Pascale Roberts Movies

French writer/director Bernard Rapp (Une Affaire de Goût) creates a neo-fable, of sorts, with his 2003 film, Pas Si Grave (No Big Deal). About a quarter of a century ago, Spanish artist Pablo (director Alejandro Jodorowsky) and his musician wife, Pilar (Pascale Roberts), escaped their native country and its civil war for sanctuary in Belgium. Shortly after arriving in their new home, the couple adopted three five-year-old boys from different ethnic backgrounds and raised them to become artists in their own right. Now grown, Charlie (Sami Bouajila), Max (Jean-Michel Portal), and Leo (Romain Duris) are brought together by their father, who has begun to feel his age and now spends a fair amount of time pondering how much longer he has to live. In an attempt to bring his sons closer together, Pablo gives them a mission: travel to Spain and steal a famous and well-guarded bust of the Virgin Mary and return it to Belgium. Immediately complying, the men set about to accomplish their assignment, while managing to truly get to know each other in the process. No Big Deal was a participating film at the 2003 New York Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, Rovi

A couple puts faith in love to get them through times of extreme poverty in this comedy-drama that was a major box office success in its native France. Jeannette (Ariane Ascaride) is a single mother living in a working-class community in Marseilles; she tries to support herself and her two kids on her salary as a check-out girl at a supermarket and lives in an apartment complex where everyone is thrown into close proximity with everyone else (thankfully, they all get along). Marius (Gerard Meylan) is working as a security guard at a cement factory that has gone out of business; he's also squatting in the building, since the plant is soon to be demolished and he'll be needing his money later on. One day, Jeannette happens by the factory, and spotting several cans of paint, tries to take two of them home with her. Marius spots her and tries to chase her away, while she rails at him with curses against the capitalist system. The next day, an apologetic Marius appears at her doorstep, cans of paint in hand; the two soon become friendly, and a romance begins to bloom, though it quickly becomes obvious that Jeannette's romance novel fantasies about passionate embraces in the sunset are a bit off the mark from what the more pragmatic Marius has in mind. Ariane Ascaride won a Cesar Award (the French Oscar) for her performance in Marius Et Jeannette: Un Conte De L'Estaque; she's married to the film's director, Robert Guediguian. ~ Mark Deming, 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

Directed by French filmmaker Jean-Loup Hubert, Grand Chemin stars the director's young son Antoine Hubert. The lad plays a sickly eight-year-old who is shipped off to visit his country relatives while his mother has her baby. The boy's subsequent adventures run the gamut from delightful to terrifying, with a little "coming of age" (via a few glimpses of nudity) thrown in. Veteran French character actor Richard Bohringer, best known for his star turn in The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, plays a pivotal role. Grand Chemin was released in the U.S. as Grand Highway. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Every year, in France, there is a national celebration of sorts when that year's pressing of beaujolais grapes has become a wine fit to drink as an ordinary, daily beverage, vin ordinaire. In this gentle film, Camadule (Jean Carmet), the owner of a small Parisian cafe, entertains his customers with stories about the (imaginary) countess who lets him sell her beaujolais nouveau wine in his cafe. When this year's wine delivery is destroyed in an accident, he hales off with a friend he calls "the captain" (Michel Galabru) to find a wineseller, perhaps even a countess, who can help him replace the missing shipment. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The leader of a gang of adolescents tries, in this hectic tragi-comedy, to go "straight" and give up blackmail and extortion for a "regular" job and "regular" friends. He discovers that he has no taste for that kind of life and returns just in time to try to extricate his gang from a particularly awful situation. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Bruno (Christian Mesnier) is the 12-year-old boy whose parents are contemplating a divorce. He spends a weekend with his womanizing father Michel (Roger Hanin). The two have father-and-son talks in which young Bruno shows more common sense than his father. The astute 12-year-old already knows about the pill and sees the fallout of the sexual revolution affecting him personally. Bruno eventually convinces his father to attempt a reconciliation with the boy's mother in this routine story about a young boy's needs in a world of confused adults. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Bert (Robie Porter) and Taylor (Sam Waterston) are two Americans who set out for a tour of France and Italy by auto. They meet a pretty female hitchhiker named Marty (Charlotte Rampling) and agree to allow her to travel with them. They agree not to become romantically involved with Marty to insure there is no conflict. When Bert goes off with a French woman for a night of love and romance, Marty makes a move on Taylor. Keeping in mind the pact with his friend, he refuses to get involved with the woman. Bert eventually returns and forgets his promise to Taylor as he makes a pass at the willing, wanton woman. Soon Taylor is left behind to ponder his fate as the two lovers resume the proposed tour. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi