Christian Marin Movies

A children's film with enough independent spirit to overcome a few bumps, Prune des Bois is about a group of four youngsters around the age of ten who one day find a baby abandoned in the forest. Rather than search out their parents to take care of the infant and handle the whole situation, the children decide to take care of the baby themselves. In order to fulfill this mission, they change their attitudes and behavior. They have a lot to cover up now and will need all their ingenuity to make their plan work. Fortunately, because it is a children's film, all does end well for the baby and the four surrogate, would-be parents. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

A retired policeman (Louis De Fumes) is happily married to a devoted wife (Claude Gensac) in this uneven comedy. He does not take to retirement well, and he and his fellow retirees don their uniforms once again in an effort to relive their glory days on the police force. One pretends to have lost his memory because he enjoys the atmosphere of the rest home. They go fishing, lose their clothes, dress like hippies and end up at a nude beach in this situation comedy. One decidedly unfunny scene has De Fumes beating up a maid. His silent fuming over situations beyond his control is a familiar reaction for one of France's most beloved comics. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Artfully squeezing every penny out of a grant from the French Cinema Center, Melvin Van Peebles made his directorial debut with Story of a Three-Day Pass. Harry Baird plays a black American GI, Turner, who falls in love with French mademoiselle (Nicole Berger). Upon his return from an idyllic weekend, Turner is demoted by his bigoted captain for fraternizing with a white girl. Honored as the French entry in the San Francisco Film Festival, this poignant little romantic drama "made" Van Peebles, who on the strength of his newly established reputation was assigned to direct Columbia's The Watermelon Man. Story of a Three-Day Pass was based on Van Peebles' own novel La Permission. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Inspector Cruchot takes his daughter to visit beautiful St. Tropez to celebrate his recent promotion to sergeant and ends up trying to arrest a beach full of nudists. Meanwhile, his daughter has her own problems when she, ashamed of her social status pretends to be an heiress and ends up getting involved with art thieves. This lively entry in the French "Gendarme" series follows what happens next. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Bebert (Martin Lartigue) is a five-year-old boy who gets separated from his older brother on a train. Comedy ensues as the precocious moppet observes the less-than-grown-up activities of the adults as he seeks to be reunited with his family. Panic-stricken adults continue the search for the missing boy in this delightful comedy directed by Yves Robert. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

In this French variation on Mark Twain's Man with a Million story, a man's life is completely changed by the acquisition of a new car. Marcel, a Chaplainesque factory worker, sets out to buy an old motorcycle and ends up getting a new Cadillac convertible (the "beautiful American" of the title) for $100. He loses his job and suffers other misadventures, but is then amazed at how people treat him when they learn he owns the prestigious vehicle. Amusing little farce makes a few telling points about the pretensions of the very rich. ~ Michael P. Rogers, Rovi