Bernard Fresson

French legend has it that a creature known as the Beast of Gevaudan -- a huge, wolf-like monster -- was responsible for the violent deaths of over 100 persons in the mid-18th century, and this horror fantasy blends the lore of this fabled beast with a story of two men who set out to capture it. After a number of mutilated corpses begin appearing across the French countryside, naturalist Chevalier Gregoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) is dispatched by the King to find and capture the animal responsible for the killings. Mani (Mark Dacascos), an Indian from Canada and an experienced hand in the wilds, is hired to assist de Fronsac in his work. Gregoire's assignment earns him the acquaintance of Marianne de Morangias (Emilie Dequenne), the lovely daughter of the idly wealthy Count de Morangias (Jean Yanne), but Gregoire receives a much chillier welcome from her brother Jean-Francois (Vincent Cassel), who, despite having lost an arm to a lion in Africa, is quite the huntsman himself. As Gregoire and Mani arrive in the village of Gevaudan, they're drawn to a local house of prostitution, where the animalistic allure and supernatural powers of Sylvia (Monica Bellucci) prove to have a profound effect on the naive Gregoire. Jim Henson's Creature Shop provided the special-effects expertise for the creation of the Beast of Gevaudan. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

While the French have a knack for fine wine and fine food, they can't come up with a decent serial killer of their own, so an American has to step in to terrorize Paris in this crime thriller. A lunatic is on the loose in the City of Lights, murdering women and disemboweling their bodies. The fiend has already claimed five victims, and police detectives Nathan (Richard Anconina) and Philippe (Frederic Diefenthal) want to stop him before he can find a sixth. Nathan is introduced to an American detective with extensive experience in tracking multiple murderers, and with the American's help, he narrows the case down to a prime suspect -- Douglas Foster Blade (Jonathan Firth), an American diplomat in France who is negotiating a trade agreement between the two countries. Blade has diplomatic immunity, which the French government refuses to lift, despite Nathan's requests. Nathan is removed from the case, but he refuses to stop trailing Blade, and he begins using fellow detective Marine (Chiara Mastroianni) as a decoy is hopes of catching the killer in the act. Six-Pack was based on a book by French crime novelist Jean-Hugues Oppel. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A successful prostitute attempts to fashion a homeless man into her ideal pimp in this unconventional, darkly humorous French drama. Marie (Anouk Grinberg) has no real need for a pimp, being a self-reliant, unabashed woman so fond of her job as a hooker that she is able to convince strangers to try it themselves. Indeed, her financial success allows her to take care of Jeannot (Gérard Lanvin), an impoverished vagrant whom she finds on the streets. She provides him with a bath and a place to sleep, and the two rapidly become lovers. Nevertheless, Marie is soon imploring Jeannot to act as her pimp, begging him to slap her around and take her money. He takes to his new role and soon decides to talk a manicurist (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) into becoming the next member of his stable. The newcomer's inexperience proves to be his downfall, however, as the manicurist lands him in trouble with the law. Director Bertrand Blier attempts to create a controversial look at sexuality by combining black comedy with scenes of smoky sensuality, though many critics found the central premise and the presentation of Marie's contradictory, masochistic character too unconvincing for the film to be fully successful. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Jazz great Miles Davis makes his acting debut and farewell playing an inspirational jazz trumpeter in this lively drama that centers on a young Australian country boy who dreams of becoming just like him. Unfortunately, some dreams are never realized, and the boy grows up to become a dingo trapper with a wife and nearly grown children. As his latest birthday inexorably approaches, he begins suffering a mid-life crisis. The fellow had been playing jazz trumpet with his band, the "Dingo Dusters" for many years. They came up with a unique form of jazz that was popular in their area, but he still cannot escape his disappointment about never playing music in Paris. For many years, he has been writing to Cross, who has never replied, and saving up his pennies for a trip to the City of Light, where Cross lives. But times are hard and money is tight. His devoted wife, seeing her husband is seriously depressed, writes a letter to Cross' agent. The agent's wife, who, knowing that Billy would never listen or respond, has secretly saved all of the Australian's letters and tapes. When she reads the letter, she decides to forward it through. Billy is touched and then asks to hear the demos. In the end, it becomes a touching dream-come-true for the hard-working Australian who somehow manages to discover that he already has the best of both worlds. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Stars and famous locations abound in this multinational production, a would-be "financial thriller" about swindles and betrayals among jet-set gazillionaires, which takes place in glamor spots all over the globe. Somebody has stolen millions of dollars from his father, and Frank Cimballi (Eric Stoltz) means to find out who. To that end, he enlists the help of a variety of people, including a man (Mario Adorf) who is wealthy in his own right, and a French private eye (Bruno Cremer) who appears to have read too many American detective novels. The bad guys seem to have Nazi connections, which adds spice to the chase, but reviewers discounted this movie, based on a best-selling French novel, for its slapdash storytelling. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Sam Fuller's last film as a director, made during his self-imposed European exile, stars Keith Carradine as once glamorous pop singer Michael, who has been reduced to a grizzled street bum scavenging for booze and food. The cause of his downfall was his affair with the beautiful Celia (Valentina Vargas), a mistress of ruthless crime boss Eddie (Marc de Jonge). The mobster punished the singer "where it hurts most" -- by slitting his throat and thus ruining his career. Years later, Michael crosses paths with Eddie and his thugs again and gets a chance for revenge. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

When Catherine (Nathalie Baye) is caught with her illicit lover by her father-in-law Paul (Michel Serrault), the concerned father leaves to tell his son Thomas (Francois Dunoyer) about the incident. Paul is injured in an auto accident and returns home in a wheelchair unable to speak. Catherine's guilt weighs heavily on her as she hopes to never let Thomas know she was unfaithful. She panics and seeks a way to eliminate Paul in this psychological thriller. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this clichéd, uneven, confusing melodrama about love and politics by Philippe Labro, Sacha (Nathalie Baye) is a divorced woman from the Left Bank of the Seine, out of a job because she refused to bestow sexual favors in the line of duty, and Paul (Gérard Depardieu) is a lawyer from the Right Bank whom she first rejects and then accepts when she sees his noble behavior on television. Paul has become well-established because of some shady moral compromises but suddenly finds his backbone when he turns against the crooked tycoon he had represented (Bernard Fresson) and does so on public television. Paul has given up everything for his love of Sacha, and now she is in danger from the vengeful tycoon -- not to mention Paul's irate wife. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Yves Montand stars in this French seriocomedy as a middle-aged waiter. He has long harbored dreams of becoming a singer, and is also anxious to prove he's as virile as he was when he started pushing plates. Montand gets a chance to rev up his sexual energy and his musical skills when an old flame (Nicole Garcia) reenters his life after 17 years. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this routine, somewhat disconnected story, Louis Alban (Jean Rochefort) has been divorced from his wife for awhile when a ruse perpetrated by his son sends him rushing to see her, but not exactly in a direct line. After Louis reads a New Year's card from his son indicating the boy is being abused by his stepfather Bob, Louis takes off for Paris to take care of Bob. But when Louis arrives at the apartment complex where his wife and son live with the infamous Bob, he is overwhelmed by the many buildings there -- and distraught over his lack of an exact address. As he wanders around, he encounters a few others who end up about as lost as he is, including a garage mechanic and his young accountant -- both searching for a party given by the real Bob, and a militant apartment resident who lends his support and his gun to Louis' desperate search. This disparate group of people meander around the building, but in the end they fit into the carefully crafted plans of Louis' deceptive son to bring his mother and father back together. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Unknown to him, a journalist's girlfriend has been known to harbor terrorists sought by the police. He is a reporter for a leftist French journal, and the police have traced the girlfriend to him. He gets involved with both the police and underground organizations when his girl goes missing after being seen leaving a mysterious group of men. Now that he is the subject of police inquiries, his newspaper is beginning to make noises that he is not entirely welcome with them. The reporter eventually finds his supposed girlfriend at a sex show, for all the good it does him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide