Madeleine Marie Movies
- 1996
- R
When the Cat's Away is a gentle French comedy that explores the problems and anxieties of contemporary urbanites. When Chloe (Garance Clavel), a young Parisian, decides to take a long-overdue vacation, she has to find someone to look after Gris-Gris, her beloved cat. Everyone, including her gay male roommate, refuses to help her, but she finally makes an arrangement with the elderly Madame Renée (Renée Le Calm), who often watches over other peoples' cats and dogs. However, when Chloe comes back, Madame Renée tells her that unfortunately the cat has been lost, and the unlucky owner goes on a search for her dear animal friend. While looking for the cat, she meets many colorful characters who populate the neighborhood. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Garance Clavel, Zinedine Soualem, (more)
- 1993
- R
A modern farce about medieval life, this is a time-travel comedy by French director Jean-Marie Poire. A 12th-century nobleman, Godefroy (Jean Reno), and his squire Jacquouille (Christian Clavier) are the victims of a mistake by an aging wizard. While trying to work another spell, the sorcerer accidentally transports the pair to the late 20th century. To his great dismay, Godefroy finds that his family is now poor and has sold their estate to Jacquouille's rich descendants, including Jacquart (also played by Clavier). The insensitive new owners plan to turn the castle into a modern hotel. Meanwhile, the sorcerer asks his own descendant for help in trying to get his charges to return back to medieval times. The film, which details with comic precision the differences in manners and technology between the two eras, was a huge hit in France. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Clavier, Jean Reno, (more)
- 1992
- R
Olivier, the nine-year-old son of a country veterinarian, vanishes one afternoon on the way to his grandmother's house. The emotional aftermath of his disappearance sends his father packing from France to Africa and nearly destroys his mother, who clings to her remaining child, Nadine, and her devoted neighbor, Marcel. Several years later, having relocated to the city, the police investigator who handled the case meets a Paris rent boy whom he believes to be the missing Olivier. Once he returns to his rural home, the teenaged Olivier tries to assuage his mother's now-entrenched grief and heal the rift between his reunited parents. Meanwhile, he must overcome his brooding, adolescent sister's jealousy and doubts about his identity and reconcile his sleazy street life with his picturesque new surroundings. Questions about the tight-lipped Olivier's true motivations continue to crop up, however, threatening to send his mother over the edge for good. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- François Cluzet, Brigitte Roüan, (more)
- 1989
When Jenny Quester (Catherine Deneuve) is harassed over the phone by a mysterious caller, she enlists the help of her policeman brother Frank (Andre Dussolier) in this suspenseful crime drama. She fears the calls may be from a murderer who recently was discharged from an insane asylum. Later Jenny finds evidence that someone has been in her apartment. Last-minute plot twists provide anxiety and thrills in this directorial debut for Elisabeth Rappeneau. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, André Dussollier, (more)
The troubled life of French sculptor Camille Claudel and her long relationship with legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin are portrayed in this passionate biographical drama, featuring an acclaimed performance by Isabelle Adjani. Beginning in the 1880s with a young Claudel's first meeting with Rodin, the film traces the development of their intense romantic bond. The growth of this relationship coincides with the rise of Claudel's career, helping her overcome prejudices against female artists. However, their romance soon sours, due to the increasing pressures of Rodin's fame and his love for another woman. These difficulties combine with her increasing doubts about the value of her work to drive Claudel into an emotional tumult that threatens to become insanity. First-time director Bruno Nuytten had previously served as a cinematographer, and he brings this experience to bear in his loving presentation of Claudel's sculpture and the lavish period setting. The dramatic approach is in tune with the impressive visuals, which present Claudel's life as a grandiose melodrama, a transformation that irritated some critics. However, few questioned the film's value as a dramatic showcase for Adjani, whose fervent portrayal was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The American release version was cut to 159 minutes. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1986
A diverse group of guests gather in a small hotel in Paris to contemplate the state of their lives in this pretentious drama. Joseph Goldman (Fernando Rey) is a washed-up Hollywood actor making a living in the dinner-theater circuit. Accompanied by his wife Sarah (Carola Regnier), Goldman meets Frederique (Berangere Bonvoisin), who is hiding from her former lover. French financier Arthur (Fabrice Luchini) hopes to get into the film industry and bends the ear of a British director (Michael Medwin). The talkative film has little action, and none of the characters evoke much interest or resolve their dilemma. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Rey, Fabrice Luchini, (more)
- 1983
Based on Erskine Caldwell's novel, Le Batard could also refer to this French film born from an American novel, with the American South transformed into the south of France. An unemotive Gerard Klein is Patrice, the Paris automobile mechanic who travels to Marseille to identify the body of his loose-living and long-lost mother, who has been found murdered. After proceeding to kill off her barroom boss, he meanders around the south of France looking for sexual relationships. He comes across a teenage musician and is attracted enough to her obvious appeal to establish a more permanent liaison, taking her with him to Paris to set up housekeeping -- for she is pregnant. Soon she is driven to the limits of depression and boredom caring for their home and a new baby, and he has reached his limits of confinement and responsibility -- so he takes off again. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gerard Klein, Julie Jezequel, (more)
