Henri Garcin Movies

Laurent Chouchan's comedy Ca Se Soigne? follows the plight of Tom Bledish (Thierry Lhermitte of The Dinner Game), a musician who appears to have everything going for him; with a ravishing wife and a covetable new appointment to a job as the head of the Parisian symphony orchestra, it seems that circumstances could not possibly improve - and indeed, his fate soon takes a cruel downturn when he's stricken by a bout of severe clinical depression. Despite a myriad of treatments, nothing seems to work, and indeed Tom begins to wonder if he'll ever regain his zest for life. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The small-scaled, darkly comic crime thriller Hardset. A Murder in Paris follows the actions perpetrated by Paul (French stand-up comedian Elie Semoun), a divorcée desperate for the money to cover his own alimony dues. When a friend, Daubelle (Philippe Uchan) introduces him to an overbearing loan shark named Sarreby, Paul impulsively whacks the shark over the head, seizes envelopes full of hard cash, and hits the road. However, this most unlikely criminal begins to feel the twitching pangs of guilt, and as he heads to the residence of a new lover, Simone (Ludmila Mikael), he begins sending letters back to Paris that implicate him in Sarreby's death. Philippe Colin (Cine Follies), a film critic turned scenarist and director, wrote and helmed the picture; for the ambience, Collin and production designer Pascal Chatton utilize a mise-en-scène that suggests the mid-1950s. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In this off-beat French comedy-drama, a quirky band of classical musicians prepare to play at a nobleman's New Year's Eve gala. It was bass player Roberto (Pierre Lacan) who initially scored the gig. He then calls together his four long-time partners and a local clarinet player. They were hired to play chamber music and Viennese waltzes and to be directed by Roberto's former mentor, the famous conductor Svarowvski (Henri Garcin). The maestro will have his work cut out for him though, for the four players, while each fine musicians on their own, are of totally different temperaments and don't always work well together. Their flautist Therese (Marie-Christine Laurent) will be performing the night before she is scheduled to have her baby; cellist Lionel (Marc Citti) is a kleptomaniac; volatile and hypersensitive viola player Martial (Serge Renko) constantly raves about one issue or another; while 20-year-old violinist Diane (Clementine Benoit) suffers from an inferiority complex. Their clarinetist (Wilfred Benaiche) is devoted to his mother and brings with him a secret. Their aristocratic host (Philippe Clay) can't hear conversation, but still possesses an uncanny musical ear. Plucky Arab woman Fatiah (Sonia Mankai) attends him. Their ordeal begins on December 26 when the musicians gather at the nobleman's chateau to begin a long week of rehearsals. Les Cachetonneurs played at the 1998 Chicago Film Festival. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Two men with seemingly nothing in common become unlikely friends in this drama from France. Harry (Daniel Auteuil) is a salesman working for a large but faceless corporation, where he's become a success at the expense of his personal life. His wife Julie (Miou-Miou), frustrated by his lack of concern for his family, has divorced him, and while he still has visitation rights to his children, he manages to forget when it's his weekend with his daughters, and he neglects to pick them up at the train station. Harry is depressed and nearly suicidal; while driving late one rainy night, he accidentally hits a dog who is walking with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a personable young man with Down's Syndrome. Georges lives in a mental institution, where he's happy and well cared for, but when several of the other patients leave for a weekend visit, Georges decides that he should leave too, and he sets out to visit his mother. Harry can't bring himself to leave Georges behind, so after burying the dog, he offers to drive him to his mother's home, which becomes the start of a complicated odyssey for the two of them, especially after Harry finds out that Georges' mother is no longer alive. Actor Pascal Duquenne actually does have Down's Syndrome; he and co-star Daniel Auteuil shared the Best Actor award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The title of this slapstick comedy, Koko Flanel, is apparently a takeoff on the famous name of deceased fashion designer Coco Chanel. In the story an odd-looking, dimwitted lad (popular comedian Urbanus) whose previous job experience involves selling bird houses, lands a fifteen-year contract as a model with a top advertising agency. Impeturbable and probably incapable of understanding what's going on anyway, the lad wants to marry the production assistant at the agency who signed him to the contract, so that he can fulfill a deathbed promise to his father to have some children, and behave at least as well as his older brother, a policeman. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A made-for-TV miniseries set during World War II, Monte Carlo features a Russian singer (Joan Collins) who works in the French city. She moonlights, however, as an Allied spy to retaliate against the Nazis who murdered her husband. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

With enough aliases to fill a hotel ledger, this downbeat horror film by Riccardo Fredo focuses on the past and present of Michael Stanford (Stefano Patrizi), a successful actor. His father was knifed to death years ago and now Michael and his girlfriend Deborah (Silvia Dionisio) are going to spend a week-end with Michael's mother. Joining them are the director and crew of a motion picture in the works. Oliver the housekeeper (John Richardson) does not extend a warm welcome to the guests, but that might just be his personality. After everyone is settled in, a deranged killer begins a series of murders. Is the occult at the heart of these killings? Or are Michael's fears about the past starting to come true? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Corinne (Miou-Miou) is a Parisian detective who is transferred to a small village in Northern France when an investigation uncovers evidence that is potentially damaging to some powerful local politicians. She is temporarily given a desk job before she is called on to solve the murder of a little girl. Her inquiry uncovers a child pornography ring that targets children from the working class. Comedian (Jean-Marc Thibault) gives a fine performance in a straight role as the local police inspector. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Pierre Richard directs and stars in this comedy about a ghost writer employed by a successful comic. He assumes the comic's identity and talks his way into a joint venture with an Italian screen star. The two travel to Tunisia to work on their collaboration and experience romantic and professional comic mishaps. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide