Lucie Laurier Movies

Chosen to close the Director's Fortnight section of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, director Jean-François Pouliot's comedy chronicles the chaos wreaked when a small, down-on-its-luck town is seduced by the promise of having a big-time manufacturing plant -- on one unique condition. It seems that the company isn't willing to move to the isolated, Quebec-countryside burgh unless the mayor (Raymond Bouchard) and townsfolk can procure a doctor for them. Salvation arrives in the form of Lewis (David Boutin), a mild-mannered man from Montreal whom the townspeople begin to try to impress, persuade, or otherwise cajole into taking the job. Their methods, however, become so devious -- going so far as to tap the good doctor's phone line -- that they run the risk of being found out, and upsetting their one shot at prosperity in the process. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

This silly Canadian action film concerns a cop named Robby (Michael Paré) hired by a mysterious woman, Sela (Caroline Neron), to find her missing sister. Not only does Sela have two different-colored eyes, but she may have actually once been the brother of the missing Billy (Lucie Laurier), who is now working in seedy gang-owned strip clubs. Robby has his own problems, too -- involving his no-good brother, who had his thumb cut off by a Chinese gangster and walks around with it in a box while complicating Robby's life. Throw in a slumming Pam Grier as Robby's lusty lesbian partner; Maury Chaykin in a hilarious bit part as a drooling voyeur; and Paré turning in what must be his worst performance ever as the clueless cop -- and the resultant mess is a rare treat for fans of bad cinema. Viewers seeking a gritty action-thriller are advised to look elsewhere. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

The illicit love-lives of high-ranking judicial figures and the government who will do anything to uphold their stalwart images provide the basis of this French Canadian thriller. The trouble begins when high-priced hooker Gabrielle Angers is raided by the police while she and an appellate court judge are engaging in a little S&M. Both are arrested and one of the judge's colleagues is assigned to try the case. He is the ultra straight-arrow magistrate Jacques Savard. Savard is not pleased with the assignment, and when Angers hands him a damning blacklist containing the names of other prominent clients, he becomes even more upset. Those upon the list begin pressuring him to keep it under wraps. Angers and her lawyer also have a few mighty interesting video tapes of she and her powerful clientele engaging in explicit carnal encounters. She and the lawyer were planning to use the tapes to extort them. Unfortunately things go horribly awry and the lawyer is found brutally murdered. Obviously one of those upon the list is responsible for trying to undermine the case and is slowly murdering all those involved, but which man is it? ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this vivid drama, based on the real-life experiences of the director, who was a counselor for such youths, troubled juvenile offenders in Quebec tell him about their harsh lives and their hopes for the future. Though perhaps one or two will manage to live into their thirties, most are clearly doomed by their lives of prostitution, violence and drugs. Despite the unflinching realism of the kids' stories, their parts are played by actors. One particularly moving story is that of a girl whose family placed her in a juvenile detention facility to get her away from her mother's boyfriend, who had raped her. In a dejected fashion she explains the situation this way: "I'm doing his (her rapist's) time instead of him." ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Filmed in Quebec, Henri stars Eric Brisebois in the title role. The victim of an unhappy household and bedevilled by taunts from his peers, Henri is determined to prove his self-worth by winning a cross-country race. His father (Jacques Godin) has been brooding for months because he allowed his wife to drown while trying to rescue their daughter. It is the hospitalized daughter (Lucie Laurien) who acts as catalyst for the ultimate reconciliation between Henri and his dad. Henri is an effective character study, though it might be too low-key for audiences expecting the much-vaunted cross country race to be the film's focal point. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi