Pascale Arbillot Movies

A handful of old friends make some unexpected discoveries about one another in this comedy-drama from French writer and director Guillaume Canet. Eight pals who are settling into middle age have observed an annual tradition for years in which they get together to enjoy some vacation time. However, fate puts a damper on this year's gathering when one of the group, Ludo (Jean Dujardin), ends up in the hospital after an auto accident. His friends decide to go away together anyway, but Ludo's troubles portend a week of difficult feelings and awkward situations. Max (Francois Cluzet), who is paying host this year at his summer home, is startled by a declaration of love from Vincent (Benoit Magimel), which comes as an unwelcome surprise to the married and very straight Max. Meanwhile, Marie (Marion Cotillard), Eric (Gilles Lellouche), and Antoine (Laurent Lafitte) are all dealing with various forms of romantic disappointment, and seemingly everyone has a skeleton in the closet that he or she is hiding from the group. Les Petits Mouchoirs (aka Little White Lies) received its world premiere at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Many regard the satirically inclined writer-director-star Agnès Jaoui (Le Goût des Autres) as a European equivalent of Woody Allen. The cerebral comedy Let It Rain represents Jaoui's third effort in the said capacities, and finds her juggling preoccupations with gender politics and class differences. Here, she plays Agathe Villanova, a feminist author with political plans who heads off to the summer residence of her early years to address some unfinished family business with her sister, Florence (Pascale Arbillot). Once there, her path crisscrosses with two documentarists shooting a film about powerful women -- Karim (Jamel Debbouze) and Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jaoui's off-camera husband and creative partner, who co-authored the script with her). She agrees to be interviewed for the film, leading to a series of arguments between Karim and Michel about how best to film her; meanwhile, Agnes offers to help Karim out by setting up a job for him, little recognizing the complications that this will yield. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Arnaud Viard's 2003 French-language feature Clara et Moi chronicles the eccentric romance between the 33-year-old struggling actor Antoine (Julien Boisselier of Le Convoyeur) and Clara (Julie Gayet Les Menteurs), a girl he happens to meet on the subway. Clara happens along at exactly the right time for Antoine, who - worn out from celibacy - has just avowed to his analyst that he'll find a wife within a set period. All is heaven at first, almost farcically so (and Viard, well aware of this, even defies the audience's formic expectations by playfully interjecting a musical number into the middle of the movie, in which the lovers "sing" their feelings to one another, ala Demy). But suddenly, a dark and unexpected twist emerges in the relationship, that strips bare Antoine's emotional immaturity and thus threatens to bring everything crashing down. Michel Aumont co-stars. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A clown from Romania (Ticky Holgado) has more than amusing tricks for children on his mind -- he has in his possession a computer disc with information wanted by the police, several organized crime figures and the European Agency for Atomic Energy. After he's chased through Prague by a number of people who want this information for their own purposes, the clown is taken in and protected by a priest (Bruno Putzulu), who was once a clown himself in Russia. This unique crime drama, directed by Eric Besnard, offers equal parts action, philosophy and character study. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi