Jean-Luc Bideau Movies

The bittersweet story at the heart of this feature begins years prior to the film's outset, when two once-in-love Swiss parents decided to adopt a Vietnamese little boy, Vinh (Quoc Dung Nguyen), as a foster child for themselves and a foster sibling for their biological children. In time, issues split apart the husband and wife - and thus the family - and led to untold decades of estrangement. Now, the adult Vinh is getting married to a Swiss woman, and in attempt to reunite with his biological mom, he invites her to the celebration. She agrees, but because she has no knowledge of the schism in Vinh's adoptive family (and thanks in no small part to his own embarrassment of the situation), he asks them (father, mother, brothers, sisters, all) to feign harmony, happiness, mutual love and togetherness. Surprisingly, all agree, but before long, old conflicts and issues bubble beneath the surface, quelling up into a towering rage that threatens to bring the whole masquerade crashing down on the single most important day of Vinh's life. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Married for five years, Gerard (Patrick Catalifo) and Helene (Dominique Blanc) are at Paris' Orly South airport, where they are planning to take a flight to Buenos Aires to begin a new life in Argentina. However, at the last minute, Gerard informs Helene that he is ending their relationship, and departs for Argentina alone. Helene, distraught, decides to stay at the airport, which has showers and restaurants. When her money eventually runs out, Helene takes a proposition for sex by an older physician (Gamil Ratib) and thus embarks on a new profession as a prostitute. She also becomes stronger and more self-assured, and starts to befriend a number of airport workers, including a stewardess who regularly flies to Buenos Aires and promises to post letters to Helene's family in France. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Following the international success of her first film Oblie-moi (1994) for which she was also the co-writer, Noémi Lvovsky has concentrated mostly on screenwriting until Petites, a "buddy film" for girls. Emilie, Stella, Ines and Marion come from different social backgrounds but share the same problems. Their escape is the group. As they grow older and get attracted to the opposite sex, each one picks out an ideal but inaccessible fiancé, chosen from the older boys at school. Life has its twists and turns, but the girls know that they will never be separated. A tender approach to the feelings of young women as only a woman can truly know, Petites is about the bittersweet experiences of growing up in a world which is not always friendly. The film is also a good representative of the New French Cinema by one of its several women directors. Petites was screened in the Spotlight on the New French Cinema section of the Thessaloniki Film Festival, 1998. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

A financially struggling mason, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter Marion, one of six children, find themselves faced with a difficult choice when a wealthy Parisian couple asks to adopt her. This moving drama is set in a quiet Normandy village. Marion and her family are new in town and the house they move into needs a lot of work. Unfortunately, money is very tight. and there is not much they can do. Still the family is happy and tightly knit. Audrey and her businessman husband live in Paris, but like to spend weekends and holidays in the village. Like other wealthy Parisians, they are greeted with mixed emotions by the generally impoverished locals. One day Audrey has an accident near Marion's home and afterward becomes friends with Marion's mother. The childless Audrey is captivated by Marion and offers her many tastes of life's finer things. Believing it to be in her best interest, Audrey asks if Marion can live with them in Paris. But Marion's family wonders if the material gains Audrey offers will be worth the emotional cost to the girl. ~ 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

After her gynecologist tells her that her current involuntary celibacy could result in her being unable to enjoy sex in the future, Eva (Evelyne Dress) begins to consider ways that she could take active steps to get some action going in that area. Unfortunately, none of the men she currently knows are interested in going to bed with her, including her business partner, who just might be sexually attracted to trees but certainly isn't to her. That being the case, it is particularly galling that he gets jealous at the very notion of her having sex with business clients. Eva discusses these issues (and a great deal more) with her similarly forty-ish gal-pals. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

French/Israeli filmmaker Moshe Mizrahi wrote and directed this adapation of the fanciful comic novel by Albert Cohen. Set in 1938, it tells the farcical story of a band of five French speaking Greek Jews who seek to have their status as self-appointed ambassadors of a Palestinian Zionist state recognized by the League of Nations in Geneva. The five are played by veteran French comic actors Pierre Richard, Bernard Blier, Jacques Villeret, Jacques Dufilho and Jean-Luc Bideau. The film follows their rambling odyssey from their native Greek island to Marseilles to Geneva, where they involve a Polish Jewish immigrant (played by actor/singer Charles Aznavour in their scheme. Among the five would-be ambassadors, Richard has the showiest part as the blustery title character. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Virginia (Lea Massati) is shocked to learn her 25-year marriage to Maurizio (Erland Josephson) is plagued by his philandering betrayal in this distaff tear-jerking drama. She finds solace in her two daughters and Silvano (Jean-Luc Consuelo), her longtime admirer, a cellist in the local symphony. Virginia also tries to help a troubled runaway teen, with little success, and tries to move forward with her once-idyllic life that has been shattered by her husband's infidelity. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This comedy-drama by first-time director and scripter Jean-Luc Trotignant details the exploits of a crass, low-life family. Achille Pinglard (Jean-Luc Bideau) is a factory foreman and his wife Ginette (Michele Brousse) works in a porno theater. Together, they are driving their daughter up the wall. She vents her feelings in her private diary, which her parents often expropriate for their own use. Meanwhile, the son in the family finds himself without a room after his parents rent it out to someone else, and the grandmother is a demented alcoholic invalid. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

In a routine sex farce, Gautier (Jean-Claude Dauphin) is a man determined to figure out how to give a woman an orgasm -- which of course requires a lot of practice and experimentation. His buddy Roussel (Jean-Luc Bideau) also chases after women but does not share Gautier's unique quest. Rose (Nathalie Nell) finds Gautier entrancing and devises a way to capture his heart while helping him on his search for the ultimate turn-on. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi