Richard Balducci Movies

In this wartime comedy, Gregoire (Jean Lefebvre), an irrepressible tale-spouting French postman, is unable to convince his fellow villagers that he blew up a nearby bridge, thus slowing a German troop movement. Perhaps he actually did it. When a military "accident" leads the Germans into the village seeking the culprit and reprisals, the postman volunteers that he is the guilty party, but even now he is not believed -- even by the Germans. At long last, the Americans arrive, and they are willing to let him look good in front of his countrymen; they make it look as though he captured a whole group of Germans single-handedly. At last, he has his day of glory. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A tabloid newspaper reporter becomes confused with guilt after one of his stories causes the death of an innocent man, and he must think of a way to make up for his sin in this drama. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A newly married couple has one night to spend for their honeymoon before both have to work in the morning. The passage of time seems dim the love light of the duo who are beset by financial difficulties and a newborn baby. The husband takes temporary refuge in a mistress before returning to work out their marital problems. He soon receives a raise when he comes up with a new invention, endearing himself to his boss and making life a little easier for the young couple. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

A veteran police officer becomes the chief when he passes a test given to all the members of the police force. The power of authority soon goes to his head as he treats his former chief with all the pompous rancor of a once-sniveling underling exacting revenge on his old boss. The comedy continues when the new chief meets his match when he marries and finds his wife to be far more demanding that anyone he could ever imagine. Louis De Funes stars as the lowly cop who soon becomes drunk with power in this engaging comedy marked by human humiliation and positioning for job advancement. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

The first feature film directed by Jean-Luc Godard and one of the seminal films of the French New Wave, Breathless is story of the love between Michel Poiccard, a small-time hood wanted for killing a cop, and Patricia Franchini, an American who sells the International Herald Tribune along the boulevards of Paris. Their relationship develops as Michel hides out from a dragnet. Breathless uses the famous techniques of the French New Wave: location shooting, improvised dialogue, and a loose narrative form. In addition Godard uses his characteristic jump cuts, deliberate "mismatches" between shots, and references to the history of cinema, art, and music. Much of the film's vigor comes from collisions between popular and high culture: Godard shows us pinups and portraits of women by Picasso and Renoir, and the soundtrack includes both Mozart's clarinet concerto and snippets of French pop radio. When Breathless was first released, audiences and critics responded to the burst of energy it gave the French cinema; it won numerous international awards and became an unexpected box-office sensation. ~ Louis Schwartz, All Movie Guide