Bernard Evein Movies

In 1967, the phenomenally successful director of the films Lola and the groundbreaking musical Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Jacques Demy, arrived in the little port town of Rochefort and, together with his art director, decorated the whole town in cheerful, almost surreal fashion for the filming of his next musical, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. This enormously well-received film, packed with songs which became integral to French popular culture, put the little town of Rochefort "on the map." Twenty five years later, a lot of things have changed except for the fond memories of the people who worked on the film, and of the townspeople. In this celebratory documentary, Agnes Varda, the wife of Jacques Demy, brings some of the players and extras together back in Rochefort for some reminiscences. In keeping with the thoroughly romantic nature of the musical, she also tells the story of how Les Demoiselles de Rochefort's extras found romance and had their lives changed by participating in its making. The present-day story is highlighted by clips from the earlier film, and from a documentary of the period showing how it was made. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

The carefree life at a decadent cabaret in Paris is overshadowed by the darkening cloud of war in this thrilling drama. Beppo (Roger Hanin) is a club owner with ties to the mob who wages a secret war against the evil forces of fascism who control the local police. Vivian Reed gives a memorable performance as Josephine Baker, while gangsters, Nazis and other thugs wage a nocturnal battle for control of the city of lights. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this confusing, surreal, and slow-paced drama that swings back and forth from strange to farcical, Robert (Alain Delon) meets Donatienne (Nathalie Baye) on a train. She tells him a story about a woman and a man who meet on a train and subsequently spend a night - only one night - in a glorious sexual encounter before they part forever. He is so taken with her that he ends up in her mountain chalet, not just for one night, but for many - drinking beer and forgetting about his wife in Paris. Donatienne then has sexual relations with all the men in her neighborhood - and the film steps fully into a bizarre world in which neither Robert nor Donatienne can honestly relate to each other. The mystery about what is going on is revealed in the end, but by then the film - verbose, inscrutable, and artificial - may have alienated more than one viewer. On the other hand, the performances of Delon and Baye stand out against this flawed backdrop, an achievement recognized at the 1984 Cesars when Delon won the Best Actor award for his role as Robert. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Bernice Rubens, I Sent a Letter to My Love stars Simone Signoret as a woman who has reached middle age without truly learning how to live. Responsible for the constant care of her paraplegic brother Jean Rochefort, Signoret seeks a brief respite from her confinement by inaugurating a pen-pal relationship with a man she has never met. Gradually, Signoret falls in love with her mystery correspondent, a love that is apparently reciprocated. No, we will not divulge the ending. Also featured in I Sent a Letter to My Love is cult favorite Delphine Seyrig. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An truly international production if there ever was one, this costume epic was based on a Japanese comic book, directed by a noted French filmmaker, and features a primarily British cast. Oscar (Catriona MacColl) is a young woman whose father, a career military man, wanted a boy. Rather than surrender to his disappointment after she was born, Father took to dressing Oscar in boy's clothes and raising her in a masculine fashion. While privately Oscar acknowledges her feminine side, she still dresses as a man and has gained an honored position as a guard to Marie Antoinette (Christina Bohm). In her younger days, Oscar was deeply infatuated with Andre (Barry Stokes), the son of the family's housekeeper, and when the French Revolution begins to catch fire, Oscar and Andre's paths cross for the first time in years. However, with the assault on the Bastille, Oscar and Andre find themselves fighting on opposite sides of the political fence. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In France, the slang-word for "bounty hunter" is "alpagueur." When the police are working on cases where they do not want their presence officially known, they arrange for private individuals who specialize in this work to perform certain services, such as setting up major arrests. In this film, L'Alpageur is Jean-Paul Belmondo, who does his work with a considerable sense of humor, great charm, and in as "clean" a way as possible. First, he busts a drug-trafficking ring operating out of Rotterdam by observing that a certain "pregnant" woman moves in an unusual fashion. Her "baby" turns out to be a large, specially shaped package of heroin. The drug kingpins stung by his operation seek to find the man who thwarted them, but because L'Alpageur is known only to a few in the police department, the drug barons' corrupt police friends cannot determine who he is. Later, he busts the leaders of a prostitution ring. While they were all gathered in one room, he fed nitrous oxide into that space, and they all fell unconscious following a few giddy, laugh-filled moments. This made it possible for him to arrest them without their ever seeing him. His most important case, however, is his search for "The Hawk," a bank-robber who uses local juvenile delinquents in each town to help him set up his thefts. After each robbery, he kills his helpers. One of them, however, has survived and has been put in jail. L'Alpageur is given a false identity and is put into jail alongside the youth. His job is to help the lad escape, and find the elusive, murderous bank robber. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this gentle, tragic drama, Olivier (John McEnery) is a wealthy young man with a lively and attractive mother (Valentina Cortese), which is a pity, really, as he can't bear her, or the men she gets involved with. When he gets too upset with her escapades, he begins to break things, or runs off. Otherwise, he spends his time building a boat on the lawn with his friend David (Jean-Pierre Cassal), a poor fisherman whom he grew up with. Though hardly idyllic, the relative calm provided by their friendship is disrupted by Eleonor (Claude Jade), a cute and determined young woman who sets her sights on David. She wants to wean David from his friendship with Olivier and plays on David's long-dormant jealousy of Olivier's wealth and easy life. She also plays the flipside of the jealousy issue, claiming that Olivier has made passes at her. This film is in the French language. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A family living on a remote island learns an escaped prisoner may be in the area. Allan (Sterling Hayden) is the professor who studies the migratory habits of birds. His wife Clea (Maureen McNalley) has a fascination for all things dead. Her sister Lis (Susan Strasberg) is visiting to break the news of her impending marriage to an older man. Clea leaves tobacco and food out for the unseen escapee. Lis meets the prisoner (Stuart Whitman) on the beach and the two make love. The quiet paradise is interrupted by the escaped prisoner who later suffers a potentially fatal wound while killing another man. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

In this anthology, six French filmmakers each contributed a vignette, offering their take on the history of prostitution. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this charming drama, a department store clerk takes his wife and kids on a Parisian vacation. One day he is out sightseeing by himself when he encounters a fashion model and offers to give her a guided tour. As they amble about, the romantic city casts its spell and the model falls in love with her guide (who has been pretending to be an artist). Finally things come to a passionate head, and the fellow must decide between a fling and his family. He chooses the latter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

While visiting a vegetarian restaurant, a young writer finds a corpse in the restroom. When he returns with the police, the body is gone. The writer is left with the unlucky fellow's hat -- which leads a certain beautiful woman to believe that his identity is the same as the dead man's. Not only is his life now at risk, but things get increasingly bizarre as he meets up with a mysterious sect of cannibals and with a group of opium-smuggling gangsters. What's more, the woman herself seems to have a diabolical doppleganger. Aimez-Vous Les Femmes? was adapted by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach from a book by Georges Bardawil. The distinguished Sacha Vierny contributed his cinematographic talent to this black comedy shortly after his successful collaboration (among many) with director Alain Resnais on Muriel, ou le Temps d'un Retour/Muriel, or the Time of Return (1963). ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

In this drama that alludes to the Algerian War with France of the 1960s, Thomas (Alain Delon) is a deserter from the French Foreign Legion who is on the run from authorities. He helps damsel in distress Dominique (Lea Massari), who has been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. Thomas is wounded but manages to escape after killing the guard who inflicted the injury. Dominique gives Thomas money to escape to France after he secures her freedom, but he is caught between the Foreign Legion and the terrorists seeking revenge. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide