Michel Aumont Movies

In the 1970s, as French citizens make long-delayed attempts to come to terms with the Nazi collaboration of World War II for the first time, the country buckles beneath the weight of collective guilt. One man - the former Collaborationist police head René Bousquet (Daniel Prevost) - bears primary responsibility for deporting Jews to concentration camps during the War. Incredibly, Bousquet has buried his own diseased past and completely severed himself from ties to a guilty conscience, settling into a quiet, unassuming life as a financier. Then, the accusations start, and a period of interrogation commences that will ultimately span 15 years, as Bousquet turns to one family member and assumed political ally after another and attempts to round up alibis to protect himself. He doesn't count, however, on the public unveiling of each of these allegiances and cover-ups as the broad network of conspiracies that they actually are. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Valerie Lemercier's royal comedy Palais Royal! stars Valerie Lemercier as a commoner who is married to a prince (Lambert Wilson). When the king dies, the queen (Catherine Deneuve) pulls strings to have the Prince jump the order of succession and take control. The wife has little aptitude for being the wife of royalty, but soon becomes quite good at it in order to gain some power after she discovers that her husband is sleeping with another woman. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A conflicted hitman recently who has reconnected with his childhood soul mate finds his quest for redemption becoming increasingly complicated when the girl steals an important briefcase in director Ra'up McGee's stark crime drama. Jean-Pierre is looking to get out of the life of crime when he begins to rekindle his romance with the girl who captured his heart as a child and never let go. Though the love shared between the pair continues to burn brighter than ever despite their many years apart, the sudden disappearance of both the girl and a mysterious briefcase soon forces the reluctant criminal back into the underworld as he is forced to walk the fine line between protecting the woman he longs for and falling back into a life of crime. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

While there are plenty of stories about gay men who have pretended to be straight for the sake of their careers, this tart comedy from France considers the dilemma of a straight man doing just the opposite. Francois Pignon (Daniel Auteuil) is an accountant whose personality is bland to the point of being nonexistent; he's been down in the dumps ever since his wife left him two years ago, and he becomes even more depressed when he learns that his boss is planning on firing him after 20 years of loyal service. Francois is seriously considering suicide until his next-door neighbor Belone (Michel Aumont) comes up with a plan to save his career. Belone finds some photos snapped at an especially randy gay nightclub, and using his computer, he pastes Francois' face over that of one of the participants. He sends copies of the doctored picture to several of Francois' co-workers, and soon everyone at the office is convinced the quiet little man has a flamboyant secret life. The firm's CEO, Kopel (Jean Rochefort), now has second thoughts about firing Francois, since letting an employee go who is known to be gay could invite a sexual discrimination suit. Meanwhile, the firm's public relations man, Guillaume (Thierry Lhermitte), is dealing with Felix (Gérard Depardieu), an employee relations executive who is well known as a narrow-minded thug. In order to counter charges that he's a rampant homophobe, Guillaume instructs Felix to make friends with Francois, and soon Felix is spending so much time with Francois (while fighting his own internal revulsion) that his wife wonders if he's seeing another woman. Le Placard was writer and director Francis Veber's first film after his international hit Le Diner de Cons -- in which the leading character was also named Francois Pignon. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This is a comedy with an edge about a world-famous cellist, Jascha Steg, in love with Ana, a violinist. Jascha's world tour with a Schumann concerto brings him to perform a concert in Evian. His parents, whom he has not seen for a long time, have come with his uncle to see him perform. But Jascha has no peace of mind because Ana is there with her husband. Two days spent by a lake, and a picnic in the mountains when all the characters reveal the most hidden aspects of their personalities, drastically transform his life and consequently his art. The film reflects the difficulties confronted by an artist when he tries to reach people close to his heart. Veterans Philippe Noiret and Carole Bouquet carry their roles with conviction. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

Gerard Depardieu stars in this made-for-TV adaptation of the classic adventure story by Alexandre Dumas. Edmond (Depardieu) has been held in a French prison for nearly 20 years for daring to love Mercedes (Naike Rivelli), a woman who has also been wooed by a man in power, Mondego (Jean Rochefort). When Abbe (Georges Moustaki), a close friend and fellow prison inmate, is about to die, he tells Edmond of a fortune that he has hidden on the outside. Edmond escapes, finds the money, and assumes the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo. "The Count" uses his new wealth as part of a plan to bring down the men who helped keep him behind bars for so long -- Mondego, his henchman Danglars (Michel Aumont), and Count Morcef (Stanislas Merhar). Produced for French television by a consortium of French, German, and Italian production houses, this version of The Count of Monte Cristo received its American premier on the Bravo cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Benjamin Ballon wants to be a filmmaker, and has devoted a large part of his life for the past few years to getting to the point of filming an independent movie. He has been encouraged by Carmen Maura (playing herself), an established star, who has agreed to appear in his first film, and it is her level-headedness, calmness, and general good sense that keeps the project moving along, despite Benjamin's inexperience and a very temperamental male lead. On one occasion when the male lead is hours late for a shoot, her calm is the only thing which keeps the crew from walking out. The title comes from Maura's habit of bringing homemade tortillas to meetings, and using them to get her way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This French film is an old-fashioned melodrama with a love triangle, a talented starlet, and a duel. It is set in 1930 when talking films were just coming into vogue and threatening to overshadow theatrical plays. The film features cameos by famed French actors of that time period. Victor Derval is returning home after a performance when he is hailed by Lisa, a young Hungarian woman. Lisa's motives are mysterious; is she simply a star-struck peasant girl, or an ambitious, manipulative aspiring star? Derval is taken with her, and she soon finds herself Derval's personal secretary and is to move into his home where his son Paul, an aspiring writer/revolutionary, also lives. Both men fall for Lisa, who has already fallen in love with the limelight. She will eventually get her wish, but not without paying a price. Though generally beloved by all Parisians, Victor Derval has one detractor, playwright Coste who hates that Derval freely edits his work on stage. Paul, enraged at his father decides to plot revenge, but cannot decide whether he should kill his father or design something a little more creative. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Eleven-year old Alexandrine (Sandrine Blancke) may be making something more out of what is happening in her family than is really there, but she appears to be afraid to be touched by her father (Alain Bashung), and gets really edgy when her mother (a nurse) has to work late. When one of her teachers puts two and two together and suspects incest, she encourages Alexandrine to press charges against her father. The girl at first tries to do that, but when her father shows up at the police station, the clams up. Even if she is only experiencing an imaginary terror, her father's nonchalance, her mother's complete refusal to consider the possibility and her grandparent's refusal to offer any consolation in the face of some troubling evidence must be horrifying to the girl. Whether there is incest in the family is open to some doubt, but there is no question that it harbors one very unhappy little girl in its midst. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Maurice (André Dussollier) was once a devoted socialist and followed his principles very nicely while he was an art professor. However, the lure of making money has drawn him into business with his girlfriend and a Japanese student. They have set up a sushi delivery business in the heart of Paris. Unfortunately, they don't do too well at it, so they are all happy to accept the investment of a big corporate type, who soon sets them up in a big way with numerous trained chefs, a fleet of motorcycles, delivery boys in uniforms and other glitzy and costly elements. When the business becomes wildly successful, the money-men offer to buy it out completely, and Maurice is far from sure what he wants to do. By then, the lives of all the business' founders have changed completely. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Alberto's family traditions are quite unusual. Living in Paris with his pregnant wife, he is now expected to return to Rome to pay back every cent that his family spent raising him. Totally without the kind of money expected of him, as Alberto speeds by train toward his family he tries to raise the cash by various desperate means from the other passengers aboard the train so he will not have to face his father empty-handed. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide

Francois Marboni (Victor Lanoux) is a butcher who is being blackmailed for having an affair with the prostitute Rache (Pauline Lafont) in this black comedy. He decides to hire a hit man when the blackmailer demands that he start cutting his profit margin to the bone. Francois soon becomes a target of the hitman he hired. Michel Aumont plays the policeman who also covets Rache, with Francois Stevenin as the hilarious hit man. Marie Laforet stars as Francois' space-cadet spouse Marthe. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide