Miou-Miou

Jacques-Remy Girerd, acclaimed director of La Prophetie Des Grenouilles, returns to write and direct this animated fantasy adventure following a young girl as she encounters the Migou, a strange creature who teaches her about a sacred tree that is essential to all life on the planet. Young Mia lives on an island that is currently being transformed into a lavish resort by an unscrupulous real estate developer. Her father Pedro is one of the laborers charged with constructing the resort, though lately the project has been beset by a series of mysterious problems. Those problems become rather serious when Pedro winds up buried in a tunnel after a massive landslide, and Mia races though the jungle to aid in the rescue mission. Along the way, Mia encounters the Migou, a race of curious, identical creatures that can take any form they please. The Migou protect a tree that is crucial to the future of all living creatures on Earth, and that tree is in danger due to the development that Mia's father has been working on. In order to protect the tree, the Migou have been disrupting the development. When word of the landslide reaches the developer responsible for the project, he travels to the island with his son Alden determined to dispense with any obstacles that impede further progress on the resort. But Alden resents everything that his father stands for, and upon meeting Mia he vows to help rescue Pedro and protect the sacred tree - the same tree that his father has vowed to chop down at all costs, an act that will undoubtedly usher in a dark era of death and decay. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A down-and-out sleight-of-hand artist tries to pull off the trick of a lifetime by keeping a decaying cabaret in business in this comedy-drama with music from director Thierry Klifa. Gabriel Stern (Claude Brasseur) has spent over four decades running the Blue Parrot, a Parisian nightclub where he regularly appeared in a drag act as "Gabriella." One evening, a weary Gabriel asks his friend and confidante Nicky (Gerard Lanvin), a magician who regularly appears on the Blue Parrot's stage, to finish closing up the club so he can go home. Nicky agrees, and the next morning he gets the sad news that Gabriel died in his sleep. Gabriel's son and daughter, both in their thirties, come to Paris to handle the funeral details -- Nino (Michael Cohen), a gay accountant who brings along his younger lover (Pierrick Lilliu), and Marianne (Geraldine Pailhas), who edits a well-known magazine for women. Also on hand are Simone (Miou-Miou), Gabriel's ex-wife, Marianne's mother and Nicky's former co-star; Alice (Catherine Deneuve), another of Gabiriel's exes who's also Nino's mom; and a number of the regular performers at the club. When Gabriel's will is read, to the surprise of many the ownership of the Blue Parrot is handed over to Nino and Marianne; the two have no interest in running a nightspot and announce the place is up for sale. Nicky wants to keep the Blue Parrot open, but doesn't have the money to buy the club, even though Gabriel's ghost frequently visits him, imploring him to find a way to prevent it from closing. Le Heros de la Famille (aka Family Hero also stars Emmanuelle Beart and Valerie Lemercier as members of the club's stable of regular performers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Inventive Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry takes a surreal trip through the mind of an introverted but wildly creative man whose attempts to balance his colorful dreams with his stark reality are complicated by the arrival of a beautiful woman into his life. Shy Stéphane (Gael García Bernal) has returned to his childhood hometown to accept a new job. When the prospective employment offer fails to live up to expectations, however, Stéphane is at least comforted by the close bond he has formed with his creative-thinking neighbor Stéphanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Their blossoming romance finally awakens the sleeping confidence that the withdrawn Stéphane was previously capable of displaying only in his dreams, but Stéphane and Stéphanie find their relationship challenged when lingering insecurities prompt the smitten visionary to confront an old dilemma that can't be solved by the Science of Sleep. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Shot in Lisbon, this drama examines the issue of aging as seen from the viewpoints of five women facing middle age -- self-destructive actress-singer Branca (Guesch Patti), losing the respect of her daughter; single literature professor Eva (Miou-Miou), attracted to the son of her friend Barbara (Marthe Keller), who's in the middle of a divorce; top TV journalist Linda (Carmen Maura), who has a lover but can't commit; and beauty-salon owner Chloe (Marisa Berenson). Shown at the 1998 Palm Springs Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Two men with seemingly nothing in common become unlikely friends in this drama from France. Harry (Daniel Auteuil) is a salesman working for a large but faceless corporation, where he's become a success at the expense of his personal life. His wife Julie (Miou-Miou), frustrated by his lack of concern for his family, has divorced him, and while he still has visitation rights to his children, he manages to forget when it's his weekend with his daughters, and he neglects to pick them up at the train station. Harry is depressed and nearly suicidal; while driving late one rainy night, he accidentally hits a dog who is walking with Georges (Pascal Duquenne), a personable young man with Down's Syndrome. Georges lives in a mental institution, where he's happy and well cared for, but when several of the other patients leave for a weekend visit, Georges decides that he should leave too, and he sets out to visit his mother. Harry can't bring himself to leave Georges behind, so after burying the dog, he offers to drive him to his mother's home, which becomes the start of a complicated odyssey for the two of them, especially after Harry finds out that Georges' mother is no longer alive. Actor Pascal Duquenne actually does have Down's Syndrome; he and co-star Daniel Auteuil shared the Best Actor award at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A jungle boy comes to Paris in this French adventure that while primarily aimed towards children, will be equally enjoyable to adult audiences. The film opens with Steph, an international trader, winging to Venezuela to formally divorce his estranged wife Patricia who left him thirteen years ago to live in Lipo-Lipo, a remote outpost deep in the Amazon. While he is there, Steph discovers that Patricia secretly bore him a son, Mimi-Siku. Mimi is truly a child of the jungle, but he longs to see the Eiffel Tower. He returns to Paris with his father. Upon arrival, Steph is dismayed to discover that his partner Richard has fumbled a major soybean deal and that both of their jobs are on the line. While Richard and Steph are frantically trying to sell their excess beans which includes suspicious interactions with the Russian Mafia, Mimi-Siku, dressed in his loincloth and carrying his bow and arrow, explores his new home. Pandemonium ensues as the boy climbs the Eiffel Tower, begins shooting and eating aquarium fish, and accidently terrifying people with his pet tarantula. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

If such a thing as gentle humor can be wrung from murderous misogyny, this all-star comedy is the embodiment of it. The basic point of the film seems to be this: unattached men long to live with women, and once they do, they long to live without them. In this story, Paul (Thierry Lhermitte) is upset about his wife's having left him. He can't stop thinking about her, and eventually decides that he'd be much happier if he knew she was dead. Then, he thinks, he could put an end to his obsessing. His uncle, a judge (Phillippe Noiret), knows of a man who killed his wife more or less on purpose, and got away with it. Paul and his uncle get together with the lucky killer, Vincent (Richard Bohringer), and, on their way to visit Paul's wife, discuss how Vincent managed to kill his wife and get away with it. Along the way, the aggravations women bring to men are pretty thoroughly (and humorously) hashed over. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The Breton-born French actor Patrick Dewaere (1947-1982) was acclaimed as one of the two best actors of his generation, along with Gerard Depardieu, before his death by suicide at age 35. This documentary is an exploration of the man's life and work, featuring clips from his many films and interviews with some of his friends and relatives. Notably absent is any appearance by his friend and rival Depardieu. In addition to celebrating his gifts, the documentary explores the state of mind which led to the gifted actor's death at the height of his thirty-year career. Apparently, no one appreciated that this handsome man's gift for playing troubled losers had a profound basis in his offscreen life. This film was first shown at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, which had instituted a special acting prize in Dewaere's name the year after his death, in 1983. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Very few people know that Pierre Marroux (Yves Montand) is the father of the famous terrorist Netchaiev (Vincent Lindon), and that's the way he likes to keep it. His boy is now presumed to be dead, and he has a job to do, protecting the safety of those who pay him. However, the boy has recently returned to Paris with a group on an operation. Netchaiev is tired of being a hunted man and is shopping his potential confession around for the best deal. This puts him at odds with his colleagues past and present, and his life is in great danger. When Pierre learns of the situation, he tries to use his skills to find his son before his killers do. Along the way, he learns that the French government has a very shady deal with the terrorists, and it wants Netchaiev dead, too. This thriller is based on a novel by Jacques Semprun. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This comic excursion from Louis Malle is set in May 1968, concurrent with a series of Parisian student uprisings. After the death of family matriarch Mme. Vieuzac (Paulette Dubost), the survivors converge on the French countryside for her funeral; they include her two sons, Milou (Michel Piccoli) and Georges (Michel Duchaussoy); Camille (Miou-Miou), Milou's daughter; Camille's husband and children; and granddaughter Claire (Dominique Blanc), a lesbian. With the latest news of rebellion from Paris as their soundtrack, the family members argue over property, revive long-simmering arguments, and watch in dismay as an unlikely love affair begins. When the student uprising threatens to spill over into their community, the family heads for the hills, where the great outdoors only intensifies their reunion. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide