Alain Sarde Movies

The Boy Soldier is set in the 1930s and is based on a novel by Yves Gibeau, a book that has the unusual distinction of being banned in military precincts in France. In the film, a young fellow, Simon Chalumet (Lucas Belvaux) is sent to a military school by his overbearing father, an ex-soldier who has little sympathy for his son's more gentle temperament, or for his interest in films. In spite of various forms of harassment meant to whip the young men into shape, Simon does survive the years of harsh treatment with his own interests and basic nature unscathed. Reality intrudes in the end, when Simon is sent to the front and faces war and combat for the first time. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie), a pessimistic but visually stunning film, marks Jean-Luc Godard's return to cinema after having spent the 70s working in video. The film presents a few days in the lives of three people: Paul Godard (Jacques Dutronc ), a television producer; Denise Rimbaud (Nathalie Baye), his co-worker and ex-girlfriend; and Isabelle Riviera (Isabelle Huppert), a prostitute whom Paul has used. Denise wants to break up with Paul and move to the country. Isabelle wants to work for herself instead of her pimp. Paul just wants to survive. Their stories intersect when Paul brings Denise to the country cottage he is trying to rent and Isabelle comes to see it without knowing that the landlord has been her client. The film is broken into segments entitled "The Imaginary," "Commerce," "Life," and "Music." Each of the first three sections focuses on one character and the last section brings all three characters together. This complex film is often closer to an essay than a story; it uses slow motion and experimental techniques to explore questions of love, work, and the nature of cinema. Sauve Qui Peut (la Vie) was Godard's first film with his frequent collaborator Anne-Marie Miéville, who edited and co-wrote the film. ~ Louis Schwartz, All Movie Guide

Three men with a penchant for gambling on the horses soon find themselves in trouble because of their addiction. Pierre (Michel Piccoli) is the math whiz who uses his talent for picking the winners. Charles (Michel Galabru) is the wealthy scrap-iron magnate who has embarrassing evidence on many prominent political figures. Loic (Jacques Dutronc) is the aspiring politico who seeks to further his career by any means possible. Charles approaches Loic and asks his political party for a loan in hopes of fixing an upcoming race. When all three men come up big winners, an official investigation is launched. Pierre and Charles find themselves in trouble, with Loic gaining access to Charles' coveted list of evidence on his political rivals. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

An idyllic May-December romance becomes unraveled when the much-older man begins suspecting that his tender young lover may be his own daughter, the result of an illicit affair many years before. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Violette (Isabelle Adjani) is fascinated with the shabby background and low-down ways of her boyfriend Francois (Jacques Dutronc), and despite her middle-class family's objections, she marries him. Unable to keep a job, and without any real skills, he has a hard time supporting them, especially after the birth of their baby. He turns to shoplifting, and she briefly leaves him when she discovers this. Sometime after they get back together, with money still in short supply, she takes a turn at shoplifting too, and gets a kick out of it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Marcello Mastroianni stars in this French farce, an absurd "western" set in Paris, with Mastroianni as the incurably vain General George Armstrong Custer. Richard Nixon is the American president, but everyone is costumed appropriately for the previous century. Buffalo Bill (Michel Piccoli), the famous scout, is here portrayed as a limp-wristed bungler. Ugo Tognazzi plays one of Custer's Native American opponents; he runs a curio shop selling Native artifacts made in sweatshops by white women. The climactic battle is held in a large construction excavation where Les Halles market used to be. The language the two sides use to justify their conflict is lifted from that used in the then-current Vietnam War. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide