Marie Tifo Movies

Filmed in France, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Morocco, and Canada, this ambitious biographical TV miniseries chronicles the life and times of the "Little Corporal" from Corsica who managed to conquer nearly all of Europe within a period of a dozen years. The narrative begins in the mid-1790s, as Napoleon Bonaparte (played, curiously enough, by comic actor Christian Clavier) makes his mark on posterity with spectacular victories in Austria and Egypt. On the home front, Napoleon woos and wins the lovely (and considerably older) Josephine (Isabella Rossellini), but finds time for extracurricular romances with other women, notably Countess Marie Walewska (Alexandra Maria Lara). Ultimately, Bonaparte's ambitions destroy him, first in Russia, then at Waterloo, consigning the general-cum-emperor to live out his life in humiliation and exile. When originally broadcast in France in October 2002, Napoleon ran six hours (plus commercials), with four episodes. For its American presentation on the A&E cable network beginning April 8, 2003, the production was literally sliced in half, shown in two installments with a running time of three hours. What remained was all highlights and few insights, though a few brilliant moments remained, many of these supplied by the supporting cast, which included Gérard Depardieu (who also produced) as Fouche, and John Malkovich as Talleyrand. Thankfully, the full six-hour version was made available in the U.S. on DVD and VHS in 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jeanne (Marie Tifo) was all ready to marry Pierre (Pierre Curzi), when she had an accident which rendered her a paraplegic. Conscious that she cannot expect ever to respond to him sexually again, she calls off the marriage. At the rehabilitation center, she meets a man in a wheelchair with a condition similar to hers, and they strike up a friendship which soon takes on romantic overtones. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this watered-down fantasy, Cotnoir (Remy Girard) is a middle-aged male virgin who falls in love with the picture of a female author on the back of her novel. He sets out by boat for the island where author Helena Montana (Marie Tifo) presently resides, but when the boat breaks down, he has fantasies that she is a mermaid. Soon the line between fantasy and reality is blurred as Cotnoir returns to Montreal with Montana and is able to convince his friends as well that she is a mermaid. The title refers to a fictional book written by Montana. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

When handsome, magnetic and a bit of a rogue, young Steven Brown returns to his hometown on the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec in 1936 after wandering around the world a bit, his added glamor sets many a female heart pounding. However, this same town is noteworthy for its claustrophobic air of moralistic repression, and one result of his return is an outbreak of crimes of passion, including a couple of rapes. In fact, for a short time it looks like his entire town is out to destroy itself. Somehow the young man survives to tell this tale as an old man, reliving his memories through flashbacks. This sensitively crafted film is based on a novel by Anne Hébert, and all the English characters in it were recast as French-speaking. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Strict behavior codes and the struggle to eke out a living provide a backdrop to this romantic drama set at the turn of the 20th century in rural, northern Quebec. Maria Chapdelaine (Carole Laure) returns to the home of her parents in a remote village, and during the period of one year, has her heart-strings pulled in three different directions at once -- though only one of those directions is what she really wants. She had been promised in marriage to the shy neighboring farmer (Pierre Curzi), whom she has known since they were children, but a suave man-about-town wants to marry her (Donald Lautrec), and a handsome trapper (Nick Mancuso) has fallen in love with her. Maria fluctuates between the trapper and the urban aristocrat, and as events unfold, her indecision leads to tragic consequences. Also filmed by Julien Duvivier in 1934, this story first became popular when published as a novel (by Louis Hemon) in 1913. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Montreal provides a backdrop for this intriguing, fast-paced political drama about the later, dangerous interactions of two boys who first became best friends during their years at an orphanage. Once the boys leave the orphanage to continue their separate ways as adults, they keep in touch with each other even though they disagree on almost all the major issues in life. Lucien (Pierre Curzi) veers to the active left as he joins causes defending the disenfranchised against the powerful and wealthy, and Jacques (Roger Blay) has joined the powerful and wealthy -- he is a lieutenant of the Prime Minister himself. Lucien is thrown in prison for two years on charges that were false, and when he gets out he joins up with Jacques who has been demoted by the Prime Minister and is angry enough to take action. The two men devise a plan to settle their scores, though there are more perils involved in the plan than first meets the eye. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide