shortly after sharing their stories. As it turns out, the deaths are tied into a case Vidocq investigated, in which a number of people were killed by lightning -- lightning that was conjured up by none other than the Alchemist. Shot on high-definition digital video equipment to allow special effects artists greater latitude to manipulate the images, Vidocq also features Ines Sastre, Andre Dussollier, and Edith Scob. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Maverick auteur Andrzej Zulawski directs this flamboyant adaptation of classic French novel La Princesse de Cleves, complete with dirt bike races, hot sex, and naked hockey players. Talented Canadian photographer Clelia (Sophie Marceau) lands a financially lucrative job in Paris at a rumor-mongering tabloid called La Verite run by Rupert MacRoi (Michel Subor). Though she finds most of her coworkers to be disillusioned and perverse, she happens upon Cleve (Pascal Greggory), a bumbling middle-aged children's book publisher. Cleve is days away from marrying MacRoi's daughter to bolster his flagging publishing house. Nonetheless, Clelia and Cleve retire to his office to make love almost immediately upon meeting. Though MacRoi has already bought his company, Cleve breaks off his wedding plans and proposes to Clelia. Enter Nemo (Guillaume Canet), a sexy young photographer who promptly propositions her upon their first encounter. In spite of her ferocious sexual attract to Nemo, Clelia marries Cleve and resolutely keeps to her wedding vows in the face of her suitor's continued advances. Madame de la Fayette's novel, from which this film draws inspiration, has already been adapted twice: the 1961 version was directed by Jean Delannoy and starred Marina Vlady, and the 1999 take, entitled The Letter was directed by Manoel de Oliveira and featured Chiara Mastroianni. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

For his first major project after the overwhelming success of Titanic, Leonardo Di Caprio took a risky path in this adaptation of Alex Garland's acclaimed novel, directed by Danny Boyle. Richard (Di Caprio) is an American backpacking through Asia with a handful of friends from Europe. While in Bangkok, he meets a mad Scotsman who calls himself Daffy Duck (Robert Carlyle). Shortly before Mr. Duck kills himself, he gives Richard a crude map to a place in Thailand that he claims is paradise on earth: beautiful, unspoiled, and uninhabited. For lack of anything better to do, Richard and his companions try to locate the spot, which, after a dangerous and taxing journey, takes them to a beach as beautiful as Duck said it would be. Richard and his friends settle in, but before long they discover that they are not alone; a large group of fellow travelers has already dug themselves in, and they have established a community with the same social evils that Richard was hoping to leave behind. Just as important, there is an army of natives who grow marijuana in the nearby hills and do not appreciate the presence of these visitors. The Beach proved controversial during production, partly due to production delays and shifting release dates, partly due to environmental concerns after crew members bulldozed parts of the Thai island of Phi Phi Le for the planting of non-native trees. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Patrice Chereau (Queen Margot) directed this French drama about a train trip to an artist's funeral. Friends of painter Jean-Baptiste Emmerich (Jean-Louis Trintignant, seen in flashbacks) gather at a Paris railroad station for a four-hour journey to Limoges, where Emmerich wanted to be buried. The dozen travelers include art historian Francois (Pascal Greggory) and his lover Louis (Bruno Todeschini), who develops an interest in teenage Bruno (Sylvain Jacques). Traveling parallel with the train is a station wagon with Jean-Baptiste's body, and this vehicle is driven by Thierry (Roschdy Zem), husband of Catherine (Dominique Blanc), who's on the train with their daughter. Francois plays a taped interview with Jean-Baptiste, revealing his sexual appeal to both men and women. Lucie (Marie Daems) is convinced that she was his main love. Also on board is his nephew, Jean-Marie (Charles Berling) and Jean-Marie's estranged wife, Claire (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), After the funeral in "Europe's largest cemetery," the storyline continues in the mansion of Jean-Baptiste's brother, Lucien (also played by Trintignant). With hand-held camerawork for almost two-thirds of the film, the production involved two extra cars connected to a real scheduled train, headed one way in the morning and returning in the afternoon, with cast and crew logging some 12,000 kilometers over two weeks. Source music runs the gamut from James Brown to Jim Morrison. The title refers to the dying words uttered by the painter -- which actually are the last words spoken by filmmaker Francois Reichenbach who died in 1993 (and appropriated here by his friend, co-scripter Daniele Thompson). One of Francois Reichenbach's best-known films (and subject of an entire book) is the documentary Medicine Ball Caravan (aka We Have Come for Your Daughters,1971), a curious effort to duplicate the success of Woodstock (1970) by simply inviting a large number of musicians, hippies, and counterculture types aboard a cross-country train and filming the result. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi