Firmine Richard Movies

This zany, madcap comedy with serious undertones concerns Jean-Gabriel (Lucien Jean-Baptiste), a husband with three children who throws responsibility out the window by drifting aimlessly from job to job and frittering most of his money away on gambling. In an effort to please his disgruntled daughter, he spontaneously agrees to take the family on vacation, little realizing the difficulties that this will wreak. Of course, Jean-Gabriel could always back out. This only problem is a significant one: his wife assures him that she will leave him if he doesn't follow through on their plans. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

A suicidal police detective travels from La Havre to Deauville at the behest of a mysterious femme fatale in the suspenseful sophomore feature from actress-turned-director Sophie Marceau. For Lt. Jacques Renard (Christopher Lambert), every night is a struggle. Rendered sleepless following the untimely death of his beloved wife, Lt. Renard finds his curiosity taking over after he is approached by an enigmatic beauty (Marceau) and implored to visit room 401 of the extravagant Hotel Riviera. Upon arriving at the hotel Lt. Renard discovers that Antoine Berangere (Robert Hossein), who has been the director of the establishment at the Riviera for nearly four decades, vanished forty-eight hours ago under suspicious circumstances. In his father's absence, Antoine's thirty-nine year old son Camille (Nicolas Briancon) has assumed control of the hotel. While Camille insists that the Hotel Riviera has no room 401, the suspicious actions of Antoine's wheelchair-bound second wife (Marie-Christine Barrault) leads Lt. Renard to suspect that foul play is afoot. Shortly after Lt. Renard discovers that Camille's famous mother Victoria (again Marceau) died precisely thirty-six years ago, a mangled body presumed to be that of Antoine Berangere turns up in the city morgue. While his loyal partner Pierre (Simon Abkarian) is convinced that this is an open and shut case, Lt. Renard himself discovers a series of well-concealed clues that lead him to believe that something far more sinister is afoot. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A gaggle of mothers, wives, daughters, maids, and mistresses gather for a holiday homecoming at their country mansion -- and end up having to solve a murder-mystery -- in this musical-comic homage to studio-era "women's pictures" from acclaimed French director François Ozon. Partly inspired by George Cukor's 1939 classic The Women, 8 Femmes stars Catherine Deneuve as Gaby, a high-society matron just returned to her country house to celebrate Christmas with her husband; mother Mamy (Danielle Darrieux); sister Augustine (Isabelle Huppert); and daughters Suzon (Virginie Ledoyen) and Catharine (Ludivine Sagnier). Not long after they all arrive, however, do they find the man of the house with a knife in his back, whereupon everyone becomes a suspect -- including maids Chanel (Firmine Richard) and Louise (Emmanuelle Béart). The mysterious arrival of Augustine's sister-in-law Pierrette (Fanny Ardant) only complicates matters, as the titular eight women find themselves snowed in by a fierce blizzard, forced to confront the matter of the lifeless husband -- and their long-standing secrets and resentments -- without the aid of the police. Following its immensely successful release in France in early 2002, 8 Women enjoyed much acclaim at the Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide

Noted French filmmaker Claude Leloud directs this romantic comedy about a trio of femme fatale musketeers. In order to repay a stack of debts after a disastrous self-financed production of Chekhov's "Three Sisters," Olga (Anne Parillaud), Macha (Alice Evans), and Irina (Marianne Denicourt) hatch a mercenary scheme aimed at lonely Concorde passengers. Armed with exotic false identities and intelligence gathered by Irina's sister and airline employee Olivia (Olivia Bonamy), the three plot to seduce a lonely millionaire, maintain a chaste relationship long enough to exact expensive gifts, and then find an excuse to breakup. Olga's first mark, Oscar, immediately drops his wife when he learns that Olga is a direct descendant of Johannes Sebastian Bach, his favorite composer. Irina's mark, a fabulously wealthy nightclub owner who obsesses over buying a chateaux, dumps his wife, too, when he learns that she is related to Marie Antoinette. Macha has similar success with the president of an unnamed African nation when she reveals that she is descended from renowned humanitarian Albert Schweitzer. Things get dicey when Bayard, (Jean-Pierre Marielle) a suave, seasoned police commissioner gets involved in their dubious scheme. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A troubled young woman goes in search of the father she never knew in this French drama. In 1979, Elisa (Florence Thomassin) is an unhappy and unstable woman who -- after trying to strangle her two year old daughter Marie -- kills herself on Christmas Eve. Sixteen years later, Marie (Vanessa Paradis) has grown into a young woman with more than her share of problems; she's wise beyond her years when it comes to men, and she lies as often as she tells the truth. With her friends Solange (Clotilde Courau) and Ahmed (Sekkou Sall), Marie makes her way through a variety of small-time confidence games, but she's obsessed with discovering the identity of her father, who abandoned her after the death of her mother years before. After intimidating a number of civil service workers, Marie learns that her father is Jacques Desmoulins (Gerard Depardieu), a successful but reclusive songwriter who lives on a small island where he uses alcohol to keep him company. Marie makes her way to Jacques' island in the hope of getting even with the man she blames for many of her troubles. Leading lady Vanessa Paradis is also a successful pop singer in Europe. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide