Jacques Godin Movies
French-Canadian supporting actor Jacques Godin first appeared onscreen in the '70s. ~ All Movie Guide- 1997
Police detective Jacques Laniel's life becomes a nightmare the day drive-by shootists gun down his partner Thomas Colin. His colleagues make matters worse by blaming him for the death, and after his wife leaves him, Laniel decides to quit the force and launch a private investigation into Colin's murder. Soon afterward, Laniel finds the bullet-riddled body of famed author and literature professor Zachary Osborne tied to his car hood. The professor's wife hires Laniel to solve the murder, but what the detective finds is ugly: Osborne was a part of a lucrative land-speculation deal that involved the sale of a crumbling old rectory that had been turned into a halfway house called the Haven of the Monsters. The name is apt, for all the residents are convicted killers who were given inordinately light sentences. Up to this point in the plot, the film has been a standard crime thriller. But when Lanier starts questioning the Haven's tenants and their crimes are revealed via flashback, it takes on the character of a David Lynch production. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Serge Dupire, Macha Grenon, (more)
- 1996
The story of a young woman's miraculous escape from her dangerous father and her backwoods family is combined with elegant choreography in this avant-garde Canadian film. The woman in question, played by Geneviève Rochette, gets involved in a secret affair with a neighborhood lad and gets pregnant. When the father finds out, he is so angry that he tells her brothers to put her into a coffinlike wooden box and set her adrift in the river. They do so, but our heroine is never alone. She is visited by the ghost of her dead sister and several other friendly spirits who dance for her and tell her everything will be okay. Meanwhile, a great flood comes, wiping out absolutely everybody else in the village. She comes ashore in an ancient village and is helped to deliver her baby by the spirits and a mysterious old woman. ~ John Voorhees, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Genevieve Rochette, Julie McClemens, (more)
- 1992
This French Canadian psychological drama begins as homosexual hustler Yves is having sex with his lover Claude. During the climactic moment, he grabs a knife and cuts the throat of his partner and then flees to the streets of Montreal where he pauses only long enough to make a phone call. The killer is captured and is next seen in a judge's chamber undergoing interrogation. He freely admits the crime but refuses to explain why he did it. Nor does he explain why he is in the judge's chamber or why he called the press. Eventually he does explain himself during a long impassioned, self-piteous speech. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Dupuis, Jacques Godin, (more)
- 1989
Forty-year-old Claude (Gaston Lepage) and his father Gaspard (Jacques Godin) have an uneasy truce since the death of Madame Chuinard 11 years earlier in this uneven drama. Their search for a missing lottery ticket takes them from Montreal to New York and finally Venezuela. Their shared experience only proceeds to reinforce their mutual dislike for one another. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Godin, Gaston Lepage, (more)
- 1989
- PG
The gloom-laden Canadian/French Double Identity stars Nick Mancuso as a sedate college professor residing in the small university town of New Hope. Not given to talking about himself much, Mancuso's past is a mystery to his friends, colleagues, and new lady friend Leah Pinsent. The film's noir-ish title is the tip-off that once Mancuso's previous life comes to the forefront, it will be no picnic. In fact, it's a killer. Filmed in 1989, Double Identity was released in 1991; director Yves Boisset remains on target while dealing with the film's "present", less so when he indulges in confusing flashbacks. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Salut Victor! is the story of two gay men of a certain age. Victor, the title character, is outgoing and affable. Philipe is timid and withdrawn. Victor enables Philipe to come out of his shell and enjoy life-even within the limits imposed by "straight" society. Charming in its own offbeat way, Salut Victor! is generally available in French with English subtitles. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Roux, Jacques Godin, (more)
- 1988
Nicole (Zabou) is a female attorney who is frustrated with the male-dominated world of provincial law. She embezzles money from a law firm and travels to Paris where she disguises herself as a man in hopes it will make a difference in her life and career. Nicole has two lesbian affairs and becomes a pimp for one of the women. She also has an affair with a man who indicates that he doesn't want a serious relationship. Nicole's loneliness leads her to the affairs as she continues the downward spiral into schizophrenia in this depressing psychological drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zabou, Anna Galiena, (more)
- 1986
This crime drama concerns Guillaume (Jacques Godin), who has just finished serving 10 years in prison for a crime he never committed. Now he is out seeking revenge against his old "buddy" who lied on the stand and put him in jail. He brings along his young granddaughter and drives like a maniac as he nears his destination. That sets three brutish thugs on his tail, anxious to corner him and end his days behind the wheel. So while Guillaume is chasing down his betrayer, he is being chased in turn. It's not a formula for continued good health. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Godin, Ariane Frederique, (more)
- 1986
This French Canadian film details the aftereffects of a daring robbery. Veteran criminal Theo (Jacques Godin) and his novice gang - including his son, played by Eric Brisebois -- very nearly pull off the theft without a hitch, but the son panics and shoots two of the guards. The third guard (Robert Gravel) hides in the back of the armored car, locking himself in so that the criminals can't get either him or the loot. The efforts by Theo to extricate the guard from his stronghold end a shootout that proves fatal for everyone involved. Blind Trust was inspired by James Hadley Chase's novel The World in My Pocket previously filmed in 1962 and 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Tifo, Pierre Curzi, (more)
- 1986
Filmed in Quebec, Henri stars Eric Brisebois in the title role. The victim of an unhappy household and bedevilled by taunts from his peers, Henri is determined to prove his self-worth by winning a cross-country race. His father (Jacques Godin) has been brooding for months because he allowed his wife to drown while trying to rescue their daughter. It is the hospitalized daughter (Lucie Laurien) who acts as catalyst for the ultimate reconciliation between Henri and his dad. Henri is an effective character study, though it might be too low-key for audiences expecting the much-vaunted cross country race to be the film's focal point. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Brisebois, Jacques Godin, (more)
- 1984
This film, set against the stunning scenery of the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, details the changing relationship between two brothers. Mario is 10 years old, mute and with limited hearing, and openly worships his older brother Simon, an 18-year-old about to discover the first romantic interest of his life. Mario depends on Simon all the more because their parents are busy on the island during the tourist season, leaving their youngest son on his own. Although Mario manages to survive Simon's preference for the young woman he meets -- she will not be there forever -- an accident intervenes in the brothers' relationship and is the cause of enormous change in Mario's life. The brothers try to adjust as best they can, for it appears as though Mario will have to leave for the mainland and live in a special home for the hearing and voice impaired. The setting, music, and performances are excellent in this slightly uneven story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Xavier Norman Petermann, Francis Reddy, (more)
CIA computer technician John Savage seeks revenge for the terrorist killing of his girlfriend. Threatening to make public his insider's information, Savage forces his reluctant bosses to train him in the art of assassination. He then heads into enemy territory (at least, it was enemy territory back in 1982) on a search-and-destroy mission. There is nothing in The Amateur that we haven't seen elsewhere, but Savage and a solid cast of supporting players Christopher Plummer,Marthe Keller, Arthur Hill, Ed Lauter, Nicholas Campbell, Jan Rubes et. al.-- keep the proceedings lively. Robert Littell co-adapted the film's screenplay from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Savage, Christopher Plummer, (more)
- 1982
In this wonderful drama, a group of men and women who grew up together stage a reunion after 30 years to remember the good old days. Their reminiscences have a magical quality that brings forth the essence of the ways good friendships mellow with time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1982
When a group of fortysomethings meet for a nostalgic reunion they take a bus tour of the town where they bonded together as school chums. During the tour, they play a game of "truth," and they open up their buried box of "secret ambitions" to compare their past dreams with their current reality. There are no major conflicts or dramatic tensions; the group simply manages to be as supportive as they can while learning of the traumas others have handled as they slowly make their collective way to the big "five-oh." ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Blay, Jacques Godin, (more)
- 1981
Two cultures clash when a young American man and a French-Canadian woman fall in love while studying at a Montreal college. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1980
Melodramatic and obvious in its ploy to dampen all the handkerchiefs in the theater, Yesterday pulls it off. Gabrielle (Claire Pimpare) is a radical French-Canadian artist from one side of the economic, political, and linguistic tracks, and Matt (Vince Van Patten) is a rich American kid studying nearby at McGill university. The two meet, fall in love, and experience all the excitement of the 1960s. Gabrielle's brother is involved in a separatist fiasco, and politics as well as economic differences push and pull at the couple's relationship. When Matt finally decides he will not run away from his draft notice, he takes off for the Vietnam War leaving -- unknown to him -- a pregnant Gabrielle behind. Fate throws a few curve balls that have a chance at separating the two lovers forever, as the handkerchiefs begin their workout. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claire Pimpare, Vincent Van Patten, (more)
- 1977
In this socially conscious drama, a TV journalist begins investigating a large factory that has been threatening the health of the children who live in the town's poorest, most polluted section. Because of his investigation, he and his family are threatened by company thugs. He gets no help from his TV station as they are loathe to tangle with big business. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Len Cariou
- 1976
An undercover Canadian agent must get into a Toronto drug ring, but when he's successful, his morals are tested by the opportunity to cut out with $2 million in cash. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1973
After being arrested for hitting his wife, and then temporarily thrown out of the house by the irate woman, Paul Laliberte (Jacques Godin) teams up with Madelaine (Luce Guilbeault) and his friend Pierre (Jean LaPointe) - and all three proceed to get into unlikely situations. Laliberte's wife decides to help him out and finds work for him as a skunk exterminator - a task that is rife with possibilities for olfactory trouble. In the end, Laliberte loses his job and strapped for money, robs the office of his ex-boss. Although things do not seem to be heading in quite the right direction for Laliberte, once he has hit bottom then the only way to go is up. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luce Guilbault, Jacques Godin, (more)
Featuring a deft blend of sci-fi, horror and suspense, this Canadian thriller centers on a Montreal police detective's attempts to solve the strange and grisly murder of a young woman. His investigation leads him into a mysterious terrifying world of Satanic ritual. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1972
The Quebecois screenplay of this Canadian film went through a long process before being filmed; written in Czechoslovakian, it was translated from Czech into English, English into French and from standard French into Quebecois. The story concerns a father and son living on a farm which has been passed on from father to son for many generations. The boy has no interest in keeping the farm, preferring to sell it to some Americans as a hunting club. The father would rather burn the place down. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
