Eric Naggar Movies
- 2009
A couple of ne'er-do-wells fight the global economic setbacks of the early 21st century with a unique brand of crime - and establish themselves as modern-day Robin Hoods - in this zany caper comedy from France. After 17 years spent working in one of Paris's most elite banks, Julien (Gerard Lanvin) believes he's only a few days from fulfilling his dream of leaving this dead-end job and opening a local bistro with his pal, the brasserie chef Etienne (Jean-Pierre Daroussin). Then both men's bids for a bank loan are rejected, and Julien's billionaire boss adamantly refuses to help them out. Seething with a desire for revenge, Julien takes advantage of his job by picking up tips on the stock market gleaned during bank luncheons, and using it to his and Etienne's financial advantage. Inevitably, Julien's neighbors get wind of the scheme and request that he invest their money, which gets Julien in way over his head - especially when the local off-track betting group takes advantage of the situation by changing their game from horsetrack betting to gambling on the stock market. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, (more)
- 2008
Love is in the air but not everyone is breathing easy in this romantic comedy with music from director Stephane Kazandjian. Eric Mericourt (Pierre Francois Martin-Laval) is a filmmaker who is given to wide mood swings and has trouble holding on to long-term relationships. Lately things are going well for him -- his latest movie, a musical called "Modern Love," is doing great business, and he's involved with a beautiful and caring woman, Anne (Melanie Bernier). But Eric is still haunted by his busted romance with Marie (Clotilde Courau), who left him three years before on New Year's Eve. One day, Eric bumps into Marie, who apologizes for leaving him and suggests they get together to catch up. To Eric surprise, Marie informs him that she and her current beau want to have a baby, but he's been diagnosed with a low sperm count and Marie asks Eric if he'd be willing to help her conceive a child. Meanwhile, lovelorn Elsa (Berenice Bejo) wants nothing more than to settle down with the right man, but hasn't had much luck finding him. Elsa is convinced she's discovered the guy of her dreams when she meets Jerome (Stephane Debac), who is good looking, personable and financially secure, but she's can't seem to interest him in getting serious and she wonders if he's actually attracted to women. Modern Love also stars Alexandra Lamy and Stephane Rousseau as the stars of Eric's movie, who appear in several song-and-dance numbers from the film. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexandra Lamy, Stéphane Rousseau, (more)
- 2008
French director Nicolas Bary's wacky, family-friendly fantasy comedy The Children of Timpelbach concerns the titular village, where the kids act so unruly and disobedient that all of the adults suddenly throw up their hands in disgust and decide to abandon the place. This, of course, leaves the children in charge of governing the community - which leads to a host of messy and wacky complications. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Joel Demarty, (more)
A star is born in a time of both celebration and instability in this historical drama with music from director Christophe Barratier. In the spring of 1936, Paris is in a state of uncertainty; while the rise of the Third Reich in Germany worries many, a leftist union-oriented candidate, Léon Blum, has been voted into power, and organized labor is feeling its new power by standing up to management. While such matters might normally seem unimportant to Germain Pigoil (Gérard Jugnot), who runs a small vaudeville house in the Faubourg district, the chaos of the city seems to be impacting his life and his work -- his wife, Viviane (Elisabeth Vitali), has run off with her lover, she demands custody of their son, Jojo (Maxence Perrin), and unscrupulous local entrepreneur Galapiat (Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) threatens to put Germain's theater out of business. With the help of a local political organizer, Milou (Clovis Cornillac), and veteran entertainer Jacky Jacquet (Kad Merad), Germain strikes a deal with Galapiat to reopen the theater, but business is slow until a lovely young woman with a remarkable voice, Douce (Nora Arnezeder), comes looking for a spot in Germain's show. Faubourg 36 (aka Paris 36) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, (more)
Mr. Bean -- the stick-legged goofball man-child created by Rowan Atkinson on television in the early '90s, and in the 1997 feature Bean -- undertakes his second cinematic adventure in the comic romp Mr. Bean's Holiday. Growing thoroughly sick of the wet, cold, and clammy London weather, Mr. Bean (Atkinson) finds just the right tonic when he wins a trip to sunny southern France, all expenses paid, with a new digital video camera to accompany him. However, he runs headfirst into a series of outrageous and unpleasant situations, such as winding up in a French restaurant where a maître d’ (Jean Rochefort) convinces him to eat bizarre varieties of seafood that he's never before encountered, and discovering that the "Very Fast Train" certainly lives up to its name. Eventually, Mr. Bean (accompanied by a Russian traveling companion whom he meets along his journey) stumbles onto the French Riviera and spoils the latest movie production of snobbish, egomaniacal filmmaker Carson Clay (Willem Dafoe) -- little realizing that his own klutzy video footage will accidentally end up in Clay's film and be screened at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Unlike the first big-screen incarnation of Atkinson's character, Mr. Bean's Holiday adheres more closely to the formula of the original series by rendering the character almost completely mute. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, (more)
- 2006
Six of France's greatest screen comedians reunite in this long-awaited sequel to the classic box-office hits Les Bronzes and Les Bronzes Font du Ski. Skirt-chasing Popeye (Thierry Lhermitte) has settled down and married beautiful Graziella (Ornella Muti), and together they run an upscale resort hotel in Sardinia. However, Popeye still has his eye on the ladies rather than the bottom line -- he's carrying on with a beautiful young cook -- and Graziella warns him that he has to stop giving free rooms to his old friends. Unfortunately, this edict comes down just as Popeye's pals arrive, expecting a stay on the house. Jerome (Christian Clavier) was making a fortune as a plastic surgeon until a malpractice suit ended his career; now he hopes to reconnect with his former wife Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel). However, when Gigi shows up it's clear she's also been seeing a plastic surgeon, and has brought along her new beau, upscale wig salesman Jean-Claude (Michel Blanc). And wealthy and smug Bernard (Gerard Jugnot) and Nathalie (Josiane Balasko) arrive with their dog in tow, though their vacation goes through a rough patch when Bernard makes a potentially disturbing discovery about their son. Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie (aka Les Bronzes 3: Friends Forever) was directed by Patrice Leconte, who was also behind the camera for the original two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, (more)
- 2005
Director Danis Tanovic picks up where the late-Krzysztof Kieslowski left off by taking on the second installment of Kieslowski's "Heaven," "Hell," and "Purgatory" trilogy (the first was adapted by Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer) with this tale of a family whose dark past returns with a vengeance. Loosely modeled by screenwriter Krzysztof Piesiewicz on the second act of Dante's Inferno, Hell tells the story of sisters Sophie (Emmanuelle Béart), Céline (Karin Viard), and Anne (Marie Gillain), whose lives were turned upside down when their father was imprisoned and their mother was rendered a wheelchair-bound mute. As the estranged sisters are slowly brought back together by a mysterious and handsome stranger who is somehow involved with the tragic events of the past, the questions that had for years gone unanswered slowly begin to drift into focus. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Emmanuelle Béart, Karin Viard, (more)
