The Valet (La Doublure)
by Francis Veber
from Sony Pictures
A light, zippy farce from Francis Veber (writer/director of The Closet and The Dinner Game), The Valet is another masterful comic escalation of lies and pretenses. When a billionaire (Daniel Auteuil, Cache, The Eighth Day) gets photographed next to his supermodel mistress (Alice Taglioni), he tries to persuade his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas, The English Patient) that the supermodel must be with the other man in the picture--a parking valet (Gad Elmaleh) who just happens to be walking by. Naturally, the billionaire has to follow through by setting the valet and the supermodel up as a couple, lest his wife's detective uncover the truth. The valet agrees, but not because he wants to cozy up to the beautiful girl; he hopes that the money he'll be paid will win the heart of the bookstore owner he's in love with (Virginie Ledoyen, The Beach, 8 Femmes). The sneaky machinations of the characters multiply and cascade with delicious results, particularly the hapless envy of the valet's best friend (Dany Boon, My Best Friend). The Valet isn't quite as brilliantly orchestrated as The Closet (some of the plot threads feel underbaked), but it's still sly and wonderfully engaging. Don't judge Veber by the hamfisted Hollywood remakes of his films Les Comperes and Le Jouet; Veber's films have a deft sweetness that American filmmakers just can't recreate. --Bret Fetzer
Francis Veber (The Dinner Game and The Closet), the living master of French farce, has combined his classic elements of hilarious slapstick with quick-witted dialogue in the new film The Valet. The tale begins when François Pignon, (Gad Elmaleh) a restaurant car service valet at a posh Paris hotel gets caught-up in a billionaire industrialist's sneaky infidelities. Veber's plot quickly turns on the fall guy, when François - an innocent passerby - is photographed by a paparazzo leaving the hotel along with Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil), the wealthy tycoon and his beautiful supermodel mistress Elena (Alice Taglioni.
In a desperate attempt to avoid an ugly divorce with his wife Christine, (Kristin Scott Thomas) Pierre's scheming lawyer Maitre Foix (Richard Berry) concocts an outrageous plan. By paying the valet a large sum of money to live with Pierre's mistress, the two men hope to mislead the tabloids and most importantly hide the affair from his wife. Meanwhile, the ruthless Pierre must convince the stunning Elena to live with François in his cruddy apartment until the dust settles. All the while, continuing to reassure his wife that the other man in the photo, François, is really Elena's boyfriend.
Francis Veber's intricate and lively plot, tick-tock timing and variety of unusual characters make The Valet a hilariously good time.
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Josée Dayan
from Koch Lorber Films
Acclaimed actor Gérard Depardieu stars in the adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of love, intrigue and revenge.
The Count of Monte Cristo tells the dramatic story of Edmond Dantès, a young French sailor who is falsely denounced as a traitor and unjustly imprisoned for eighteen years without a trial. After a daring escape, Dantès secures a treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo bequeathed to him by a dying inmate. Using these riches, he assumes a new identity and devises a plan to seek vengeance against all those who betrayed him.
The Closet
by Francis Veber
from Miramax
French humor, which isn't exactly subtle, is delivered via an especially broad premise in The Closet. A nebbish (Daniel Auteuil) who works at a condom manufacturer learns he's about to be fired; with the help of his neighbor, he pretends to be gay so his boss can't fire him without seeming prejudiced. Then a bigoted coworker (Gerard Depardieu) tries to worm his way into the nebbish's good graces because he's afraid of being fired. In the wrong hands, The Closet could be ham-fisted slapstick. What makes this movie truly delightful is the superb understatement with which every gag is handled; even the sight of Auteuil wearing a giant condom tip on his head has an impeccable deadpan grace. All the performances are excellent; Depardieu's smarm is particularly delicious. Each scene takes a new twist of social discomfort and befuddlement in this winning comedy. --Bret Fetzer
The always popular Gerard Depardieu (102 DALMATIANS, VATEL) stars in a warmly engaging comedy that shows how one little white lie can change everything! A dull and lonely accountant working at a condom factory, Francois (Daneil Auteuil) meekly endures office jokes and backroom whispers that he's about to be fired ... usually instigated by his loutish coworker Felix (Depardieu). But that all changes when a rumor about him spreads around the office! Much to his surprise, this funny falsehood becomes the catalyst that sends Francois' life on an unexpected and hilarious turn for the better! As this outrageous, critically acclaimed story unfolds, you'll laugh along with Francois as he keeps this improbable charade going in an inspired bid to save his job and transform his life!
Mr. Klein
by Joseph Losey
from Homevision
How can state-sponsored bigotry destroy the life of an "ordinary" citizen, one whose heritage should exempt him from such policies? The eponymous Mr. Klein (Alain Delon), a suave, single, wealthy Parisian art dealer, finds out. It's 1942, the Nazis have occupied Paris, and Jews are being arrested and shipped to Germany. The lucky ones obtain false passports and flee the country. Robert Klein, whose family has been "French and Catholic since Louis XIV," is taking advantage of the situation by buying up Jewish family heirlooms at rock-bottom prices. Then one morning a Jewish newspaper appears on his doorstep, addressed to Robert Klein. The fact that he received mail intended for another Parisian Robert Klein--this one a Jew--must be a simple mistake. But is it?
Mr. Klein becomes obsessed with finding his Jewish alter ego, finally falling into a trap from which it is impossible to escape. Directed by Joseph Losey, who confronted prejudice in The Boy with Green Hair, and written by Franco Solinas, coauthor with Costa-Gavras of such classics of political intrigue as State of Siege, Mr. Klein is haunting and suspenseful: an exciting thriller with real substance. --Laura Mirsky
Both a thriller and a Kafkaesque dissertation on identity, Joseph Losey's Mr. Klein stars Alain Delon (Le Samorai, Le Cercle rouge) as Robert Klein—a charming and unscrupulous art dealer in Nazi-occupied France. As Jews flee Paris, Klein exploits them, preying on their desperation by buying their valuables at a fraction of their worth...until he finds his name is shared by a Jewish criminal who is a member of the anti-Nazi resistance. Klein reports this to the authorities only to find he is uncontrollably sinking into the quicksand of mistaken identity. Co-starring Jeanne Moreau (La Femme Nikita), Mr. Klein is an award-winning suspense classic that studies the ever-changing relationship between victim and oppressor.
The Fire That Burns (La Ville Dont le Prince Est un Enfant)
from Picture This Home Entertainment
A richly textured drama based on the novel "The Land Whose King is a Child" (referring to Ecclesiastes 10:6 "Woe to the land whose king is a child) by prolific, French novelist and dramatist Henry de Montherlant. Whose king is a child) by prolific, French novelist and dramatist Henry de Montherlant. The story takes place before World War II in a Catholic boys' school in Paris, where the friendship between bright philosophy student Andre Sevrais (Nael Marandin) and his younger schoolmate Souplier (Clement van den Bergh of Class Trip) arouses the jealousy of the Abbot de Pradts (Christophe Malavoy), who is secretly in the thrall of young Souplier. De Pradts lays a trap for Sevrais but ends up crushed by his own machinations to the utter disdain of the Father Superior (Michel Aumont of The Closet and Man is a Woman).
The Count of Monte Cristo Collection (Miniseries)
by Josée Dayan
from Fox Lorber
Memories of past adaptations of the Alexandre Dumas novel inevitably hover over this four-part French miniseries, originally broadcast on American cable television in 1999. It's hard, for instance, to top the 1934 feature starring Robert Donat as Edmond Dantès, the sea captain who is framed and unjustifiably imprisoned in 1815 for nearly two decades. Similarly, anyone who saw Richard Chamberlain essay the same role in a memorable 1975 TV movie may remember just how exciting that program was. Yet this lengthy costume adventure starring Gérard Depardieu as the vengeful Dantès, despite a rocky beginning, is absolutely mesmerizing in its own way. Rich in detail and overlapping subplots, strikingly handsome in art direction without getting ostentatious, this particular Count comes to life after Dantès escapes his lengthy incarceration in solitary confinement. Fans of the story know what comes next: Dantès makes his way to an uninhabited island off Italy, where he locates a vast treasure he has heard about. His sudden, phenomenal wealth gives him the means to reward allies, punish enemies, and become an architect of events without anyone knowing who's behind them. While Dantès's mind is bent on destroying those who betrayed him, his deeper nature causes him to perform a vast amount of good as well. Depardieu's big, beefy, clean-shaven self is not exactly the right fit, initially, for a character supposedly subsisting on thin soup for 18 years. He quickly assumes the central role with one of his most knowing and subtle performances, ingeniously painting Dantès as a man who has exchanged one sort of prison for another, the latter his own hatred. The sharp, engaging screenplay is by Didier Decoin (The Chambermaid on the Titanic), and the production is directed with flashes of bold inventiveness by Josée Dayan, a prominent European television director. --Tom Keogh
Clara et Moi
by Arnaud Viard
from Lifesize Ent.
"Bittersweet breezy andiintimate." -Geoff Pevere Toronto StarSensitive yet selfish Antoine is a 33 year old modern male searching for the love of his life while at odds with the scarier reaches of commitment. Then he meets Clara: she's beautiful generous and has an air of freedom about her that causes Antoine to immediately fall for her. Their romance develops quickly seemingly a perfect love affair between soul mates but when life deals them an unforeseen blow their relationship faces a test it may not survive.System Requirements:Running Time: 86 MinutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/LATIN Rating: NR UPC: 880215102795 Manufacturer No: LIF-DV1027
A Sunday in the Country (Deluxe Letterboxed Edition)
by Bertrand Tavernier
from Kino Video
Bertrand Travernier's magnificent portrait of French family life on the brink of World War I. Alive with the subtle brush strokes of an artist at the top of his form, Travernier's acclaimed "A Sunday in the Country" is a lovingly photographed and exquisitely acted portrait of the Ladmiral family at the beginning of the twentieth century. Based on the novel by Pierre Bost, "A Sunday in the Country" becomes an Impressionist painting in itself, mirroring the Ladmiral patriarch's trade. The film is a moving picture of the hopes, disappointments, and small joys of family as a father's life reaches its autumn season.
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