Nelly Kaplan Movies
Argentine filmmaker and writer Nelly Kaplan was a film buff since childhood and in the early 1950s left her hometown, Buenos Aires to represent an Argentine cinema at an international gathering of film archivists in Paris. Kaplan liked it there and after finding work as a correspondent for Argentina film magazines she remained in France. In 1954 she began assisting and collaborating with noted director Abel Gance. Kaplan began making her own short films in the early '60s. For her 1967 medium-length film Le Regard Picasso, Kaplan earned a Golden Lion award at the Venice Film festival. With that success, Kaplan began making feature films such as the erotic Very Curious Girl (1969). Many of Kaplan's subsequent films also contain erotic themes but are noted for their paradoxical, underlying feminism. In addition to directing, Kaplan has also written several books, short stories and sexy poems (using the penname Belen). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
Flo is just thirteen and is away from home on vacation. Her mother Clo, her sister Jo, and her relative Do, are all very liberated women, very wealthy, and very determined to have their way. When they catch sight of Guillaume de Burlador (Pierre Arditi), a handsome, well-educated and somewhat needy young man, they lure him into their peculiar ménage by offering him the job of becoming Flo's tutor. What they really want is to take him to bed in the crudest possible way. Unfortunately for the young man he is a true romantic and wants to be wooed in addition to having lots of hot sex. Since this feminist bedroom comedy turns many conventions on their ear, it is completely in keeping with the spirit of the piece that all the bedroom scenes, while occasionally quite erotic, take place between people who are fully clothed. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Arditi, Françoise Fabian, (more)
- 1984
This documentary focuses on the making of the 235-minute, silent epic Napoleon, the masterpiece of French director/writer/actor Abel Gance. Napoleon showcased Gance's talents with the camera, his use of multiple-images (like a split screen), and his handling of crowded action scenes -- all brought forward in this documentary by his later assistant, Nelly Kaplan. While Gance was shooting Napoleon in 1925-26, he and his crew were also being filmed for a documentary titled Autour de Napoleon. The only extant reels from that documentary are included in this film, as well as views of Gance's unique "triptychs" -- three different scenes lined up side-by-side across a super-wide screen to convey the effect of a panorama, or of three separate interludes. Nelly Kaplan put together this documentary using old footage, such as Gance filming the famous snowball fight at the Brienne military school (with the cameraman running among the snowballers, camera strapped to his chest), and still photographs and excerpts from Gance's production diaries. Gance bequeathed his private archives to Kaplan on his death, just three years before this 1984 documentary was released. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1979
- R
Charles is a middle-aged junk dealer, beset by several imagined illnesses. Lucie is his lady friend, a washed-up singer. Vulnerable and easily led, Charles and Lucie fall victim to a confidence scheme. Left penniless in the south of France, our hero and heroine find themselves the targets of pursuit, not only from the authorities but from the underworld. The curious result is that they regain their join in living. Charles and Lucie is one of a handful of amiable character studies (and the last one to date) directed by Abel Gance protegee Nelly Kaplan. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Ceccaldi, Ginette Garcin, (more)
- 1976
Chafing under her suppressive parents, Nea begins keeping a secret diary, recording her innermost erotic yearnings. When imagination proves inadequate, she decides to experience first-hand the things she's previously only fantasized about. Nea eases into her sexual adventures out of boredom rather than supposed necessity. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ann Zacharias, Sami Frey, (more)
- 1975
Diquet (Claude Brasseur) is a private investigator. Usually, he just follows people around and records what he sees them doing. His latest case becomes progressively stranger. After he is hired to follow a man's young mistress, the detective finds that her journeys begin to tie into his own life -- to episodes dating back to World War II, and to certain of his friends who are dead. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Claude Brasseur, Annie Girardot, (more)
- 1971
In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (Sheila White) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove their worth to her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1969
- R
Also known as La Fiancée du Pirate and Dirty Mary, this French comedy noir stars Bernadette Lafont as Marie, the title character. Early in the game, Marie learns how to use sex as a means to an end. She enjoys the favors of several of her town's leading citizens, not-too-subtly suggesting that her silence can be bought. Nearly driven out of town by the local moral arbiters, Marie strikes a blow against hypocrisy with a deliciously creative revenge. A Very Curious Girl is the sort of harmless French fare that used to pop up on your local Late Late Late Show in-between the Vegomatic ads and the "Live Better Electrically" public-service spots. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernadette Lafont, Georges Géret, (more)
- 1967
This documentary was released to coincide with an art exhibit celebrating the 85th birthday of Pablo Picasso. The feature concentrates on more recent paintings, drawings, and sculptures by the internationally renowned artist. Jacques Paoli narrates and is careful to avoid categorizing or critiquing Picasso's work. He allows the works to speak for themselves. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- 1962
The oddly featured poet Cyrano De Bergerac(Jose Ferrer, reprising an Oscar-winning role in Michael Gordon's Cyrano De Bergerac), he of the enormous nose, and musketeer D'Artagnan (Jean-Pierre Cassel) lend a hand to put down a revolution in 17th-century Paris. While they bravely fight for the monarchy, the men dally with two comely courtesans (Sylva Koscina and Daliah Lavi). Though paired off with satisfactory partners, the couples find that a switcheroo might afford them each true love. Director Abel Gance and Nelly Kaplan wrote the screenplay, which united period characters Cyrano, from Edmond Rostand's play, and D'Artagnan, from Alexandre Dumas' Three Musketeers, in this romantic swashbuckler. Though French cinema pioneer Gance was near the end of his career, Kaplan was just beginning. She would go on to write, edit and direct several more films. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mel Ferrer, José Ferrer, (more)
- 1960
In what must be the longest lapse of time between a film and its sequel, 70-year-old Abel Gance continues his nearly legendary, 1927 historical drama Napoleon with this tale of Napoleon's life after his victories in Italy. The first half of Austerlitz delves into the private life of Napoleon Bonaparte (Pierre Mondy), the prodigal son of Corsica. The supreme commander of the French armed forces goes about his family life and dallies with Josephine (Martine Carol) and mistress Mlle. de Vaudey (Leslie Caron). He occasionally displays bursts of temper that presage some of the macho violence of the battle scenes in the second half of the film, after Napoleon has proclaimed himself Emperor. This sequel shows that Gance has not lost his directorial touch. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Mondy, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
