Michel Blanc Movies
One of his country's most popular and prolific funnymen, French actor, comedian, writer, and director Michel Blanc has made a career out of turning the mundane into the sublime. Short, bald, and bearing unremarkable features, Blanc derives his charisma from his presence as a performer who is equally adept at portraying the extremes of comic excess or psychological drama, the latter of which he demonstrated with particular aplomb in Monsieur Hire.Born in Paris on June 16, 1952, Blanc did his secondary studies at the Pasteur school in Neuilly. It was there that he became acquainted with Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, Christian Clavier, Gérard Jugnot, and Marie-Anne Chazel, with whom he would form the legendary comedy troupe Le Splendid. In addition to performing a number of shows, the group also collaborated onscreen, their most notable effort being the farce Les Bronzés (1978). The film and its sequel Les Bronzés Font du Ski (1979), proved to be hugely successful in France -- and were two of the country's most domestically profitable films to date.
Blanc broke into film in 1973 and had his first memorable role alongside fellow-Splendid Thierry Lhermitte in Bertrand Tavernier's 1975 period drama Que La Fête Commence.... He had film breakthrough in 1984 with his directorial debut, Marche a l'ombre, a light drama in which he starred as a man who is forced to deal with sudden unemployment. The film proved to be surprisingly popular in France, and Blanc's profile was further heightened two years later when director Bertrand Blier asked him to replace the recently deceased Patrick Dewaere to star opposite Gérard Depardieu in Tenue de Soirée. Blanc earned the Best Actor prize at Cannes for his portrayal of a nebbish husband who is seduced by a thuggish burglar (Depardieu).
The actor broke out of the comedy mold in 1989 when he was cast as the eponymous protagonist of Patrice Leconte's brilliant psychological drama Monsieur Hire. Blanc earned considerable praise for his portrayal of a lonely, withdrawn murder suspect, and he duly established himself as one of the relatively few comedic actors to make a successful transition to drama. After further work in a number of comedies, as well as collaborations with Claude Berri (Uranus, 1990), Peter Greenaway (Prospero's Books, 1991), and Blier (Merci, La Vie, 1991), Blanc returned to the director's chair in 1994 with Grosse Fatigue. A biting comedy about the French entertainment industry that also featured Blanc in the lead role of an emotionally exhausted actor, the film was a financial and critical success in France, and the actor-director earned a prize at that year's Cannes Festival for his original screenplay. As a director, he followed up Grosse Fatigue with a return to the arena of psychological drama with Mauvaise Passe (1999). The story concerned a down-on-his-luck expatriate Frenchman living in London -- who becomes caught up in the prostitution industry; it featured a strong cast that included Daniel Auteuil, Stuart Townsend, and Peter Mullan. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This routine farce is about a lowly police inspector who falls for a sophisticated woman, unaware that she is involved in fencing stolen art. He pursues her with undying diligence until they finally get together -- but by that time they are on the wrong side of the law and in trouble. As usual with director Patrice Leconte, Michel Blanc plays the lead. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Birkin, Michel Blanc, (more)
A burned out actor begins to question his sanity in this French comedy that stars the writer/director Michel Blanc in a dual role. In the first role Blanc plays himself as an exhausted actor. He has been doing too much TV and too many movies. Odd things begin to happen and Blanc becomes convinced his sanity is slipping away. He is seen going berserk at Cannes with a series of starlets. At Cannes, he meets festival head Gilles Jacob whom he persuades to give the room number of Gerard Depardieu. After Blanc is accused of attempted rape, he goes to a psychiatrist who prescribes peace and quiet in the country. He goes to the Provencial estate of his friend Carole Bouquet. It is there Bouquet and Blanc meet Blanc's devilish double Patrick Olivier. After a lengthy chase the two sit down and decide that Blanc will take only the high quality roles while Olivier will do the rest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Blanc, Carole Bouquet, (more)
- 1984
The film tells the tale of the adolescent son of two wealthy socialites who have left him home alone while they go out on the town. At home, the boy begins a series of wild daydreams. He finds himself aboard an elevator that takes him through the Earth and onto another planet. There he finds the "Nautilus," Captain Nemo's submarine. He also finds Nemo's ape/man assistant. Together they begin a series of spectacular adventures. They encounter many storybook characters along the way. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Seth Kibel, Jason Connery, (more)
- 2002
A group of friends and mutual acquaintances embark on a number of vacations -- concealed or otherwise -- for relaxation and unexpected romantic hijinks in French actor/director Michel Blanc's fourth directorial effort, the romantic ensemble comedy See How They Run. While hosting a dinner party, the well-to-do Elizabeth (Charlotte Rampling) and Bertrand Lannier (Jacques Dutronc) learn that their neighbors Veronique (Karin Viard) and Jerome (Denis Podalydes) -- who used to be successful but are currently hiding their financial woes -- will be vacationing in the same resort town at the same time. Impulsively, Elizabeth invites her friend, and fellow dinner party guest, Julie (Clotilde Courau), to join them and thus make a party out of the event. However, Bertrand backs out of the trip while claiming to have to work -- only to schedule a rendezvous with his lover, his transsexual secretary (Mickael Dolmen), instead. Meanwhile, the Lannier's teenaged daughter, Emilie (Lou Doillon), has been planning a parentally endorsed vacation to the United States with one of her friends, but is in actuality going on a romantic retreat with one of her father's employees, Kevin (Sami Bouajila). As the separate excursions commence, a number of romantic couplings spring up -- as well as a number of new friendships -- that will have long-lasting effects on all of the vacationers' lives. See How They Run received the honor of being selected for inclusion into the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlotte Rampling, Jacques Dutronc, (more)
- 1986
- PG
This adaptation of Ben Hecht's novel is a satire that unfolds as a mystery story. A Hollywood studio is producing another spectacular when the top billed male stars suddenly show up as corpses, killed before the critics could ever put pen to paper. Under suspicion is a talent agent. Is he guilty or not? These macabre events have everyone off their feed, from the producers down to the lowest gofer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Poiret, Michel Blanc, (more)
- 1975
Two men are driving a refuse truck to a dump site and stop for a hamburger. Krassky (Joe Dallesandro), one of the two, strikes an acquaintance with Johnny (Jane Birkin), the girl who works in the restaurant. They swiftly become lovers. However, Krassky is basically a homosexual, and must consummate their lovemaking in a slightly unusual way. His fellow truck-driver, Padovan (Hugues Quester), is also his lover. Padovan is intensely jealous, and attempts to kill Johnny. When Krassky fails to defend her, Johnny berates him, and he and Padovan resume their journey together. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Birkin, Joe Dallesandro, (more)
- 2005
Michel Blanc stars as Aymé, a grumpy recently widowed farmer, in writer/actress Isabelle Mergault's directorial debut, the romantic comedy You Are So Handsome. When Aymé's work partner and wife dies suddenly in an unfortunate accident, he quickly realizes that he needs someone around to help him with the womanly half of the chores. An unsentimental sort, within days he's contacted a service to find him a new wife. This brings him to Romania, where he's introduced to a lot of much younger women, most of whom take the wrong tack, dressing skimpily and telling Aymé how handsome he is. Elena (Medeea Marinescu), a single mother, is as eager to move to France and make some money as the next girl, but she takes the time to assess the situation, puts on a sweater, and tells Aymé, in her charmingly broken French, how much she's always wanted to live on a farm and work with animals. Her strategy works, and Aymé decides to bring her back to France, but, embarrassed about what he's done, he comes up with a lame cover story to fool his best friend, Roland (Wladimir Yordanoff), and the rest of his neighbors. He tells them she's a distant relative who's visiting the farm as an "intern," and has Elena pretend that she speaks no French at all. Elena expects them to have a real marriage, and is disappointed when she realizes that Aymé just wants her to work. Eventually, Aymé realizes his feelings for Elena go deeper than expected, but by then, her frustration and homesickness are becoming too much to bear. You Are So Handsome was shown as part of The Film Society of Lincoln Center's Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in 2006. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Blanc, Medeea Marinescu, (more)
- 1978
L'Adolescente (The Adolescent) was the second directorial stint for French film star Jeanne Moreau. This possibly autobiographical piece is set during the early war years. Laetitia Chauveau plays a twelve-year old girl whose future is determined by the events of one long summer holiday in the country in the period just before the outbreak of the Second World War. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laetitia Chauveau, Simone Signoret, (more)
- 2009
It marked a grotesque and unseemly incident that took the European press by storm: in 2004, a young French woman came forward and claimed to have been attacked by black and Arabic thugs who mistook her for a Jew. But after her story broke, no witnesses came forward to support her, and security cameras at the train station revealed no such attack; the woman later admitted that she had ripped her own clothes, drawn swastikas on her own stomach, and fabricated the entire story. With the drama Fille du Rer, acclaimed French writer-director André Téchiné presents a thinly veiled fictionalization of the same events. Emilie Dequenne stars as Jeanne, an unemployed girl who lives with her mother (Catherine Deneuve) in a Parisian suburb and spends the majority of her free time rollerblading. She has little knowledge of -- or interest in -- history or politics, and remains withdrawn, insular, and sullen, keeping the majority of her thoughts and observations to herself. Circumstances change just a bit when Jeanne enters a live-in relationship with a beefy, thuggish, wrestler boyfriend, Franck (Nicolas Duvauchelle) living in a dingy warehouse, but violence soon erupts between the two. Jeanne ultimately takes a job for an attorney-cum-ex-boyfriend of her mother's (Michel Blanc) whose involvement in Judaic causes and politically committed family prompt even greater feelings of alienation and isolation in Jeanne. When Franck's involvement in criminal activities comes to light and the police intervene, Jeanne perversely reasons that she can only become tied to history by inventing a role for herself, and decides to fabricate said story about the train -- little realizing the calamitous consequences that it will engender. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Émilie Dequenne, Catherine Deneuve, (more)
- 1979
Michel Serrault plays a double role in this lighthearted comedy. An ineffectual actor is called on to portray his look-alike cousin, a prominent politician who is driven into hiding after he learns of an assassination plot. Jean Poiret plays the political consultant who recruits the uncured ham for the role of his life. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Serrault, Jean Poiret, (more)
- 1973
Unable to put a single word on paper, a youngish man with one novel to his credit finds that his life is crumbling to ruins around him because of his severe case of writer's block. He tries every remedy known to man and makes up a few new ones in this comedy. All his efforts are futile: he loses his girlfriend and his apartment and has a succession of misadventures until finally, homeless and hospitalized, he rediscovers his inspiration. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernadette Lafont, Jean-François Stévenin, (more)
- 1980
Based on a popular novel by Pierre-Jakez Helias, Horse of Pride is set in a hardscrabble peasant community in Brittany. Covering the years 1908 through 1918, the film concentrates on the lives, customs and aspirations of the community's populace. The visuals are complemented not by dialogue but by "voice of God" narration. This is a wise stylistic choice, since the central theme of the film is the perpetuation of Brittany's culture via oral, rather than written, history. Horse of Pride is an unusually straightforward effort from the normally ultrastylistic director Claude Chabrol. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Dufilho, Bernadette Lesache, (more)
- 1982
Three workers in a social services office on Christmas Eve find themselves the center of a vortex of rag-tag humanity that all need their professional help, and more. Their visit from Santa Claus does not involve a trip down a chimney, but a walk-in by a somewhat derelict, irascible St. Nick hunting for the unfortunate Mrs. Nick, whose girth is wider than her husband's because she's carrying the future little Nick or Nicola -- she also has a sack, given that she is a bag lady, and she herself is in need of an orthodontist. This unusual couple is complemented by other characters in need of assistance, including a woefully abject transvestite and one character who no longer needs assistance because corpses are pretty much beyond help. Events conspire to bring everyone to the zoo, a fitting place for the cast of eccentrics, social workers not excluded. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Anémone, (more)
- 2006
Six of France's greatest screen comedians reunite in this long-awaited sequel to the classic box-office hits Les Bronzes and Les Bronzes Font du Ski. Skirt-chasing Popeye (Thierry Lhermitte) has settled down and married beautiful Graziella (Ornella Muti), and together they run an upscale resort hotel in Sardinia. However, Popeye still has his eye on the ladies rather than the bottom line -- he's carrying on with a beautiful young cook -- and Graziella warns him that he has to stop giving free rooms to his old friends. Unfortunately, this edict comes down just as Popeye's pals arrive, expecting a stay on the house. Jerome (Christian Clavier) was making a fortune as a plastic surgeon until a malpractice suit ended his career; now he hopes to reconnect with his former wife Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel). However, when Gigi shows up it's clear she's also been seeing a plastic surgeon, and has brought along her new beau, upscale wig salesman Jean-Claude (Michel Blanc). And wealthy and smug Bernard (Gerard Jugnot) and Nathalie (Josiane Balasko) arrive with their dog in tow, though their vacation goes through a rough patch when Bernard makes a potentially disturbing discovery about their son. Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie (aka Les Bronzes 3: Friends Forever) was directed by Patrice Leconte, who was also behind the camera for the original two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, (more)
- 1978
- R
Six vacationers from France find themselves on the sunny shores of Africa in a vacation village where organized fun is the order of the day. Spoofing such faddish getaways as "Club Med," the story focuses on the trials of a married couple who can't quite live up to their ideals of an "open" marriage, an overweight man who insists on trying to ski, a bore who cannot be gotten rid of, and a variety of small-time womanizers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, (more)
- 1986
Francis Veber directs this hilarious comedy about Francois (Pierre Richard), a desperate, novice, bumbling bank robber who takes an ex-con hostage during his attempted hold-up. They are both chased by the police. Jean (Gerard Depardieu) plays the convicted bank robber just released from jail and forced to escape with Francois. Anais Bret portrays Francois' 6-year-old autistic daughter, and is the reason why he needed money so badly that he would steal for it. An inventive series of farcical situations and witty dialogue keeps the two men moving one step and several missteps ahead of the police. This comedy was so successful that Veber repeated it in 1989 for English-speaking audiences as Three Fugitives, starring Nick Nolte and Martin Short. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1996
Three old French jamons attempt to make a comeback by working in a road-show production of Scoubidou in this hilarious French farce. Also on the tour are the flighty leading actress Carla Milo, and a murderous producer, Shapiron, who knows the show is a stinker and tries to convince Carla to feign an illness so they can collect the show's insurance money. Unfortunately, Carla would never dream of letting down her "fans" and so refuses. The three hams, meanwhile do not get along at all. Victor suffers great swings, he is either terrified of the crowd or grossly overacting while evil-tempered Georges is only in it for the money. Then there's Eddie, who thinks of himself as a Casanova and adores the notion of a little behind-the-scenes romance. When the desperate Shapiron decides to use physical force to get Carla to quit, the three has-beens rally 'round to protect her. This happens during a performance, much to the delight of the audience. Soon the show becomes a huge success and is slated to play on Broadway where the silliness intensifies because none of the actors can really speak English. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Pierre Marielle, Philippe Noiret, (more)
The humanistic actions of Philippe D'Orleans, the cultured gentle regent to young Louis the XV in pre-revolutionary France (1719) are chronicled in this French costumer. Though the regent endeavors to keep his subjects cultured and happy to stop the peasants from rising up, he knows he has no real royal authority. To assist, D'Orleans enlisted the aid of a priest, who unfortunately cared nothing for his God, nor anyone but himself. The regent becomes distraught after his daughter, with whom he has been accused of committing incest, dies. His natural idealism is also shaken when he must execute a band of revolutionaries. True joy will only be found when the peasants successfully overthrow the aristocrats who held them down so long. The film's soundtrack features the music of the real Phillippe D'Orleans. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, (more)
- 1981
The pain of writer's block is examined in this drama that centers around the daily anxieties of a frustrated writer who can't. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Two single, quiet, and physically plain neighbors in an apartment building meet each other and strike up a friendship - something they both had needed for a long time. As their relationship begins to convert into a romantic pairing, the two go ahead and become lovers. Although that seemed to be the ultimate expression of their feelings, the couple start to question whether or not they were happier sharing their original, unfettered friendship -- and reconsider their options. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Blanc, Anémone, (more)
- 1984
In this standard, light drama about two friends adjusting to change, François (Gérard Lanvin) and his side-kick Denis (Michel Blanc) come back to Paris from the Mediterranean only to find that the jobs they had been promised are illusory -- now they must survive however they can. The two go to live among some African squatters, and since they cannot get a legitimate job, they get an illegal one -- transporting stolen goods. Even that proves to be short-lived once they are caught, and so they make plans to go to New York and look for Mathilde (Sophie Duez), the dancer who has captured François's heart. Although the storyline is weak and the protagonists' friendship uncharted territory, this film is entertaining and did quite well when first released in France. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Lanvin, Michel Blanc, (more)
