By the Pricking of My Thumbs

Loosely based on "4.50 from Paddington" by Agatha Christie.

Prudence and Bélisaire Beresford have decided to take things easy. But when a rich Russian heiress disappears, Prudence can't resist and Bélisaire is forced onto the adventure. Their investigation will put them on the trail of a mysterious scientist who holds the secret to eternal youth...

To a non-French speaker, the word La Pagaille looks charming, elegant, even tidy. However, it means "a mess," and a mess is just what the happily divorced Martin gets into when he and his ex-wife Brigitte, the mother of his children, rekindle their long-dormant relationship and announce that they intend to move back in together. Not only do the children find this whole thing confusing, but the husband's and the wife's lovers are equally befuddled. Add to that the need for Martin to meet Brigitte's lover and vice-versa, and you have the beginnings of a mess. When it begins to seem to Brigitte's former lover that he has offended the Muslims with a book he translated and he is slated for death, the whole thing grows yet more complicated. In this comedy, this list only scratches the surface of the messes these people must confront.

La Première éducation sentimentale (the first version of L'Éducation sentimentale), re-adapting the themes of first love, the intoxication of desire, and failed ideological revolution (that culminated in the Revolution of 1848) to the May 68 generation through a chronicle of the parallel lives of a pair of childhood friends, the pragmatic Henri and idealistic Jules as they leave their bucolic, rural hometown to separately pursue their baccalaureate - and real world - educations.

Beaumarchais the Scoundrel is a biopic film based on the life of the French playwright, financier and spy Pierre Beaumarchais depicting his activities during the American War of Independence and his authorship of the Figaro trilogy of plays.

The independently-minded daughter of lower-middle class French shopkeepers, Brigitte, one of three sisters, refused to marry the father of her child when she became pregnant. In this film, she reminisces about her family life beginning when she was about five years old, up to the present when she is in her early 20s. Of her two sisters, one has a nervous breakdown and the other one becomes something of a baby factory. Colorful anecdotes of her eventful life lend additional depth to her insights.

Annie, a 16 years old girl, loves Frédéric who is away doing his national service. During her holidays in the country, she meets Alexandre. He's older, owns a car and she experiences the "first time" with him. Back during a leave, Frédéric finds his sweetheart in the arms of this clumsy oaf and eventually hits it off with him.

Hubert has a mistress, Papinou would like to seduce her. To do so, he convinces Hubert to go abroad. After years he became editor-in-chief, while Papinou did not succeed.

Pierrette is a woman who describes herself as having "opted for the temporary on a permanent basis." After 15 years of living the good life in Switzerland, Pierrette one day packs her bags full of fashionable outfits and returns to her native Paris with no idea of what she'll do. Pierette, however, leads a charmed life; while her son is forced to work the graveyard shift at a factory due to poor job prospects, she's able to find a job right away at a high school. Pierrette soon reintroduces herself to her 23-year-old daughter and one-time best friend, trying to use her charm to skate over years of neglect. She just as suddenly finds a new beau, Ackerman, and starts helping him out with his antique business. However, what would seem like a simple matter -- buying a clock from an elderly woman -- soon turns out to be very complicated and fraught with consequence.

Loosely based on "4.50 from Paddington" by Agatha Christie.

Inviting the ex-wife to a family reunion when the none-too-secure new wife will be there hardly seems to be a recipe for success, and true to form, bodies have begun to stack up by the end of this cinematic update of a classic Agatha Christie tale. Luckily for the extended clan gathered at a sumptuous waterfront estate in Northern France, Inspector Martin Bataille is on hand to find out not only "who done it" but why.

A young journalist, abandoned by her wealthy lover, sets out with a musician inventor to stage a musical.

In a small Parisian building, a diverse group of people crosses paths, likes and observes each other, without always seeing each other.

Prudence and Bélisaire Beresford have decided to take things easy. But when a rich Russian heiress disappears, Prudence can't resist and Bélisaire is forced onto the adventure. Their investigation will put them on the trail of a mysterious scientist who holds the secret to eternal youth...

Wednesday is the day when children are not in school and stay at home. It is also the day when the parents are not there. In Nantes, in the spring, twenty or so carefree and boisterous kids between the ages of three and eleven take advantage of this day to make their parents go crazy. Emma, 9 years old and naturally romantic, decides that Roland, the little boy she met in the street, is unhappy and persuades her friends to adopt him. Victoria spends the day with Martin Socoa, an often distant father whom she learns to love. There are also Muriel, Bruno, Colette and Henri who take off and create panic in their parents' home, while Marylin lives the founding drama of her childhood with a mother of an unreal sweetness. Throughout these little stories, we realize that the world of children has its own logic, totally different from that of adults.

Two adults play babies and wild antics ensue.

Francesca and her husband, Martin, are dreamers. They live a carefree existence oblivious to the increasingly hostile world closing in on them. Their huge Parisian apartment is a refuge for an array of colorful characters in need of a roof over their heads and in particular for Adrien, a filmmaker who turns their home into his office, studio and love-nest. When their mean landlady tries to evict them all and Martin succumbs to the charms of a beautiful vamp, Francesca comes up with some original and entertaining solutions in the defense of her and everybody else's happiness.

William, together with his family, joins his childhood friend and his family in a crowded country house for a summer vacation. As a result, he has had to leave behind his mistress and all the other lovely women he enjoys trying to seduce. Stranded in the isolated rural cottage with his friend's family, he attempts to bed every female member of that clan. Unsuccessful and extremely frustrated, he is determined to have some fun on his vacation and abandons the whole group in pursuit of a trio of hippyish females who flirted with him earlier.