Marcel Beaulieu Movies
- 1997
A glorious dancer and a beautiful actress, Marquise (originally known as mademoiselle Du Parc) won the hearts of some of mid-17th-century France's brightest lights, including Moliere, the actor Racine and even the Sun King himself, Louis XIV. Beginning with considerable comedy and ending with almost Grecian tragedy, this lush costumer recounts the story of her life amidst the muck and splendor of medieval Paris and beyond. It was Moliere and his companion Gros-Rene who discovered Marquise dancing in the rain before an eager crowd of men. The girl's father collects the money they offer while she dutifully services each and every one. Moliere, Gros-Rene and their acting troupe pause briefly to watch her dance. The rotund comic Gros-Rene immediately falls head over heels, and even though she is with an old man he rushes up to propose and offers to steal her away to Paris. Marquise accepts and so launches her career. Though there will be many other men in her life, she keeps a special place in her heart reserved only for her unlikely spouse. Marquise later becomes involved with Racine. The two work together often, but as his career takes off towards the stars, hers goes in another direction, one that leads to tragedy. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sophie Marceau, Bernard Giraudeau, (more)
The performer known as Farinelli, born Carlo Broschi (and played in this film by Stefano Dionisi), was famous in the 18th century as the world's greatest castrato, a male singer whose testicles were removed in childhood so that he would retain the high, clear voice of a child while gaining the control and power of an adult vocalist. A strikingly gifted singer with a range of more than three octaves, Farinelli was given little choice but to sacrifice his manhood in exchange for his art, and as his career was founded on the surgery that would dramatically restrict his off-stage life, his art was in turn hemmed in by his family. Carlo's father declared early on that he should only sing the songs of his brother Riccardo (Enrico LoVerso), and while Farinelli's fame gives Riccardo's career a needed boost, the mediocrity of Riccardo's compositions holds Farinelli back. When the singer is given the opportunity to work with the great composer Handel (Jeroen Krabbe), his brother's jealously and Farinelli's own poorly chosen career alliances stand in his way. The brothers' often contentious partnership also extends to the bedroom; while Farinelli's performances set women on fire, he's physically incapable of satisfying them sexually, so he provides the foreplay in a bizarre game of seduction and then turns his conquests over to his brother. Farinelli il Castrato received a Golden Globe award as Best Foreign Language Film of 1994 and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefano Dionisi, Enrico Lo Verso, (more)
- 1993
- R
Alex (Roy Dupuis) has a deeply troubled mind. He also has a seriously dysfunctional - not to say incestuous - family. Why then, has he returned from his merchant seaman job to the rocky coasts of his home? Perhaps he couldn't cut manage to march in his father's footsteps in that job. His mother (Andree Lachapelle) doesn't seem to mind, and lets him stay at her bed and breakfast hotel. His sister (Elise Guilbault) still seems to have the hots for him, just as she does for his (and her) old boyfriend Jean-Louis (Gilbert Sicotte), who has just shown up. Even his mother seems to find him sexy. All these people appear eager to get their hands on his body, but he's too wrapped up in what's going on inside his head to notice. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Roy Dupuis, Andrée LaChapelle, (more)
- 1989
The title of this French-Canadian film translates to In the Belly of the Dragon, but don't assume that it's just another kung fu epic. Rather, the film is a likeable mixture of science fiction and humor, centered around the money-making schemes of star David La Haye. Unable to make ends meet with his minimum-wage job, La Haye hires himself out as a guinea pig to genially loopy scientist Marie Tifo. It is the doctor's contention that a person's intelligence can be artificially increased. La Haye proves her right...up to a point, that is. Extremely popular in Canada, Dans le Ventre du Dragon has yet to receive proper distribution in the States. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David La Haye, Rémy Girard, (more)
- 1988
Pierre (Mattias Habich) is a Montreal photojournalist who returns from Nicaragua to find that his ten-year menage a trois is over. Sarah (Johanne-Marie Tremblay) and David (Michel Voita) have moved out, leaving the bisexual Pierre wondering why. Haunted by his mid-life crisis, he becomes obsessed with trying to find why his two lovers have left him. After an awkward meeting with Sarah and David, Pierre begins a new relationship with the young deaf-mute Quentin (Jean-Francois Pichette). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthias Habich, Johanne-Marie Tremblay, (more)
- 1987
When handsome, magnetic and a bit of a rogue, young Steven Brown returns to his hometown on the Gaspé peninsula in Quebec in 1936 after wandering around the world a bit, his added glamor sets many a female heart pounding. However, this same town is noteworthy for its claustrophobic air of moralistic repression, and one result of his return is an outbreak of crimes of passion, including a couple of rapes. In fact, for a short time it looks like his entire town is out to destroy itself. Somehow the young man survives to tell this tale as an old man, reliving his memories through flashbacks. This sensitively crafted film is based on a novel by Anne Hébert, and all the English characters in it were recast as French-speaking. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Steve Banner, Charlotte Valandrey, (more)
- 1986
Albane Guilhe stars in this French-Canadian film as Anne Trister, a brilliant but emotionally unstable painter/ sculptor. After the death of her father, Anne returns from Switzerland to her home town in Quebec. Setting up a studio, she becomes obsessed with her work, to the extent that she grows farther and farther from her Swiss lover. Anne enters into an affair with her childhood friend Louise Marleau, which also takes second place to her art. While hospitalized due to a fall from her scaffold, Anna discovers that her studio has been condemned and demolished--and with it her life's work. Somehow this disaster, coupled with her ongoing relationship with Marleau, enables Anne to find inner peace at last. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Albane Guilhe, Louise Marleau, (more)
