Josiane Balasko Movies

Directed by Bruno Podalydès (who helmed the "Montmartre" segment of the omnibus Paris, I Love You), Bancs Publics chronicles three intersecting stories in the city of Versailles: an office worker who hangs a banner reading "Lonely Man" beneath his window, the feuding families and couples in a busy town square, and the employees and customers of a local shop. This sprawling and droll exploration of the estrangement of modern life boasts a star-studded supporting cast that features a veritable who's who of French cinema, including Olivier Gourmet, Emmanuelle Devos, Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni, Hippolyte Girardot, Pierre Arditi, and the grande dame herself, Catherine Deneuve. ~ Sandra Bencic, Rovi

With this high-concept, all-star French comedy (it features at least sixteen Gallic marquee names including Michel Blanc and Josiane Balasko), director Jean-Michel Ribes sets out to skewer the pretentiousness of the European art world. It's just a typical, ordinary day at a French art museum, but the cast of characters on display here finds the terrain anything but easy to navigate; they include a mother who literally becomes an art exhibit when her body is coated in plastic and put on display, a minister shocked to his core by artistic displays of sexual organs, a curator suffering from acute botanophobia, a stowaway who hides out in the principal art room, and many other idiosyncratic misfits. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

An elderly man's friendship with a young girl is viewed with suspicion both those around him in this drama from British filmmaker Jan Dunn. Jack (Bob Hoskins) has never been an especially good natured man, but after the death of his wife he sinks into a deep depression, rarely leaving the house, losing interest in cleaning and neglecting the racing pigeons that used to be his pride and joy. While Jack's new neighbor Stephanie (Josiane Balasko) tries to bring him out of his shell with her tasty French cooking, he develops a new lease on life when single mother Stacey (Shannon Tomkinson) asks him to look after her nine-year-old daughter Florrie (Jessica Stewart). While Jack insists he doesn't especially like children, he unexpectedly bonds with Florrie and the two become friends. Jack's paternal side comes to the surface, and he takes neighborhood teen Ian (Jody Latham) under his wing when he sees the lad taking a path towards delinquency. But when Florrie disappears under mysterious circumstances, some folks begin to wonder if Jack's friendship with her is entirely innocent. Ruby Blue received its American premiere at the 2008 Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Two women try to pass along what they've learned about life, love and work to a handful of kids with unexpected results in this French comedy. For years, Blanche (Josiane Balasko) and her husband ran a diner in a small village in France, with their daughter Louise (Sylvie Testud) coming aboard to help once she was grown. After Blanche's husband passes on, she and Louise decide to keep the place open, though a rival eatery owned by Lucie Chevrier (Catherine Hiegel) sees an opportunity to finally get the edge on their competition. Good-hearted Blanche and Louise hear that a group of foster children in need of parents have been left with nowhere to stay, and they agree to take in the kids. Blanche and her daughter go out of their way to the youngsters about the importance of a solid work ethic; however, this lesson is put to the test when local truck drivers go on strike, and their leader, Pierre (Eric Cantona) tries to convince everyone (including the children) not to work for a while. Writer and director Gerard Krawczyk adapted La Vie Est A Nous (aka It's Our Life) from the novel L'eau des Fleurs by Jean-Marie Gourio. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The kidnapping and assassination of Moroccan political activist Mehdi Ben Barka, fictionalized in Yves Boisset's L'Attentat in 1972, gets a more historically accurate treatment in Serge Le Péron's noirish docudrama, the tabloid-headline-titled I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed. The film is narrated by cynical ex-con Georges Figon (Charles Berling), whose dead body is shown at the film's opening. Figon talks about the heady times, as newsreel footage of the civil rights movement and the anti-colonial uprisings of the 1960s is shown. In flashbacks, Figon wants to be a film producer, and has connections to screenwriter Marguerite Duras (Josiane Balasko) who puts him in touch with director Georges Franju (Jean-Pierre Léaud). Figon keeps promising to make his actress girlfriend, Anne-Marie Coffinet (Fabienne Babe), a star. But he still has ties to the underworld, and through them he meets the shady Chtouki (Azize Kabouche), a Moroccan operative who offers him a lot of money to scrap his current filmmaking plans to make a documentary about the worldwide anti-colonial movement. Chtouki's main interest is that the exiled Barka (Simon Abkarian) be hired as a consultant on the doc, so that he'll come to Paris to meet with Figon, Franju, and Philippe Bernier (Mathieu Amalric). On the day of the meeting, Figon watches from the café window as the French police intercept Barka and take him away. After witnessing what becomes of Barka, Figon grows increasingly concerned for his own safety, and goes to the press with a sensationalized version of the events. I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed was shown by the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2006 as part of their annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

When a man kills his wife -- who happened to be the most hated woman in the village -- no one is sure if he should be punished or congratulated in this darkly farcical comedy. Jojo (Jacques Villeret) runs a small farm in rural France, and asks for little from life; all he wants to do is finish his chores, tend his goats, and work on his stamp collection. But Jojo's wife Lulu (Josiane Balasko) will not hear of it; often drunk and chronically ill-tempered, Lulu goes out of her way to make Jojo miserable, and she's earned the frightened enmity of nearly everyone in town. After Lulu destroys both his stamp collection and his milk pails in a fit of pique, Jojo visits a lawyer, Jacquard (Andre Dussollier), and posing as a wife-killer, asks how he would defend him in court. With Jacquard's strategy fresh in mind, Jojo contemplates doing away with Lulu when he finds out that she's already made plans to finish him off with poisoned wine. A sudden fight with a bread knife finds Lulu dead and Jojo on trial for murder. Jacquard finds himself putting his earlier theories to work when he's hired to defend Jojo, but to his surprise, many of Jojo and Lulu's neighbors arrive to lend a degree of support. While practically no one will say that Jojo is innocent of the crime, everyone agrees that the community is better off without Lulu -- and are willing to say so in court. Un Crime Au Paradis is a remake of the 1951 hit La Poison; the box-office success of Un Crime Au Paradis in France led to a theatrical re-release of the earlier film. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A young boy and his two grandmothers flee from headhunters and other villainous types in the Brazilian rain forest in this wacky family adventure. Benjamin (David-Alexandre Parquier), whose mom is dead and whose dad is off in the jungle searching for gold, is more cool-headed than his two grandmothers, both of whom hate one another. Upper class teacher (Fanny Ardant) bristles at the coarse behavior of working class Suzanne (Josiane Balasko), who shoplifts and cheats at cards. Soon bad guys threaten them, and the chase begins. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

The son of actor Bernard Blier, director Bertrand Blier is known throughout France for his documentaries and dark depictions of sex and its impact on society. Though his influences and personal opinions clearly shine through, Les Acteurs is a satirical take on the ups, downs, and numerous implications of life in showbiz as told by a variety of real-life French actors. Among the featured cast are André Dussollier, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Jacques Villeret, Claude Rich, and Pierre Arditi, all of whom play themselves. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

In this French fantasy-comedy, a magical moonbeam turns a dog into a man's best friend. Annabelle (Caroline Cellier) is a reporter who is sent on an overseas assignment and doesn't think it would be such a great idea to bring Didier, her Golden Retriever, along, so she leaves the pooch in the care of her friend Costa (Jean-Pierre Bacri). Costa is less than excited about being handed dogsitting duties, since he has enough on his mind as it is; he's the coach of a soccer team that has been playing poorly since their star player was sidelined with an injury, and his girlfriend has just given him his walking papers. But one evening a moonbeam glides over Didier, and suddenly the dog is magically transformed into a man (played by Alain Chabat), as luck would have it for Costa, a man who happens to be a really great soccer player. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In this French comedy, a man discovers that he has something unexpected in common with his wife -- they're both involved with another woman. Loli (Victoria Abril) is a woman of Spanish blood married to a French businessman, Laurent (Alain Chabat). Loli is not especially happy as a housewife, though she'd likely be even less happy if she knew that her husband is chronically unfaithful and has had a string of mistresses. Laurent, on the other hand, is convinced that his wife isn't the type who would never have an affair, and what she doesn't know won't hurt her. One day, a truck breaks down in front of Loli's home, and Marijo (Josiane Balasko) asks to use their phone. Marijo is a gruff-looking lesbian who works as a plumber; as it happens, Loli has a stopped-up sink, so in exchange for using the phone, Marijo gets Loli's drain back in working order. Soon Loli and Marijo are getting to know each other a bit better, and Loli discovers that she's powerfully attracted to her new visitor. Marijo becomes Loli's bedmate and a permanent guest at the house, which is more than a bit perplexing to Laurent, but after he accidentally reveals his infidelities to Loli, he's not in much of a position to pass judgement. Josiane Balasko, who plays Marijo, is also the film's director and co-screenwriter. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This bright domestic drama captures a moment in time when, for a large number of idealistic and grateful French men and women, the promise of Russian communism was bright, and everything Russian was a source of joy and amazement. In the story, Irene (Josiane Balasko) was rescued from Auschwitz by soldiers from the U.S.S.R., and since that time she has enthusiatically considered Russia to be the source of hope in the world. Her more pragmatic husband (Maurice Benichou) has, by 1958, grown somewhat weary of her enthusiasm, which has led her to decorate their apartment with anything Russian she can get her hands on. Matters come to a head when she is befriended by three members of the Red Army Choir during their tour of Paris. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Léah (Josiane Balasko) has been longing to be beautiful for years, but the best she's been able to accomplish on her own is dowdy but neat. When she inadvertently conjures up Abar (Daniel Auteuil), one of the devil's own representatives, she's more than willing to sell her soul for a great-looking, sexy body (Jessica Forde), especially if she can woo Abar with it. Alas, it seems that these contracts are frequently renewed by the Angel Gabriel (Michael Lonsdale), and just as she's getting ready to get things hopping, the angelic trumpeter says the deal's off. Now she's got her soul and body back, but she's still in bad, bad trouble because the guy she loves happens to be a devil. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi