Louis Navarre Movies
- 1972
- R
In this French romance, Louise (Jeanne Moreau) lives alone and seems to like it that way. She has been through a divorce and the recent death of her mother. Recently, she has moved to Annecy, a moderate-sized city, to take work as a schoolteacher. She encounters a much younger man, Luigi (Julian Negulesco), an Italian who is down on his luck. Though he moved to France to find work, he was robbed of his money and papers and is stranded. When he helps her bury her dogs, which her neighbor has poisoned for barking, their relationship grows to a new level. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1972
In this French romantic tragedy, introverted soldier Leon and the lovely Leonie fall in love, but unfortunately, poor Leon has been emotionally damaged by his overbearing mother and the horrors he endured while at war and is unable to keep their love alive. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Brel, Barbara, (more)
In this parody of James Bond movies, a dullard of a spy novelist finds himself the subject of an English sociology student's term papers. She travels to his Paris apartment to do her research and their relationship is interspliced with episodes from the writer's newest book that features his popular hero Bob St. Clair, master spy and anithesis to the writer, and his lovely assistant Tatiana, (who is of course, the lookalike of the lovely student). The spy's nemesis is in reality, his pushy publisher. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jacqueline Bisset, (more)
- 1974
Not quite in the same league as the runaway hit The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe, this 1974 sequel is still amiable and enjoyable on its own terms. Once more, innocent violinist Pierre Richard (the tall blonde man of the title) is up to his neck in espionage. Enemy spy boss Jean Rochefort, sore at how Richard inadvertently bollixed up his last caper, demands that the hapless musician be killed. In true "Good Soldier Schweik" fashion, Richard manages to avoid annihilation, never dreaming that anyone means him harm. Mireille Darc is back as Richard's "play horsie with me!" girl friend. The Return of the Big Blond has some of the ambience of the 1965 spy spoof That Man from Rio, especially in its colorful Brazilian backdrops. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Mireille Darc, (more)
- 1975
In this sad French romance, a factory owner gives up everything to win the love of a hooker who loves only her job. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mireille Darc, Pierre Mondy, (more)
- 1977
In this comedy, Pierre (Pierre Richard) is a timid cashier in a Parisian bank who has grown obsessed with getting to know a beautiful woman (Mimi Coutellier). Based on her stylishness, exquisite manner, and the places she frequents, he assumes she must be a movie star, a model, or an heiress. However, he can't even say "hello" without clamming up. None of the psychological treatments he has sought have been of any use to him. His therapist Aldo (Aldo Maccione) becomes his friend and volunteers to help him overcome his handicap. His increasingly frustrated friend drives around Paris with him, coaching him (unsuccessfully) at numerous potential encounter situations. Eventually he finds that the girl he has been following is named Agnes, and far from having come from a wealthy background, she was a clerk in a small shop who has been enjoying the proceeds from a prize. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Aldo Maccione, (more)
- 1978
This disturbing French drama comments upon the effects of excessive television violence on children. It's set within a seaside villa, where under the care of a nanny, a group of children spend most of their days watching violent television shows. One day they all go to the beach. The nanny dozes while they frolic. For a joke, they load the snoozing servant into a rubber raft and set her out to sea. She panics when she wakes up and ends up drowning. The kids do try to save her, but when they fail they decide to run wild instead of reporting the incident. The death means nothing to them until a threatening stranger appears and tells them he witnessed it all. He then proceeds to terrify them with his predictions about what the authorities will do with such killers. The children turn around and get their own kind of revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alain Delon, Françoise Brion, (more)
- 1978
A French-raised Vietnamese girl and a classical singer-in-training become lovers and have an affair. Up to now she has been a procuress for a rich man with a taste for girl prostitutes. In return, the rich man has paid for her apartment and given her an allowance. One of the rich man's favorite prostitutes is a new girl, only 16, who, on realizing that her lifestyle is for real, commits suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Isabelle Ho, Xavier Saint-Macary, (more)
- 1979
- R
Pierre Richard directs and stars in this comedy about a ghost writer employed by a successful comic. He assumes the comic's identity and talks his way into a joint venture with an Italian screen star. The two travel to Tunisia to work on their collaboration and experience romantic and professional comic mishaps. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Aldo Maccione, (more)
- 1982
- R
Dirty Dishes is a Bunuel study in alienation, but look again: that's Joyce Bunuel, not Luis, so Dirty Dishes is more user-friendly. French housewife Carol Laure isn't satisfied with her lot, but what else is there? One day the monotony is too much; she snaps, and goes on a one-woman rebellion against the world. At first it's a hilarious orgy of self-discovery--and then Laure goes off the deep end. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Laure, Pierre Santini, (more)
- 1983
In this routine romantic comedy, a veterinarian who mingles with humans of a higher pedigree gets an unwelcome visit from a female tax inspector -- and tries to seduce her as a way out of his dilemma. His screwball accountant's version of keeping books is no help, and so in desperation, the veterinarian performs a mock operation on the tax inspector's beloved pet dog in the hope of "saving the day" for himself in her eyes. Their continued interaction through thick and thin have changed the way the tax inspector and veterinarian regard each other, and disparate as they may be, an undeniable attraction starts to grow between them. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Brasseur, Josiane Balasko, (more)
Edmond Rostand's classic drama of inner and outer beauty is given a lavish treatment in this acclaimed French production. Gérard Depardieu portrays the title character, a brilliant, charismatic swordsman with a generous spirit and a genius for poetry. It would seem that such a man would have no trouble attracting women, but Cyrano considers himself doomed to loneliness by an unattractive face featuring an oversized nose. His feelings of inadequacy are emphasized when Roxane, the beautiful woman he adores, attracts the attention of Christian, a young cadet in Cyrano's service. Christian lacks the poetic gift, however, and he ironically turns to Cyrano for help in winning Roxane's love. What follows is a tale of deception, with Roxane falling in love with the ineloquent Christian thanks to Cyrano's words of love. The underlying narrative has become quite familiar to modern audiences through retellings and variations from the 1950 adaptation starring José Ferrer to Steve Martin's Roxanne. Director Jean-Paul Rappeneau's interpretation stresses the tragic majesty of the original, setting a vigorous performance by Depardieu against a beautifully designed reproduction of the period and an emphasis on the sound and poetry of Rostand's original language; the subtitles for the film's English release were penned by renowned British author Anthony Burgess. This attention to detail creates a particularly faithful cinematic rendering of the original work that met with positive critical responses. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, (more)
- 1992
- R
In this hectic farce, Louis Aubinard (Bob Hoskins) is at the bottom of every totem pole he's ever come near, a nebbish and unattractive man who makes a poor living as a photographer of religious tableaux. His sister doesn't respect him and deliberately cooks awful food just to makes his life more miserable. At work, he is in danger of losing his job if he can't find a suitable model for a Christ-on-the-cross photo. One of his friends (Jean-Pierre Cassel) asks him to fill in for him on a movie project, and without knowing what he's being asked to do, Louis agrees to help out. He is astonished to discover that he is to provide the voiced-over cries of orgasmic delight for a porn movie. His fellow dubber is a lovely woman named Sybil (Natasha Richardson), and together, they voice a world-shaking sexual climax for the movie. Sybil then asks the hapless Louis to do a favor for her, and once again, he agrees. He meets the actress' boyfriend (Jeff Goldblum) as he is being released from jail and simultaneously finds his model for the troublesome photo. Things become particularly frenetic when the addle-pated ex-con takes his holy image too much to heart and begins trying to work miracles. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bob Hoskins, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
- 2002
Charlotte Silvera's Girls Can Get Away With Anything is about a young girl who acted in a film. Eight-year-old Judith (Thylda Bares) was plucked from everyday life to act in a film that was made in Paris. After returning home from the experience, she finds that her parents' marriage is on the rocks. She makes her way back to Paris with her friend Nora (Nora Rotman), and the two of them do what they can to survive. Girls Can Get Away With Anything was shot on digital video and was screened at the Paris Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thylda Bares, Nora Rotman, (more)
