Patrick Bouchitey Movies

Filmmakers Frédéric and Samuel Guillaume team to direct this charming tale of a 15-year-old who sets out to find his long-lost father and instead stumbles into the adventure of a lifetime. Max's father was a famous troubadour named Johnny Bigoude who disappeared shortly after his boy was born. Now Max is a teenager who is known to the locals as something of a busker himself, and he's determined to find out what became of his old man. When Max hears word that Johnny is planning an underground gig in the small town of Hilaire, he hits the road and hopes for the best. Upon arriving in the town, Max quickly realizes that Saint-Hilaire is in fact a company town that seems to have been virtually monopolized by Bzzz & Co. -- a popular manufacturer of fly swatters. The manager in charge of operations is the indolent Rodolfo. Though initially hesitant to work for such a shiftless lout, Max soon meets the pretty Felice and decides to sign on with Bzzz & Co. anyway. Soon enough, however, Rodolfo's incompetence catches up with him and the shareholders make the drastic decision to fire half of the workers and bring in a stringent new management team. When a series of subsequent calamities send the townspeople into an uproar, it's up to Max and Felice to get to the bottom of the mystery and restore order in Hilaire. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A couple whose ages are separated by 25 years face an uncertain future in this romantic drama. Roman (Thierry Lhermitte) is a cartoonist in his early fifties who for the past five years has been involved with Lulu (Claire Keim), an attractive actress in her mid-twenties. Roman and Lulu have been very happy together, and while there are no outward flaws in their relationship, Roman can't shake the feeling that Lulu would be better off spending her life with someone her own age. When Lulu lands a movie role in America, she begins packing her bags for a trip to California, but the weekend before she leaves, Roman decides to tell her that it's time they parted ways -- a decision she hardly agrees with. Le Roman do Lulu was directed by Pierre-Olivier Scotto, who also appears in a supporting role as a publisher. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The chronicle of a young Kurdish couple's journey from Kurdistan to Paris, Passeurs de Reves opens with longtime sweethearts Dolovan (Olivier Sitruk) and Zara (Rosanna Vite Mesropian) fleeing from their Mesopotamian village, which has been ravaged by ethnic warfare. As they make their way across the frigid Caucasian Mountains, Zara's parents, who are traveling with the couple, succumb to the elements. Dolovan and Zara eventually make it to a run-down evacuee camp presided over by a friendly Kurdish "tsar," where Zara discovers that her deceased father's suitcase is filled with cash. Although this is ostensibly good news, the cash makes the couple vulnerable to smugglers, dodgy guides, and counterfeiters, all of whom are eager to take advantage of Dolovan and Zara's newfound wealth. To further complicate matters, although they have money, the couple lack necessary visas to continue their journey, and soon Dolovan is taken away by the police. Abandoned in the Ukraine, Zara is robbed and then disappears, while Dolovan, traveling solo, eventually makes it to Paris to reunite with his love. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

This sumptuous French drama offers episodes from the notorious life of 18th century socialite and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The story begins in the 1770s with a rehearsal of his "The Barber of Seville." Young friend of Voltaire, Philipp Gudin introduces himself to the great playwright and offers to become his personal secretary. He then becomes the adventurous Beaumarchais' keeper as the author gets involved in a variety of situations including a duel with an angry husband, his battle with the corrupt French government and a serious long-term affair with Marie-Theres de Willer. It all comes to a climax when King Louis XV assigns the playwright a secret mission to London. There he must find and retrieve a damning document from transvestite aristocrat Chevalier D'Eon. Unfortunately, Beaumarchais gets tangled up with supporting American rebels and ends up tossed in jail. Louis XVI sees that he is finally released and then the writer becomes an arms smuggler for American revolutionaries. All of his activities bankrupt him and so Beaumarchais must return to writing plays. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

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

The conversations of an ill-suited couple who came together through personal ads form the framework of this French film that is comprised of a series of five strange, outworldly tales. The first tale, "Burning Revenge," tells of a man who pours gasoline over a service station in the dead of night and then uses a lit cigarette to threaten the attendant. The second, "Panic FM," follows a pizza delivery boy on his bicycle. While on his route, he is listening to a gory radio show and keeps encountering scary ghosts. "Dead End" depicts a couple who experience the same accident over and over while cruising down a country road. The fourth vignette "Sado's Blues" takes a darkly comedic turn as it chronicles the tale of a masochistic woman who invites a timid fellow up to her apartment and demands that he use her "toys" while having sex with her. The final tale "Happy Birthday" follows a wife and lover as they kill the husband using a diving outfit and a forest fire. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This experimental drama is something of an actor's challenge: see if you can convincingly play an age range from six to thirty six without any makeup or costume changes, just by using your gifts as a performer. In this film, the role of Victorine poses just such a challenge to Anouk Grinberg, who appears as this child of the Marseilles slums. At any moment in the film, she is likely to be any age. The young girl cowering at her mother's feet becomes a sexual wunderkind, as well as observing the bizarre and often sexual antics of her multiracial neighbors. If there is one theme for the movie beyond Victorine's odd life, it is that everyone needs affection and support. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Mima (Virginie Ledoyen), like her parents, was born in France. However, her family originated in Italy and is determined to remain true to its roots. This causes some mixed feelings in the girl, who feels at least as French as Italian. She has no questions however, about how much she loves her genial grandfather (Nina Manfredi). One of the highlights of her life is when he takes her to the movies to see Jean-Paul Belmondo pictures, and she remembers many of the stories he has told her. Mima is the only one who sees two men take her father away, but she keeps mum about it. All she or anyone knows is that he never returns after that. Her uncle feels duty bound to avenge his presumed death as a result of an old Mafia entanglement, and Mima is afraid she will lose him as well. Thus, it is with some relief that she encounters a friendly, sympathetic French policeman. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Tatie Danielle is a black comedy about a widow who is intent on ruining the lives of her great-nephew and his wife. Tsilla Chelton plays the title character, who mourns the death of her husband by tormenting everyone she meets. Eventually, she moves in with her nephew and his vain wife. Soon, her family is at war with Tatie, and takes off for Greece, leaving her in the care of Sandrine (Isabelle Nanty), an au pair who is as equally bitter as Tatie herself. At first the two don't get along, yet the two eventually become friends. However, Sandrine is invited to accompany an American student for an overnight stay at the beach, which would leave Tatie alone for a night. Angered, Tatie fires Sandrine, and while she is alone, she goes into deep depression, eventually setting the family's apartment on fire. The fire becomes a national story, with Tatie cast as a poor old lady and the family labeled as cruel and heartless villains. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

This French comedy-drama takes a look at divorce from the perspective of a group of children. All of their parents are splitting up and so they turn to each other for support and a sense of family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Life is a Long Quiet River is the satirically philosophical title for this French domestic comedy. Borrowing a page from The Corsican Brothers, the film begins with a castoff mistress spitefully switching a pair of newborn babies at the maternity ward managed by her doctor lover. As a result, the daughter (Valerie Lalande) of a family of tramps and thieves is raised in a comfy bourgeois household, while the lowlife family ends up with the middle-class family's offspring (Benoit Magimel). Twelve years after the fact, the discarded mistress confesses to her misdeed. The mistress' ex-lover, doctor Daniel Gelin, tries to set things right, with hilariously disastrous consequences. Director Etie Chatiliez had received his training in French TV commercials, so it's not surprising that Life is a Long Quiet River is a string of anecdotes and punchlines. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this suspense thriller inspired by the novel Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm, Catherine (Isabelle Adjani), a serial killer, seduces men and then murders them just before moving on to the next victim. She spreads her mayhem through various countries in Europe, only slightly ahead of the mentally anguished detective (Michel Serrault) who tracks her -- he fantasizes she is his long-lost daughter and disposes of her trail of corpses to foil the police. Catherine pauses for a real love affair with a blind architect (Sami Frey) but the detective is overcome by jealousy and causes the man's death. This drives Catherine into despair -- and a return to her psychotic killing. As the police dragnet closes in, both Catherine and the detective are brought closer to a final confrontation with their internal demons. The version released in the U.S. runs only 96 min. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide