Julien Verdier
1910 - 1999
Nous sommes tous des assassins
André Cayatte
Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin
Originally titled Nous Sommes Tout des Assassins, We Are All Murderers was directed by Andre Cayette, a former lawyer who detested France's execution system. Charles Spaak's screenplay makes no attempt to launder the four principal characters (Marcel Mouloudji, Raymond Pellegrin, Antoinine Balpetre, Julien Verdeir): never mind the motivations, these are all hardened murderers. Still, the film condemns the sadistic ritual through which these four men are brought to the guillotine. In France, the policy is to never tell the condemned man when the execution will occur--and then to show up without warning and drag the victim kicking and screaming to his doom, without any opportunity to make peace with himself or his Maker. By the end of this harrowing film, the audience feels as dehumanized as the four "protagonists." We Are All Murderers was roundly roasted by the French law enforcement establishment, but it won a special jury prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.
We Are All Murderers
Jean-Marc ou La vie conjugale
André Cayatte
Jacques Charrier, Marie-José Nat
The story of the couple from the very first meeting to break up told from a view of a man, Jean-Marc. The film shares the same plot with "Françoise ou La vie conjugale", that tells the same story from another perspective.
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Jean-Marc
Françoise ou La vie conjugale
André Cayatte
Marie-José Nat, Jacques Charrier
The story of the couple from the very first meeting to break up told from a view of a woman, Francoise. The film shares the same plot with "Jean-Marc ou La vie conjugale", that tells the same story from another perspective.
Anatomy of a Marriage: My Days with Françoise
Muriel, ou le Temps d'un retour
Alain Resnais
Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien
In the seaside town of Boulogne, no one seems to be able to cope with their past, least of all Hélène, an antique furniture saleswoman, her stepson Bernard, and her former lover Alphonse.
Muriel, or the Time of Return
The Question
Laurent Heynemann, Laurent Heynemann
Jacques Denis, Christian Rist
1957. For several months, Henri Charlègue, the ex-director of the newspaper "Alger democratic", banned, has been living in hiding. Suspected of belonging to the FLN, he is actively sought by paratroopers.
The Question
Avant le déluge
André Cayatte
Antoine Balpêtré, Paul Bisciglia
The title of this French "reality" drama, which translates to Before the Deluge, is a play on Louis XVI's famous prognostication, "Apres moi, le deluge." Set in 1950, the film concentrates on five Parisian adolescents. Certain that the next war will herald the apocalypse, the youngster make plans to run off to a desert island and set up a new society. This, however, will require money, which is why the boys decide to pull off a "necessary" robbery. Idealism collapses in the face of cold reality, as the five youths suffer from the consequences of their actions. Avant le Deluge was one of a group of films cowritten by director Andre Cayatte and Charles Spaak which endeavored to explore the touchy social issues of the day: others in the Cayatte-Spaak canon include the euthanasia-themed Justice est Faite and the capital-punishment tract Nous sommes tous des assassins.
Before the Deluge
Weekend at Dunkirk
Henri Verneuil
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Spaak
In June 1940, during the Dunkirk evacuation of Allied troops to England, French sergeant Julien Maillat and his men debate whether to evacuate to Britain or stay and fight the German troops that are closing-in from all directions.
Weekend at Dunkirk
Dr. Petiot
Christian de Chalonge
Michel Serrault, Pierre Romans
A true story shot in a German Impressionistic style. In France during the Nazi occupation, Dr. Petiot (Michel Serrault) offered to help Jews escape the Nazis. They would come to his house, and he would kindly give them lethal "vaccinations" for their anticipated travel to Argentina. Then he would steal everything the brought with them (in addition to their up-front payment to him) and burn their bodies in his home-made crematorium.
Dr. Petiot
L'ours et la poupée
Michel Deville
Brigitte Bardot, Jean-Pierre Cassel
Cellist Gaspard is living in a big house in the country with his son and three nieces. He likes being quiet. One day, his modest car bumps into a Rolls-Royce, driven by Felicia, a young, beautiful, wealthy and temperamental woman. And she knows it. She is very angry at him because he seems not to be under her charm. She decides to seduce him, but Gaspard did not feel like letting his life being invaded by such a woman.
The Bear and the Doll
Bonjour Toubib
Louis Cuny
Noël-Noël, Simone Bach
24 hours in the life of a humble general practitioner. A very busy life to say the least... Like every other day, Dr. Forget works from morning till dusk (and even later). He sees patients in his consulting room or visits them either on house calls or at the hospital. But is today just another day? Not quite since on this very day, Junior, Dr. Forget's son, will know if he has passed or not his exam at the faculty of medicine.
Hi Doc
