Yannick Bernard Movies

A man who has been able to avoid the consequences of his actions for nearly 50 years suddenly finds he must answer pursuers on both sides of the law in this drama, based on the novel by Brian Moore and inspired by a true story. After France fell to German occupation during World War II, the Nazi-controlled Vichy government established a law-enforcement group known as the Milice, who were under the direct control of Nazi authorities. In 1944, Pierre Brossard (George Williams) is one of a handful of Milice officers who round up and execute seven Jewish resistance members in the village of Dombey. After the liberation of France, Brossard is tried and convicted for his crimes, but he manages to escape capture, and years later is pardoned. In 1992, Brossard (now played by Michael Caine) is an elderly man living a quiet life in Provence and modestly supported by fellow veterans of the Vichy regime when he's ambushed and nearly killed by a man whom he learns was a hired killer. Brossard discovers this is hardly his only problem; new legislation will allow Vichy-era war criminals who escaped punishment to be charged and tried again, and Anne Marie Livi (Tilda Swinton), a bright and aggressive French prosecutor, has joined forces with Col. Roux (Jeremy Northam) to bring Brossard, among others, to justice. While Brossard is still being clandestinely assisted by church officials and Vichy sympathizers, he must go on the run to avoid capture, and finds himself hiding from the French police as well as a cadre of underground assassins, whose alliances and purposes are frustratingly unclear. The Statement also stars Charlotte Rampling, Alan Bates, and Frank Finlay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Benjamin Ballon wants to be a filmmaker, and has devoted a large part of his life for the past few years to getting to the point of filming an independent movie. He has been encouraged by Carmen Maura (playing herself), an established star, who has agreed to appear in his first film, and it is her level-headedness, calmness, and general good sense that keeps the project moving along, despite Benjamin's inexperience and a very temperamental male lead. On one occasion when the male lead is hours late for a shoot, her calm is the only thing which keeps the crew from walking out. The title comes from Maura's habit of bringing homemade tortillas to meetings, and using them to get her way. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Three French women in their 20s wrestle with their feelings about the nature of romance in this drama that chronicles their love lives over a 6 month period. The film opens with scenes that not only introduce the women, they also tell the viewer what is to become of two of them. Marie, who likes having sex with different partners, is a stockbroker. She is first seen climbing a huge tree to tell a portly office messenger of her love for him. Jeanne is married and works as a waitress. She finds her estranged husband in a restaurant. Alice, an art history student, is frigid and has low self-esteem because her father was domineering. She is first seen lying nude on a canvas. An artist pours paint upon her body. The film jumps back six months. The three women are at a local pool engaging in some post work-out girl talk. It is frank, graphic and quite sexual. Sex scenes illustrate their stories. Marie keeps sleeping around while Jeanne becomes a part-time hooker. Alice considers giving herself to a painter who creates tableaux of ecstatic naked women covered in paint. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Based on the beloved children's books character, this animated family story focuses on the early days of lovable elephant Babar, before he rose to his current position of king. With the help of female elephant Celeste, the young Babar attempts to save a village from a group of bad-tempered rhinoceroses. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Patrick (Stephane Ferrara) is a hired thug who goes into a small dinner theater to collect an overdue debt. He falls for the actress Catherine (Catherine Wilkening), and the two copulate like wild animals in heat on several occasions. When Catherine is offered a starring role in an upcoming production, her rehearsal schedule leaves little time for Patrick. Now addicted to her lovemaking, Patrick throws her in a car and tries to kill himself and Catherine by intentionally crashing his car on the highway. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The universally recognized topic of this light comedy is the struggle between refusing to fall in love only to be rejected, and falling in love, regardless. After a computer operator (Richard Bohringer) has been through a painful relationship, he is determined to look the other way every time any interesting woman enters his life. He has his other loves -- photography and model planes -- to challenge him anyway, though his mother is not about to understand how a model plane can replace a woman in his life. One day, a car breaks down in front of his house, and a young mother (Catherine Frot) with her 10-year-old daughter (Anne Clignet) come in looking for assistance. The daughter is endearing and would make a terrific subject for a photo contest. As both the young mother and the computer operator studiously ignore the flicker of romantic sparks, it is only a matter of time before the flame either grows or is extinguished.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A Jewish Mafia-like family is running a prostitution ring, selling "protection," and operating gambling casinos -- more or less with impunity, and at peace with their Arab counterparts -- until a young gangster (Bernard Giraudeau) decides to pit the two ethnic factions against each other. Jewish cultural and religious events are celebrated by the Jewish gangsters, who promote family traditions -- in contrast to the police inspector who has no family and is out to do them all in. Focusing on the Jewish mob boss, the story has him undergoing some personal rehabilitation in the end. Actually, comparing the merits of ethnically and religiously different mobs of gangsters might be a little like comparing the respective beauty of a pair of week-old corpses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi