Michel Carre Movies
- 2008
Jacques Offenbach's 5-act opéra fantastique Tales of Hoffmann (1881) receives an interpretation by the Gran Théâtre de Genève in this 2008 stage production. It stars Marc Laho as Hoffmann, and, as his three ill-fated romantic conquests (all variations of the same woman): Patricia Petibon as Olympia, Rachel Harnisch as Antonia and Maria Riccarda Wesseling as Giulietta. Three different musical ensembles provide accompaniment: the Chœur du Grand Théâtre de Genève (under the direction of chorus master Ching Lien-Wu), the Chœur Orpheus de Sofia (under the direction of chorus master Krum Maximov) and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (under the co-direction of concertmaster Bogdan Zvoristeanu and musical director Patrick Davin). Olivier Py did the stage direction and lighting, while Pierre-André Weitz designed the sets and costumes. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Marc Laho, Stella Doufexis, (more)
- 1985
This is an affecting story about a father's attempts to mend the breaches in the relationship between himself and his 10-year-old daughter. Emmanuel (Sami Frey) is the father of Elise (Mara Goyet) by his first marriage, and the stepfather of an older daughter by his second marriage. He tries to make the best of both family relationships by taking off to visit his young daughter on the weekends, but that only makes his new family a little jealous -- especially his stepdaughter. She herself is confused about her own relationship with him. After a particularly emotional send-off one weekend, Emmanuel and Elise take a trip from the south of France into Spain, working on a film project. Through a series of round-about conversations, Emmanuel manages to open up a few channels of communication with Elise -- channels that expand even wider when he uses the technique of talking into her video camera to express thoughts and feelings that otherwise would have remained hidden. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sami Frey, Mara Goyet, (more)
- 1978
Marie (Annie Girardot) teaches high school and has a 16-year-old daughter in her class. Divorced some years previously, she has some vague egalitarian notions about friendship with her students and leaves her door open to them. One of her protégés is found beaten up just outside her door, and an emergency physician comes by to treat her. When her daughter starts seeing someone she doesn't much like, and she begins having a brief affair (her first since the divorce) with the ER doctor, she begins to reconsider her policy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Girardot, Patrick Dewaere, (more)
- 1977
La Vie Parisienne is a musical which is based on the farcical operetta by Jacques Offenbach which made the can-can famous. The story concerns two rich sons of the upper classes, who revel in the rich nightlife of Paris where they can drink, gamble, womanize and rub shoulders with all classes. Eventually, they tire of this and confine their elaborate womanizing schemes to other aristocrats, with the help of their sympathetic servants. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Alane, Georges Aminel, (more)
- 1969
- R
Set up like a version of the Maltese Falcon, this routine detective yarn by Roger Corman features Vic Morrow as Harry Black, a hard-living, tough-skinned American in trouble. Two dangerous factions want to get their hands on some engraving plates stolen from the British mint, and Harry is trapped in the middle. The staged car chases, the seductive woman (Suzanne Pleshette) who wants Harry for her own reasons, Monte Carlo and Istanbul locations, the dramatic musical score, and all the earmarks of a low-grade James Bond spy thriller date this drama to the 1960s. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vic Morrow, Suzanne Pleshette, (more)
