Daniel Russo Movies
- 1986
This is a charming and successful farce from director Thomas Gilou, featuring a witty screenplay co-authored by producer Monique Annaud. When a group of African squatters in Paris are threatened with eviction, they find themselves fighting against a bureaucracy that few French citizens understand, let alone immigrants. In desperation, they turn to their best option to resolve this dilemma: they call for a sorcerer from home. The sorcerer hops on a jet to Paris to cast spells on the entrenched bureaucrat, and while en route he strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger, mentioning his job pays quite well. The interested passenger could stand to make a few extra francs, so he decides to take the sorcerer's place. Once he arrives, this imposter has to act like he knows what he is doing, and at the same time, he had better solve the eviction problem. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Villeret, Isaach de Bankolé, (more)
- 1996
Done as a parody of reality television shows such as MTV's Real World, this faux docudrama from France also pokes fun at the foibles of modern day monogamy as it spends a year in the life of one young Parisian couple. Delphine works as a proofreader in a publishing house, her live-in lover Yvan works as a tour guide for Japanese visitors. A documentary crew moves in with them to record their every move for the next year. As events progress, two famed sportscasters appear to offer their expert commentary and present instant-replays of highlights including an awkward dinner party at a friend's home, a miserable vacation and Yvan's drunken lapse in judgment with a beautiful stranger, a mistake that costs him Delphine, leaving him to try to dejectedly try to figure out ways to get her back. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Gayet, Serge Hazanavicius, (more)
- 1997
Pierre Richard directed, co-scripted and stars in this French comedy. Former top film comedian Romain (Richard) is on a downward spiral -- rehearsing a play directed by his sister while also dealing with his wife, mistress, taxes, low self-esteem, demands for attention from his two children, and a private detective attempting to snap incriminating photos. Producer Jean-Louis Levi appears in a cameo as a poverty-stricken bum. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Veronique Genest, (more)
- 1996
Aimed at younger audiences, this special-effects filled French comedy centers on the afterlife adventures of two recently deceased fellows, Georges, a gentle chauffeur and his ruthless corporate tiger of an employer, Phillipe. Unfortunate Georges meets his demise at the hands of a gunman just as he discovers that he has won the lottery. Shortly thereafter, his boss Phillipe is murdered by his business rival Martigues. As ghosts, no living soul can see or here Georges and Phillipe who set out together to put their earthly affairs in order before taking off to their respective final resting places. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Gérard Jugnot, (more)
This drama examines three amoral young people living in Paris. 18-year-old Nathalie (Marie Gillain) works in a clothing store and dreams of opening her own boutique in the United States. She shares an apartment with her boyfriend Eric (Olivier Sitruk) and his slow-witted pal Bruno (Bruno Putzulu); she pays the rent while they stay home and watch crime movies on television. All three are looking for a fast and easy way to make some money, so together they devise a plan. Nathalie will hang out in nightclubs, meet prosperous-looking men, and go home with them. Once she's inside their apartments, she'll let in Eric and Bruno, and they'll rob the place of cash and valuables. The plan works well at first, before things go wrong one night and Eric commands Bruno to kill their victim. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marie Gillain, Olivier Sitruk, (more)
- 1997
In this banal and outdated view of male-female relationships, director Xavier Gélin follows up his undistinguished Coup de Jeune with another trite story about a volleyball professional who has a hard time choosing between three different men in her life. The actors (Amélie Pick, Christophe Malavoy, Zabou, and Pascal Légitimus) do the best they can to stem the tide of caricature. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pascal Légitimus, Christophe Malavoy, (more)
- 1982
This sequel to La Boum, a teenage romantic comedy that was a big box-office success in Europe, revisits Vic (Sophie Marceau), who is now 15 years old and living in a slightly more stable home, since her parents (Brigitte Fossey and Claude Brasseur) have resolved their differences and stopped bickering. Love has come to Vic's grandmother (Denise Grey), who is thinking of getting married again. And romance is knocking on Vic's door as well when she meets a boy in her class named Philippe (Pierre Cosso). But now Vic has to decide if this is real love -- and if it is, if she should go all the way with Philippe. Like the first film, Le Boum 2 was a solid moneymaker, and it earned Sophie Marceau a César Award (the French Oscar) as Most Promising Young Actress of 1983. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophie Marceau, Claude Brasseur, (more)
- 1995
Lots of people wish they could be someone else, but a French businessman decides to do something about it in this satirical comedy. Francis Bergeade (Michel Serrault) runs a factory in a small town that makes toilet seats. With his employees on strike and his wife plundering his bank account as she plans their daughter's wedding, Francis's life isn't much fun; his one real pleasure is eating and drinking well, in the company of his friend Gerard (Eddy Mitchell). One evening, Francis is watching a television show about people who've gone missing, and he sees the sad story of Dolores (Carmen Maura), a woman living on a beautiful farm in the South of France who has no idea where her husband has gone. When a picture of Dolores's husband is shown, Francis is amazed to discover that it looks just like him. He soon steps forward and poses as Dolores's husband, leaving his wife to wonder where he is. However, she doesn't seem all that worried, since before long she's having an affair with Gerard. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Eddy Mitchell, (more)
- 1983
In this comic and perceptive story, Billy mistakes another apartment for his own on the eve of his wedding and wanders in to meet a woman who immediately mesmerizes him, causing all sorts of problems in what used to be an uncomplicated life. After Billy (Richard Berry) and his bride-to-be Nina (Zoe Chauveau) move into a housing project still in its finishing stages, Billy walks into the wrong apartment when he forgets which floor he is supposed to be on. When he sees Viviane (Brigitte Fossey) he is transfixed by her, and since her husband has just ended their marriage, she is particularly susceptible. Without explaining where he actually lives or that he is getting married, Billy seduces Viviane, but then does not have the courage to break off his wedding. When Viviane rejects their affair and takes off for Paris, Billy goes in search of her -- not knowing that Nina's father has caught on to Billy's extra-marital activities and would like to express a few viewpoints of his own in that regard. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Berry, Brigitte Fossey, (more)
- 1975
Le Juge et L'Assassin probes a curious relationship between condemner and condemnee. Philippe Noiret plays Rousseau, a French judge who holds the fate of convicted child killer Bouvier (Michel Galabru) in his hands. Should Rousseau decide that Bouvier is insane, the killer will not go prison. As they come to know each other better, both are given the rare opportunity of exploring the vagaries of the human mind. The previously unbendable judge alters several long-held opinions concerning criminals, while Bouvier is for the first time in his life able to articulate the thought processes which motivate his actions. It is clear at times that much of the dialogue in Judge and the Assassin stems from Bertrand Tavernier's own lifelong feelings of loneliness and isolation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Michel Galabru, (more)
- 1998
Canada's favorite cinematic hockey team returns in this slick, fast-paced comedy that features some of Quebec's most popular film and television stars. The film's 1997 predecessor grossed more money than any other French-Canadian film. The sequel begins as Les Boys, a championship amateur Montreal hockey team, flies to France to participate in an international competition in the alpine village of Chamonix. This time, rather than focusing on the team's on-ice hijinks, director Louis Saia spends the first part of the story on the characters as they attempt to cope with the cultural differences between themselves and the native French while also taking time to explore the romances between team lothario Bob and a local girl, and Coach Stan who involves himself with Violette, the owner of a local bistro. The on-ice action picks up when the tournament begins, and Les Boys promptly lose to a rag-tag West African team. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Messier, Rémy Girard, (more)
- 1986
In this comedy-drama, Manu (Gerard Lanvin) and Momo (Jacques Villeret) are two men who are at first unwittingly involved in a drug deal, but then get quite wittingly involved when they realize that there may be some money to be had in the sale of illegal substances. Once they decide to launch into this dubious vocation, they get caught in several difficult situations. On their supposed way to making a really big splash, they set out to steal drugs from the police station's confiscated stash. Disguised as cleaning women, the two men grab a vacuum and try to suck up as much white powder as they can. Their antics and the film's explicit sympathy for the two pushers caused some considerable controversy before the release date in France. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Jacques Villeret, (more)
The grim post-World War I era in Europe is grist for director Bertrand Tavernier's mill in Life and Nothing But. Philipe Noiret portrays a French major who is supervising the gruesome task of counting and identifying the corpses still strewn over the battlefield. Noiret is obsessed with the notion that, by doing his job above and beyond the call of duty, he can somehow make up for the carnage in which he participated a few years earlier. The major's mission is intercut with short vignettes involving the families and loved ones of the dead, and with the efforts by another officer to find a suitable candidate for an Unknown Soldier testimonial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma, (more)
- 1996
Misunderstandings create romantic mayhem in this French comedy. Joanna Martin is an investigative television reporter who has lived happily with prominent lawyer Samuel Bosquier for over 15 years. The trouble begins when her station assigns Joanna to investigate the phony marriage/immigration racket. Wanting to prove that such bogus unions are absurdly easy to obtain, she steals the identity of her sister (a spinster) and 'marries" Pavel, a recently emigrated Hungarian laborer. Unfortunately, she says nothing of her assignment to Samuel. He never would have found out had he not run across a letter she had written on behalf of a colleague to help her escape her abusive husband. Reading the letter, poor Samuel begins believing that his beloved Joanna has been untrue. He suffers a breakdown and begins getting in trouble with the law. At the same time, Joanna develops her own problems when a government official begins suspects the reporter's marriage to Pavel is a sham. The dogged official so badgers them, they the two stage an elaborate scenario to prove themselves bonafide spouses. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Boujenah, Miou-Miou, (more)
- 1988
Hubert (Daniel Colas) is an anthropologist who is shipwrecked with his friend on a remote island in this black cannibal comedy. His friend ends up on the menu of three beautiful female cannibals, but they keep Hubert around as a boytoy. A mid-movie flashback explains how the trio of femmes became flesh eaters. They soon tire of live man meat when they feel the pangs of hunger once again. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catriona MacColl, Roberta Weiss, (more)
- 1996
An easily influenced teenage boy takes a ruinous road when he chooses to become an outlaw. This drama, without artifice or unnecessary embellishment, tells the semi-autobiographical story of screenwriter/first-time director/actor Patrick Aurignac, who instead of playing himself, portrays the criminal influenced the impressionable boy. Young Frederic is first seen serving a drug-realted sentence. While in prison, he encounters Damien and criminal mastermind Louis-Guy. Frederic comes to admire the latter greatly. Still, upon his release, Frederic tries to please his parents and his girlfriend by going straight. He does okay until the newly freed Louis-Guy appears and seduces Frederic into the robber's life with the promise of fast, plentiful money. The addition of a beautiful prostitute also helps sway Frederic. As soon as Damien gets out, the crooks begin plotting an enormous caper. Unfortunately it goes terribly wrong and all involved end up back in jail with 18-year-old Frederick serving a six year sentence. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christophe Hemon, François Perier, (more)
- 1985
Playing it strictly by the book all the way, this conventional love story follows the ups and downers in the relationship between a disk jockey (Gerard Lanvin) and the woman he loves (Jennifer Lanvin, the real-life Mrs. Lanvin). She is the artistic director of a major recording studio. After the couple meet, they fall in love and decide that the only way to live is together. Their schedules are different, but that does not cause as much difficulty as their eventual falling out over the classic question of whether or not to have children. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Jennifer, (more)
- 1994
This French comedy delivers many laughs as it labors to poke fun at pregnancy from the man's viewpoint. Shrink Samuel flips out after he learns that his girlfriend Mathilde, an interpreter is pregnant. He is much older than she. Meanwhile Samuel's artist friend Marc has just split from his wife because he doesn't want children and she does. His sister Dominique is pregnant with her fourth. Dominique and her husband Georges adore pregnancy and the great sex it generates. Samuel begins to have nightmares reflecting his reluctance. Marc dates comely lasses who do not resemble his ample sister. Dominique is supportive of Mathilde. Included in the film are many examples of the trials of pregnancy including bumbling gynecologists, food cravings, and sex. In the end, Samuel reconciles his feelings and welcomes the birth of his child. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Braoudé, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, (more)
- 1987
Simon Blount (Bernard Giraudeau) is a weary cop who takes solace in the bottle after his wife leaves him for another man. His spirit is lifted when he meets Violet (Fanny Bastien), the wispy, mysterious female he considers somewhat of an angel. Simon is unaware she has systematically murdered the police, attorneys, and officials who were linked to the death of her prostitute mother. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Giraudeau, Fanny Bastien, (more)
- 1985
Josiane Balasko ("the housewife's heroine") has been writing and directing good roles for herself since first entering the acting profession, and this film about a woman on the run is one of her early efforts. Anita (Balasko) has just about had it with life -- she is ready to kill herself when a neighbor (Isabelle Huppert) barges into her apartment to escape her abusive, policeman husband. After the husband is found murdered, both women have to take off rather than face possible implication in his death. Soon they are joined by Rico (Farid Chopel), also hiding out from the police after he was falsely implicated in the violent and tragic escape of a fellow convict. The two women and Rico manage to find a place to hide out for awhile, but life can hardly continue on like this for long. With a mix of comedy and anger, the protagonists try to come to grips with their fate. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Isabelle Huppert, (more)
