"Actor: Maria Pitarresi"

• Laissez Passer | DVD | (24/03/2003) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Bertrand Tavernier directs this epic film set in 1942 Paris during the country's occupation by Germany. The French film industry during that period is the focus of the story told from the point of view of two characters: an actor and a director.

• Ca Commence Aujourdhui | DVD | (24/03/2008) from £10.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (38.90%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Ca Commence Aujourdhui (aka. It All Starts Today) stars Philippe Torreton as Daniel a schoolmaster of a nursery in a small French town. The local economy which depended entirely on coal production has been mired in a depression ever since the mines were closed. When their parents fall into utter discouragement or even poverty because of prolonged unemployment the children suffer the consequences. Daniel is confronted daily with difficult situations and he feels responsible to deal with them although they are outside the scope of his responsibilities. This is a frustrating task: politicians are concerned with tightening their budgets bureaucrats in the intricate web of French social and educational services with their prerogatives utility companies with getting their bills paid; teachers social workers and policemen are overwhelmed. Daniel's relations with his parents but also with Valeria his fiance and her son are not entirely smooth either. He nevertheless soldiers on doing his best to educate the children of a severely disrupted society.