Patrick Perez Movies
- 1991
Marion is a young unmarried mother who lives in the same wrong-side-of-the-tracks neighborhood as Richard and his mother. Richard is just getting to the point in his adolescence when he is not only interested in women but wants to do something about that. Richard's mother is a seamstress, and Marion is one of her customers. Before long, Marion has fallen in love with Richard, who is too callow to know what's happening between them. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fabienne Babe, Brigitte Roüan, (more)
The serpentine plotline of Luc Besson's La Femme Nikita begins its 117-minute slither when punkish, psychotic, and drug-ridden Nikita (Anne Parillaud) fires her gun into a cop's face following the stick-up of a drug store, and is promptly imprisoned. She is thrown into a dank cell, then injected with a substance and told it is a lethal toxin. Instead of dying, however, the comes to in an all-white interrogation room, where French intelligence officer Bob (Tchéky Karyo), informs her that an alternate to execution exists: she can receive covert government training as an assassin. She accepts the bid, is rigorously trained, and later returns to society as a seemingly normal and gentle civilian, but falls in love with a drugstore employee while she's waiting for that first government assignment. The paradoxical concept of a young woman blossoming socially while carrying out cold-blooded murders was downplayed when La Femme Nikita was remade in America as the silly and disappointing Point of No Return, directed by John Badham with Bridget Fonda in the lead. A far less sociopathic TV-series version of La Femme Nikita surfaced on the USA cable network in early 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Anne Parillaud, Jean-Hugues Anglade, (more)
British playwright David Hare both wrote and directed the complicated political melodrama Paris By Night. Charlotte Rampling plays a Tory member of the European parliament, who lets absolutely nothing get in way of her ambitions. At present, Rampling is convinced that she is being blackmailed by her ex-business partner Andrew Ray. Upon accidentally meeting Ray, Rampling impulsively murders the man. In a deliciously ironic turn of events, she is approached by Ray's daughter Sinead Cusack, who hopes that Rampling will help her locate her missing dad. Rampling eventually finds out Ray had been innocent all along-but a greater shock awaits her at home, at the hands of her long-neglected husband Michael Gambon. Paris By Night contains far too many cute coincidences to be credible, but this fact doesn't immediately sink in as the audience revels in the film's superlative performances and David Hare's adroit manipulation of people, places and events. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, Michael Gambon, (more)
- 1986
Commissioner Stan Jalard (Jean-Paul Belmondo) takes in his godson after the boy's father, who is also Stan's police partner, is murdered in this routine action thriller. Stan chases the heavy until he catches up with him. He levies his gun on the killer as he decides whether to shoot him or let him spend life in prison. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Pierre Malo, (more)
- 1986
This romance is more a series of idyllic, intense sexual encounters between a married woman and her lover than a psychological study or event-filled melodrama. Viviane (Isabelle Otero) has only been married to Antoine (Robin Renucci) for three years when her passion for Vincent (Hippolyte Girardot), the hired hand in her husband's stables, takes over and she leaves Antoine. Viviane and Vincent end up at her brother's cabin on the beach, where they hope to spend as much time in carnal embrace as possible. Interrupting their plans is Vincent's horse, who suffers a wound that demands the care of a vet and changes the situation entirely. Excellent cinematography captures the sensual, evocative natural backdrops that provide a setting for the lovers' encounters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robin Renucci, Isabel Otero, (more)
- 1986
In this action thriller, Richard Anconina is Willie, a young and lonesome cop who loves lonesome cowboy music. While on a drug case Willie comes across a mulatta named Jo (model Ambre of Senegalese extraction), who is trapped in a dismal life of prostitution by two abusive Lebanese brothers, who also work in the illegal weapons business. Risking his own life, Willie frees Jo from their fierce imprisonment, but the battered woman runs right back again. Understanding her dilemma, Willie keeps at it until she comes around and stays with him -- but by now the two arms dealers have long decided to use their merchandise to wipe Willie off the Parisian streets. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Anconina, Ambre, (more)
Coming in on the heels of his internationally acclaimed first film, Le Dernier Combat, 26-year-old director Luc Besson created this tongue-in-cheek look at filmmaking and at the denizens in the tunnels of the Paris Metro -- a new kind of underground movie. Fred (Christopher Lambert) has just stolen some major documents from a birthday celebration given by the Paris elite for one of their kind, Helena (Isabelle Adjani). He takes off into the Metro just as it is shut down for the remaining few hours of predawn darkness and once in the Metro encounters several characters in the tunnels. There is a bodybuilder who works out with subway parts, a purse-snatcher, and a flower seller of dubious ethics. Inspired by the moment, Fred decides to recruit a few of the ubiquitous musicians who perform (some of the best music around) on the Metro's byways, and he creates a rock band. Through all of these encounters and activities, the police and others -- including Helena -- are after Fred for their own reasons, none of which coincide. As Fred discovers, going underground can be risky. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, (more)
- 1985
On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois, a French murder mystery based upon a novel of the same name, is an unusual, involving film with excellent performances by its entire cast. Police Inspector Staniland (Michel Serrault) is investigating the death of a pianist. While conducting his investigation and looking through the victim's apartment, he meets Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), the mistress of the murder victim. Barbara confesses to the crime, but Staniland, based on his observations and experience, does not believe her. He then sets out to find the truth, with surprising results. Both Serrault and Rampling are outstanding in this well-directed, well-paced film. On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois was also released as He Died With His Eyes Open and won the Jury Prize at the 1985 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Charlotte Rampling, (more)
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