Marie-José Nat Movies

The vagaries of love are often tragic, as Amelie ou le Temps d'Aimer seems to say. Directed by Michel Drach in his second try at a feature-length film, the well-wrought romance revolves around the love that develops between Amelie (Marie-Jose Nat) and her cousin Alain (Jean Sorel). Amelie is an orphan who lives with Alain and his family on an island off the coast of France. Alain has dreams of working as a seaman, while Amelie works for Alain's father. The budding romance between the two takes a nose-dive when Alain falls for a glamorous actress who shows up on the island one day. Not mature enough yet to make a wise choice, Alain's betrayal of Amelie turns out to be a grievous mistake. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Elise (Marie-Josee Nat) is a young provincial woman working in a factory in Paris. Her revolutionary brother secured the position for her, and she falls in love with an Algerian native who works with her. She becomes painfully aware of the prejudice he experiences from the police and his superiors. The recent conflict between France and Algeria only compounds the problems of Algerians in France. Her love and concern for the man causes her to search for him after he disappears one day. Elise considers moving to Algeria to find the man she loves in this bitter social drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by noted French author Gustave Flaubert, this routine love story centers on the romantic "education" of young student Frederic (Jean-Claude Brialy), who works for an important businessman and also lives in the servants' quarters in his boss's house. Frederic develops a passion for the wife of one of his boss's employees but is not successful in seducing her into any sort of a relationship. Without missing a beat, he ends up with the employee's mistress instead -- but not for long. By now Frederic has devised a way to get through to the wife he still desires though exactly how successful he will be this time around is questionable. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

La Menace is not the most suspenseful or convincing crime drama, though its story has potential. Josepha (Marie-Jose Nat) is only eighteen and longs for the companionship of a group of her peers who dabble in activities on the shady side of a legal dividing line. In order to get the semi-delinquent group to accept her, Josepha runs to the police with a tall tale about the local druggist, Savary (Robert Hossein). The police are looking for a sex murderer, and Josepha insists Savary is their man. What she does not know, however, can do her considerable damage. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This French-Italian romantic crime thriller is titled The Truth in English. Henri-Georges Clouzot directed sexpot Brigitte Bardot as Dominique Marceau, who is accused of killing her boyfriend. The question for the jury is whether the murder was premeditated or a crime of passion. Marceau had come from a small town to take up a sexually adventuresome life on the Left Bank in Paris. She has an affair with Gilbert Tellier (Sami Frey), the boyfriend of her sister Annie (Marie-Jose Nat). Dominique moves on to other romances, but Tellier won't let go of her. They fight and eventually separate. Tellier becomes a renowned orchestra conductor while Dominique descends into prostitution. She eventually learns that her sister and Tellier are engaged, and this knowledge leads up to the events that lead her to court. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

This moral melodrama follows a female gynecologist (Marie-Jose Nat) who aggressively promotes birth control methods (at a time when birth control was still taboo in France) in order to avoid unnecessary abortions. In a twist of irony, the unmarried lady doctor becomes pregnant herself, but decides to have the baby in spite of the difficulties it will bring to her professional career. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The seven major sins receive treatment from some of France's greatest directors in this lively portmanteau. "Anger" by Dhomme, chronicles a single horrific day when every bowl of soup in France is found to contain a fly. This causes a devastating nationwide revolt. "Envy" by Molinaro tells the story of a chambermaid whose dream of sleeping with a millionaire comes true. Unfortunately, she goes back to work and finds herself still consumed with jealousy. De Broca's "Gluttony" provides one of the film's most enjoyable episodes as it follows the exploits of a voracious family heading off for a funeral. "Lust" by Demy is set at a Parisian sidewalk cafe and eavesdrops upon the lusty conversation between two young men, one of whom has x-ray eyes that enable him to see through women's clothing. "Laziness" by Godard features real life matinee idol Constantine as a movie star who finds himself too sluggish to respond to the starlet trying so hard to seduce him. "Pride" by Roger Vadim tells the satirical tale of a philandering wife who changes her mind and stays with her husband after learning that her happy home is being threatened by another woman. Finally in Chabrol's "Greed," young men who have pooled their meager resources to buy a prostitute, fight for the chance to be with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An innocent couple who were observing the "color" of a local festival begin to feel afraid because of the eerie happenings at the celebration, and they decide to get out of there before they too, are turned into a robotic shadow of their former selves. Their escape includes an interlude in a wooden coffin as they go through a cave along a subterranean river. (The film also features a lot of gorgeous scenery from the southern province of Ardeche with its photogenic Cevennes mountain range.) Winner of the Critics Prize at the 1982 Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this drama, a woman recovering from amnesia receives no help from her husband who definitely has something to hide. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Life in a one-parent family with a focus on the parent, Henri Neveu (Jean Gabin), is the topic of this standard drama with a dash of comedy. While Henri was a POW during the war, his wife passed away and he returned to face the challenges of bringing up three children alone. Henri may get drunk and angry at times but he also has a better side that will not stay buried. Since handling three children alone is no easy task, the single father has the choice of growing in the process or not. Relying more on dialogue than action to depict the father-child relationships, the story may be too verbose for some viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide