James Campbell Movies

A black street sweeper and a white bank executive lose their jobs on the same day in Paris, and Wantani: Un Monde Sans Mal follows what happens to them as we study their respective fates. The banker has trouble finding a new job but lies to his wife about his problems, while continuing to spoil his daughters. Eventually, he falls in with a group of racist thugs at a local bar and starts to tag along with them as they attack blacks and Arabs out on the streets after dark. The street sweeper, however, is left homeless by his firing, and is soon forced to take shelter at a local church when local employment agencies and social service organizations allow him to fall through the cracks. Despite all this, he and his family maintain their dignity as they band together with other poor immigrants to keep body and soul together. Independent filmmaker Med Hondo shot this feature on digital video; it became controversial after Hondo publicly contested the French ratings board's restrictive designation for the film, which cited its violence. Hondo, however, argued that the violence of the film was merely an honest reflection of the realities the film was meant to criticize. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Joel and Ethan Coen's third collaboration, the gangster film Miller's Crossing, stars Gabriel Byrne as Tom Reagan, the right-hand man of big-city Irish mob boss Leo (Albert Finney). The film opens with Italian mobster Johnny Caspar (Jon Polito) and his second in command Eddie Dane (J.E. Freeman) informing Leo and Tom that they are going to kill bookie Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) because he has been revealing Caspar's fixed fights to other gamblers. Leo informs Caspar that Bernie pays for protection and is not to be touched. After the Italians leave in a huff, Tom informs Leo that he should give up Bernie. Tom and Leo are both involved with Verna (Marcia Gay Harden), Bernie's sister. After a failed hit on Leo starts a full-scale mob war, Tom reveals to Leo the truth about his relationship with Verna. This leads to a falling-out between the pair. Tom goes to work for Caspar, but in truth, he is still loyal to Leo. Tom figures out how to manipulate all of the situations so that Leo survives, but this may cost Tom his relationship with Verna. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A blend of comedy, drama and romance, Bull Durham follows the intertwining of three lives brought together by the great American pastime. Crash Davis (Kevin Costner, showcasing his Midwestern charm) is a perennial Minor Leaguer assigned to the Durham Bulls, a hapless team with a long tradition of mediocrity. There he tutors a young, dim-witted pitching prodigy, Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins) in the ways of baseball, life, and love. Each strikes up a romance with Annie (Susan Sarandon), the team's "mascot" who takes it upon herself to sleep with a new player every season. Each has his/her own conflict: Crash struggles to end his career with some measure of dignity; Nuke struggles to make it to the "big show"; and Annie struggles to find something more than a roll in the hay -- and of course, Crash and Nuke come into conflict over Annie's affections to further complicate matters. The film treats the sport of baseball with a sort of casual reverence, highlighting both the drama and the humor inherent in the game, illustrated by Annie's numerous references to baseball as "her religion." ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

The mutual admiration between actor Jack Nicholson and director Michelangelo Antonioni resulted in the psychological drama The Passenger. Nicholson plays David Locke, a disillusioned American reporter who is sent on a grueling mission to North Africa. When he stumbles across the body of a dead man, Locke, long desirous of starting life over again, assumes the corpse's identity. He soon discovers that the man he's pretending to be is involved in gun running on behalf of a terrorist group. Making the acquaintance of a mysterious woman (Maria Schneider), he finds a kindred spirit -- a woman as "lost" as he. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Roger Hanin plays "The Gorilla" in Deadly Decoy. No, he doesn't have elongated arms or hair all over his body. The Gorilla is a top secret agent, famed for his strength and dexterity. His assignment this time around is to prevent a political assassination. He expedites this by setting himself up as the target. Roger Dumas and Pierre Dac costar in Deadly Decoy, which didn't make it into American theatres until the James Bond craze peaked in 1965. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this romantic comedy, voluptuous Parisian model Sophie (Brigitte Bardot) is angered when she learns that her boyfriend Phillipe, a photographer, has been playing around with Barbara, an American heiress. Alain, another man, who has secretly loved her for years, suggests she get even by making love to him. Sophie has a better idea, she will follow her Corsican family traditions and simply shoot him. Alain warns the photographer who takes his new girl and flees for the Alps with Sophie and Alain in hot pursuit. In the scenic mountains, Sophie and the 'other' woman meet. Together they decide the men are not worth the effort and begin to despise them. This film contains the once-controversial "nude" dance scene with Bardot (who actually wore a body stocking). ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi