Cris Campion Movies
- 1995
This European produced animation/live-action fairy tale will appeal to both children and adults. The frequently surrealistic work took 15 years to make and cost $15 million. It is the tale of young Prince Jan, who has been sent to a quiet coastal resort to study for his final exams, but instead Jan spends most his time with his new friend the lighthouse keeper. Jan ignores the warnings of the locals who claim that the loony lighthouse man eats sea gulls for breakfast. Maybe he is crazy, but this does not prevent the prince from entering the keeper's dream-land Taxandria, a phantasmagorical place devoid of time, memory, and progress. The land is ruled by a two-headed prince and his policemen who insure that everyone there lives in the Present (it is illegal to discuss the past or future). While at first, Taxandria seems a magical, wonderful place, Jan soon sees the darker sides of this strange world. The people are not happy living only in the present; it is repressive. Soon he sees that many suffer from extreme paranoia. One young man, Aime, seems to be a catalyst for change in Taxandria as he is obsessed with learning about the country's past. Later Jan falls in love with Ailee who is trying to free herself from the paradisiacal confines of the Garden of Mirth, where women are kept away from men. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Armin Mueller-Stahl
- 1992
Victor Dargelas is smart but for some reason wasn't accepted at one of France's top universities, so he has taken a scholarship to begun study at a business-management school instead. He is a computer whiz, and his scholarship is based on his ability to straighten out a glitch in the school's computer systems. Meanwhile, the dean of the school has been embezzling from the school at a ferocious rate and plans on pinning the blame on the scholarship boy. Meanwhile, Victor has been making friends with his rich-boy roommate François. The two of them get wise to the schemes of the embezzler and concoct a counter-plan themselves: why not conduct a leveraged buy-out of the school and run it themselves? Beloved French actor Jean Poiret's appearance here as the criminal school director was his last before his death in March, 1992, and the film is dedicated to him. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Poiret, Anthony Delon, (more)
- 1990
Pascal is used to adrenaline-crazed adventures. He lost the use of his legs during one of these episodes by falling from the top of an Alpine peak. Now he uses a wheelchair to get around, but he hasn't lost his sense of adventure. At a rehabilitation center he is learning to adapt to being a paraplegic and has gotten fairly cheerful about the whole thing. When his new buddies propose that they use his special climbing skills to rob the bank next door, it seems like a good idea to him. The robbery could be considered a success, if it weren't for the fact that Pascal has gotten trapped down an elevator shaft... ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thierry Frémont, Cris Campion, (more)
An international collection of well-known directors contributed to this compilation film, each fashioning a short film inspired by an aria from a famous opera. The approaches vary broadly, from the playful abstraction of Jean-Luc Godard's segment, which illustrates Armide with exercising body-builders, to the more literal approach of Franc Roddam, who transports Tristan und Isolde's story to modern-day Las Vegas. A particular stand-out is Julian Temple's take on Rigoletto, which recasts Verdi as the accompaniment to a contemporary Southern California sex farce. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Theresa Russell, Nicola Swain, (more)
- 1987
- PG
In 19th century Europe, it was not uncommon in times of war for young aristocrats to hire peasant boys to fight in their place. Such a surrogate is portrayed by Cris Campion in the French Field of Honor (Champ d'Honneur). The conflict at hand is the Franco-Prussian war, which was virtually fought in the backyards of its combatants. Finding himself behind enemy lines, Campion befriends a Prussian soldier who, like himself, is a substitute. Together, Campion and his new comrade try to elude capture, learning a great deal about each other along the way. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cris Campion, Pascale Rocard, (more)
- 1986
- PG13
Although the title evokes a swashbuckling adventure, Roman Polanski's Pirates tuns out to be a seagoing tale with a bit of a difference. Captain Red (Walter Matthau) runs a hardy pirate ship with the able assistance of Frog, a dashing young French sailor (Cris Campion). One day Capt. Red is captured and taken aboard a Spanish galleon, but thanks to his inventiveness, he raises the crew to mutiny, takes over the ship, and kidnaps the daughter of the governor of Maracaibo (Charlotte Lewis, soon to co-star in The Golden Child opposite Eddie Murphy). The question is, can he keep this pace up? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Damien Thomas, (more)
Based on the play by Christopher Durang, Robert Altman's Beyond Therapy is a comedy set in New York City but filmed in Paris, where Altman was living at the time. Arrogant Bruce (Jeff Goldblum) grows bored with his live-in lover, Bob (Christopher Guest), so he looks for a change by placing an ad in the personals. He meets neurotic Prudence (Julie Hagerty) at a French restaurant and they prove to be a terrible match-up. Then Bruce goes to see his therapist, Charlotte (Glenda Jackson), who has a strange disorder herself. In the same building, Prudence goes to see her own bizarre therapist, Stuart (Tom Conti), who believes in sex with his patients. Charlotte and Stuart also have an arrangement where they meet for anonymous sexual trysts. Meanwhile, Bob's mother (Genevieve Page) is worried about her son's relationship with Bruce and she interferes with everything. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Julie Hagerty, Jeff Goldblum, (more)
