Jean-Pierre Kalfon Movies

A novelist, an actress, and a struggling young singer all attempt to make their mark in modern day Paris in director Marc Fitoussi's cynical entertainment industry satire. Bertrand (Denis Podalydes) is a French literary professor whose students all know that he is shacked up with pretty math teacher Solange (Valerie Benguigui) despite the couple's best efforts to keep their relationship under the radar. Though no one in the school much cares for Bertrand's prose, self-flagellating student Frederic (Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet) is the one notable exception. Meanwhile, as Bertrand struggles to deliver his second novel, recent big city arrival Cora (Emilie Dequenne) finds that her fondness for outmoded songwriters may be having an adverse effect on her career trajectory. While Cora struggles to make ends meet by working at a popular chain steakhouse, even this attempt to remain afloat ultimately proves disastrous. Somewhere in another part of town, embittered actress Alice (Sandrine Kiberlain) resents the fact that she is consistently passed over for "real" film roles after accepting work as an anime voiceover artist. Yet despite the fact that Alice resents her drama school classmate Annabella (Camille Japy) due to the latter's success on the legit stage, Annabella has her own problems as evidenced by her troubled relationships with her nephew and sister. Later, the engineer for Alice's dubbing session eventually works up the muster to speak her mind, and Cora begins to sense that her luck is finally turning after a chance encounter with veteran songwriter Joseph Costals (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Friendship turns to love, and unrequited love leads to a dangerous obsession in this moody drama. Nathalie (Emmanuelle Beart) and Louise (Pascale Bussieres) grew up together and had been close friends since childhood, but while both were studying drama in their early twenties, their friendship went through an abrupt shift -- while beautiful Nathalie enjoyed flirting with the men in her classes, Louise's interest in her best friend turned into infatuation, and when Nathalie indulged herself in a brief fling with a young actor, Louise was overcome with anger and jealousy and tried to kill herself. Nathalie was told by Louise's family that she didn't want to see her any more, and a decade passed before their paths would cross again. Louise is now married to a man named Nicolas (Sami Bouajila), and one night they go to the theater to see a touring production of a new play. To her surprise, Louise discovers the female lead is played by Nathalie; after the show, she slips backstage to say hello, and soon finds that she's as strongly attracted to Nathalie as ever -- and that Nathalie is involved with Matthias (Dani Levy), the gifted but difficult playwright who wrote and directed the production. Leaving Nicolas behind, Louise follows Nathalie to Denmark, and is able to pull a few strings to get Nathalie an audition with Walter Amar (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), a well-known and well-respected theatrical director. Nathalie soon leaves Matthias' show to star in Amar's new production of Lulu, and Louise volunteers to help Nathalie as she prepares for the role. Nathalie appreciates Louise's support and friendship, but she soon begins to chafe under Louise's obsessive attention, and she wonders if history might be repeating itself. La Repetition was shown in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, with writer and director Catherine Corsini earning a nomination for the coveted Golden Palm award. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this tribute to the Spaghetti Western, amiable ex-con Gerard (Samuel Le Bihan) agrees to help his boss' nephew infiltrate an urban fortress to carry off a drug deal with representatives of mob boss Ludo Daes (Jean-Pierre Kalfon). Unfortunately, the nephew goes a bit nuts and causes a shoot-out, and Gerard is the only one to emerge from the fracas alive. Armed with a duffel bag full of several million of Daes' francs, he flees Paris for the countryside and finds work at an isolated cheese-producing farm, where his co-workers are six inner-city toughs being given a chance to reform their lives outside of prison. Gerard starts to eke out an agreeable existence with the delinquents, but Daes wants his cash back, and, in the company of some Central European thugs, pays Gerard a visit. Together with the kids, Gerard attempts to outsmart the mobster. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Ten years ago, distinguished French author Alexandre (Alain Delon) exchanged his stressful, hectic life in Paris for a more peaceful existence upon a Mexican hacienda with his wife Ariane (Marianne Denicourt). Lucien (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) also accompanies them. There, Alexandre meets the strange lady-oracle Sonia (Lauren Bacall). As the film opens, the melancholy Alexandre is visited by the sensuous actress Laure (Arielle Dombasle) and her producer Raoul Fillipi (Karl Zero) who is going to make a movie of one of Alexandre's best-loved books. Laure is determined to play the part of the heroine and is willing to resort to seduction to get it. At the same time, Ariane is involved in a passionate affair with French-Mexican seismologist Carlo (Xavier Beauvois). While all of these characters wrangle and tangle with their different agendas, the local residents prepare for a violent revolution. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This French ensemble comedy, is set in a small town where Gabrielle, a beautiful doctor's wife and mother of three prepares to play Elvira in a local production of Don Juan. The trouble begins when she finds herself sexually attracted to the town's womanizing hairdresser Serge, who plays the sexy don. When not rehearsing, he shamelessly flirts with Gabrielle, and she, so tired of playing second fiddle to her husband's busy career, does nothing to stop him. She even begins toying with the notion of a real affair. Gabrielle's thoughts are no secret from her perceptive children who decide that drastic measures are in order and so poison the pig's head pate that Serge is supposed to eat during the play. Things do not go as planned and comical mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this routine sex comedy, Jean Chabert (Philippe Khorsand) is the newspaper editor called on to revive the fortunes of a magazine featuring nude women. He is continually distracted by sex-starved secretaries, erotically excited readers, and marital trouble. Jean's dream job soon turns onto a nightmare, as he seriously considers life in a monastery to escape his crazy world. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, Le Cri du Hibou concerns Robert (Christophe Malavoy), a commercial artist who has moved to a quiet neighborhood in Vichy, hoping to escape a severe depression brought on by the unpleasant breakup of his marriage to Veronique (Virginie Thevenet). Robert finds himself spying on his new neighbor Juliette (Mathilda May), but there's little or no erotic component to his voyeurism -- she seems to lead a simple and well-ordered life, and it makes Robert feel better to watch someone so secure and at ease. Robert even goes so far as to tell Juliette how much her admires her quietly contented existence, but beneath the surface, Juliette is hardly as secure as she looks. Robert's remarks make her wonder if her life has become too placid, and she decides to break off her engagement with Patrick (Jacques Penot) to pursue a relationship with Robert. This sends Patrick into a rage, and he plots an elaborate revenge -- he picks a dramatic fight with Robert, and then goes into hiding, leading people to believe Robert killed him. The ruse fools Juliette, who is distraught at the thought that her new love might be a murderer (even though Robert has expressed no romantic interest in her). Le Cri du Hibou was adapted and directed by France's leading suspense director, Claude Chabrol. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This French oddity concerns a doctor's discovery of a unique, Love Potion #9-style invention which will inflame the libidos of beautiful women. He proceeds to terrorize Paris' double-X chromosome contingent. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

The avant-garde founder of French New Wave Jacques Rivette, offers an on-going treatise of film versus theater in this basically non-story about two actresses and a director, or from another perspective, a play and a film. In the opening scenario, a couple come out of a bathroom and are surprised by a group of people. It turns out that the people are the audience watching a play performed in a private home. Among the spectators is Clément (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) a director who invites two actresses (Jane Birkin and Geraldine Chaplin) to his home for the following Saturday, to work on a performance. Clément was having an affair with Béatrice (Isabelle Linnartz) who has apparently disappeared. A magician named Paul (André Dussolier) is his current lover and lives in Clément's home. After the actresses arrive, they find themselves influenced by Paul's magic and start to see their future, while the story they are enacting stays fairly close to Clément's own life. After many rehearsals over one week's time, the play is performed while actual changes happen in the corresponding characters in Clément's life -- until the play within a play ends in an interesting, controversial, yet logical manner. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In this run-of-the-mill crime drama, Bernard Giraudeau is Daniel Chetman, someone who wants to leave the life of violence he knew in his neighborhood -- and cannot do so because his nemesis, a strutting street gangster now involved with organized crime, continues to terrorize the inhabitants of Chetman's turf. After much spilled blood, a parade of ugly underground types, and various sexual scenes, Chetman reduces the forces of evil to a reasonable level of opposition -- but who knows if the neighborhood will be different in the end. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Marcel Tiss (Richy Mueller) is a young punk rocker in Berlin whose main talent is spouting real fire in-between his lyrics every once in awhile. He has the requisite punk girlfriend, and spends his time in the requisite kicking of cans, pinball, and slightly anti-social antics. He runs into Rudy Smirak (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) a Mafia-type whose dour view of life fits in with Marcel's own temperament. The young punk singer is conned into helping Rudy kidnap the son of a wealthy profligate, but when it is time for the ransom to be gathered, things start to go wrong. Marcel realizes he was into something he never wanted in the first place, and when the chance comes to use his fire-breathing technique, he comes through like any self-respecting dragon. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi