Roger Planchon Movies

Roger Planchon directed this French-Spanish biographical drama about artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (Regis Royer). Accepted at the Beaux-Arts painting classes in Paris, Lautrec loses his virginity to an artist's model and then falls into an affair with painter Suzanne Valadon (Else Zylberstein). When she leaves him, Lautrec turns to absinthe, contracts venereal disease, and dies at age 37. Although little of his art is seen in the film, some scenes are designed to parallel both his pictures and the images of the Impressionists. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival and the 1998 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

History buffs will glory in the riches of Louis, Enfant Roi, others will perhaps find this complex story of intrigues and betrayals in the court of the young king tough sledding. When Louis the Fourteenth (1638-1715) was born, the power of government was shared between the monarchy, the church, the nobility, and the Parlement. His predecessor had greatly centralized the powers of government following the advice of Cardinal Richelieu. Louis XIV (often called "The Sun King" for the brilliance of his rule) followed the advice of Richelieu's successor, Cardinal Mazarin (Paolo Graziosi), and brought the powers of government under the sole sway of the monarch. He expanded the territory and influence of France in a series of wars throughout his reign. How he came to be so autocratic and ruthless both personally and politically is the subject of this biographical drama. When Louis (Maxime Mansion) was just ten years old, the Parlement of France refused to ratify a tax measure, and the disagreements between the various powers ruling the country came to a head in a long civil war known as "The Fronde," which lasted from 1648 to 1653. This movie tells how the intrigues and battles of this period appeared from the perspective of the young monarch. At first they are highly confusing for him, but gradually they become clearer, and he begins to emerge from the regency of his mother, Anne of Austria (Carmen Maura), to assert some of his own authority, making some grim and unpleasant decisions in the process. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The 1926 commercial and social structure of French Guiana, the French former penal colony in South America, differed little from that of Haiti a century before. White settlers owned or exploited everything and everyone. No one else was permitted to benefit greatly, and even the modest success of members of the mulatto, black, and Indian majority population were only permitted at the whim of the colony's rulers. Into this recipe for disaster appears a liberty-loving Frenchman named Jean Galmont. Not only is he helped by Guinean locals to get his feet on the ground, but he returns the favor by being almost mulishly color-blind. When he gains great success as the boss of a gold mine, he freely shares his wealth with his black and mulatto partners and the miners themselves. For a while he is riding high, but even his great wealth cannot win acceptance by the white rulers for schemes which would put blacks at the forefront of business or cultural dealings, and he is systematically hounded by them until he is destroyed. However, the stirrings of liberty which he spawned would prove to be more difficult to squash. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The troubled life of French sculptor Camille Claudel and her long relationship with legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin are portrayed in this passionate biographical drama, featuring an acclaimed performance by Isabelle Adjani. Beginning in the 1880s with a young Claudel's first meeting with Rodin, the film traces the development of their intense romantic bond. The growth of this relationship coincides with the rise of Claudel's career, helping her overcome prejudices against female artists. However, their romance soon sours, due to the increasing pressures of Rodin's fame and his love for another woman. These difficulties combine with her increasing doubts about the value of her work to drive Claudel into an emotional tumult that threatens to become insanity. First-time director Bruno Nuytten had previously served as a cinematographer, and he brings this experience to bear in his loving presentation of Claudel's sculpture and the lavish period setting. The dramatic approach is in tune with the impressive visuals, which present Claudel's life as a grandiose melodrama, a transformation that irritated some critics. However, few questioned the film's value as a dramatic showcase for Adjani, whose fervent portrayal was rewarded with an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The American release version was cut to 159 minutes. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

An unsuspecting novelist is the target of international extortionists in this well-acted suspense story directed by Claude Pinoteau. Lino Ventura stars as Bastien Grimaldy, a man driven to heightened anxiety as the plot against him begins to take effect. Bastien's personal relationships give him enough cause for anxiety -- between his new lover Laura (Elisabeth Bourgine) and a feisty mother (Lina Volonghi), life provides its own insecurities. When he goes to the police with his problems, Bastien is assigned an off-beat inspector to protect him (Roger Planchon) but is still faced with skepticism about his dilemma. In the end, Bastien goes to Berlin, as this conventional storyline moves towards the closing credits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A man is left grieving for his dead family after they were shot down in a train station, innocent bystanders to a robbery gone wrong. They were never vindicated since the police seem unable (if not reluctant) to solve the case. Driven in part because he survived and they did not, and frustrated with the inept police, the man starts his own investigation with the aid of a right-wing organization that advocates citizens' militias. He discovers that a woman who also survived the train-station massacre has a brother with blood on his hands -- he is clearly the mastermind behind the "robbery" killings -- staged to effect the politically-motivated assassination of one particular man. He and the woman join ranks to bring the brother to justice, but soon they themselves are being hunted down because they know too much. The right-wing group comes on the scene again, catalyzing a final showdown that seems inevitable from the beginning. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The plot in this story weaves around like a New Year's reveler at four in the morning, heading first in one direction and then in another, with the intention of going home if things would just stop moving. Bernard (Gerard Depardieu) is a doctor whose Hippocratic oath was a hypocritic failure -- the not-so-good doctor kills his wife because she is having an affair, and he kills her lover too. Then he joins the French Foreign Legion. On his way to the former French colonies in Africa, the plane he is in crashes, and Rossi, a "friend" on the plane with some overweight in carry-on money, shoots Bernard and takes off, leaving him for dead. He is nursed back to life and health by friendly villagers and just his luck, he not only manages to make his fortune in Africa, he also nabs a French passport from a dying man who will clearly not need it anymore unless the Pearly Gates have a French guard. The doctor gets back to Paris and hunts down Rossi, who at this point does not much care what happens to him because he is a miserable cad, as opposed to the once happy cad who shot Bernard. The doctor kills Rossi, an act witnessed by Ali (Hakim Chanem) a precocious Arab teenager who sees this as his chance to blackmail the doctor into "taking care of" a rotten police inspector responsible for murdering the boy's older brother. Rossi was the cause of the dead brother's drug addiction. However, the boy's sister Zita (Souad Amidou) works as a hooker-waitress at a restaurant that serves women on the side, and she and the doctor fall in love. As might be expected, the restaurant is owned by the nefarious police inspector and it does not take long before the once-cooperative Ali turns against Bernard and writes a letter to the inspector, spilling the beans, as many and varied as these are by now. Finally, Bernard is surrounded by the police but love has changed him, and he refuses to fight. As he heads off to prison, the plot has another twist or two as it lurches toward the final credits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Jean Baptiste Pouquelin Molière (1622-73) was perhaps the greatest playwright of French history. His comedies have been performed, adapted and re-adapted continually from his day to ours not only in France, but around the world. It is certain that he lived and breathed for the theater: the company he toured with became first, the King's Troupe (for the "Sun King," Louis XIV), and later became what was even then the most prestigious theater company of France, the Comédie Française. The Comédie Française remains a national institution of unimaginable importance. Thanks to Molière's devastating wit, the king's patronage and protection was more than a formality: he offended many important people personally and in his comedies. This lavish biographical film chronicles his childhood experiences as a merchant's son, going by the name of Pouquelin, up to the time he ran away to join the Béjart company of travelling players, and then follows his later years as a respected client of the king. Viewers will find their appreciation for this film enriched by prior knowledge of Molière, his plays, and his times. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Though he is a homosexual, he has been completely circumspect in his behavior since he entered the French diplomatic corps. However, in this film, he is routinely being followed so that a dossier can be created on him by an undercover agency. They use the leverage they gain in this manner in a variety of ways, and it could even be that their investigation is fully sanctioned by the government. However, as the lad grows aware of the investigation, his carefully composed facade begins to crumble. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Georges Sand (Aurore Dupin, Baronne Dudevant:1804-76) was a noblewoman who broke new ground for women in the 19th century. She was a sensuous woman, a great novelist, and a devoted mother. She fought ferociously (and largely successfully) to maintain her independence from men. She also dressed in male clothing, adopted a male name, smoked cigars, and had numerous affairs; the most famous was with the composer/performer Frederic Chopin. In her lifetime, her behavior was one of the great scandals of Europe. This French film makes an effort to depict her life to show how she is an essential forerunner of the women's liberation movement. To highlight this point, certain anachronisms are brought to this otherwise straightforward recounting. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi