Francis Girod Movies

A cross-dressing man allows himself to be used as bait to trap a killer in this crime-drama. Bo Ancelin (Robinson Stevenin) is a twentysomething man from Brussels who feels most comfortable dressing and living as a woman. Some might see Bo's lifestyle as a marked contrast to that of his father, a successful and well-regarded businessman, though it seems father has some secrets of his own after no-nonsense police detective, Paul Huysmans (Richard Bohringer), arrests him on charges of child molestation. While Bo bears his own scars from his upbringing, he's not eager to speak against his father in court, but before long both Bo and Huysmans have bigger fish to fry -- a serial killer is walking the streets of Brussels and choosing as his favored victims prostitutes and cross-dressers. When two of his friends are murdered by the killer, Bo decides he must step in to help catch the killer that Huysmans hasn't yet found on his own, though Bo soon falls into a dangerous position when he falls in love with Johnny (Stephane Metzger), a sullen and street-smart hustler who helps rent-boys find profitable assignations with older women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

A paranoiac's delight, this contemporary mystery thriller warns that psychotherapy can be dangerous for both doctor and patient. The twisted tale begins with a funeral and then moves to the office of Dr. Antoine Riviere, a noted psychiatrist and author who deep down is more interested in his own needs than those of his patients. The only two clients who interest him are the filthy rich temptress Isabelle d'Archambault and the natty Edouard Berg, who brags of killing his wife and may actually be guilty of the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Emma (Nathalie Baye) has been happily married to Charles (Didier Sandre), a hardworking journalist, for over ten years. They have a son, and are considering having another child when she learns that she is both pregnant and HIV-positive at a time when Charles is away. As Emma has never used drugs or slept around, and has never had a blood transfusion, there can only be one source for her infection: her absent husband. Shocked to the core by this turn of events, she goes through his things and finds an address book with the names of many women in it. Determined to discover what has been going on, she begins contacting every name in the book. She continues her investigations even after her husband, whom she confronts over this, returns. While this film never comes across as an instructional piece, it was co-written by an AIDS specialist. It is also significant because is marks the final movie performance of Louis Ducreux (as the grandfather) after more than fifty years in the business. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Pierre Lacenaire is among the most notorious killers in French history. This well-wrought drama, tells his story. It begins in 1836 as the icy but somehow charming and intellectual Lacenaire awaits his execution and through a series of flashbacks chronicles the events and reasons why he has ended up on Death Row. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on a novel by Gilbert Tanugi, who co-wrote the screenplay, this noirish French drama is set within the Paris music scene and centers on the attempts of a dangerously indebted record producer to scrounge up a fortune to pay back the vengeful loan shark who is trying to destroy him. Producer Sam Friedman thinks his salvation is finally at hand when he hears Joe and Puppet Bennet, two African American jazz musicians, singing and playing the blues in local night club. Desperate to have them, he pays their manager with money borrowed from his American jazz-addicted stepfather. Unfortunately, the deeply religious Puppet only wants God as her producer and refuses to sign. Friedman finally persuades her to sign, but only after he swears to watch over the flighty sax playing Joe. Unfortunately for poor Friedman, Joe turns out to be a psychopathic killer and has killed a prostitute. Knowing that he will be dead if he does not produce the couple's record and make some quick money, Friedman decides to shoulder the blame for the death himself. Though he is sent to jail, Friedman is at peace because he plans on telling the truth as soon as the Bennets cut their record. Things take a darker turn when the Bennets suddenly vanish, leaving poor Friedman stranded in prison. Desperate once again, Friedman escapes from jail and violent tragedy follows as he tries to save himself and clear his name. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this routine psychological thriller, a husband and wife try to jump start their failing marriage by taking a vacation in Haiti, only to find more problems waiting for them after they arrive. Alan (Claude Brasseur) is an older and experienced writer who is suffering from serious writer's block because his aloof, younger wife Lola (Sophie Marceau) is pointedly ignoring him. Once in Haiti, Alan goes on a bender, convinced that Lola is not going to change, and she, in turn, decides to have some fun with another man. While in a drunken stupor one evening, Alan accidentally kills a mugger who attacks him and is seen by a devious couple who opt for making some money on what they know. As a blackmail scheme takes shape, it has an interesting effect on Alan and Lola's relationship. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The plot in this story weaves around like a New Year's reveler at four in the morning, heading first in one direction and then in another, with the intention of going home if things would just stop moving. Bernard (Gerard Depardieu) is a doctor whose Hippocratic oath was a hypocritic failure -- the not-so-good doctor kills his wife because she is having an affair, and he kills her lover too. Then he joins the French Foreign Legion. On his way to the former French colonies in Africa, the plane he is in crashes, and Rossi, a "friend" on the plane with some overweight in carry-on money, shoots Bernard and takes off, leaving him for dead. He is nursed back to life and health by friendly villagers and just his luck, he not only manages to make his fortune in Africa, he also nabs a French passport from a dying man who will clearly not need it anymore unless the Pearly Gates have a French guard. The doctor gets back to Paris and hunts down Rossi, who at this point does not much care what happens to him because he is a miserable cad, as opposed to the once happy cad who shot Bernard. The doctor kills Rossi, an act witnessed by Ali (Hakim Chanem) a precocious Arab teenager who sees this as his chance to blackmail the doctor into "taking care of" a rotten police inspector responsible for murdering the boy's older brother. Rossi was the cause of the dead brother's drug addiction. However, the boy's sister Zita (Souad Amidou) works as a hooker-waitress at a restaurant that serves women on the side, and she and the doctor fall in love. As might be expected, the restaurant is owned by the nefarious police inspector and it does not take long before the once-cooperative Ali turns against Bernard and writes a letter to the inspector, spilling the beans, as many and varied as these are by now. Finally, Bernard is surrounded by the police but love has changed him, and he refuses to fight. As he heads off to prison, the plot has another twist or two as it lurches toward the final credits. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

L'Etat Sauvage is based on the novel by Georges Conchon which won the highly esteemed Prix de Goncourt. The story chronicles the mindless racism of both the departing French colonial overlords and the emergent black Africans in a newly emerging African state. Laurence (Marie-Christine Barrault) suffers the outrage of her white acquaintances, including her former lover Gravenoir (Claude Brasseur) and her ex-husband Avit (Jacques Dutronc), for her affair with Patrice Doumbe (Doura Mane), an official in the new government. He in turn is ridiculed by his fellow cabinet ministers for stepping out with a white woman. The vilification escalates to such a point that Patrice is brutally murdered, and Laurence barely escapes the country alive, with the help of her ex-husband Avit. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Michel Piccoli is irresistibly slimy in the role of a conniving attorney. Making the acquaintance of two lovely sisters (Romy Schneider and Andrea Ferreol), Piccoli seduces them both. He then invites the sisters into his latest scam: marrying and murdering gullible men and women, then cheating their insurance companies. The noirish intrigues of Infernal Trio are all the more remarkable in that they are based on a true story. It shouldn't be too surprising to first-year French students that the original title of this French/Italian melodrama was Le Trio Infernal. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Antonin (Jacques Perrin) is a young French soldier who returns home from World War I to recover from his wounds. When he falls in love with a young widow (Macha Meril), Antonin questions his role in battle and contemplates desertion as he recalls the horrors of war. He is pressured by his patriotic father (Rene Dary) to honor his military commitment even if it means he will die. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide