Charles Gassot Movies

With a conceit that suggests a contemporary, female-centered reprise of Melvin Van Peebles's offbeat Watermelon Man, the satirical fantasy Agathe Clery stars French comedienne Valerie Lemercier as the title character, a severely bigoted, obnoxious cosmetics employee. The lily-white Agathe particularly loathes blacks, which makes it that much more ironic when, on the eve of the launch of her new line of beauty products for fair complexions ("Scandinavia"), her own skin suddenly takes on a much darker tone - making her the object of scorn, derision and prejudice for dozens of others around her and effectively giving her a taste of her own medicine. The experience quickly strong-arms Agathe into a reconsideration of her warped values and standards, but also robs the downtrodden woman of her job and prized beau. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Director Coline Serreau's warmhearted comedy Saint Jacques. . .La Mecque concerns a trio of estranged siblings who must complete a road trip together in order to collect an inheritance after their mother dies. The ever-at-the-end-of his-tether businessman Pierre (Artus de Penguern), mousy teacher Clara (Muriel Robin), and drunken reprobate Caludr (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), must travel together in order to each warn the millions their mother left them or else it all goes to charity. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

The year is 2095 and the ancient Egyptian gods have returned to Earth to cast judgment on the falcon-headed god Horus in this epic fantasy from comic-book creator Enki Bilal. Given only one week by the gods to preserve his immortality, Horus must search New York City and find both a human host whose body he will inhabit and a willing mate to continue his legacy. As the enormous pyramid of the gods looms ominously over Manhattan, a beautiful and mysterious young woman named Jill wanders the streets in search of her true identity. With striking blue hair to match the azure tears that stream down her cheeks, Jill is joined in her search by a doctor determined to help her unlock her true power. In the Immortal world, reality is limited only by imagination, and the futuristic city is inhabited by creatures never conceived in even your wildest dreams. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

French filmmakers Gérard Bitton and Michel Munz write and direct the comedy Ah! Si j'etais Riche (If I Were a Rich Man). Salesman Aldo (Jean-Pierre Darroussin) is getting divorced from his wife Alice (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). When he unexpectedly wins ten million euros in the lottery, he has to maintain the secret until the divorce is final. Though entitled to take half of his earnings, she's momentarily distracted by an affair with his boss, Gérard (Richard Berry). Co-writer/director Michel Munz also provides the original music. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

The director of the celebrated black comedy Tatie Danielle, Étienne Chatiliez returns to the realm of dark humor with Tanguy. When their eponymous son is born, Paul and Edith Guetz (André Dussolier and Sabine Azema) are so besotted with the new arrival that they make him the fateful promise he can live with them forever. Twenty-eight years later, with Tanguy still under their roof and showing no intention of relocating, they begin to regret their promise. Although she is proud of her son, who is both excessively smart and handsome, Edith is soon driven to distraction, and makes plans to bundle Tanguy off to Asia. When this doesn't pan out, Edith convinces Paul that they must resort to more serious measures. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Agnes Jaoui co-writes and directs this romantic comedy of manners set in France's rustic Provence. Unpolished and ultra-pragmatic industrialist Jean-Jacques Castella (co-scripter Jean-Pierre Bacri) reluctantly attends Racine's tragedy "Berenice" in order to see his niece play a bit part. He is taken with the play's strangely familiar-looking leading lady Clara Devaux (Anne Alvaro). During the course of the show, Castella soon remembers that he once hired and then promptly fired the actress as an English language tutor. He immediately goes out and signs up for language lessons. Thinking that he is nothing but an ill-tempered philistine with bad taste, Clara rejects him until Castella charms her off her feet. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

A story about a man and his dog, this film is a wrought urban drama about the gritty realities of life on the street. Middle-aged Michel (Jacques Hansen) wanders the streets of Paris aimlessly until he happens upon an abused dog. When the police threaten to take the animal away, he reluctantly turns to his former lover who works with the city. The results prove to be disastrous for the brittle Michel. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Gillaume Nicloux directed this French comedy drama about amateur sleuth Gabriel Lecouvreur, aka The Octopus (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a Gallic gumshoe with no fixed address, who travels with his girlfriend Cheryl (Clotilde Courau) to a harbor town in western France. The graves of Cheryl's grandparents have been desecrated, and during their investigation of this, they encounter a half-dozen demented denizens and other looney locals. More than 100 paperbacks by different writers have chronicled The Octopus' adventures; this is the first film featuring the character. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Patrice Chereau (Queen Margot) directed this French drama about a train trip to an artist's funeral. Friends of painter Jean-Baptiste Emmerich (Jean-Louis Trintignant, seen in flashbacks) gather at a Paris railroad station for a four-hour journey to Limoges, where Emmerich wanted to be buried. The dozen travelers include art historian Francois (Pascal Greggory) and his lover Louis (Bruno Todeschini), who develops an interest in teenage Bruno (Sylvain Jacques). Traveling parallel with the train is a station wagon with Jean-Baptiste's body, and this vehicle is driven by Thierry (Roschdy Zem), husband of Catherine (Dominique Blanc), who's on the train with their daughter. Francois plays a taped interview with Jean-Baptiste, revealing his sexual appeal to both men and women. Lucie (Marie Daems) is convinced that she was his main love. Also on board is his nephew, Jean-Marie (Charles Berling) and Jean-Marie's estranged wife, Claire (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), After the funeral in "Europe's largest cemetery," the storyline continues in the mansion of Jean-Baptiste's brother, Lucien (also played by Trintignant). With hand-held camerawork for almost two-thirds of the film, the production involved two extra cars connected to a real scheduled train, headed one way in the morning and returning in the afternoon, with cast and crew logging some 12,000 kilometers over two weeks. Source music runs the gamut from James Brown to Jim Morrison. The title refers to the dying words uttered by the painter -- which actually are the last words spoken by filmmaker Francois Reichenbach who died in 1993 (and appropriated here by his friend, co-scripter Daniele Thompson). One of Francois Reichenbach's best-known films (and subject of an entire book) is the documentary Medicine Ball Caravan (aka We Have Come for Your Daughters,1971), a curious effort to duplicate the success of Woodstock (1970) by simply inviting a large number of musicians, hippies, and counterculture types aboard a cross-country train and filming the result. Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide