Jacques Rozier Movies
Director Olivier Jahan offers an glimpse into The Director's Fortnight, a sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival conceived by a group of filmmakers known as the Société des Réalisateurs de Films who sought to counter the academism of the main part of the world-renowned festival. Pierre-Henri Deleau, the one-time artistic director of the Société des Réalisateurs de Films, and as his successor Olivier Père take movie lovers behind the scenes as the dedicated group of filmmakers prepare for the 2007 Director's Fortnight. Archive footage, film clips, and interviews with over two-dozen directors offer a comprehensive look at forty years of cinematic rebellion. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
An artist fending off his detractors (more imagined than real) ends up making things more difficult for himself in this satiric comedy. Kevin Kazanovitch (Mike Marshall) is a theatrical director whose latest production, a farcical comedy, has become a resounding success. But Kazanovitch is by his nature high-strung and has a pronounced streak of paranoia, and when he's informed that he's to receive a highly coveted award for his work, Kazanovitch is certain it's part of a plot by his detractors to discredit him. The director is so thoroughly convinced of this that he decides to rewrite a few scenes of his play to comment on those he believes are trying to ruin him; he calls his cast to a special rehearsal of the material one afternoon, but Yves Lempereur (Yves Afonso), the show's leading man, gets in an auto accident while rushing to the theater from shooting a television commercial. As chance would have it, the man who hit Lempereur's car was Gaston (Jean Lefebvre), who happens to be dating Fifi Flores (Lili Vonderfield), an actress in the show. Lempereur is injured in the accident and will not be able to tread the boards for a few weeks; Kazanovitch is in a panic, until he discovers Gaston has a photographic memory and can learn Lempereur's lines in a flash (and plays the role nearly as well as the more experienced actor). However, after Gaston is cast in the play, Kazanovitch discovers his new star has a secret life, including a long-standing addiction to gambling. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jean Lefebvre, Lili Vonderfeld, (more)
In a storyline that brings together an odd assortment of characters, director, co-scripter, and editor Jacques Rozier has fashioned some humorous segments in this New Wave-influenced creation. Two ticket inspectors, Le Garrec and Pontoiseau (Bernard Menez and Luis Rego), are working the Maine-Ocean train to Brittany when they come across a Brazilian samba queen (Rosa-Maria Gomez) who defies all attempts at communication. Later on, a female attorney on the train is shown in court as she and her client, a sailor charged with assault, twist their tongues around a defense and decisively lose their battle with the French language. Circumstances conspire to bring the train conductors and the samba queen, among others, together on an island off the Brittany coast, where a dance rehearsal gets underway with disastrous results for one of the conductors. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bernard Menez, Luis Rego, (more)
Bonaventure (Pierre Richard) is a semi-competent travel agent who makes up stories about his great romantic adventures to tell to the girls in his office. One evening, he meets a woman who has the same name as one of his made-up romances, and they share a for-real one-night encounter. Afterward, he thinks up a scheme for a unique tour situation in which people might pay for a limited-time visit to a completely undeveloped island where they will be forced to become modern-day Robinson Crusoes. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pierre Richard, Maurice Risch, (more)
Three decent young girls and the vacation pleasures they enjoy are the focus of this French film. There is no particular storyline, as viewers share their enjoyment of horseback riding, boat rides, and one another's company. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniele Croisy, Francoise Guegan, (more)
This arty New Wave film marked the directorial debut of Jacques Rozier, and almost finished him commercially. A vacationing television technician (Jean-Claude Aimini) falls in love with two teenage girls (Yveline Cery and Stefania Sabatini) in the months preceding his induction into the military. The girls plot revenge when they discover his two-timing, but one of them has already fallen in love with him. Rozier did not make another film for over a decade following this one's crashing failure. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stefania Sabatini









