Jacques Perrin Movies

With fear and trepidation, the military division encamped in a desert fort await the return of a Tartar army--which attacked the fort years ago. One young soldier (Jacques Perrin), however, can't wait for the boredom to end and the fighting to begin. Ennio Morricone provided the musical score. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, Costa-Gavras' Special Section (Section Speciale) is set in wartime France, but the parallels to contemporary political persecution are inescapable. A young German naval officer is killed in occupied Paris. The supplicative Vichy government sets about to locate the perpetrators. Four idealistic young Frenchman are arrested, tortured and slated for execution. It is clear that it doesn't matter whether they're guilty or not: the flames of totalitarianism must be stoked, even with the blood of the innocent. And it's especially convenient if the accused are thoroughly expendable in the eyes of the authorities. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Walerian Borowczyk's Blanche is a tragic romantic tale set in 13th century France. While visiting the castle of an old landlord (Michel Simon), both the king (Georges Wilson) and his philandering page Bartolomeo (Jacques Perrin) try to seduce the landlord's young, naive wife Blanche (Ligia Branice, the director's wife). The landlord's son Nicolas (Lawrence Trimble), who's secretly in love with Blanche, seeks to defend her honor and stays on the watch by her bedroom door. When the king tries to sneak to Blanche's bedroom at night, covered by his page's cloak, Nicolas wounds him in the hand, being certain that he punishes the page. To save the king's reputation, Bartolomeo cuts his own hand and admits he was trying to get to Blanche's bedroom. The outraged old master wants to punish the page himself, but the king won't let him. The old landlord blindly seeks vengeance, and tragedy follows. Some critics consider Blanche the director's masterpiece and a metaphor of imprisonment, as Blanche is compared to a white dove kept in a cage. Others point out that the film's main virtues lie mostly in its beautiful photography and loving attention to period detail. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Originally titled Peau D'Ane, Jacques Demy's Dos Cruces en Danger Pass is better known by its English-language title Donkey Skin. Based on a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (of Cinderella fame), the bizarre story concerns the king (Jean Marais) of a strange, enchanted land. Catherine Deneuve plays the dual role of the king's wife and daughter. When the wife dies, she makes the king promise that he'll never marry anyone less beautiful than she; thus, he is compelled to wed his own daughter! The fairy godmother (Delphine Seyrig) tries to save the girl from this incestuous fate by telling her to make impossible demands for her wedding gifts. One such demand is for the skin of a magic donkey which deposits valuable jewels in its compost heaps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Z is one of the most politically insightful films ever made, exposing government hypocrisy and cover-up in the wake of a political assassination. Zei (Yves Montand) is a scientist who is scheduled to give a speech against the use of the atomic bomb. On the way to the event, he is attacked outside the auditorium by a group of right-wing extremists with political ties to the government as the police stand by and do nothing to intervene. He recovers long enough to make the speech but is later clubbed again and must undergo several surgeries, then dies during one of the procedures. A newspaper reporter finds a witness to the event and a judge willing to hear the case despite government protests. The ensuing trial reveals a government conspiracy, but the results of the trial are thrown out when a new government is formed by a military coup, which results in the intolerance that outlaws long hair, the Beatles, and any peaceful protests. Director Costa-Gavras used actual trial transcripts of the investigation into the May 22, 1963, assassination of Greek pacifist leader Gregoris Lambrakis, which proved a government conspiracy in his death. Yves Montand gives the best dramatic performance of his life, and Irene Papas stars as his wife, Helena. Z won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film of 1969, was 14th in terms of box-office success, and hit an international nerve in the age of social unrest, government cover-up, and political assassinations. All those involved worked on the film for a reduced rate with an option for royalties based on earnings at the theater window. The letter Z in the Greek alphabet means "he is alive." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

When she discovers her husband has come home with a mistress, Anne (Joanna Shimkus) leaves her home in Paris and spends the night in her office where she meets Francois (Michel Piccoli), an architect who, without asking any questions, invites her on a trip to the South of France. The two make the trip but become lost in the mountains and are put up for the night by a kindly baker. A visit to a sculptor friend allows Anne to tell her troubles to someone who cares. Francois overhears the conversation but says nothing to her. When they arrive in the South, Anne spies her husband's car, but he is nowhere to be found. Francois and Anne end up at the architect's house where they make love, but in an ironic twist, their romantic liaison is shattered when the man's wife returns home, and Anne considers returning home to her unfaithful husband. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This uneven film has Colin (Jacques Perrin) marrying a delicate young girl who soon dies after their wedding. His friend Partre (Samy Frey) is an avid collector of objects belonging to his favorite author, often spending his remaining money on the souvenirs. After Colin's wife dies, he steals her body and disappears, and the banker's daughter kills Parte's favorite author. There are hints of social satire and symbolism in this story taken from the book by Boris Vian. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This sweet coming-of-age film concerns a pair of Italian teenagers, Gabriele (Jacques Perrin) and Giovenella (Rosemarie Dexter), whose parents attempt to keep them apart. Gabriele's father (Folco Lulli) goes so far as to take his son to a prostitute, and when that fails, considers letting the youngster sleep with his own mistress. Gabriele finally rents an apartment, where he and Giovenella consummate their love. A surprisingly prim coda involves a warning by a policeman and the couple's vows to refrain from further physical intimacy until marriage. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Jacques Demy directed this frothy tribute to the Hollywood musicals of the 1940s, a follow-up to his earlier success The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964). Twin sisters Delphine and Solange (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorleac) live in the small coastal town of Rochefort, where they run a school teaching dancing and music. Both feel frustrated in Rochefort, and they dream of travelling to Paris, where they believe romance and opportunity awaits them. Meanwhile, their single mother, Yvonne (Danielle Darrieux), who runs a cafe in town, pines for her lost love, Simon (Michel Piccoli). One day, one of Yvonne's regular customers, a sailor with an artistic bent named Maxence (Jacques Perrin), shows her a painting of the imaginary girl of his dreams, and she looks just like Delphine, whom he's never met. Meanwhile, Simon has returned to Rochefort, bringing with him a close friend, American pianist Andy Miller (Gene Kelly); Simon has made friends with Solange and introduces her to Andy, who immediately falls in love with her. Sadly, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort was Françoise Dorleac's last film; she died in an auto accident shortly after completing the picture. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this WW II drama, twelve captured French soldiers await their impending executions in a German prison camp. Fortunately, a wily resistance fighter and his men come to rescue the ill-fated dozen. The rescue attempt succeeds, but the rebels become worried when they discover a thirteenth prisoner who has come with the others. This fellow carries no ID, and now the fighters must decide whether he should die on the spot or continue on with the others. One of the group members votes for immediate execution. Later the stranger accompanies the group on a raid and ends up nearly sacrificing his life to save a child from being shot. The rebel leader is not impressed and orders that one of the men kill the stranger down by the river. The dutiful soldier listens to the stranger who tells him the truth: he is a deserter and a fervent pacifist. The soldier allows the deserter to escape. That night the stranger returns and tries to warn the rebels of a Nazi ambush. The group leader heads off to warn the others, but he is too late and they are all recaptured. Later all but the pacifist are hanged. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Jacques Perrin was awarded Best Actor at the 1966 Venice Film Festival for his gripping portrayal of a young writer's descent into madness. Alienated, neurotic, and plagued by guilt, Perrin retreats from reality, loses interest in work, and comes to the brink of suicide before being sent to an asylum for shock therapy. Escaping from the asylum, Perrin returns to his boyhood home, where he learns the reasons for his present mental state. The strong supporting cast, including Lea Padovani and Pier Paolo Capponi, bring credence to their roles, but it is De Seta's direction, Perrin's controlled performance, and a relatively subtle score by Ennio Morricone which keep this film from becoming as overwrought as it might have become in other hands. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Set near the end of the bloody Indo-Chinese War in which the Vietnamese struggled to shuck off the yoke of French colonialism, this taut, provocative French war drama chronicles the events leading up to the slaughter of the French Army's 317th Platoon, a unit comprised of 41 Laotians and a quartet of French officers that was ordered to make it back to the safety of camp Dien Bien Phu. It is an arduous journey and the soldiers must not only battle constant ambushes, but also the jungle itself. Many soldiers die along the way. When they finally make it to the camp, they find the enemy waiting. Not one member of the platoon survives the ensuing slaughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide