Claude Rich Movies

An adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1929 short story "The House of Lurking Death," this French-language whodunit represents director Pascal Thomas's third Christie adaptation, following the 2005 By the Pricking of My Thumbs and the 2007 Towards Zero; like Thumbs, it hones in on Prudence (Catherine Frot) and Belisaire Beresford (Andre Dussollier), a married pair of amateur sleuths. This particular outing is set at Christmastime, and finds the Rhone Alps-dwelling Beresfords visited by a beloved aunt, Auntie Babette (Annie Cordy), who promptly informs them that she spotted a murder through a rainy window while seated on a train. Eager for a new crime to solve, Prudence jumps into the case when Belisaire leaves town on a weekend jaunt, and makes her way to a creepy chateau in the middle of the forest, populated by the most unpleasant of families. Inhabitants include an eccentric patriarch widower named Roderick Charpentier (Claude Rich), his morose daughter Emma (Chiara Mastroianni), his conniving and paranoid sons (Christian Vadim, Alexandre Lafaurie and Melvil Poupaud), and a local country doctor (Hippolyte Girardot). Prudence takes a position as a cook at the residence, and when the body crops up, it soon falls on her shoulders to ferret out the murderer. Soon, her husband joins her at the house, tipped off by a local detective regarding his wife's whereabouts. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

A handful of characters struggle to hold on to relationships with the people they care for in this collaboration between playwright Alan Ayckbourn and filmmaker Alain Resnais. Dan (Lambert Wilson) has recently finished up a hitch in the Army, but rather than deal with his emotional issues, Dan prefers to get drunk. While he barely communicates with his girlfriend, Nicole (Laura Morante), she's convinced they will still marry and opts to ignore his obvious problems. Lionel (Pierre Arditi) is a bartender who has become increasingly isolated and cut off from his friends as he looks after his father, Arthur. Arthur, however, is in failing health and has little appreciation of his son's sacrifices. Thierry (André Dussollier) is a real-estate salesman who has fallen for one of his co-workers, Charlotte (Sabine Azéma); however, Charlotte's mild-mannered exterior hides a personality that thrives on emotional gamesmanship. And Gaëlle (Isabelle Carré), Thierry's sister, is lonely and looking for a relationship, but her efforts bring her neither joy nor companionship. Coeurs (aka Petites Peurs Partagées) received its world premiere at the 2006 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Pierre Schoendoerffer has made many film about the French in Indochina, and Above the Clouds finds the 75-year-old director covering that territory again. A female journalist (Florence Darel) becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to Henri Lanvern (Jacques Perrin), a filmmaker who disappeared while shooting in Thailand in 1978. Although it appears that many of the men in her life have some of the answers for which she is looking, the reporter remains cut off from the truth. Because this film features many performers who have previously worked with the director, Schoendoerffer utilizes clips from his old films in order to provide flashbacks for this film. Above the Clouds was screened out of competition at the Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Based on the original '60s French comic books by René Goscinny, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre is the big-budget sequel to the 1999 box-office hit Astérix and Obélix vs. Caesar. Empress Cleopatra (Monica Bellucci) makes a wager with Julius Caesar (played by writer/director Alain Chabat) that her people can build a beautiful palace in three months. She chooses architect Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze) for the project, which must be completed in time or he will be fed to the crocodiles. Numerobis travels to Gaul to get help from the superpowered Panoramix (Claude Rich) and the warriors Astérix (Christian Clavier) and Obélix (Gérard Depardieu), along with their faithful pet Dogmatix. They use their magic potion to make the Egyptian slave-labor population into superheroes, thereby building the palace in no time. Meanwhile, the angry architect Amonbofis (Gérard Darmon) and Julius Caesar don't want to see them succeed. At the time of its release, Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre was the most expensive French film ever made, with a budget of $50 million. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

The son of actor Bernard Blier, director Bertrand Blier is known throughout France for his documentaries and dark depictions of sex and its impact on society. Though his influences and personal opinions clearly shine through, Les Acteurs is a satirical take on the ups, downs, and numerous implications of life in showbiz as told by a variety of real-life French actors. Among the featured cast are André Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jacques Villeret, Claude Rich, and Pierre Arditi, all of whom play themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

This is a comedy about homosexuals, transvestites, and taboos. The main character is a young woman from the provinces whose gay father lives in Paris. She decides to dress like a man to understand social prejudice. The director, who plays the main character, wrote the script with her sister. Their joint efforts draw an insightful portrait of life's lies, hypocrisies, and illusions. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

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

Celebrated blind poet Rene Kermadek (Claude Rich) is married to his former student Sibilla (Valeria Cavalli), who provides his only true connection to the world. Although Sibilla is a faithful and devoted wife, he suspects her of cheating on him -- currently with matador Manuel Fernandez (Gregoire Colin). Since she never succeeds in convincing him of her love, he plans his suicide. A multiple winner at Montreal's 1997 World Film Festival, this film was shot on locations in Switzerland, Spain, Italy, India, and Germany, the English title being Homer - Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Based on a play by Sacha Guitry this romantic French comedy of manners sparkles and bubbles like freshly uncorked champagne. Set in Paris before the dawn of the Jazz Age and centers on the exploits of sexy, womanizing butler Désiré after he begins working for former actress and current mistress of noted local politico Montignac. For the summer, Désiré and the rest of the staff move the entire household to the seaside town of Deauville. Désiré inadvertently provides his colleagues with much mid-night entertainment with his loudly-voiced dreams of having sexual congress with the comely Odette. Unbeknownst to him, Odette has similarly enacted dreams about him, something Montignac finds more disturbing than funny. Both sides begin looking to a book that explains erotic dreams and the more they learn, the more uncomfortable they become in each other's presence until at last they decide to see if dreams can indeed become reality. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this French drama, set during the last months of the Nazi occupation of Paris, a caring grandfather disguises the truth to protect his granddaughter who worships her absent father. Phillippine is only 8-years old. She lives with her dad and her grandparents. One night her father is executed by Nazi. He apparently does not die heroically. For reasons that are later revealed, Fernand, the grandfather who runs the Paris Zoo, does not tell Phillippine the truth. Instead he constructs and elaborate lie that has her believing her father is alive and has become a Resistance hero. Mid-way through the story, Phillippine finds the truth, but is advised by her grandmother to keep pretending she believes her grandpa's stories. It is at this point, that the reason's for Fernand's deceptions become clear. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

A brave and resourceful young woman keeps the spirit of the Three Musketeers alive in this historical adventure. Eloise (Sophie Marceau) is the daughter of the famed swordsman D'Artagnan (Philippe Noiret); while she has a remarkable gift with a blade herself, Eloise is devoting herself to her studies at a convent. However, when a slave escapes from the estate of the evil Duke of Crassac (Claude Rich) and seeks refuge in the convent, the Mother Superior (Pascale Roberts) is murdered in retaliation by the Duke's soldiers. In the midst of the attack, Eloise learns that the Duke and his men have even more dastardly plans in store; the murder of the Mother Superior is part on an ongoing scheme to throw the nation into disarray, making it easier for the Duke to overthrow the King and seize power. Joined by Quentin (Nils Tavernier), a poet, Eloise sets out to call her father and his old compatriots to action to stop the Duke; however, D'Artagan, who now lives a quiet life teaching fencing, isn't so sure he wants to wage a battle against the insurgent forces, no matter how awful they may be. La Fille de d'Artagnan (The Daughter of d'Artagnan) was released in the United States as Revenge of the Musketeers; leading lady Sophie Marceau does her own fencing on screen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi