Serge Merlin Movies

16th and 17th Century composer Claudio Monteverdi adapted his mammoth opera Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda from twelve strokes in an epic cycle by the eminent Torquato Tasso, authored in 1575; both works relay the tale of Tancred, a Christian knight en route to the Holy Land, who engages in a battle with a masked infidel and kills this individual - little realizing, until it is too late, that this is the woman he loves. As directed by François Caillat, this particular stage production constitutes not a full version of Monteverdi's complete opera, but a loose and dramatically shortened adaptation of that work, focusing on Tancred's journey back to Europe after the fateful duel, in which he relives the experience in his mind - on board a ship, at night. Philippe Bardy stars as Tancredi, with Philippe Huttenlocher as Testo and Serge Merlin as The Old Sailor. The Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble lends added musical accompaniment. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

One woman decides to change the world by changing the lives of the people she knows in this charming and romantic comic fantasy from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Amelie (Audrey Tautou) is a young woman who had a decidedly unusual childhood; misdiagnosed with an unusual heart condition, Amelie didn't attend school with other children, but spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy life. Her mother Amandine (Lorella Cravotta) died in a freak accident when Amelie was eight, and her father Raphael (Rufus) had limited contact with her, since his presence seemed to throw her heart into high gear. Despite all this, Amelie has grown into a healthy and beautiful young woman who works in a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. When Princess Diana dies in a car wreck in the summer of 1997, Amelie is reminded that life can be fleeting and she decides it's time for her to intervene in the lives of those around her, hoping to bring a bit of happiness to her neighbors and the regulars at the cafe. Amelie starts by bringing together two lonely people -- Georgette (Isabelle Nanty), a tobacconist with a severe case of hypochondria, and Joseph (Dominique Pinon), an especially ill-tempered customer. When Amelie finds a box of old toys in her apartment, she returns them to their former owner, Mr. Bretodeau (Maurice Benichou), sending him on a reverie of childhood. Amelie befriends Dufayel (Serge Merlin), an elderly artist living nearby whose bones are so brittle, thanks to a rare disease, that everything in his flat must be padded for his protection. And Amelie decides someone has to step into the life of Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a lonely adult video store clerk and part-time carnival spook-show ghost who collects pictures left behind at photo booths around Paris. Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain received unusually enthusiastic advance reviews prior to its French premiere in the spring of 2001, and was well received at a special free screening at that year's Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This gentle French comedy, takes an intellectualized look at the nature of a crush as it tells the tale of 20-year-old Claire, a young woman seemingly suffering a terminal case of ennui. She glumly goes through the minimal motions of living until she falls in love with handsome Gregoire, a highly intelligent philosophy student. He gives her an unusual translation of Le Journal d'un seducteur by Kierkegaard. This is no ordinary philosophical tome and anyone who opens it becomes strangely aroused and susceptible to love. Not only is Claire entranced by the book's magic, her psychoanalyst also finds himself ensnared. Meanwhile, mysterious Gregoire seems to hold the key to the mysterious book in his refrigerator, and if he doesn't, then the corpse therein just may. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Planning on a long stay, Toussaint and his wife Madeleine (Philippe Noiret and Monique Chaumette) leave their Paris home for a house in the Corsican resort village they grew up in. He has just retired from his lifetime job with the Paris Metro. They hope, by moving back to the countryside, to catch up on old projects, relive the memories of their youth, and grow vegetables. One man's elegiac nostalgia is simply a boring film for others, and critical response to this slow-paced and somewhat downbeat star vehicle was mixed. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In 1982, legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda fled his homeland and relocated in France to direct this powerful story about the ethical boundaries of power and leadership, which had many parallels to Poland's volatile political situation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Danton (Gérard Depardieu) and Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak) were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies. Wajda remained in France until 1989, when the collapse of Communist rule made it possible for him to return to his homeland. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Louve (Daniele Gaubert) is an accomplished cat burglar on the prowl for a new partner in crime. When she can find no one to share in her criminal adventures, the former acrobat uses her talents to walk on wires, scale walls and pull off a heist at the home of some wealthy patrons busily engaged in social snobbery. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi