Jean-Francois Lepetit Movies

A trio of inept bachelors receives an unexpected lesson in the challenges of fatherhood when a young infant turns up on their doorstep in this popular, appealing French comedy. The child was unknowingly fathered by one of the roommates, but the mother, who had relationships with each man, leaves no hint as to which one is the father. Even worse, she's flown off to America, meaning the clueless Pierre, Jacques, and Michel must work together to take care of the adorable infant. As one might expect, most of the film's comedy concerns the men's reluctant adaptation to fatherhood, as they become increasingly attached to the child and compete to become the best father. The film's good-natured if familiar humor was welcomed with strong box office, numerous award nominations, and an American remake, Three Men and a Baby. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

In this crime story, Antoine (Jacques Bonnafe) is suddenly called home from the North Sea where he works on an oil rig; his wife's body has been found in the Seine. Not accepting the hypothesis that this was an accident or a suicide, Antoine starts to look into his wife's friends and acquaintances and discovers that he never really knew her at all. One of her female friends turns out to have been her lesbian lover, and the two were involved in bilking money from a bank. An accountant at the bank is trying to reclaim a stolen bank code somewhere among the deceased's belongings, and poor Antoine has just begun to scratch the surface of his wife's hidden life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Three Men and a Baby is an Americanized remake of the 1985 French comedy hit Three Men and a Cradle. Tom Selleck, Ted Danson and Steve Guttenberg play three upwardly mobile New York bachelors who share an apartment. Their even-keel lifestyle is thrown out of whack when a young woman leaves a baby on their doorstep, suspecting that film director Danson is the father. The balance of the film is devoted to milking as much humor as possible out of the situation of three urbane young men trying to play nursemaid with nary a clue of what they're doing (at one point, a desperate Selleck offers Guttenberg a thousand dollars if Guttenberg will change a diaper). A subplot involving drug dealers is thrown in to sustain audience interest after our trio of heroes become accustomed to a baby around the apartment. "Urban legend" aficionados please note: That cardboard cutout of Ted Danson briefly glimpsed in one scene of Three Men and a Baby is not the ghost of a little boy who died in the bachelors' apartment before filming started. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

When he inherits the family house and property after his mother's death, aspiring novelist Fane (Jean-Pierre Bacri) returns home with his bimbo girlfriend Lilas (Pauline Lafont). He must care for his idiot brother Mo (Jacques Villeret) and contend with a greedy garage owner (Guy Marchand) who covets Fane's property to expand his business. When efforts to buy the property are fruitless, the mechanic incites the townsfolk against the strange trio. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Emile Ardolino directed this treacly sequel to Three Men and a Baby. The middle-aged trio of doting fathers -- Peter the architect (Tom Selleck), Michael the cartoonist (Steve Guttenberg) and Jack the actor (Ted Danson) -- have returned, sublimating their swinging bachelor instincts in order to raise 5-year-old Mary (Robin Weisman). The child of Jack and Sylvia (Nancy Travis), Mary was abandoned by Sylvia in the foyer of the boys' apartment house in the first film. In five years, Mary has grown from a diaper-filling infant to a cute kid who insists that the guys sing rap songs to her before she goes to bed. Sylvia now also lives with the bachelors as she pursues a promising Broadway career. Peter, Michael, and Jack dote on the moppet and parenthood has rarely seemed more idyllic. But Sylvia once again disrupts their placid existence. Accepting the marriage proposal of British director and surly cad Edward (Christopher Cazenove), she announces that she and Mary are going to move to England, leaving the boys high and dry. When it turns out that Edward is secretly planning to ship Mary away to a boarding school after the marriage, the three guys race frantically to disrupt Sylvia's wedding. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Mary Agnes Donohue adapted her French success Le Grand Chemin for this American version, reworked as a vehicle for Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Paradise is a coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old boy named Willard (Elijah Wood), who is sent by his mother to stay with her best friend Lily (Melanie Griffith), who lives in the Delta shrimp-fishing country in a town called Paradise. Lily and her husband Ben (Don Johnson) have been living in an unmentioned emotional vacuum since the death of their own three year old boy. Willard makes friends with the local 9-year-old tomboy, Billie (Thora Birch), who teaches Willard to be comfortable with himself. When Willard gains a handle on his own emotions, he can now help Ben and Lily to connect, overcome grief and rediscover themselves. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Roufa (Abdel Kechiche) is an attractive young man, and that works out well for him because he is a practitioner of "bezness:" he's a sex-for-hire boy for the tourists who come to Tunisia. His girlfriend deeply resents his having sex with other women but doesn't seem much bothered that a rich German man he's been having sex with is hoping to sponsor him in Europe. She also has a hard time with his tendency to behave like any other Arab male around a woman, telling her how to take care of her business. As it turns out, she's got better sense than any of the men around her. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Jean-Claude Lauzon's highly praised film tells the strange story of Léolo, a young boy from Montréal. Told from Léolo's point-of-view, the film depicts his family of lunatics and Léolo's attempts to deal with them. Not one individual in the boy's life is well adjusted. His brother, after being beaten up, spends the film bulking up on growth protein. The grandfather hires half-naked girls to bite off his toenails and, in a brutal rage, almost kills Léolo. As he witnesses his family decay around him, Léolo retreats into himself and the fantasy world he has constructed. In response to the weirdness of his daily life, Léolo creates a little mental mayhem of his own which Lauzon renders in an amazing series of free-form, surreal images. Eventually, this precarious balance of reality and fantasy cracks and Léolo is hospitalized after attempting to murder his grandfather. The score by Tom Waits underscores the narrative arc of Léolo's breakdown. On its release, the film won numerous awards including the International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director (1992) and a Genie Award for Best Original Screenplay (1992). ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide

This fluffy French romantic comedy chronicles the love lives of several lovers and relatives. Margeau has just arrived in Paris from New York. Twenty years before, she left her husband, a painter and many years her senior and her daughter Jess, who now sells classic cars with her partner the clumsy Mario. Jess is recovering from an accidental overdose on sleeping pills. Her hospitalization brought Margeau home. Jess has a young boyfriend, a musician not terribly interested in sex, and a 17 year old son from her ex- husband Pierre. A restaurateur Pierre now lives with a very young African student. The hospital shrink helping Jess ends up having an affair with her son. Before the film ends and Margeau returns home, Jess comes close to death three more times. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This French drama, set in 1986, focuses upon the friendship between two Arab boys, one a normal boy raised in France, and the other a trained assassin on a mission for the fundamentalist organization that trained him. Laid has been indoctrinated and trained in a secret guerrilla training camp. Though only eleven, he is more a holy warrior than he is a little boy. Because he is so serious and calm, Laid is chosen to perform an assassination in Paris. Though he speaks fluent French, he needs to know more about how little French boys behave. Karim, who was raised in Paris, is forcibly borrowed from his father. Karim is the antithesis of Laid. He is fun loving, Westernized, and enthusiastic. Laid is intrigued and they become friends. The friendship changes history when the assassination plan fails in a surprising way. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Pier Paolo Pasolini was a beloved Italian filmmaker, poet and novelist whose murder in 1975 threw the whole nation into shock. This drama attempts to document the killing and the aftermath while exploring the true motives for the killing. The film opens as the police are in hot pursuit of a car racing along the waterfront of Ostia. At the end of the chase they end up arresting one Pino Pelosi, a male prostitute who confesses to bludgeoning the director to death and running him over with a car. The initial evidence goes along with Pelosi's story. Intermingled with the drama is actual police and press footage of the murder scene, the trial and other related events. As the court goes to trial, it soon becomes apparent that Pelosi is not telling the whole truth. Despite the findings of the media, the police and the lawyers seem to be in an inordinate hurry to close the case and dismiss it as yet another gay killing. Although the film avoids making elaborate postulations about the whole truth of the killing, it does not deny the fact that Pelosi did not act alone. Unfortunately, though Pelosi was imprisoned for his crime, he refused to reveal the identities of the others involved. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Director Franco Zeffirelli stresses emotional realism over gothic chills in this restrained adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic. The screenplay, by Zeffirelli and Hugh Whitmore, remains relatively faithful to the original story, beginning with a condensed look at the troubled childhood of young Jane (Anna Paquin) and her mistreatment by a cruel aunt (Fiona Shaw). The bulk of the film centers on Jane as an adult (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a prim governess who accepts a position at Thornfield Hall caring for the young Adele (Josephine Serre). There Jane also must deal with the estate's head, Edward Rochester (William Hurt), a mysteriously brooding yet oddly alluring older man. She finds herself drawn to Rochester, but their potential romance is threatened by Jane's fears and Rochester's internal torment. Rather than the spooky visuals of earlier adaptations, Zeffirelli and cinematographer David Watkins opt for a subdued gloominess, placing emphasis on Gainsbourg's and Hurt's wounded portrayals. Fans of the gothic will likely find Zeffirelli's interpretation anemic in comparison to the passionate 1944 version with Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles, though others may appreciate the more naturalistic and faithful approach. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

A world-weary 32-year old, internationally-ranked sprinter is just about to scuttle his illustrious career when he sees a beautiful, barefoot Indian girl racing out of a convenience store clutching a stolen croissant. She proves to be an impressive runner and he tries to catch her to no avail. During the pursuit a strange bond is formed between the two, one that quickly strengthens when they meet again. The 21-year-old woman's name is Tonka and she lives in a giant revolving Coke can near a road to the Charles-de-Gaulle airport. She survives on orange soda, stolen food or handouts and catches a shower whenever she can. She is truly a wild one, but somehow, the sprinter thinks he can train her to run professionally. Working with her awakens in him a long dormant passion for his sport. It also opens the door for love. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide