Carole Bouquet Movies
French model/actress Carole Bouquet studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris before making her film debut in Luis Buñuel's That Obscure Object of Desire. In a role shared with Ángela Molina, she played Conchita, the title character who so intrigues leading man Fernando Rey. The next year she appeared in Bertrand Blier's black comedy Buffet Froid (Cold Cuts), starring Gérard Depardieu. Mostly acting in her native France, North American audiences may remember her as Bond Girl Melina Havelock in For Your Eyes Only. In 1990, she won a César for Best Actress as the scorned wife in Blier's Trop Belle Pour Toi (Too Beautiful for You). Throughout the '90s, she was a spokesmodel for Chanel No. 5 perfume and appeared in numerous French films, including Michel Blanc's Grosse Fatigue (Dead Tired) as a parody of herself. After 2000, she starred in some memorable French comedies, including Wasabi with Jean Reno and Embrassez Qui Vous Voudrez with Charlotte Rampling. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie GuideAmnesty International produced this film, which features more than two dozen greats of French cinema making pleas for the lives of political prisoners around the world. Each filmmaker speaks passionately on behalf of an individual whose life has been warped by political intolerance, imprisonment, torture or murder, as the lives of those prisoners or sufferers are documented onscreen. A variety of directors contributed shorts with this theme, and the ways in which the appeals are dramatized differ markedly from one to the next. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, (more)
Bertrand Blier's films have explored the sometimes misogynistic sexuality of younger men, but here he offers an absorbing, funny, and moving take on a middle-aged man's adulterous affair. Gerard Depardieu stars as Bernard, an affluent car dealer who finds himself in the grip of a violent passion for his new secretary, a rather plain-looking, middle-aged woman played by Josiane Balasko. Seemingly a happily married man with a beautiful wife (Carole Bouquet) and children, he can't understand what is happening as his life is turned upside down. While it may seem that Blier simply enjoys tweaking convention, he's clearly after far more than laughs given the tenderness he finds in the scenes between the adulterous lovers. Bernard's age has suddenly made him more vulnerable, a state of emotion that he realizes Colette grasps intuitively. Depardieu and French comedienne Balasko make a completely believable couple, and the photography of the great Philippe Rousselot is stunning. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Josiane Balasko, (more)
The French Bunker Palace Hotel is set in the Future. Rebels have taken over the totalitarian government, compelling the officials to flee for safety to the underground hotel of the title. Clara (Carole Bouquet), a spy for the rebels, infiltrates the hotel to observe the last moves of the crumbling regime. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean-Louis Trintignant, Carole Bouquet, (more)
The omnibus film New York Stories is the product of three powerhouse filmmakers. The film is divided into three stories, each exploring a different aspect of life in the Big Apple. Life Lessons, directed by Martin Scorcese, is a Dostoevsky-like tale of the rarefied Art World, with Nick Nolte as a self-indulgent abstractionist who loves Rosanna Arquette, but can't bring himself to lie to her about her negligible artistic talents. Life Without Zoe, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is more than a little reminiscent of Kay Thompson's Eloise stories, with 12-year-old Zoe (Heather McComb) running amok at the Sherry-Netherland hotel while her parents are embarked upon a world-girdling vacation. The last and is Woody Allen's Oedipus Wrecks, wherein a schnooky lawyer (guess who?) inadvertently "creates" the Jewish Mother From Hell: thanks to a misguided magic trick, Allen's mama (the incomparable Mae Questel) becomes a huge spectral vision on the New York skyline, telling everyone within earshot about her son's inadequacies. The cinematographer lineup on New York Stories includes Nestor Almendros, Vittorio Storaro and Sven Nykvist. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nick Nolte, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
Cristophe (Michel Voita) is a reporter who is assigned to interview the prominent archaeologist Tober (Jean Bouise) in this combination fantasy drama. Tober has uncovered the coffin of the legendary 16t-century killer Jenatsch (Vittorio Mezzogiorno). After the interview, Cristophe begins to experience hallucinations that move from the present to the past with disturbing consequences. Soon his relationship with his sweetheart Nina (Christine Boisson) begins to suffer as Cristophe has visions of Jenatsch's murder. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michel Voita, Christine Boisson, (more)
Physician Robert Briand (Robin Renucci) runs a leper colony in the 15th century that takes in new residents who suffer from the ravages of syphilis. When the beautiful Marie-Blanche (Isabelle Pasco) is brought to the grim, prison-like facility, Robert finds she displays no apparent signs of disease. He risks everything when he falls in love with the woman and makes plans to run away with her. Erland Josephson plays Robert's father, with Piera Degli Esposti as Robert's faithful assistant Terese. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Renucci, Isabelle Pasco, (more)
In a routine look at what it means to finally leave adolescence behind -- even in one's mature years -- this series of mood swings and sequences focuses on two grown men. Francois (Jean Francois Stevenin, the director) and Leo (Yves Alonso) are old friends, and at one point they decide to go out and search for one of their childhood buddies, the brunt of several of their practical jokes. In true form, the men opt for playing yet another practical joke on their friend, but their plans backfire when his wife Helene (Carole Bouquet) comes into the picture instead. Her presence forces them to reconsider their shenanigans in a new light. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Bouquet, Yves Afonso, (more)
In this so-so actioner, a cop possessing expert knowledge of computer software (a detail revealed late in the proceedings) also comes into possession of some incriminating tapes, putting him and an attractive woman on the hit list of a murderous band of thugs. It seems they could land some VIPs in prison or worse if the tapes are ever made public. The chases, confrontations, mayhem, and final computer coup are riddled with dialogue that is too tried and true to ring with any originality, though the final electronic "publication" of the damning evidence is great. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Berry, Carole Bouquet, (more)
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)
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
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, (more)
In this low-brow satire, French comedian Coluche exploits his talents for comic vulgarity in his role as the 10th-century King Dagobert I. The king's intestinal and sexual problems loom large as he survives an attack on his royal caravan then barely makes it to Rome to personally give thanks to the Pope. After he arrives at the Vatican, he becomes involved in the battle between two contenders for the papacy (Ugo Tognazzi in both roles) and has to face the machinations of a ruthless Byzantine princess (Carole Bouquet). With humor that consistently hits below the belt, and an ending that clashes with the rest of the film, this satire will not play the same to all audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Coluche, Ugo Tognazzi, (more)
An unconvincing tale of stolen microfilm, prostitution, and murder barely stretches out to the 94-minute running time of this crime drama. Mystere (Carole Bouquet) is a high-class, sophisticated woman who happens to be a prostitute, and due to her monetary success, she drives a Ferrari and keeps a loaded gun in her purse. She and her friend Pamela go to a client in a hotel room on an assignment that turns out to have unexpected consequences -- Pamela steals a gold lighter that just happens to contain a roll of microfilm that reveals the Russian identity of a hitman. Pamela is murdered by an unseen assassin who is obviously after the microfilm -- though it is typical of the plot that he does not ask her where it is before he kills her. Next, Mystere is questioned by a handsome police detective (Philip Coccioletti), and the two are soon in bed together. But just as the detective is getting close to discovering who killed Pamela, he is taken off the case -- making it clear that dirty cops are also a part of the larger tale. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Bouquet, Philip Coccioletti, (more)
Like his more famous loin-clothed tree-swinging, yodeling counterpart, Bingo Bongo was raised in the jungle by apes. This Italian comedy follows his lively adventures after he is captured, caged and sent back to civilization. There he begins working with a pretty anthropologist who teaches him all he needs to know about speaking, eating correctly and falling in love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adriano Celentano, Carole Bouquet, (more)
In this non-story of the mentally and emotionally impaired inhabitants of a clinic for the insane, the medical profession along with humanity is distorted into a long, filmic exhibition of sado-masochism, urination, and ample nudity for its own sake. Critics that support the avant-garde might feel that the lack of apparent purpose in each "idiot's" (the title is "Day of the Idiots') physical and emotional problems is a form of high art. The viewers will have to decide for themselves. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Carole Bouquet, Ingrid Caven, (more)
For Your Eyes Only eschews the gimmickry and campiness of earlier James Bond films, concentrating instead on telling the story and maintaining suspense. Roger Moore is back as Secret Agent 007, this time on the trail of Soviet spies while he romances the beautiful Melina, played by Carole Bouquet. Richard Maibaum's screenplay has very little to do with the collection of short stories that made up Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only, save for the plotline involving Melina's seeking vengeance for the death of her father. The direction is by John Glen, who'd previously done second unit work on other Bond films. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, (more)
- Starring:
- Johnny Dorelli, Andréa Ferréol, (more)
Richard Hell, one of the most important and influential figures in the late-'70s New York punk rock scene, stars in this gritty look at the underground art and music community, directed by German filmmaker Ulli Lommel. Billy (Hell) is an up-and-coming musician and poet who meets Nada (Carole Bouquet), a journalist from Europe who has come to New York to do a story on him. Billy and Nada soon fall into a troubled relationship, and Billy has to choose between his career and his feelings for Nada. Andy Warhol appears as himself (being interviewed by Nada); Richard Hell plays three songs with his band The Voidoids, shot live at the legendary club CBGB's. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Buffet Froid is an absurd black comedy that cunningly reverses the conventions of the crime thriller to comment on the alienating and dehumanizing effects of contemporary urban life. It starts with Alphonse Tram (Gérard Depardieu) discovering that his casual subway acquaintance (Michel Serrault) is lying down with Alphonse's penknife sticking out of his belly. When he tries to report the crime to his neighbor, a police inspector (Bernard Blier), the latter refuses to listen, saying that he is not at work now. Later, Alphonse's wife is killed, and her hapless murderer (Jean Carmet) almost immediately confesses to Alphonse, but neither the husband nor the police inspector seem to be shocked. The three embark on a series of adventures and bizarre encounters in modern Paris. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, (more)
Adapted from Pierre Louys' 1898 novel La Femme et le Pantin, That Obscure Object of Desire is the 30th and final film from the great Luis Buñuel. Recounted in flashback to a group of railway travellers, the story wryly details the romantic perils of Mathieu (Buñuel favorite Fernando Rey), a wealthy, middle-aged French sophisticate who falls desperately in love with his 19-year-old former chambermaid Conchita. Thus begins a surreal game of sexual cat-and-mouse, with Mathieu obsessively attempting to win the girl's affections as she manipulates his carnal desires, each vying to gain absolute control of the other. Brimming with the subversive wit which characterizes all of Buñuel's finest work, That Obscure Object of Desire takes satiric aim at a decadent, decaying society riddled by political unrest and moral bankruptcy. The picture is absurdist even in its casting -- Rey's dialogue was dubbed by the French actor Michel Piccoli, while the two-faced, hot-and-cold Conchita is played, logically enough, by two different actresses (Carole Bouquet and Angela Molina, respectively), with the character's dialogue spoken by yet a third performer. The same Louys novel was also filmed by Josef von Sternberg in 1935 as the Marlene Dietrich vehicle The Devil Is a Woman, and again in 1959 as Julien Duvivier's La Femme et le Pantin, starring Brigitte Bardot. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fernando Rey, Carole Bouquet, (more)



















