Jacques Weber Movies

A sexually frustrated husband learns to be careful what he asks for in this French marriage comedy from director Didier Bourdon. Their sex life virtually non-existent after only seven years of marriage, Alain (Didier Bourdon) and Audrey (Catherine Frot) rarely find time for bedroom hanky-panky as a result of Audrey's demanding job and her tireless devotion to their daughter Camille (Gabrielle Lopes Benites). Concerned that their marriage may be in trouble as he increasingly relies on pornography to fulfill his sexual needs, Alain consults a sex therapist for suggestions on how to re-awaken his wife's sexual appetite. Although some subsequent trips to nearby sex stores and steamy nightclubs at first make Audrey uneasy, hapless Alain soon finds himself getting more than he bargained for when his plan starts to work a little too well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A man and a woman each learn a painful lesson about using others to get what you want in this drama from French director Catherine Corsini. Julien Demarsay (Eric Caravaca) is an aspiring novelist whose greatest ambition in life is to publish a book; however, he hasn't been able to get a publisher to seriously consider his manuscripts, and he's started becoming desperate. Julien arranges to meet Judith Zahn (Karin Viard), a well-respected editor; she doesn't think he's especially talented, but she does find him handsome, and they strike up an acquaintance that quickly leads to her bedroom. Julien is looking for ways to use his new relationship with Judith to his advantage, and in time he becomes aware of the true story of Judith's father, who went from being a pacifist philosopher to fighting with a revolutionary group in Latin America in the 1970's. Julien uses this story as the basis of a novel; when he completes it he presents it to Judith, who regards it as a betrayal of their trust and cuts off ties with him. Julien, however, is able to find a publisher who believes in the book, and it becomes a commercial success. Enraged, Judith begin mapping out a scheme to get revenge on her former lover. Les Ambitieux (aka Ambitious) was screened as part of the 2006 Rome International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Edmond Rostand's classic drama of inner and outer beauty is given a lavish treatment in this acclaimed French production. Gérard Depardieu portrays the title character, a brilliant, charismatic swordsman with a generous spirit and a genius for poetry. It would seem that such a man would have no trouble attracting women, but Cyrano considers himself doomed to loneliness by an unattractive face featuring an oversized nose. His feelings of inadequacy are emphasized when Roxane, the beautiful woman he adores, attracts the attention of Christian, a young cadet in Cyrano's service. Christian lacks the poetic gift, however, and he ironically turns to Cyrano for help in winning Roxane's love. What follows is a tale of deception, with Roxane falling in love with the ineloquent Christian thanks to Cyrano's words of love. The underlying narrative has become quite familiar to modern audiences through retellings and variations from the 1950 adaptation starring José Ferrer to Steve Martin's Roxanne. Director Jean-Paul Rappeneau's interpretation stresses the tragic majesty of the original, setting a vigorous performance by Depardieu against a beautifully designed reproduction of the period and an emphasis on the sound and poetry of Rostand's original language; the subtitles for the film's English release were penned by renowned British author Anthony Burgess. This attention to detail creates a particularly faithful cinematic rendering of the original work that met with positive critical responses. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

Based on the prize-winning novel by Elvire Mural, the French Escalier C (Staircase C) stars Robin Renucci as a cynical, spiteful art critic. The critic learns the error of his ways through the catharsis of disturbing life experiences. Though many of his friends and neighbors try to crack the shell he has built around himself, his eyes are opened to the importance of human compassion only after the suicide of his neighbor. In the original novel, the critic finds fulfillment through homosexuality; this element is removed from the film version, though the gay subtext is still very much in evidence. Escalier C was directed by Jean Tacchella, best known internationally for his earlier Cousin Cousine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Faustine (Muriel Catala) suffers the wounds of first love in this gentle French film. During a summer when she is staying with her grandmother, she comes to know the nearby neighbors. Two brothers live in the large house. One is divorced and one has recently remarried, both of them live there with their teenaged and adult children. Though the boys of the household are drawn to Faustine, she grows ever more smitten with the divorced older man. During one visit she has to hide in his room to avoid the unwelcome attentions of his sons. As the summer draws to a close she has her first amorous kiss. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

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

Pierre Lacenaire is among the most notorious killers in French history. This well-wrought drama, tells his story. It begins in 1836 as the icy but somehow charming and intellectual Lacenaire awaits his execution and through a series of flashbacks chronicles the events and reasons why he has ended up on Death Row. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

An eight-year old boy learns about love and betrayal in this French drama set in rural France during WW II. The boy, Francois, has moved from Paris to a quiet chateau with his parents who want to escape the stress of the war. In a nearby town, his father's mistress works as a tutor. Soon his father allows a refugee family of Polish Jews to move into the basement. They have a young daughter, and Francois has a terrible crush upon her and refuses to stay safely away from her. Real trouble begins when a Nazi commander and his unit also move into the house, totally unaware of the refugees living below them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Complications abound in this French film, which tells the story of a filmmaker (Jean-Luc Bideau) who is attempting to put his real life into a movie; his interactions with the people in the movie he is filming create reverberations in his "real" life, although the past remains unchanged. Among the complications is his growing regard for the woman who plays his cinematic wife (Jane Birkin). She may wind up replacing his actual wife in real life. One of the highlights of this film is the insight it gives into the actual mechanics of filmmaking. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this French film, soldiers in the Algerian war not only fight against the rebelling natives of that country, but fight an equally brutal battle among themselves. Three young army misfits are assigned to a brutal "disciplinary company" during the conflict. When the "discipline" becomes too harsh for him to bear, one of the soldiers kills two of his tormentors. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this clichéd, uneven, confusing melodrama about love and politics by Philippe Labro, Sacha (Nathalie Baye) is a divorced woman from the Left Bank of the Seine, out of a job because she refused to bestow sexual favors in the line of duty, and Paul (Gérard Depardieu) is a lawyer from the Right Bank whom she first rejects and then accepts when she sees his noble behavior on television. Paul has become well-established because of some shady moral compromises but suddenly finds his backbone when he turns against the crooked tycoon he had represented (Bernard Fresson) and does so on public television. Paul has given up everything for his love of Sacha, and now she is in danger from the vengeful tycoon -- not to mention Paul's irate wife. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Like most of Costa-Gavras' political thrillers, the French State of Siege is based on a true story. The incident dramatized herein is the kidnapping of a U.S. official somewhere in Latin America. The director's sympathies clearly lie with the kidnappers, especially since the official (played by Yves Montand), ostensibly an expert in traffic control, has been assigned as special advisor to the government's secret police, training these worthies in the art of the torturing of political prisoners. Uruguay was the country where this story actually took place; though no names are given, there's little doubting the identity of Costa-Gavras' fictional locale. Despite its up-to-date radicalism, State of Siege adheres to time-honored Hollywood formula, with ugly, vulgar bad guys vs. handsome, articulate good guys. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide