Gérard Brach Movies

Jean-Jacques Annaud directed and co-wrote this wildly offbeat comic fantasy set in an ancient land in the Aegean Sea thousands of years ago. Minor (José Garcia) was abandoned by his parents as a child and was raised by a pack of pigs; he speaks in porcine grunts and lives and loves much like his fellow hogs. Minor is just human enough to have his head turned by Clytia (Melanie Bernier), a beautiful girl living in the nearby village. However, if Minor's lack of social skills weren't enough to keep Clytia away, she's already been pledged to wed handsome and charming Karkos (Sergio Peris-Mencheta). When Minor runs afoul of the tribal leadership, he's removed from his home with the pigs and forced to live in an enchanted forest, where he attracts the not entirely welcome attentions of Pan (Vincent Cassel), a randy half-man and half-goat willing to couple with anything that breathes. When Minor emerges from the forest able to speak with newfound eloquence, the tribal leaders name him their new potentate, and Clytia suddenly finds him a great deal more appealing, which doesn't sit well with Karkos. Sa Majesté Minor (aka His Majesty Minor) was written by Annaud and his frequent collaborator Gérard Brach, who died shortly after the film began shooting. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Based on the novel by Witold Gombrowicz, writer/director Jan Jakub Kolski's Pornography is set in the Polish countryside during WWII. Witold (Adam Ferency), the narrator, is at a gathering of his intellectual artist friends in Warsaw, where he meets Frederick (Krzysztof Majchrzak), a mysterious, but charming, stranger. They hit it off, so Witold invites Frederick along as he goes to visit the home of his friend Hipolit (Krzysztof Globisz) and his wife Maria (Grazyna Blecka-Kolska). Witold and Frederick become obsessed with arranging the coupling of Hipolit's beautiful teenage daughter, Henia (Sandra Samos), and an equally beautiful young man, Karol (Kazimierz Mazur), who is working at the farm. But Henia is engaged to Vaclav (Grzegorz Damiecki), who is visiting with his deeply religious mother, Amelia (Irena Laskowska). As the two middle-aged gentlemen scheme, Germans fight with the Polish resistance, led by Siemian (Jan Frycz), in the woods nearby. Hipolit supports the resistance and his household is thrown into chaos when he is ordered to "liquidate" Siemian to prevent him from talking if he's captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, Frederick's obsession with Veronika, a pretty young maid at the house, masks a dark secret from his past. Pornography was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival and selected for the 2003 New York Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

In keeping with the his cult reputation, Italian filmmaker Dario Argento's take on Gaston Leroux's enduring Gothic tale of terror and obsession features plenty of sex and graphic, high-tech gore (although hard-core Argento purists may find the splatter scenes rather sparse). Unlike other renditions of the illustrious Phantom, Argento's version suffers no facial disfigurement and therefore remains unmasked. His creepiness, shown in the early parts of the story, comes from having been abandoned as a baby and raised by rats in the labyrinthine catacombs beneath the Paris Opera. Unaccustomed to humankind, the Phantom (Julian Sands) spends his days in the darkness playing an organ, murdering intruders, saving his rodent family members from the theater's exterminator and occasionally wandering about the opera house. His life changes when he falls in love with beautiful young singer Christine (Asia Argento), understudy to temperamental zaftig diva Carlotta (Nadia Rinaldi). Desperate to have her, the Phantom plays a haunting melody and lures her into the bowels of the great theater. There he will begin a macabre courtship destined to end in tragedy. Those who enjoy finding continuity mistakes will be delighted to discover that while the story is set in 1877, the theater is lighted with electricity, something that did not happen in real life until 1888. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This documentary places the viewer at the feet of Adriaan Ditvoorst a much-lionized darling of Dutch avant-garde cinema, a largely unsuccessful adherent of the auteur school of filmmmaking who took his own life in 1987. His films (such as Flanagan and White Madness) recognized no need to please or acknowledge audience wishes or the demands of commerce, and Ditvoorst was puzzled by and disdainful of the success of those who did. He found it incredibly difficult to find financial backing in the Netherlands for even the most modest film projects, despite his prominence, innovativeness and originality. After his wife left him, he sank into a depression. The documentary explores his life via film clips and interviews with those who knew him. Some of those interviewed assert that he might have done well if he had moved to France, others felt he was always depressive and self-defeating. Whatever else he was, he was definitely a committed idealist who suffered for his principles. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The Lover is director Jean-Jacques Annaud's adaptation of Marguerite Duras' minimalist 1984 novel. Set in French Indochina in 1929, the film explores the erotic charge of forbidden love. Jane March plays a French teenager sent to a Saigon boarding school, while Tony Leung is a 32-year Chinese aristocrat. They look at each and they both see a blinding white flash; it's kismet. He offers her a ride in his limousine and soon they meet in his "bachelor room" where they revel in a wide variety of creative sexual encounters. However, they both realize their love is doomed. She comes from a troubled family that includes a mentally-disturbed mother (Frederique Meininger) and drug-addicted brother (Arnaud Giovaninetti). It also appears that her family would not approve of an interracial tryst. But then neither would his family, since in order to inherit his father's wealth, he must not break from a traditional Chinese arranged marriage. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Jean-Jacques Annaud directed this unusual and compelling tale of animals in the wild, which tells its tale from the bears' point of view. A pair of carefully-trained bruins deliver remarkably effective "performances" (aided by clever editing and, in some sequences, the use of realistic animated models). A infant bear cub (Douce the Bear) witnesses the death of his mother in a rockslide and is forced to set out to fend for himself. The young bear encounters a giant grizzly (Bart the Bear), who at first cannot abide the young bear's presence. However, the grizzly is soon ambushed by a pair of hunters -- Bill (Jack Wallace) and Tom (Tcheky Karyo) -- after an altercation with their pack animals. As the injured beast cleans his wounds in a stream, the young bear comes to his aid, and the giant takes the youngster under his wing. However, Bill and Tom have sworn revenge on the grizzly, and when they capture the young bear, it lures the giant back into the hunters' camp. L'Ours, released in English-speaking countries as The Bear, was based on the novel King Grizzly by James Oliver Curwood. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Writer Jill Clayburgh wants to remove her coke-addicted daughter Martha Plimpton from the corruptive environs of Manhattan. When assigned to write an article about family trees, Clayburgh, with daughter in tow, heads to the bayous of Louisiana, there to seek out an elusive great-uncle--and, it is hoped, to give Plimpton a new start in life. Upon their arrival in the deep south, Clayburgh and Plimpton are confronted with the uncle's rugged, iron-willed wife Barbara Hershey and her four grown sons. The anticipated culture clash results in tragedy for all concerned. Wavering between the plausible and the outrageous, Shy People makes for fascinating, almost mesmerizing viewing. Released late in 1987 to qualify for the Academy Awards, the film was given a general release in mid-1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Co-adapted by director Claude Berri from a novel by Marcel Pagnol, this hugely successful French historical drama concerns a bizarre battle royale over a valuable natural spring in a remote French farming community. City dweller Jean Cadoret (Gérard Depardieu) assumes ownership of the spring when the original owner is accidentally killed by covetous farmer Cesar Soubeyran (Yves Montand). Soubeyran and his equally disreputable nephew Ugolin (Daniel Auteuil) pull every dirty trick in the book to force Cadoret off his land, but the novice farmer stands firm. Although the Soubeyrans appear to gain the upper hand, the audience is assured that they will eventually be foiled by the vengeful daughter of the spring's deceased owner -- thus setting the stage for the film's equally successful sequel, Manon of the Spring. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Although the title evokes a swashbuckling adventure, Roman Polanski's Pirates tuns out to be a seagoing tale with a bit of a difference. Captain Red (Walter Matthau) runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor (Cris Campion). One day Capt. Red is captured and taken aboard a Spanish galleon, but thanks to his inventiveness, he raises the crew to mutiny, takes over the ship, and kidnaps the daughter of the governor of Maracaibo (Charlotte Lewis, soon to co-star in The Golden Child opposite Eddie Murphy). The question is, can he keep this pace up? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This is an overwrought drama about two repugnant petty criminals who terrorize a movie star in her home. Marc (Francois Cluzet) and Laurent (Jean-Roger Milo) have just committed a robbery and as they are speeding through the countryside to get away, they run out of gas. When they come across the architecturally melodramatic mansion of actress Jessica Melrose (Fanny Ardant), they invade the premises and after she returns home, they hold her hostage. She is subjected to indignities at the hands of these two "fans," one of whom has a penchant for cross-dressing. These are not the kind of people that most viewers would choose to spend 96 minutes watching. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky's first American film is a romantic tale about an American war veteran whose dreams of his childhood sweetheart are countered by a less sunny reality. John Savage stars as Ivan Bibic, who has returned home to a small town in Pennsylvania, having suffered a nervous breakdown as a P.O.W. During the war, he would dream about his fiancee back home, Maria Bosic (Nastassja Kinski), imagining their forthcoming perfect marriage. At one point, Ivan is told, "You dreamed about her too long. She lives in your dreams, not in your body." And it's true -- his dreams do not equal his reality. Maria and Ivan marry, but Ivan finds that he cannot make love to the flesh and blood Maria. Knowing she was actively pursued by men in town during the war, Ivan courages her to take lovers. Maria does so, having affairs with another GI, Al Griselli (Vincent Spano), and a passing drifter named Clarence Butts (Keith Carradine). But after spending the night with Clarence, Maria becomes pregnant, and Ivan's love for her is sorely tested. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This story about a wounded American gangster seeking refuge in the country villa of a blind, sophisticated, and aging actor has an uneven script that alternates sharp dialogue with slow segments. The plot thickens when the actor's nephew arrives with his new love interest, and she is quite taken with the gangster. Jealous of his brutish rival, the young nephew plans to get back at the American in any way he can. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi