Christophe Malavoy Movies

Their dream vacation in Paris proving to be an unmitigated dud, three women find the adventure they've been searching for after one of them is mistaken for a rude British heiress and pampered like royalty. Arriving in Paris to find that the City of Lights has lost its luster, a girl, her tightly wound stepsister, and her best friend ditch their tour guide and find themselves drawn into the lavish lobby of a world-class hotel. The next thing they know they're on a posh private jet to Monte Carlo, where romance and excitement await. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Fernando E. Solanas directed this Argentine-French-Italian-German drama with allegorical reflections of Argentina's past history. The film is divided into four chapters ("The Mirror," "The Waiting Men," "Oblivion," "Howls") with subchapters ("Punishments," "Rewards," "Obstinacy"). A black cloud brings 1600 days of rain to Buenos Aires, while traffic and pedestrians move backwards. Aging actor Max (Eduardo Pavlovsky) runs the Mirror Theater in a former fish market, but lack of funding means a possible demolition. Max is attracted to Brazilian dancer Fulo (Angela Correa), who worries about her daughter back home. Amid political corruption and police brutality, Max's elderly colleague Enrique leads a protest for unpaid old-age pensions. The pensioners succeed in their demands, only to learn from a government official that no money is available to pay them. Shown in competition at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Fifteen-year-old Sabine is unusually confident and analytical. She is also extraordinarily gifted in mathematics. This tender romance chronicles her coming-of-age at the hands of a gentle and fun-loving 40-year-old Czech playwright named Jiri. Because she is so bright, Sabine, who lives in a low-income housing project with her unemployed parents and little sister, makes money on the side doing other people's homework. One day Jiri sees her taking money from some thankful young men on a bus and mistakes her for a prostitute. Under this impression, he invites her to his hotel and with her acquiescence gently becomes her first lover. Sabine approached the situation with logic and afterwards remains cool and calculating until she later spies Jiri with another woman. When faced with that, Sabine's cool demeanor disintegrates and trouble follows. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

The 1926 commercial and social structure of French Guiana, the French former penal colony in South America, differed little from that of Haiti a century before. White settlers owned or exploited everything and everyone. No one else was permitted to benefit greatly, and even the modest success of members of the mulatto, black, and Indian majority population were only permitted at the whim of the colony's rulers. Into this recipe for disaster appears a liberty-loving Frenchman named Jean Galmont. Not only is he helped by Guinean locals to get his feet on the ground, but he returns the favor by being almost mulishly color-blind. When he gains great success as the boss of a gold mine, he freely shares his wealth with his black and mulatto partners and the miners themselves. For a while he is riding high, but even his great wealth cannot win acceptance by the white rulers for schemes which would put blacks at the forefront of business or cultural dealings, and he is systematically hounded by them until he is destroyed. However, the stirrings of liberty which he spawned would prove to be more difficult to squash. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Vic (Christophe Malavoy) is an author saddled with heavy gambling debts and a baby-killing wife Cat (Pauline Lafont), committed to an asylum. He goes to pick her up when she is released, hoping to sign her to a commercial contract that can eliminate his financial losses. Aina (Catherine Wilkening) is Cat's fellow inmate, a scissor slasher with more than a sentimental attachment for her female friend. These three are headed for trouble. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

La Soule is the name of a once-popular and now long-forgotten extremely violent sport with an ancient history, which somewhat resembles rugby. It was not uncommon for players to be left on the playing field after a game, dead or maimed. In this unusual drama, Pierre Cursey (Christophe Malavoy), a former officer in Napolean's army, seeks revenge against Francois Lemercier (Richard Bohringer), one of his soldiers, who betrayed him to the English. His plan is to track the soldier (now a village cobbler) down and humiliate him completely in a game of Soule, preferably one which results in grave injuries. It seems that the soldier's whole sense of pride in himself is invested in participation in this game. Pierre has one difficulty, though, as the nefarious soldier is not only a very good Soule player, but is the captain of a championship-winning Soule team. ~ Clarke Fountain, 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

Mixing together the erotic and a theme of imminent death, director Michel Deville has fashioned an increasingly unsettling tale, based on the French novel Sur la Terre Comme au Ciel by Rene Belletto. When David (Christophe Malavoy) arrives at the home of Julia (Nicole Garcia) and Graham (Michel Piccoli) to teach guitar to their teenage daughter, a certain attraction starts between the student and teacher. That disappears when Julia seduces David at his apartment, and the two begin an affair, seemingly with the tacit consent of Julia's husband. Meanwhile, David's neighbor keeps snooping around, and at one point David is saved from a mugger just in the nick of time by a man who turns out to be an assassin for hire -- and hired to kill Graham, Julia's husband. As danger looms on the horizon for David, Graham, Julia, and the assassin himself, tension mounts, and someone's violent death seems inevitable. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Based on a book by Nikos Athenassiadis titled A Naked Young Girl, this slight, uneven fantasy-romance takes place on an isolated Greek island with a unique, petrified tree -- a part of the reason why Mathieu, a geologist (Christophe Malavoy) has arrived to do some research there. Other than the boatman who ferries back and forth to the mainland, the island's only inhabitants are a fisherman and his very pretty daughter Eleni (Eleni Drogoumi). Eleni seems a bit different right from the beginning; on the one hand, she likes wandering around dressed only in a long shirt, and on the other, she has a penchant for swimming all night with the dolphins. When the usually arrogant geologist starts transferring some of his interest from rocks to Eleni's comings-and-goings, he wonders if there is not something fishy about her parentage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi