Francoise Lepine Movies

A fresh-faced orphan from the provinces labors away at the last old-fashioned café on Avenue Montaigne as the Paris theater elite prepare for the biggest night of the year in Jet Lag director Danièle Thompson's whirlwind comedy of intersecting lives. Jessica (Cécile De France) may have been orphaned at the tender age of four, but her doting grandmother (Suzanne Flon) did her best to bring the motherless girl up right. A one-time ladies' room attendant at The Ritz, Jessica's grandmother was a woman well known for her extraordinary taste. Upon arriving in Paris to work as a waitress at a modest café nestled between a renowned concert hall, a venerable theater, and a high-profile auction house, Jessica soon finds herself interacting with a curious cross section of the thriving entertainment industry. As rehearsals for the upcoming shows get under way and Jessica is assigned the task of delivering food to the hardworking actors and low-earning stagehands, she soon discovers that even the most famous of people are often forced to make difficult decisions in life.

Jean-François Lefort (Albert Dupontel) is a classical pianist whose devoted wife has him booked at venues across Europe for the next six years. As the free-spirited musician struggles to eschew the formality of his upcoming concert appearance, self-made businessman Jacques Grumberg (Claude Brasseur) takes time out from his May-December romance and his stressful medical treatment in order to auction off a collection that he has been building his entire life and reach out to his estranged intellectual son, Frédéric (Christopher Thompson). Meanwhile, back on the theater front, popular television actress Catherine Versen (Valérie Lemercier) prepares to star in a farcical play, a famous American film director (Sydney Pollack) begins auditioning actors for an upcoming film about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and a cheerful concierge on the verge of retirement (Dani) enjoys her final stint rubbing elbows with the biggest and brightest stars in Paris. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A sexually frustrated husband learns to be careful what he asks for in this French marriage comedy from director Didier Bourdon. Their sex life virtually non-existent after only seven years of marriage, Alain (Didier Bourdon) and Audrey (Catherine Frot) rarely find time for bedroom hanky-panky as a result of Audrey's demanding job and her tireless devotion to their daughter Camille (Gabrielle Lopes Benites). Concerned that their marriage may be in trouble as he increasingly relies on pornography to fulfill his sexual needs, Alain consults a sex therapist for suggestions on how to re-awaken his wife's sexual appetite. Although some subsequent trips to nearby sex stores and steamy nightclubs at first make Audrey uneasy, hapless Alain soon finds himself getting more than he bargained for when his plan starts to work a little too well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The story of a vengeful ghost (which spawned both a popular silent thriller and a mid-'60s TV miniseries that drew record ratings in France) returns to the big screen in this adaptation of the story by Arthur Bernede. A collection of artifacts from an archeological dig in Egypt are brought to the famous Louvre museum in Paris, and while experts are using a laser scanning device to determine the age of a sarcophagus, a ghostly spirit escapes and makes its way into the museum's electrical system. Museum curator Faussier (Jean-Francois Balmer) brings in a noted Egyptologist, Glenda Spencer (Julie Christie), to examine the findings, and she announces that the mummy inside the coffin was actually the evil spirit Belphegor. Lisa (Sophie Marceau), who lives across the street from the museum, follows her runaway cat into the museum after closing time, where she is accidentally given a shock that sends the stray spirit into her body. Soon, Lisa is disguising herself as Belphegor and making off with the rare Egyptian treasures on display at the museum, convinced that they are rightfully hers. When "Belphegor" proves more than a match for the Louvre's security forces, renowned detective Verlac (Michel Serrault) is brought out of retirement to find out why the museum's Egyptian collection has been shrinking. Belphegor: Le Fantome Du Louvre enjoyed the distinction of being the first feature film to be shot in part inside the world-famous museum. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Who is the worst person you could fall in love with, and what would be the worst moment to fall for them? One possible scenario is presented in the comedy of errors Belle Maman. Antoine (Vincent Lindon) has decided to make an honest woman of his girlfriend, pregnant Severine (Mathilde Seigner), but during the ceremony he sees a beautiful woman and falls instantly in love. The woman in question happens to be Severine's mother, Lea (Catherine Deneuve, and how can you really blame a guy for being infatuated with her? ). Lea seems to be more than a bit interested in Antoine as well, but she already has a boyfriend, Gregoire (Idris Elba), a native of the Caribbean island Lea now calls home. This potentially messy situation just gets sloppier when they all travel to the Bahamas together to celebrate the 70th birthday of Lea's mother, Nicou (Line Renaud), a tart-tongued lesbian with a taste for cigars. Though not especially well received, Belle Maman was a box office success in France, doubtless due to a sharp comic performance by Vincent Lindon and the presence of the always beautiful Catherine Deneuve. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi