Jean-Francois Garreaud Movies

Veteran screenwriter Franck Mancuso (36 Quai des Orfevres) helmed and penned the script for the French-language detective thriller Counter-Investigation (AKA Contre-enquête), loosely adapting for the screen American writer Lawrence Block's short story "Like a Bone in the Throat." The chilly tale unfolds in the Parisian suburbs, where happily married police captain Richard (Jean Dujardin) makes the fatal decision to pass up an opportunity for a bike ride with his nine-year-old daughter Emilie (Alexandra Goncalvez), in favor of department business. During Richard's absence, Emilie slips out for a rendez-vous with a young boy of like age - and not long after, joggers discover her body in the woods, raped and beaten to death, the victim of an apparent maniac. Richard's partners arrest the most likely suspect, pedophile Daniel Eckmann (Laurent Lucas) who first denies, then confirms his involvement. In time, however, Daniel writes long letters to Richard from prison, pleading his innocence and pointing to another culprit - the serial killer Salinas (Jean-Francois Garreaud). As an initially reluctant Richard investigates, his astonishment builds upon coming face-to-face with the conclusion that all of the evidence does indeed point to Salinas; to his wife's (Agnes Blanchot) chagrin, the detective thus works toward exonerating Daniel and arraigning Salinas for the death of his young daughter. Contre-enquête represents Mancuso's first directorial assignment; as a screenwriter, he takes a number of liberties with the story, making the necessary cultural adjustments for a French setting. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Adapted from a novel by Georges Simenon, Betty stars Marie Trintignant in the title role. A drunken wastrel, Betty is adopted after a fashion by an older female alcoholic named Laure, played by director Claude Chabrol's wife at the time, Stéphane Audran. Fascinated by Betty's hard-luck tales, Laure endeavors to protect the younger woman from the ravages of a cruel world. Unfortunately, she turns a blind eye to Betty's larcenous streak, which manifests itself at the worst possible moments. This tale of a irredeemable ne'er-do-well is fleshed out by a flashback-flashforward technique that some observers found confusing and distracting. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In an amusing comedy that looks at the life and dreams and absurdities of a middle-class housewife, director John Berry has condensed everywoman's youthful experiences into the persona of Maryvonne (Myriam Boyer). The upbeat heroine works hard in a factory and one day meets and eventually falls for an attractive Arab co-worker. The two end up being a committed pair, especially after Maryvonne gives birth to their son. Meanwhile, the workers at the factory go on strike, and the young mother fantasizes that she is leading them a la Joan of Arc, or as a Russian revolutionary. When a journalist arrives to record the strike, he encourages Maryvonne to write her account of matters -- he has his ulterior motives, but she immediately sets pen to paper and comes up with several notebooks. The journalist is in Paimpol, and as Maryvonne makes the train to meet him, her dreams and his reality are set on a collision course. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Claude Chabrol's Violette was based on the true story of 19-year-old Violette Noziere, who in the 1930s was tried and convicted for the poisoning of her father and the attempted murder of her mother. As played by Isabelle Huppert (who won several awards for her performance), Violette is a thrill-seeking girl who falls for a no-good slug from the slums of Paris. Anxious to give money to her lover, Violette hatches the patricide scheme in order to inherit her father's fortune. But Violette's mother, played as an deglamorized drudge by the otherwise stunning Stephane Audran, is not so easily disposed of; it is her testimony that condemns Violette, first to the guillotine, then to a commuted life sentence. In emulation of his idol Alfred Hitchcock, director Chabrol manages to evoke a measure of sympathy and audience identification for his thoroughly dislikable leading character. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide