Jean-Claude Brialy Movies

One woman's conflicting emotions and the whims of fate prevent her from being faithful to the man she loves in this drama. In 1939, Jeanne (Emmanuelle Beart) marries Louis (Daniel Auteuil) shortly before he is called to duty during World War II. Jeanne does not deal well with loneliness, and she takes many lovers after Louis is declared Missing In Action. In 1944, Jeanne receives word that Louis is alive, incarcerated in a P.O.W. camp. When Louis is released and returns home, he learns of her scandalous behavior; he forgives her for her infidelities and offers to give her freedom, but Jeanne chooses to remain in the marriage. Several months later, Jeanne gives birth to twins; while Louis is not convinced that he's the father, he loyally accepts them as his own. Louis takes his wife and children to Berlin, where to his disappointment, Jeanne becomes smitten with Mathias (Gabriel Barylli), a successful businessman. Before long, Louis is once again sent into battle, this time in Indochina. Jeanne returns to France, and Mathias opts to go with her; both Louis and Mathias remain faithful to Jeanne, and when Louis is made a military attaché to Damascus, Mathias once again follows her. Une Femme Francaise) reunited Emmanuelle Beart and Daniel Auteuil, who previously co-starred in the acclaimed French drama Un Coeur en Hiver. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Arsene Lupin was a well-known French gentleman burglar who was active at the turn of the 20th century. In this routine costume drama and actioner by Edouard Molinaro, Lupin's two sons, François (Jean-Claude Brialy) and Gerard (Jean-Pierre Cassel) decide to go into their father's profession soon after he has been laid to rest, six feet under. Both sons have their own personalities, and though they go into the burglary business together, they have multiple disagreements. One thing they do agree on is that they must put aside their differences in order to rescue some jewels for a gorgeous princess (Françoise Dorleac. Dorleac, the sister of Catherine Deneuve, was tragically killed in a 1967 auto accident. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The feature-film debut of famed director Louis Malle is an interesting, modern film noir with the classic theme of lovers plotting to kill the husband and make it look like suicide (reminiscent of The Postman Always Rings Twice). Jeanne Moreau, as Florence Carala, gives an astonishing performance, perverse but naive as she leads her young lover down a path that can only lead to doom for both of them. Malle and his cinematographer Henri Decae make extensive use of Paris at night, giving the film the feel of claustrophobia and desperation reminiscent of the classic noir films. The excellent score by Miles Davis adds to the entire effect of this mystery thriller. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide

This sumptuous French drama offers episodes from the notorious life of 18th century socialite and playwright Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais. The story begins in the 1770s with a rehearsal of his "The Barber of Seville." Young friend of Voltaire, Philipp Gudin introduces himself to the great playwright and offers to become his personal secretary. He then becomes the adventurous Beaumarchais' keeper as the author gets involved in a variety of situations including a duel with an angry husband, his battle with the corrupt French government and a serious long-term affair with Marie-Theres de Willer. It all comes to a climax when King Louis XV assigns the playwright a secret mission to London. There he must find and retrieve a damning document from transvestite aristocrat Chevalier D'Eon. Unfortunately, Beaumarchais gets tangled up with supporting American rebels and ends up tossed in jail. Louis XVI sees that he is finally released and then the writer becomes an arms smuggler for American revolutionaries. All of his activities bankrupt him and so Beaumarchais must return to writing plays. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Directors Jean-Henri Roger and Juliet Berto begin this thriller with sequences on the contemporary politics of southern France and the infiltration of organized crime into real estate development there -- the crime bosses were torching forest tracts to make way for their development schemes in the early 1980s. In the fictionalized story, Paula Barretto (Juliet Berto) is caught in this underworld because her father was involved in the drug business, her brother is in the real estate scam, and her lover is an armed thief. Although she tries to get out of her corrupt and dangerous environment, it is not an easy task when even the police officers cannot be trusted, and the underworld has informants everywhere. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cargaison Blanche (White Cargo) bears no relation to the steamy tropical stage melodrama of the same name. The "cargo" referred to in the title consists of innocent young girls who are transported to parts unknown for immoral purposes. Female journalist Francoise Arnoul tries to catch the white-slaver villains in the act, only to be kidnapped herself. She is rescued by Georges Aminel, a black dope addict with whom she forms a strong (albeit platonic) bond. Once Aminel is able to convince the authorities of Arnoul's plight, the poor girl is returned to safety by nominal hero Georges Rivieres. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jane Birkin stars in this sex farce as a young British prostitute in Paris who, after her soft-core business fails, decides to go big-time and incorporate herself, selling stock to four disparate investors. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Based on a play by Arthur Schnitzer, this is a rather flat remake of the 1932 film Liebelei that featured Magda Schneider as Christine. Director Pierre Gaspard-Huit keeps it all in the family by putting Schneider's daughter Romy Schneider in the top female slot. Opposite her is newcomer Alain Delon in his first lead role, yet to reach his stride on the silver screens in France. The setting is 19th-century Vienna and Franz (Delon) is a young lieutenant who has fallen in love with Christine, a charming opera singer. But Franz' feelings are misunderstood -- a wealthy baron is certain that the lieutenant is after his wife and as a result, challenges him to a tragic duel. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Cleo From 5 to 7 (Cleo de cinq a sept), per its title, concentrates on two hours in the life of a woman. Those hours are desperate ones, in that Cleo, a pop singer, awaits the results of her tests for cancer. Director Agnes Varda stages the film in "real" rather than subjective time, its various episodes divided into chapters, using significant Tarot cards. During the allotted time, Cleo visits her friends, tries to sing her worries away, spends money, and cries. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When Joelle (Nathalie Courval) notices that the "one of a kind" watch given to her by her lover Norbert (Jean-Claude Brialy) is also being worn by Olivia (Marcha Grant), she and the other woman strike up an acquaintance. They discover that they had been told the same lie by the same man; not only is he being unfaithful to his wife with a mistress, he is being unfaithful to one mistress with yet another! The two watch-wearing mistresses put their heads together to think up an appropriate punishment. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The insidious emergence of state-sanctioned anti-Semitism in Fascist Italy sets the stage for this historical drama. In 1938, Umberto (Diego Abatantuono) is a tailor who is beginning to lose business to Leone (Sergio Castellito), a haberdasher whose shop is next door to Umberto's. Leone offers stock much like Umberto's and at lower prices, which has brought plenty of customers into his store, causing Umberto no small amount of annoyance. Umberto's ire is hardly soothed by the fact that his teenage son Paolo (Elio Germano) is dating Leone's daughter, Susanna (Gioia Spaziani), or that the two men's younger sons, Pietruccio (Walter Dragonetti) and Lele (Simone Ascani), are best friends. The rivalry between the two shopkeepers eventually leads to a heated public argument, in which Umberto refers to Leone's Jewish faith in a derogatory manner. A policeman overhears this, and Leone, who had previously been quiet about his Jewish heritage, soon finds himself having to deal with the sanctions being levied against Jewish citizens. As Umberto sees his neighbor slowly stripped of his property, his rights, and his dignity, his anger turns to sympathy and to a wish that he could do something to help a man not so different from himself. Concorrenza Sleale was directed by Ettore Scola, who previously examined Italy during Mussolini's rule in Una Giornata Speciale. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide