Gérard Blain Movies

Ainsi soit-il (So Be It) by French filmmaker Gerard Blain is a crime and punishment story. Georges Vasseur, the legal director of a construction firm, is murdered. He leaves behind a file from which his son, Regis (Paul Blain), learns of the illegal activities of Jean-Marc Bertrand, the boss of the corporation. Georges also mentions in a letter that he has been threatened. Regis, who had a great admiration for his father, draws the conclusion that Bertrand must have hired someone to kill Georges. Instead of going to the police, Regis asks to be employed by the firm to carry out a discreet inquiry. He goes ahead with his private vengeance once he is sure of the suspect's guilt. After giving himself up to the police, he is tried and convicted, but the jury decides that it was a 'crime of love.' Gerard Blain made a name for himself as the James Dean of Paris during the New Wave period, and he won a Golden Leopard at the 1971 Locarno International Film Festival for his first feature, Les Amis. In 1999, the same festival awarded him a second Golden Leopard for lifetime achievement and screened Ainsi soit-il in the Out of Competition section. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide

The French/Swiss Natalia is set in France during the Nazi occupation. A Jewish film actress (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu) successfully obscures her heritage, rising to the top of her profession. Some uncomfortable moments transpire when she is courted by several high-ranking German officials. The film takes it time making its points, but the quality of the acting overcomes the slow spots. Writer/director Bernard Cohn had previously worked as assistant to such cinematic heavyweights as Buñuel and Truffaut. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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

In this French drama, an aging dentist looks for a little liveliness by abandoning his wife in favor of a younger woman. When he learns that his mistress also has another younger lover, he gets jealous, but tries not to make an issue of it. In the end, he dumps her and returns to his wife, who is not about to stand for his middle-aged immaturity. She leaves him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Though his friendships with very young girls could very well be innocent in nature, a lonely man panics when the eight-year-old girl he is seeing gets scared, and he kills her. In this courtroom drama, after being subjected to every kind of psychiatric testimony about his arrested development and the court's belief that he has abused the girls he befriended, the accused man makes a compelling statement. In it he states that society bears no great affection for children, judged by its actions, but it does project its dark side onto those it names as criminals. This drama/docudrama is an impassioned plea against the French death penalty. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Paul (Gerard Blain) has been imprisoned for ten years for passing counterfeit money. He feels victimized enough, both for the prison time and for the crime which led to it; he committed the crime to give his wife the nice things she asked him for. When he discovers that she has remarried a quite wealthy man, he is outraged. However, his ire is not due to her disloyalty to him; he loved their only son to distraction, and now the boy has no knowledge or memory of him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This uneven drama is an update of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. Cain returns to his gypsy family after traveling throughout Europe. Abel is a successful businessman with a wife who once had an affair with Cain. Cain kills Abel for absolutely no reason other than he is a drifting anarchist who acts on an impulse. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this WW II drama, twelve captured French soldiers await their impending executions in a German prison camp. Fortunately, a wily resistance fighter and his men come to rescue the ill-fated dozen. The rescue attempt succeeds, but the rebels become worried when they discover a thirteenth prisoner who has come with the others. This fellow carries no ID, and now the fighters must decide whether he should die on the spot or continue on with the others. One of the group members votes for immediate execution. Later the stranger accompanies the group on a raid and ends up nearly sacrificing his life to save a child from being shot. The rebel leader is not impressed and orders that one of the men kill the stranger down by the river. The dutiful soldier listens to the stranger who tells him the truth: he is a deserter and a fervent pacifist. The soldier allows the deserter to escape. That night the stranger returns and tries to warn the rebels of a Nazi ambush. The group leader heads off to warn the others, but he is too late and they are all recaptured. Later all but the pacifist are hanged. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Dependable American character actor Fred Beir is afforded a rare starring role in this Italian spy yarn. Beir plays an 007-ish secret agent on the trail of a murderer. The victim was a prominent scientist who may have been carrying secret papers. Beir nearly ends up on a slab himself before tracking down the mystery villain. Pier Angeli, an ingenue who'd seen better days, costars. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide