Marika Green Movies
- 2003
When Robert Bresson made his classic film Pickpocket in 1959, he avoided using professional actors, as was often his custom, and instead cast three men with no previous experience as his leads. More than 40 years later, filmmaker Babette Mangolte met a gentlemen named Pierre Leymarie at a party; certain she's met him before, she discovers that the genetic engineer was one of the amateurs cast by Bresson for Pickpocket. Inspired by the chance meeting, Mangolte decided to track down the other two leads in the movie, and The Models of Pickpocket (aka Les Modèles de Pickpocket) is a documentary in which the three men discuss their memories of the project, what they've since done with themselves, and how the experience of working with Robert Bresson impacted their lives. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Despite initial appearances, this melodrama is not a horror film. Hanna is overjoyed to be giving birth to a baby, but when it is born, neither she nor her husband are allowed to see the child, which is apparently some sort of monster. Hanna rushes out of the hospital, robs a grocery store, and takes off across Europe, meditating about the relationships in her life. She concludes that for most men, she has only been a prized possession, and vows never to become one again. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marika Green
- 1988
Lenz (Albert Paulus) is a masseur at a once-popular mountain resort that has fallen on hard times in this slow-moving drama. With his debts mounting far beyond his income, he resorts to stealing furniture and uses what he is not able to sell. Lenz also has an affair with a beautiful young dancer (Mercedes Echerer) when his wife Lisbeth (Daniela Obermeir) becomes affected by his larcenous behavior. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albert Paulus, Günther Maria Halmer, (more)
Mo Alexander (Karen Allen) is a young American woman on vacation in France who is stranded in Paris after missing her plane back to the U.S. In the hotel where she is staying to await her next flight, she meets Xavier de la Perouse (Thierry Lhermitte), a wealthy French banker. Xavier is married, but their attraction is overwhelming, and they fall in love. After a little hesitation, they plunge into an affair that seems doomed to fail. British director Richard Marquand had just finished the Star Wars episode Return of the Jedi when he filmed this small romantic comedy. It was Janice Lee Graham's only screenwriting success. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Karen Allen, Thierry Lhermitte, (more)
- 1973
When his mobster bosses give the order, a young man prepares to kill his father, who years before had a clown act called "The Crazy Capo." In this French film, the murder scheme is foiled with tragic consequences for the lawman on the scene and the unfilial son. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Servais, Maurice Ronet, (more)
Adapted from a novel by acclaimed mystery writer Sébastien Japrisot, this French/Italian nailbiter stars Marlène Jobert as Mélancolie "Mellie" Mau, a young woman stalked by on a rainy afternoon by a mysterious stranger. The man eventually breaks in on Mellie while her husband is gone and rapes her. She grabs a shotgun and kills her assailant, dumping the body into the ocean. When the body is recovered, American military officer Dobbs (Charles Bronson) accuses Mellie of the murder -- and of stealing the U.S. Army money that the rapist had been carrying with him -- and that's only the beginning. The plot piles one twist upon another, deliriously confounding the audience at every turn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marlène Jobert, Charles Bronson, (more)
- 1969
Bruno (Christian Mesnier) is the 12-year-old boy whose parents are contemplating a divorce. He spends a weekend with his womanizing father Michel (Roger Hanin). The two have father-and-son talks in which young Bruno shows more common sense than his father. The astute 12-year-old already knows about the pill and sees the fallout of the sexual revolution affecting him personally. Bruno eventually convinces his father to attempt a reconciliation with the boy's mother in this routine story about a young boy's needs in a world of confused adults. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Hanin, Francine Bergé, (more)
- 1969
Before settling on a career as a photojournalist (which apparently cost him his life in 1970), Errol Flynn's son Sean enjoyed a brief career in international espionage films. The best of this lot was Stop Train 349 (64), though the subsequent Five Ashore in Singapore also had its pleasurable moments. In the latter film, Flynn plays a CIA agent, in search of five American marines who have disappeared while on leave in Singapore. Also known as Singapore, Singapore, Five Ashore in Singapore was based on a novel by Jean Bruce. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1968
A young student visits the home of a friend who has all the good looks, women and luck. Every day, through binoculars from his friend's window, he sees a young girl in front of her home. Although attractive, the woman's face has been badly scarred. He finds out her phone number and the two engage in pleasant conversation. He gets up enough nerve to ask to meet her in person, but the socially inept young man becomes paralyzed with fear. He again summons the courage to meet with her before he is plagued with fear once again. The screenplay for this film is by Gerad Brach and Roman Polanski. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Verley, Marika Green, (more)
- 1968
A banker experienced in judo is picked up by a beautiful blonde woman. The unknown woman is being used by a blackmailer who plans to rob a bank. When love blooms between the two, the woman helps the banker guard against the robbery. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Claude Bercq, Michel LeRoyer, (more)
- 1967
When a U.S. marine is reported missing, five CIA operatives are sent to Hong Kong to investigate the soldier's disappearance in this spy actioner. Art Sean Flynn leads the group into a nightclub where they tear the place apart looking for clues that will lead them to the missing man. The group is kidnapped and drugged before being introduced to a Harvard-educated madman. The scientist freezes his victims before brainwashing them and hopes to sell his process to an enemy of the United States. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Flynn, Marika Green, (more)
- 1963
In this melodrama a prodigal son returns to his home village after he is acquitted of his stepfather's death to find that most of his former neighbors now shun him. At least his best friend sticks by him. Soon the young man finds himself drawn to his loyal buddy's lover. He and the woman have an affair. Later his friend finds out and vows to kill him. He cannot do it. At the same time, the young man cannot keep hurting his only true friend. As a result he spurns the woman, who runs off into the darkness and gets hit by a car driven by her first lover's mother's car. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Robert Bresson chose Uruguayan nonactor Martin LaSalle for his leading man in Pickpocket. LaSalle's inexperience works against the film for some viewers, though Bresson himself was satisfied because his star proved himself a quick study in the art of lifting wallets (a genuine pickpocket was engaged as "technical adviser"). Essentially, the story is a character study of a cocky young criminal who becomes so entranced by the act of picking pockets that he literally can't stop himself. The Bressonian technique of concentrating more on the mechanics of the plot than the emotions of the characters is, as always, a matter of taste. Filmed in 1959, Pickpocket was released in the US in 1963. Loosely inspired by Feodor Dostoyevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Lasalle, Marika Green, (more)
