Bertrand Blier Movies

Bernard Blier directs and stars in this routine spy saga. A vacationing doctor is caught in a web of international espionage after his chance meeting with a medical patient in Poland. He is soon followed by a concerned secret service agent (Bruno Cremer) who warns the unsuspecting doctor that his daughter could be in danger. The physician's chance encounter with the man he treated leads the spies to believe he is in collaboration with the enemy. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

This French language film is a typical action/crime film by director Georges Lautner. Serge (Jean Yanne) is a jewel thief, doing time in prison for a robbery. He was turned in by his wife (Mireille Darc), who is now the mistress of the head of the gang. The police let Serge out of prison, hoping that he will lead them to the missing loot. Instead, he runs into trouble with the gang members, who are not entirely happy to see him back, since they set him up to take the fall for them. He is also at risk from the police who are following him, as not all of them are on the up-and-up. Fortunately, his back is being covered by an old prison friend who helps him stay alive. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Two middle-aged victims of the war of the sexes, Paul and Albert (Jean-Pierre Marielle and Jean Rochefort) run away from their families at the same time. They indulge themselves by eating what they want to, when and where it pleases them. Trouble finds them in the form of their abandoned wives, and the film moves very much into the realm of symbolic and sexual fantasy from this point onward. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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, Rovi

Isabelle Huppert plays an attractive Parisienne out looking for some fun during her vacation on the ski slopes of Courchevel in the Alps when she starts up a relationship with a great-looking sportswear salesman (Thierry Lhermitte), but at the same time, she is entranced by a little chubby disk jockey in a night club (Coluche). Come to find out, the salesman and the disk-jockey are best friends, complicating matters for everyone, especially when the disk-jockey begins to find his buddy's new flame irresistible. Although this is a sexual comedy meant as a vehicle for the talents of Coluche, it unfolds as a rather run-of-the-mill, sentimental, two-handkerchief story about the classic love triangle. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Menage begins as a comedy of sorts, but be warned: it develops into a very dark, very confusing probe into the seamier aspects of Parisian life. Gerard Depardieu plays a crude but charismatic thief, whose own gayness does not prevent his commiserating with those of the opposite sex. Miou-Miou and Michel Blanc are young, impoverished lovers who fall under Depardieu's influence. He gains their confidence by introducing them to kinky sex, then sucks them into a vortex of crime. Director Bertrand Blier, who in most of his films has explored the awesome power (rather than pleasure) of sex, nearly outdoes himself in Menage (aka Tenue de Soiree). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this frequently surrealistic romp, a satire on sex, politics, and the business of filmmaking, two young women get together after discovering sufficient provocations in their lives to deliberately set out to wreak havoc in the world around them. Joelle (Anouk Grinberg) has just been thrown out of a moving car by her abusive man-friend, when Camille (Charlotte Gainsbourg) encounters her. Joelle's bitter exclamation Merci la Vie, or "thank you, life" echoes something of Camille's feelings, and the two decide to go on a rampage, picking up and seducing numerous men and then doing things like destroying their cars. Eventually, they set their sights on a "higher" goal and decide to do in an entire town. Meanwhile, it becomes evident that a sinister medical researcher, Dr. Worms (Gérard Depardieu), has infected promiscuous Joelle with a sexually transmitted disease he invented for the sole purpose of becoming the man who finds its cure, which he hopes will make him beloved, famous and rich. At some point, an elaborate series of flashbacks enter the story, and in one sequence, Camille attempts to persuade her feuding parents to get back together long enough to conceive her. Reviewers noted that logic is not a strong point in this film, but they found its fast pace and bright performances vastly entertaining. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

This experimental drama is something of an actor's challenge: see if you can convincingly play an age range from six to thirty six without any makeup or costume changes, just by using your gifts as a performer. In this film, the role of Victorine poses just such a challenge to Anouk Grinberg, who appears as this child of the Marseilles slums. At any moment in the film, she is likely to be any age. The young girl cowering at her mother's feet becomes a sexual wunderkind, as well as observing the bizarre and often sexual antics of her multiracial neighbors. If there is one theme for the movie beyond Victorine's odd life, it is that everyone needs affection and support. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A burned out actor begins to question his sanity in this French comedy that stars the writer/director Michel Blanc in a dual role. In the first role Blanc plays himself as an exhausted actor. He has been doing too much TV and too many movies. Odd things begin to happen and Blanc becomes convinced his sanity is slipping away. He is seen going berserk at Cannes with a series of starlets. At Cannes, he meets festival head Gilles Jacob whom he persuades to give the room number of Gerard Depardieu. After Blanc is accused of attempted rape, he goes to a psychiatrist who prescribes peace and quiet in the country. He goes to the Provencial estate of his friend Carole Bouquet. It is there Bouquet and Blanc meet Blanc's devilish double Patrick Olivier. After a lengthy chase the two sit down and decide that Blanc will take only the high quality roles while Olivier will do the rest. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The son of actor Bernard Blier, director Bertrand Blier is known throughout France for his documentaries and dark depictions of sex and its impact on society. Though his influences and personal opinions clearly shine through, Les Acteurs is a satirical take on the ups, downs, and numerous implications of life in showbiz as told by a variety of real-life French actors. Among the featured cast are André Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jacques Villeret, Claude Rich, and Pierre Arditi, all of whom play themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi