Paul Ahmarani Movies
- 2008
An uprising on a college campus evolves into something more dangerous than a clash of ideals in this drama from Canadian writer and director Sébastien Rose. Jean-Marc (Raymond Bouchard) is the president of a well-respected university in Quebec who has found himself at the center of a heated controversy. Louis-Ferdinand (Frederic Pierre) is the leader of a student activist group who have demanded sweeping changes in Jean-Marc's policies; Jean-Marc refuses to consider their proposals, leading to a series of protests which have inspired a wave of campus vandalism. Bertrand (Alexis Martin) is a professor at the university who supports the students' cause but not their methods, and when he attempts to reason with Louis-Ferdinand and his colleagues, it leads to an altercation that only makes a tense situation more difficult. Natacha (Catherine de Lean) is Jean-Marc's daughter and also a single mother with a drug problem who is still dealing with the scars of an unhappy childhood. Jean-Marc and Bertrand are scheduled to speak at a university banquet where they hope to air their differences about the ongoing student protests, but Gilbert (Benoit McGinnis) is an uninvited guest who has his own radical solution to the stand-off. La Banquet was an official selection at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexis Martin, Raymond Bouchard, (more)
Two men who live in different nations on different continents discover how closely their fates have followed the same path in this drama from filmmaker Philippe Falardeau. Belgian engineer Michel Roy (Olivier Gourmet) looks after his ailing father Herve (Jean-Pierre Cassel) with the help of his wife Alice (Claudia Tagbo) and son Jules (Arnaud Mouithys). One day, Herve decides to share a long-held secret with his son -- Michel was actually adopted, and he was born to a poor family in Canada. Hoping to learn the truth about his birth parents, Michel flies to Quebec and makes his way to Sainte-Cecile, a farming community where Herve says he might find the truth about his heritage. After visiting with a priest sympathetic to his dilemma, Michel meets Louis Legros (Paul Ahmarani), whose electric auto sparks a conversation which leads to a fast friendship between them. As the narrative turns back to examine Louis' life and his efforts to publicize the work and theories of his father, a brilliant but little-known scientist, we see that Michel and Louis have been following similar paths throughout their lives, from unconventional births in Canada to a shared connection with the Congo. Congorama received its world premier at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the Directors Fortnight series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olivier Gourmet, Paul Ahmarani, (more)
- 2004
The return of a long-lost father into the lives of his two grown sons sparks the flame of reconciliation in the sophomore feature from How My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause director Sébastien Rose. Despite the fact that they were both products of the same union, brothers Paul (Paul Ahmarani) and Patrick (David La Haye) couldn't be more different. A self-made, type-A businessman who made a name for himself in the pharmaceutical industry, Patrick lives in luxury with his wife and child while penniless writer Paul battles a lingering case of writer's block while living with his girlfriend in the crowded, ramshackle family home. When father and famed writer François shows up on Paul's doorstep seeking a place to stay, he is hesitantly accepted by his bewildered son. An unplanned family reunion of sorts occurs when Patrick's long-suffering wife sends her husband packing and he too seeks shelter in the family home, and in the days that follow three men attempt to make peace with their tumultuous past and pave the way toward a brighter future. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Raymond Bouchard, Paul Ahmarani, (more)
- 2002
Kim Nguyen's directorial debut Le Marais (The Marsh) is a visually stylish drama about two puppet theater artists. Alexandre (Gregory Hlady) is a cynic, but the young man for whom he looks out, Ulysse (Paul Ahmarani), is an innocent. The pair settles in a new town where the townspeople pick on the handicapped Ulysse and blame him when a local member of the town turns up dead. The Marsh was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gregory Hlady, Paul Ahmarani, (more)
- 2000
In this offbeat comedy-drama, based on the play Beyond Mozambique by George F. Walker, six desperate characters try to sort out their next move in a dangerous inner-city neighborhood after the brutal murder of the mayor throws the city into chaos. Rita (Carole Laure) is a former porn star trying to re-establish herself as a performance artist; Rocco (Nigel Bennett) is a slightly mad doctor who performs odd experiments with organs from the recently deceased; Olga (Veronique Flaguais) is Rocco's Russian spouse who is none too happy with her husband's recent work; Petru (Paul Ahmarani) is a boy from Romania who has been adopted by Rocco and Olga (and has a strange interest in the body parts Rocco collects); a reporter (Andrew Tarbet) has uncovered some disturbing information about the mayor; and a police officer (Tom Bernett) tries to sort out what's going on when he happens by on horseback. Rats & Rabbits was directed by Lewis Furey, a former composer whose wife is leading lady Carole Laure; while Furey composed the score for several of Laure's films, this time around she returned the favor, assembling the film's techno-meets-classical background music. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Ahmarani, Carole Laure, (more)
- 2000
A documentary filmmaker and his subject find themselves at odds in this dark comedy from Canada. A mechanical engineer who has lost his job is trying to decide what to do with himself now that he needs to find a job. An actor who is looking to break into filmmaking hears of his predicament and asks to make a film about his life, following him with a camera until he can land a job. Without much else going on in his life, the engineer agrees, and soon the documentarian thinks he's hit pay dirt when the engineer begins romancing a supermarket check-out girl, even seducing her on camera. However, the filmmaker's political agenda is a great deal different than that of the engineer, and when he begins expressing his own controversial opinions while the engineer suffers through failing job interviews, things quickly become tense. La Moitie Gauche Du Frigo was named the Best Debut Canadian Feature at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephane Demers
