DCSIMG
 
 

Guillaume de Tonquedec Movies

2008  
NR  
Add Let It Rain to Queue Add Let It Rain to top of Queue  
Many regard the satirically inclined writer-director-star Agnès Jaoui (Le Goût des Autres) as a European equivalent of Woody Allen. The cerebral comedy Let It Rain represents Jaoui's third effort in the said capacities, and finds her juggling preoccupations with gender politics and class differences. Here, she plays Agathe Villanova, a feminist author with political plans who heads off to the summer residence of her early years to address some unfinished family business with her sister, Florence (Pascale Arbillot). Once there, her path crisscrosses with two documentarists shooting a film about powerful women -- Karim (Jamel Debbouze) and Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri, Jaoui's off-camera husband and creative partner, who co-authored the script with her). She agrees to be interviewed for the film, leading to a series of arguments between Karim and Michel about how best to film her; meanwhile, Agnes offers to help Karim out by setting up a job for him, little recognizing the complications that this will yield. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Agnès JaouiJean-Pierre Bacri, (more)
 
2003  
 
Add Tais-toi! to Queue Add Tais-toi! to top of Queue  
Gerard Depardieu and Jean Reno headline this comedic chase film about a pair of escaped convicts with two very different goals. Ruby (Reno) is a criminal with real gusto; in addition to stealing a crime boss' wife, he also made off with most of the gangster's cash. He almost got away with it, too. Now serving hard time for his bold crime, Ruby runs into Quentin (Depardieu), a desperate inmate with a brilliant escape plan. Before long, Ruby and Quentin are back on the outside. But they're hardly free; the cops are searching high and low for the fleeing convicts, and Ruby has a high price on his head. All Quentin wants is to maintain a low profile and open a coffee-house, but Ruby won't be happy until he's taken revenge on the criminal who had him incarcerated. Perhaps with a little look, both men will get what they're after. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Gérard DepardieuJean Reno, (more)
 
1992  
 
In this pleasant, largely uneventful drama, Jules' problems outside the home with girls and school work are reflected by the on-again, off-again support he receives from his mother in their perpetual conflict with his controlling father. In a humorous moment, Jules' mom has an embarrassing time shopping for condoms, which she is getting because she's thinking about having an affair. The boy stays after school quite frequently so that his instructor can collect overtime pay while practicing (with Jules) lines for a play he is hoping to appear in. Another friend of his is suing the school for educational malpractice: he can't get a job, so they must have done something wrong. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Evelyne BuyleGuillaume de Tonquedec, (more)
 
1991  
R  
Add The Double Life of Veronique to Queue Add The Double Life of Veronique to top of Queue  
The Double Life of Véronique is the story of two young women who are -- in some mysterious and irresolvable way -- the same woman leading two different yet interconnected lives. Those familiar with Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's later "Three Colors" trilogy of Blue, White, and Red will recognize his fascination with accidental happenings and chance encounters, as well as Irène Jacob (from Red) whose performance as both Veronika and Veronique won the 1991 Cannes Film Festival award for best actress. Veronika and Véronique are born on the same day in 1966, one in Poland, the other in France. They grow up separately, unaware of each other's existence, but with the vague and rarely expressed feeling that they are "not alone." The story begins in Poland, where Veronika (like Véronique) is a talented vocalist and music student who wins a prestigious singing competition and is given the chance to perform with a local symphony. On the night of the concert, while singing a duet onstage, Veronika loses consciousness and dies. Véronique is emotionally wounded by the loss of her double and decides to end her singing career. The film charts the effect of Veronika's death on Véronique and on her dispassionate and unsatisfying relationships with men, especially her father. She is led to puppeteer and children's book author Alexandre Fabbri (Philippe Volter), whose puppet shows and stories are dramatic variants on her own mysterious problem. While looking through photographs of Véronique's trip to Poland, Fabbri discovers a picture of Veronika walking through a student demonstration in Kracow. He shows the picture to Véronique, who intuits the significance of Veronika's perfect likeness to herself. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Irène JacobWladyslaw Kowalski, (more)
 
1988  
 
The "two" of the title are concert promoter Gerard Depardieu and real estate agent Marushka Detmers. Thrown together by chance and indirection, Depardieu and Detmars begin a romance. Claude Zidi directs Deux with the same breezy aplomb he has applied on his earlier wacky comedies. Zidi also produced and co-wrote the film, which hasn't yet gotten the American distribution afforded most Gerard Depardieu vehicles. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Gérard DepardieuMaruschka Detmers, (more)
 
1986  
 
This drama, spiced with sexual innuendo, is directed by Pierre Granier-Deferre, and features Jeanne Kern (Elizabeth Bourgine) as a pretty, somewhat repressed schoolteacher who suffers a smear campaign at work. Someone has been sending her director (Michael Aumont) letters accusing her of lewd and immoral conduct. Matters take a turn for the worse when a photograph of an orgy is sent to all the faculty with one face cut out; presumably, the face is hers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

 Read More

Starring:
Elizabeth BourgineXavier DeLuc, (more)