Christine Pascal Movies

A French music lover befriends a once-great American jazz artist and attempts to save him from self-destruction in this moody drama. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon portrays Dale Turner, a fictional musician inspired by a number of famed jazz figures, including Bud Powell and Lester Young. Largely forgotten in his home country, Turner has moved to Paris in search of a more appreciative audience. He finds it in the form of Francis Borler (Francois Cluzet), a bebop aficionado who befriends the expatriate player. Borler soon becomes familiar with Turner's darker side, including his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. Fearing for the musician's life, the fan becomes his caretaker, an arrangement that leads to a brief improvement in Turner's health and fortunes but places great emotional strain upon them both. Director Bertrand Tavernier pays great attention to the visual and aural details of the jazz world, with outstanding musical supervision provided by Herbie Hancock. 'Round Midnight's greatest asset, however, is Gordon's Academy Award-nominated performance, informed by his own life experiences. His naturally fascinating presence combines with the film's obvious love of the music and its milieu to provide what many have hailed as one of the more authentic and affectionate presentations of the jazz world on the silver screen. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

This French farce chronicles one special day in the lives of a married pair of Parisian architects, Fabienne and Bruno, as they anxiously await the results of an important architectual contest they have entered. Unable to handle the stress of waiting, both turn to sexual liason's to ease their tension. Bruno ends up enacting a dark sexual fantasy with a stranger while Fabienne eventually succumbs to the advances of Bruno's friend Simon, a fortyish Lebanese businessman and part-time drug dealer. The comedy takes on overtones of psycho-drama when the contest winner announced and the couple discovers the truth of each other's actions. A cache of drugs, discovered in an apartment only adds to their troubles. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this Pedro Almodóvar film, a singer at a low-end nightclub hides out at a convent after her lover dies of a bad dose of drugs, and she meets a group of off-the-wall nuns while in hiding. The nuns range from one who writes sensationalist pulp fiction under a pseudonym to another who takes drugs, and another hooked on masochism. But their private lives and perverse foibles may be in jeopardy when a new mother superior arrives to take charge of the convent. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Spoiled Children (Des enfants gates) finds director Bertrand Tavernier tempering his New Wave impulses with an overwhelming desire to entertain a mass audience. The "children" of the title are actually artistically inclined grown-ups. Filmmaker Bernard (Michel Piccoli), who is suffering a creative block, enters into an affair with the much-younger Anne (Christine Pascal). Meanwhile, Bernard's idealistic neighbors go head-to-head with their more pragmatic (and crueler) landlord. While a very personal film, Spoiled Children is broad enough in its appeal to reach even those who've never attempted anything of an artistic nature. Actress Christine Pascal co-wrote the script with director Tavernier, reportedly drawing on their own relationship. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

French filmmaker Diane Kurys directs the period drama Coup de Foudre (distributed in the U.S. as Entre Nous), adapted from a book she co-wrote with Olivier Cohen. The semi-autobiographical story is based on the life of the director's mother. Lena (Isabelle Huppert) is a Jewish refugee from Belgium living in occupied France during WWII. In order to avoid being sent to a German concentration camp, she agrees to marry the discharged military officer Michel (Guy Marchand). He tries to provide a decent life for her by running an auto repair business. They have two children together, but Lena is unhappy and stifled by her domestic life. Michel doesn't offer her the sensitivity and affection that she requires. Meanwhile, in Paris, the extroverted artist Madeleine (Miou-Miou) mourns the accidental death of her husband. After the liberation of France, she marries actor Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri) and has children of her own. In 1952, Lena and Madeleine meet by chance in Lyons. The two women develop an emotional relationship that borders on romantic involvement. Their bond is only strengthened by a mutual dissatisfaction with their husbands, children, and home life in general. Entre Nous was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1983. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Le Juge et L'Assassin probes a curious relationship between condemner and condemnee. Philippe Noiret plays Rousseau, a French judge who holds the fate of convicted child killer Bouvier (Michel Galabru) in his hands. Should Rousseau decide that Bouvier is insane, the killer will not go prison. As they come to know each other better, both are given the rare opportunity of exploring the vagaries of the human mind. The previously unbendable judge alters several long-held opinions concerning criminals, while Bouvier is for the first time in his life able to articulate the thought processes which motivate his actions. It is clear at times that much of the dialogue in Judge and the Assassin stems from Bertrand Tavernier's own lifelong feelings of loneliness and isolation. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The unbearable vanity of the human male facing death is one of the subtler themes of this French drama which tells the story of a dying man who finally finds and desires to conquer the perfect sex object. Poor Le Clainche is about ready to keel over from a heart attack. He's already had one and knows the second will be fatal. He is in his sixties, and though tired really wants to have sex with a beautiful woman one more time (for old time's sake). Odile, a tennis pro, is the sex object possessing a natural beauty that drives men crazy. She is a daring young thing. She first appears at a carnival where she has just finished a breathless roller coaster ride. She becomes intrigued by a striptease tent and is tempted to join them after the barker tries to coerce her. When La Clainche sees Odile in a railroad compartment she instantly becomes the object of his desire and he stands firm in his commitment to have her. His come-on is not subtle and she, the perfect woman, actually considers it. A strange relationship begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Jenny (Isabelle Huppert) is a disconnected 16-year old schoolgirl who is so taken with a story of Native Americans coming to take someone into their tribe that she wanders out into the snow in search of them and dies. Was it an accident, or suicide? This drama explores the last week of Jenny's life in order to find out the answer. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The second of director Bernard Tavernier's first three critically acclaimed films, this historical costume drama was the winner of four Cesars. Philippe Noiret stars as Philippe d'Orleans, regent to nine-year-old King Louis XV in 1719, four years after the death of the regent's grandfather, Louis XIV. A hedonist and free thinker who is somewhat limited by his love of sexual excess, his noble stature, and his complete lack of empathy for those on the lower social strata, Philippe serves during a time of rebellious talk and famine, swimming against the tide of social upheaval to maintain the status quo by allying himself with the Abbé Dubois, a foreign minister (the son of a peasant), who claws his way to the post of archbishop because its God-given power and authority isn't contingent on men. Meanwhile, the Marquis de Pontcallec (Jean Pierre Marielle) begins to set forth plans to secede from France and incorporate the Republic of Brittany. The musical score of Que la Fete Commence. . . was composed by the real-life Philippe d'Orleans.

~ Karl Williams, Rovi

Paco (Alfredo Lando) is a middle-aged glass blower who has a lucrative after-hours business as a male stud in this unusual comedy drama. His wife Maria (Christine Pascal) is the supposedly barren woman who approves of her husband's sideline. Paco meets Pocapena (Patrick Dewaere) in a local bar and tells him that Paco is his hero. The young man offers his services for nothing, and Paco takes him up on his proposition. Paco soon has his first sexual failure, which quickly ruins his reputation and leads to the young man assuming the role as the coveted stud. Maria soon becomes pregnant, leading to more confusion in Paco's crumbling life. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi