Jacques Martin Movies
- 1987
Duroc (Jean Rochefort) is a secret agent called on to deliver an exploding car to a gang of terrorists in this spy spoof. When someone leaks the plan to the terrorists, Duroc becomes the hunted rather than the hunter. He encounters several situations where people unwittingly interfere with his mission. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Rochefort, Jean-Louis Trintignant, (more)
One the best, most serious detectives in France (Gérard Depardieu) is teamed up with a luckless stumble-bum (Pierre Richard) and sent off to Central America to search for the klutzy daughter of a powerful magnate in this fast-paced and funny French farce. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1976
In this wartime comedy, Gregoire (Jean Lefebvre), an irrepressible tale-spouting French postman, is unable to convince his fellow villagers that he blew up a nearby bridge, thus slowing a German troop movement. Perhaps he actually did it. When a military "accident" leads the Germans into the village seeking the culprit and reprisals, the postman volunteers that he is the guilty party, but even now he is not believed -- even by the Germans. At long last, the Americans arrive, and they are willing to let him look good in front of his countrymen; they make it look as though he captured a whole group of Germans single-handedly. At last, he has his day of glory. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Lefebvre, Pierre Tornade, (more)
- 1974
This disturbing drama is based on a real incident that occurred in Quebec during 1970. It is the story of the Liberation Front of Quebec took hostages, and the provincial government called for martial law resulting in the arrest of 450 people who were taken in and imprisoned without warrants and for no apparent reason. Much of the film centers on the cruelty inflicted upon these victims. Mental torture was one of the techniques employed. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean LaPointe, Helene Loiselle, (more)
- 1973
Art precedes life in this French comedy about a group of social security recipients who go on a crime spree when their checks are late. Not long after the film was made, social security recipients got together for a large protest demonstration. Stand-up comic Jacques Martin plays Chapulet who washed out of a career in the army, tried but failed to become a priest, and now hangs around his favorite church (which is failing, of course) trying to help out. After giving a fiery revolutionary speech to a group of elderly parishioners whose checks are late, they go out without him and pull off a heist. Aghast, he tries to smooth things over before the police haul them off to jail. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
French director Claude Berri wrote, directed, and stars in this comedy as Claude, a bookstore owner whose personal life, like his struggling business, is failing. Claude is trapped in a loveless marriage to Isabelle (Juliet Berto), who does not seem to possess any sexual attraction to her husband or affection for her children. The only activity Isabelle does seem to relish is shopping, which means spending Claude's hard-earned income. Then salvation arrives in the form of a business brainstorm. Claude transforms the bookstore into a sex shop, selling everything from leather bondage paraphernalia to pornography; soon business takes off. The proprietorship of the sex shop and his friendship with a sexually uninhibited customer, Jacqueline (Nathalie Delon), open up new possibilities for Claude, and he realizes that he's been repressed. Although he encourages Isabelle to join him in his new erotic adventures, she is at first reluctant to embrace the swinging lifestyle; the couple's attempts at a ménage à trois are disastrous. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Marielle, Claude Piéplu, (more)
- 1971
This is one of the few films directed by the well-known French dialogue writer Michel Audiard who was best known for his comic wit. This film is distinctive, however, for its sweetness. Victor (Jean Gabin) an old man, is a grocer and an obnoxious boss. He has always told his family tales of sea travel and sailing, even though they believe he never was at sea. When his nephew wins a prize for building a model boat, and gets orders to build the boat he's modelled, uncle Victor knows enough to help supervise the construction, much to the relief of his employees. The nephew's boss stops funding the boat, but Victor takes up the slack and it is finally built. It does no one any good in the nephew's backyard, and after a huge struggle the family gets it into the Seine River, where one thing after another goes wrong. The nephew's son burns the troublesome boat, and Victor goes back to his grocery to one again harass his workers properly. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
