Nicolas Pignon Movies

Acclaimed Kurdish director Hiner Saleem (Vodka Lemon, Dol) takes the reins once again for his seventh feature outing, the offbeat drama Beneath the Rooftops of Paris (AKA Sous les toits de Paris, 2007 - not to be confused with the famous 1930 René Clair film of the same title). French screen legend Michel Piccoli (I'm Going Home) stars as Marcel, an octogenarian Parisian man who inhabits a decrepit and filthy top-tiered flat in the City of Lights, initially with his younger friend Amar (Maurice Benichou). The men experience their final months together as roommates one sticky, sweltering summer. Their days are littered with resolutely small, almost fleeting pleasures, such as consortions with a waitress, Therese (Mylene Demongeot) in a nearby café and temporary respites from the suffocating heat wave that is closing in on Paris via brief dips in the community swimming pool. As time roles on, however, Marcel's life grows unbearably difficult; Amar hearkens off to greener pastures, and as autumn spells an end to the summer, the elderly man's health deteriorates to the point of rendering his life utterly unbearable. Most problematic is the fact that no one seems to stay in his life for any length of time - friends come and go with alarming rapidity, leaving Marcel to fend for himself. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

An aimless 20-year-old with a penchant for following the rules receives a mysterious set of instructions that lead him down a path from which he may never return in director Géla Babluani's tense tale of death and chance. Sébastien has come into possession of a train ticket and a mysterious set of instructions. Though he is unsure of exactly what fate awaits him when he arrives at his destination, one thing is certain: these items were most certainly not meant for him. Bored by his uneventful existence and hungering for something new, Sébastien boards the outbound train and takes his first bold steps into an unknown future. But the world can be a cruel and unforgiving place filled with unfeeling men to whom human life means little more than a lost wager, and if Sébastien is to make it through his harrowing journey alive he must keep his wits about him and pray that luck is on his side. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The last frantic days before the Germans seized France in 1940 provide an unlikely backdrop for this dark comedy. Viviane (Isabelle Adjani) is a glamorous and well-known film actress who attracts the attentions of many men -- often many she has no interest in knowing. One night, at a reception following the premiere of her latest picture, Viviane finds herself pursued by Beaufort (Gérard Depardieu), a government official whose girth exceeds his charm. To throw him off her trail, Viviane allows a cranky older man, André Arpel (Nicolas Vaude), to escort her home. During the evening, Viviane and André quarrel, and after slapping him, she discovers that he has simply dropped dead. An understandably terrified Viviane calls a former boyfriend, Frédéric Roger (Grégori Derangère), and asks him to help her get rid of the body. In hopes of reviving their romance, he agrees, but after an auto accident, Frédéric is caught with the body, and is taken to jail to await his trial. When word gets out that German troops are due to arrive in Paris at any minute, Frédéric and his fellow prisoners are instructed they're to be moved out of town; Frédéric is handcuffed to petty thief Raoul (Yvan Attal), and en route the two are able to make their escape. When Frédéric learns that Viviane has fled to Bordeaux, along with much of the French upper crust, he makes his way there, where he finds he has a new rival for her affections -- Beaufort, who no longer seems such a poor prospect. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide