Smadi Wolfman Movies
An actor who lands the role of his life is forced into an even greater real-life acting challenge in this comedy drama from France. Maurice Kurtz (Stéphane Freiss) is an actor who is passionately in love with his wife, Perla (Bérénice Bejo), and wishes he could provide a better life for her. Maurice and his friends Simon (Lionel Abelanski), Sami (Olivier Sitruk), and Edouard (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié) work for a company that dubs American films into French when they're not looking for acting work, and when they learn that famous American filmmaker Grichenberg (Peter Coyote) is coming to Paris to shoot a Yiddish-language version of The Merchant of Venice, they all show up at a "cattle call" audition hoping to land bit parts. To his great surprise, Maurice's reading wins him the leading role of Shylock, and he quickly passes the good news along to Perla. As it happens, Perla needs some good news -- she's just been diagnosed with cancer, and her doctor tells her she's not long for the world. Maurice is comforted by the fact that his good fortune is lifting Perla's spirits, so when Grichenberg recasts him a few days later with a major American star, Maurice and his buddies devise a variety of scams to convince Perla that her husband is still making the movie that will make him famous. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stéphane Freiss, Bérénice Bejo, (more)
- 1999
The collision between family life and career lies at the heart of this comedy hailing from France. A mother of two small children, Eva's life goes from stressful to insane when she is told that she is a project finalist for the design of a massive European hospital. She and her working husband Philippe (Frederic Diefenthal) try desperately to balance their commitments to their kids, careers, and themselves. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elsa Zylberstein, Frédéric Diefenthal, (more)
- 1998
Olivier Peray made his directorial debut with this French-Swiss-Spanish co-production reminiscent of Eric Rohmer romances. At a roadside cafe, Sophie (Sarah Grappin) listens while Alain (Vincent Elbaz) tells her a story about Lionel (Bruno Putzulu), seen sitting elsewhere in the cafe. As the tale progresses, the film does a four-year flashback: Alain and Lionel are both employed at a publishing firm where Lionel gains such a rep as a "sex machine" that Alain bets him he can't spend a night with a woman without having sex. Lionel agrees to this bet and chooses to hit on Claire (Smadi Wolfman), a travel agent who initially gives him a false name and address and then later tells him she's married. After much sex-slanted repartee, the two have sex. The movie might end right here (at the 40-minute mark) -- except that Alain reveals to Sophie that he has not related a true account of the actual events. He then launches into a totally different version of what transpired. Shown at the 1998 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruno Putzulu, Smadi Wolfman, (more)
