15 Movies Starring Michel Serrault

Three Fables of Love

Three Fables of Love

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1962-12-21

Languages:

French, Spanish

Countries:

France, Italy, Spain

Runtime:

76 min

IMDB Ratings:

5.9 (51 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Rafael Azcona

Alessandro Blasetti

Hervè Bromberger (screenplay)

Hervè Bromberger (story)

Suso Cecchi D'Amico

Renè Clair

Frèdèric Grendel (screenplay)

Frèdèric Grendel (story)

Jean de La Fontaine (novel)

Fullplot:

"Les quatre vèritès" aka "The Four Truths" is a movie anthology that consists of four segments, all loosely parodying fables from the 17th-century French poet Jean de la Fontaine. The US cut usually features only 3 segments. The first segment "Death and the Woodcutter" about a common organ grinder (street performer who plays mechanical musical instrument called street organ on the street for a living) who is driven to the edge of sanity by bureaucracy was cut from the US release for its serious tone. The second story "The Crow and the Fox" is about a jealous husband who keeps his wife under lock and key since he lives in a town full of single men. Their neighbor is determined however to service the missus. The third story "The Tortoise and the Hare" follows a jealous wife who decides to win her adulterous husband back. The final tale "Two Pigeons" is about a young man and woman who accidentally lock themselves up in a flat and end up falling for each other.

La Cage aux Folles

La Cage aux Folles

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1979-03-30

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Italy

Runtime:

110 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (6905 Reviews)

Genres:

Comedy

Cast:

Writer:

Jean Poiret (play)

Francis Veber (screenplay)

èdouard Molinaro (screenplay)

Marcello Danon (screenplay)

Jean Poiret (screenplay)

Fullplot:

Two gay men living in St. Tropez have their lives turned upside down when the son of one of the men announces he is getting married. They try conceal their lifestyle and their ownership of the drag club downstairs when the fiancèe and her parents come for dinner.

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1978-12-17

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Belgium

Runtime:

108 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (2441 Reviews)

Director:

Bertrand Blier

Fullplot:

Solange is depressed: she's stopped smiling, she eats little, she says less. She has fainting fits. Her husband Raoul seeks to save her by enlisting Stephane, a stranger, to be her lover. Although he listens to Mozart and has every Pocket Book arranged in alphabetical order, Stephane fails to cheer Solange. She knits. She does housework. Everyone, including their neighbor a vegetable vendor, agrees that she needs a child, yet she fails to get pregnant by either lover. The three take a job running a kids' summer camp where they meet Christian, the precocious 13-year-old son of the local factory manager. It is Christian who restores Solange to laughter.

La cage aux folles II

La cage aux folles II

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1981-02-15

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Italy

Runtime:

102 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

5.8 (1384 Reviews)

Genres:

Comedy

Cast:

Writer:

Jean Poiret (characters)

Jean Poiret (story)

Francis Veber (screenplay)

Marcello Danon (screenplay)

Jean Poiret (screenplay)

Francis Veber (dialogue)

Fullplot:

Sequel to La Cage aux folles has homosexual nightclub owner Renato and his transvesitite companion/lover Albin becoming involved with the local cops and foreign spies when Albin unwittingly gets his hands on a role of stolen microfilm. The gay couple then hide out in Renato's native Italy, but find little peace there with their frequent bickering among themselves.

Garde è vue

Garde è vue

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1981-09-23

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

86 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.8 (2612 Reviews)

Director:

Claude Miller

Cast:

Writer:

John Wainwright (novel)

Claude Miller

Jean Herman (adaptation)

Michel Audiard (dialogue)

Fullplot:

Inspector Gallien is investigating the rape and murder of two little girls. The only suspect is attorney Jerome Martinaud, but the evidence against him is circumstantial. As the city celebrates New Year's Eve, Gallien calls Martinaud to his office and interrogates him for hour after hour while Martinaud continues to maintain his innocence. We learn all about the evidence; we meet Martinaud's wife and learn all about the rift between the two; but will we, and Gallien, finally learn whether Martinaud is guilty?

The Hatter's Ghost

The Hatter's Ghost

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1982-05-25

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

120 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (766 Reviews)

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Cast:

Writer:

Claude Chabrol

Georges Simenon (novel)

Fullplot:

Deadly Circuit

Deadly Circuit

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1983-03-09

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

120 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.1 (1568 Reviews)

Director:

Claude Miller

Cast:

Writer:

Michel Audiard (adaptation)

Jacques Audiard (adaptation)

Marc Behm (novel)

Fullplot:

Beauvoir, lonely, aging private detective, is put on the bloody track of beautiful Catherine Leiris who kills and robs her rich husband(s) on their wedding night. Although he never approaches her directly, he follows her and increasingly feels to be telepathically connected to her, because she reminds him of his daughter he never met. After he led a blind artist, Catherine's truly beloved spouse, into a bus accident, she makes a living by bank robbery with young Betty till Betty gets shot. Alone again, Catherine leads a sad, uneventful life as a waitress, when she meets her follower.

The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea

The Old Lady Who Walked in the Sea

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1995-09-15

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Italy

Runtime:

95 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

6.5 (211 Reviews)

Genres:

Comedy

Cast:

Writer:

Dominique Roulet (scenario and dialogue)

Dominique Roulet (adaptation)

Laurent Heynemann (adaptation)

Frèdèric Dard (novel)

Fullplot:

Lady M. wades every morning through the sea in order to heal her pain. But she is not what she pretends to be: Together with her partner Pompilius she finances her luxurious life by fraud and blackmailing. Falling in love with young Lambert she is about to break up all her pretendence as Pompilius is not willing to accept the youngster.

Happiness Is in the Field

Happiness Is in the Field

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1997-01-31

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

106 min

IMDB Ratings:

(2049 Reviews)

Genres:

Comedy

Fullplot:

Francis, the boss of a small plumbing supply company, is harassed by tax collectors, striking employees, and an impossible wife and daughter. His only joy is sharing lunch with his friend Gerard. Then a TV show called "where are you?" shows a woman from Gers who is searching for her husband who disappeared 28 years ago. The lost husband looks like an identical twin of Francis...

Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud

Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1996-06-21

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Italy, Germany

Runtime:

106 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (3188 Reviews)

Director:

Claude Sautet

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Jacques Fieschi

Claude Sautet

Yves Ulmann

Fullplot:

When Nelly, a woman being just divorced, meets by chance M. Arnaud, a mature salesman just retired, begins a strange and special relationship between the two personalities.

Assassin(s)

Assassin(s)

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1997-05-14

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Germany

Runtime:

128 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.5 (1559 Reviews)

Genres:

DramaCrime

Cast:

Writer:

Nicolas Boukhrief

Mathieu Kassovitz

Fullplot:

Old professional killer Wagner seeks someone to teach what he knows as long as he is already dying, and he chooses Max, young and passionless thief to be his successor.

The Swindle

The Swindle

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1997-10-24

Languages:

French, Hungarian

Countries:

France, Switzerland

Runtime:

101 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (1592 Reviews)

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Fullplot:

Betty and Victor are a pair of scam artists. One day Betty brings in Maurice, a treasurer of a multinational company. Maurice is due to transfer 5 millions francs out of Switzerland, and Betty is convinced he plans to steal that money. On whose side is Betty - Victor's, Maurice's or only her own?

Artemisia

Artemisia

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1998-05-08

Languages:

French

Countries:

France, Italy, Germany

Runtime:

98 min

Rated:

R

IMDB Ratings:

6.8 (1727 Reviews)

Director:

Agnès Merlet

Cast:

Writer:

Patrick Amos

Agnès Merlet (screenplay)

Agnès Merlet (story)

Christine Miller (screenplay)

Christine Miller (story)

Fullplot:

Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...

The Girl from Paris

The Girl from Paris

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2001-09-05

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

103 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.7 (1679 Reviews)

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Fullplot:

Sandrine, a woman in her thirties gets tired of life in Paris and decides to leave her work in computers and become a farmer. She takes the required practice for two years, and after that she buys an isolated farm from Adrien, an old farmer who decides it's time to retire. However, Adrien wants to stay a few more months before moving away from the farm, and the rough winter finds them together...

The Butterfly

The Butterfly

Basic Info:

Released Date:

2002-12-18

Languages:

French

Countries:

France

Runtime:

85 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (2306 Reviews)

Director:

Philippe Muyl

Genres:

ComedyDrama

Fullplot:

This is the story of a young girl named Elsa who was raised by a single mother (Isabelle) in the city. Isabelle and Elsa begin the film moving in next door to an elderly man who collects butterflies (Julien). Isabelle who "spends a lot of time with her friends" does not pay much attention to her daughter who walks home because her mother forgot to pick her up from school. After meeting her new neighbor, Elsa finds out about the butterflies and in short annoys Julien for a while. Julien receives a mystery package from a fellow entomologist. Julien sets out on his annual attempt to find a rare species of butterfly that he had once promised his son he would find (son dead) in the French country side, specifically a region known as Vercors. Elsa stows away in his car. After being discovered she convinces him to let her come to Vercors with him. They bond while hiking and camping until Julien, who is initially annoyed by Elsa, near the end of the film seems to have a grandfather-granddaughter relationship with her. Elsa falls in a well. The police arrest Julien. Elsa tells everyone it is cool. Isabelle starts paying attention to her child. Julien and Elsa are friends. The mystery package contained a caterpillar which turned out to become the rare species of butterfly Julien set out to find. The species is called Isabelle. So Elsa finds her mother (Isabelle) and Julien finds the butterfly (Isabelle). Surprisingly happy feel for a french film.

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