Ginette Garcin

A cross-dressing man allows himself to be used as bait to trap a killer in this crime-drama. Bo Ancelin (Robinson Stevenin) is a twentysomething man from Brussels who feels most comfortable dressing and living as a woman. Some might see Bo's lifestyle as a marked contrast to that of his father, a successful and well-regarded businessman, though it seems father has some secrets of his own after no-nonsense police detective, Paul Huysmans (Richard Bohringer), arrests him on charges of child molestation. While Bo bears his own scars from his upbringing, he's not eager to speak against his father in court, but before long both Bo and Huysmans have bigger fish to fry -- a serial killer is walking the streets of Brussels and choosing as his favored victims prostitutes and cross-dressers. When two of his friends are murdered by the killer, Bo decides he must step in to help catch the killer that Huysmans hasn't yet found on his own, though Bo soon falls into a dangerous position when he falls in love with Johnny (Stephane Metzger), a sullen and street-smart hustler who helps rent-boys find profitable assignations with older women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As a way of getting on in the world, working for wages and constantly being in danger of being fired or laid off is a pretty poor system. In this movie, pretty, young Aimee decides that marriage to the right man is a much better bargain. Though she is very fond of an impoverished bookstore owner, the man who meets her strict criteria is a famous and high-strung restaurant critic. After cohabiting with her new spouse for a while, she goes for the really big-time payoff that comes with divorce and stages everything entirely to her satisfaction. Of course, it takes an iron will and tremendous concentration for this passionate girl to play such a stern, money-grubbing role, but she's up to the task. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A non-conventional crime thriller that offers a tour of Paris at night, Paris Minuit begins with a bank robbery in which three of the thieves are killed and two escape with minor wounds. The pair that get away are lovers (Frederic Andrei and Isabelle Texier) who opt for hiding out separately while the police are still looking for them. In order to keep in touch with each other, they have special drop-offs for postcards that encode their next meeting place (using classical poetry). Since the police are not authorities on poets of any period, they are hard put to find the duo. Family concerns start to intrude on the two wanted suspects, and all the while, even the opaque police are closing in. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this confusing, surreal, and slow-paced drama that swings back and forth from strange to farcical, Robert (Alain Delon) meets Donatienne (Nathalie Baye) on a train. She tells him a story about a woman and a man who meet on a train and subsequently spend a night - only one night - in a glorious sexual encounter before they part forever. He is so taken with her that he ends up in her mountain chalet, not just for one night, but for many - drinking beer and forgetting about his wife in Paris. Donatienne then has sexual relations with all the men in her neighborhood - and the film steps fully into a bizarre world in which neither Robert nor Donatienne can honestly relate to each other. The mystery about what is going on is revealed in the end, but by then the film - verbose, inscrutable, and artificial - may have alienated more than one viewer. On the other hand, the performances of Delon and Baye stand out against this flawed backdrop, an achievement recognized at the 1984 Cesars when Delon won the Best Actor award for his role as Robert. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this farcical look at a female detective/mystery story writer, Cathy Palmer (JoBeth Williams) is an ordinary housewife living in Ohio with a condescending husband who is far from ideal. When Cathy wins a writing contest and has the chance to go to Paris and meet the author of the romance novels she loves, her husband tries to prevent the trip. In the end, Cathy's interests prevail, though her husband still refuses to go with her. After arriving in Paris, Cathy is knocked down by a car and wakes up in the hospital with all memory of her past life erased. In its place, she believes she is Rebecca Ryan, the heroine in the romance novels she has read. Carrying her unconscious role to the hilt, she dresses in elegant clothes and meets the comically rattled Alan McMann (Tom Conti) who becomes her partner, of sorts. Little does she know that Alan is not Rebecca's secretary, but the actual ghost writer of the Ryan novels. Cathy begins to suspect that villains are lurking everywhere, and her intuition in that regard is unerring -- she has doubts about the klutzy leader of the French opposition party (Giancarlo Giannini), and it turns out her doubts are well-founded. As the plot thickens, it becomes apparent that sooner or later Cathy-cum-Rebecca will have to realize the truth about her identity, but in the meantime, much skullduggery awaits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Love turns out to be all in the family in this romantic comedy from France. When an elderly couple decides to marry, their families come together for a wedding banquet that turns into a raucous, wine-soaked celebration. Marthe (Marie-Christine Barrault) and Ludovic (Victor Lanoux) are distant cousins related by marriage who meet for the first time at the reception; they take an immediate liking to each other and resolve that they should see each other more often. Before long, they've become close friends, but their spouses begin to think there's more going on than just good conversation. However, the more people are convinced the two have become lovers, the more the idea of taking their friendship to the next level appeals to them. Marie-France Pisier has a memorably funny "suicide" scene as Ludovic's wife. Cousin Cousine was a surprise commercial success in the United States, where it received several Academy Award nominations and spawned an Americanized remake, Cousins (1989). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Jean Yanne directs and stars in this French comedy. He plays a radio reporter who is fired when he recounts on the air just how his brave colleagues report on Latin American revolutions: from a lounge chair next to the pool of a luxury hotel, or from cabanas along the beach. He is briefly hired back to run the station but gets fired yet again when he airs an exposé of phony name-brand products. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide