Philippe Grand'Henry Movies

A man is torn between his disgust for the decadence of the idle rich and his desire to get what he can from them in this drama, a Franco-Belgian co-production. Mimmo (Francois Vincentelli) is a cab driver who one night picks up a young woman who has staggered out of a party at a posh estate. The girl is far gone on drugs and drink, and looks as if she's been worked over; after a few minutes, she's dead. Mimmo returns to the house to inform the owner about what happened, but John Deveau (Jean-Paul Rouve) can't be bothered with bad news, while his pal David Dermont de Villard (Bouli Lanners) believes there's nothing to be done. Trying to find someone who can help, Mimmo crosses paths with Laetitia Cornet d'Anthes (Audrey Marnay), John's wife, who is quite impressed with the cabbie's rugged good looks. Laetitia is convinced Mimmo has the face and the charisma to become a movie star, and despite his qualms about her seemingly heartless husband, he's intrigued by the possibility of becoming an actor. After John and his compatriots are found to be blameless in the girl's death -- in part due to influence exerted by John's father (Jean-Pierre Cassel) -- Mimmo is invited into their social circle, where he becomes their pet proletarian and he hopes to get a break in show business. Meanwhile, as Mimmo's story plays out, a young man from Belgium who is obsessed with Japanese culture makes a pilgrimage to Tokyo, with a phony samurai sword at his side. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A traveling entertainer falls prey to a disturbed recluse in director Fabrice Du Welz's twisted, slow-burn riff on Deliverance and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Having finished his latest performance at a remote retirement home, wandering singer Marc Stevens (Laurent Lucas) packs his gear into his van and sets out towards his next gig. Unfortunately for Marc, the fog-shrouded roads of rural France are more treacherous than he ever anticipated. When his van breaks down in the middle of the night and a skittish local promises to lead him to a nearby inn owned by the eccentric recluse Paul Bartel (Jackie Berroyer), it appears that luck may be on Marc's side and he will be back on the road with the light of the morning sun. This isn't your average bed and breakfast, though, and Bartel certainly isn't the kindly innkeeper he initially appears to be. When Marc's van is set aflame and his increasingly menacing host makes a most disturbing claim, the soft-spoken singer will be forced to fight for his life against not only Bartel, but an entire village of deeply disturbed woodsmen. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In Les Convoyeurs Attendent/The Carriers Are Waiting, Roger Closset (Benoit Poelvoorde) is a man who obviously loves his family, though that doesn't always make them feel better. Dad is an obsessive type with a short fuse and a long list of curious ideas, and his wife and children must often bear the brunt of his eccentricities. Roger works as a reporter, a job he doesn't like which doesn't pay especially well, either. One day, Roger learns an area business association is sponsoring a contest for a family that can break a world record, with the grand prize being a new car. Suddenly, Roger gets a brainstorm -- if his son can open and shut a door 40,000 times in 24 hours, the car will be theirs. 15-year-old Michel (Jean-Francois Devigne), however, is not at all happy to have been drafted into this new responsibility, especially when dad builds a practice door in the backyard and finds a trainer to teach Michel how to open and close it with greatest efficiency. Les Convoyeurs Attendent/The Carriers Are Waiting was screened as part of the Director's Fortnight at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide