Christophe Malavoy

Rodolphe Marcnoi's The Last Day concerns the troubled history of a family. Eighteen-year-old Simon (Gaspard Ulliel) meets the attractive 17-year-old Louise (Melanie Laurent) while he travels on a train to spend Christmas with his family. She joins him on his visit home. Simon's mother, Marie (Nicole Garcia), is happy to see her son, but dad (Christophe Malavoy) loves to complain and harass his family, and sister Alice (Alysson Paradis) competes fiercely with her brother. The family mistakenly believes that Simon and Louise are intimately involved with each other. Eventually, their interactions reveal buried truths about various members of the family. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

In this banal and outdated view of male-female relationships, director Xavier Gélin follows up his undistinguished Coup de Jeune with another trite story about a volleyball professional who has a hard time choosing between three different men in her life. The actors (Amélie Pick, Christophe Malavoy, Zabou, and Pascal Légitimus) do the best they can to stem the tide of caricature. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

As World War II looms close on the horizon, a Catholic boys' school on the edge of Paris sets the stage for a tale of forbidden desires in this religious drama from César-winning actor/director Christophe Malavoy. André Sevrais is a bright young philosophy student who has fostered a close friendship with younger schoolmate Souplier, but their bond is secretly resented by Abbot de Pradts -- who has his own sights set on young Souplier. As Abbot de Pradts begins to set an elaborate trap for Sevrais, disapproving Father Superior begins to catch wind of the deviant scheme. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A French army journalist bears witness to the atrocities of the Algerian war in 1962 in this gripping French war movie. It is based on the 1967 novel by Philippe Labro. The film begins in Paris as Jerome Carier, ready to embark to Algiers, is beaten and questioned about the politically sensitive photographs he has. The photos were sent to him by Francois, a friend stationed in Algiers. Francoise is trying to get the French and the Algerians to reconcile. Jerome arrives in the war-torn country and finds himself faced with unbelievable carnage. The French are behind most of it. Because he took the pictures, Francois life is in jeopardy. He is murdered and Jerome finds himself attracted to his girl friend, a radio station announcer. The film contains graphic pictures of the slaughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this somewhat literary exploration of the meaning of romance, loosely based on the works of Henry James, five modern-day couples gather at a country estate to mark the anniversary of their long friendship. Their romantic maneuverings, past and present, are too complex to summarize here. However, it is clear that they love to talk about love, and will do so endlessly, given the slightest opportunity. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Director Claude Chabrol's 1991 version of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary is closer to the source than Vincente Minnelli's Hollywoodized 1949 version, but far less lively and passionate. On the credit side, Isabelle Huppert is flawless as the tragic Emma Bovary. A crude country girl aspiring for the better things in life, Emma marries wealthy Charles Bovary (Jean-Francois Balmer) purely to gain social recognition. Expressing open contempt for her husband, Emma collects lovers like other women collect chinaware. Most of her amours are self-involved boors, which of course was Flaubert's satirical point: in trying to escape her bourgeois surroundings, Emma has merely stepped into a new sphere of pompous phonies. In the end, Emma gives up the security of marriage for a hotblooded affair with someone she genuinely cares about, losing everything--including her life--as a result. Despite Huppert's energetic performance, it's hard to care about what happens to Emma Bovary or anyone else in this film, thanks to Claude Chabrol's cold, analytical approach to the material. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Alice (Nathalie Baye) is the widow of a Jewish surgeon who helps the former diplomat Jerome (Pierre Arditi) smuggle Jews out of Austria to save them from the Nazis. The duo recruits Charles (Christophe Malavoy), a shoe manufacturer whose uncle is a Nazi sympathizer in the Vichy government. Charles and Alice become lovers when they are picked up in Paris by Nazi soldiers on a curfew violation. Genevieve Mnich co-stars with Philippe Clevnot and Jean Bousie in this dramatic World War II love triangle. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

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, All Movie Guide

The personal tragedy of an alcoholic hemmed in by a domineering wife is the focus of this drama of hope lost and regained. Simon (Christophe Malavoy) is a solo violinist in an orchestra managed by his wife Laura (Jane Birkin). Haunted by specters of his own inadequacy, he loses his insecurities in drink, but that only results in rejection from his fellow musicians. They do not want him playing in the next major concert, which puts Laura in a bind. She fights for him to continue playing, not realizing that he may actually need time off. Simon begins to turn himself around when he meets a recovering alcoholic who introduces him to AA-style meetings and new friends. They understand his problem from their own perspective, yet he still has his increasingly belligerent wife and his future as a musician to handle. La Femme de ma vie was awarded Best First Film by the French Academy of Cinema. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Complex and more cerebral than a wartime action-thriller, this espionage drama focuses on the relationship of two former buddies who were fencing masters before the war and in love with the same woman. Now Delancourt (Bernard Giraudeau) is apparently living a good life managing a gym in a Paris hotel under Nazi control, where he meets his former friend Pierre (Christophe Malavoy), who is on a secret assignment to mislead the Nazis on the date of the Normandie invasion. Pierre, alias Augustin, cannot figure out if Delancourt is a real resistance fighter or if he is a double agent. Circumstances create a larger and larger gap between the former friends while the plot goes through several twists and turns before Pierre's doubts are resolved. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This well-articulated, engaging story about the differing fortunes of two brothers just after Algeria's war for independence is conventional in its outlines, and may have several more characters than can be developed in a short time, but its subtle handling by director Ariel Zeitoun helps to counteract those flaws. Rego (Christophe Malavoy) has just returned from a tour of duty in Algeria where he escaped the demands of his budding musical career. Now that he is back, his former agent does not welcome him with open arms because he is still mad over Rego's sudden departure, just when things were going well. The delinquent, wild teenager Antoine (Pierre-Loup Rajot) is Rego's younger brother, now in love with his new music teacher (Gabrielle Lazure), and his persistence in going after the reserved young woman ends in a brief and forbidden fling -- and trouble for her. As events continue on their course, the fate of the two brothers is vastly divergent, even though they continue to have a strong bond between them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide