Maurice Bénichou
Birthday: Born in 1943-01-23 in Tlemcen, Algeria
Deathday: 2019-06-14
Maurice Bénichou (23 January 1943 in Tlemcen, French Algeria – 14 June 2019) was a French actor. His best known roles include three collaborations with director Michael Haneke (Code inconnu, Le Temps du Loup, and Caché), and a part in Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie. He has also played in Peter Brook's 1989 film version of The Mahabharata. Source: Article "Maurice Bénichou" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
TV Credits
Doom-doom
Character: Nataf
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Entre terre et mer
Character: Cul-Roussi
At the beginning of the 20th century, the arrival of a man on the Breton coast near Saint-Malo fills him with awe as he observes the devoted, courageous sailors and their wives waiting for them on the shore. Among them is a young laundress, whose charm does not leave him indifferent, waiting for her beloved, who left for sea months ago. When the ship returns, her fiancé is dead. He then decides to join these valiant men and, through his dedication, prove his love to the young woman....
The Mahabharata
Character: Kitchaka
The Mahabharata is a 1989 film version of the Indian epic based on the history of India, Mahabharata directed by Peter Brook. Brook's original 1985 stage play was 9 hours long, and toured around the world for four years. In 1989, it was reduced to under 6 hours for television. Later it was also reduced to about 3 hours for theatrical and DVD release. The screenplay was the result of eight years' work by Peter Brook, Jean-Claude Carrière and Marie-Hélène Estienne. For the casting an international...
Le Champ Dolent, le roman de la terre
Character: Célestin Angelmon
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Movie Credits
Amélie
Character: Dominique Bretodeau
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?...
Caché
Character: Majid
George, host of a television show focusing on literature, receives videos shot on the sly that feature his family, along with disturbing drawings that are difficult to interpret. He has no idea who has made and sent him the videos. Progressively, the contents of the videos become more personal, indicating that the sender has known George for a long time....
The Great Alibi
Character: Commandant Grange
Like every weekend senator Henri Pagès and his wife entertain guests at their beautiful mansion in a peaceful village near Paris. But this time around, things go awry: Pierre Collier, a psychoanalyst and consummate womanizer, is brutally murdered. Claire, his wife, dazed and confused by his corpse, with a smoking gun still in her hand, seems to be the ideal culprit......
Adventures of Félix
Character: Fisherman
A charming comedy about going on a rather long walk. Félix is a laid-back guy living in the bleak northern coastal town of Dieppe. He lives happily with his lover Daniel and is a soap opera enthusiast and HIV-positive. After losing his job, Félix decides to find the father he never knew in Marseilles. Agreeing to meet Daniel in the southern port city in a week's time, Félix throws on his backpack and starts hiking. On his way, he discovers that family need not always be connected by blood....
Instinct de femme
Character: Rat speaker
Young - beautiful - married, fulfilled, Martha is bored. Passive in an active society, she took a first step by serving as a "guinea pig" to her brother researcher who undertook a comparative study on animal behavior and human behavior....
Paris
Character: Le Psy
Pierre, a professional dancer, suffers from a serious heart disease. While he is waiting for a transplant which may (or may not) save his life, he has nothing better to do than look at the people around him, from the balcony of his Paris apartment....
I... For Icarus
Character: Robert Sanio, l'homme à la caméra
Following the assassination of President Marc Jarry, a member of the investigation committee refuses to sign off on the committee's final findings....
Every Jack Has a Jill
Character: le Réceptionniste de l'Hôtel Favard
Jack is encouraged to take the romantic Paris vacation he won, despite just being dumped by his girlfriend. His trip soon devolves into chaos and adventure, when his luggage is swapped for a French businesswoman's belongings who soon takes a liking to his belongings -- especially his shoes -- and sets out to find him....
Inju: The Beast in the Shadow
Character: L'agent d'Alex Fayard
The writer and college professor, Alexandre Fayard, researches and gives lectures about the gruesome literary work of the mysterious Japanese writer Shundei Oe, considered by him to be the master of manipulation....
The Candidate
Character: maxime
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Loser Takes All!
Character: Vaudier
Serge Vaudier, a mathematics teacher, wins the lotto twice and claims he can do it again, thanks to an infallible system he has designed. Is a he genius or a con man? Angèle, the head of the the government's bureau, is determined to entrap him. She asks her secret lover, Jacques Loriot, an expert player in the casinos, for help....
Omar Killed Me
Character: Maître Jacques Vergès
In the summer of 1991 an elderly woman Ghislaine Marchal is found murdered in the basement of her home with the message "Omar M'a Tuer" (Omar has kill me) written beside in her own blood. Despite a lack of forensic or DNA evidence, her Moroccan gardener Omar Raddad is found guilty and sentenced to 18 years in a French prison. Shocked by the case, and convinced of his innocence, journalist Pierre-Emmanuel Vaugrenard moves to Nice to investigate, and uncover the truth......
Great life
Character: Kowalski
Philosophy teacher in the provincial city of Saint-Etienne, Gregoire is a discreet man of integrity. He strives to instill the fundamentals of wisdom in his lethargic high-school students. Circumstances lead him to Paris where he encounters a new student in the shape of Patrick, a star TV presenter. Patrick's career is on a high, but he's not happy. He wants to learn, he wants to change, he wants Gregoire to be his life-coach....
The Rabbi's Cat
Character: Rabbi (voice)
The story of a rabbi and his talking cat, a sharp-tongued feline philosopher brimming with scathing humor and a less than pure love for the rabbi's teenage daughter....
Special Delivery
Character: Antoine
An unexpected phone call from a certain Kirsch sets off a crisis between Catherine and Raphaël that will affect all those around them, be they close friends or casual acquaintances....
À la Mode
Character: Lucien
Fausto enters an orphanage and is initially bullied, but then makes friends with a new bunkmate, Raymond. He is apprenticed to Mietek, a tailor in the Jewish quarter, who teaches him the trade. Fausto charms everyone in the quarter, and falls in love with Tonie, the mechanic's daughter. He starts making outrageous suits for publicity and, after dressing Tonie, decides that he wants to be a famous couturier....
Not Everybody's Lucky Enough to Have Communist Parents
Character: Bernard
This bright domestic drama captures a moment in time when, for a large number of idealistic and grateful French men and women, the promise of Russian communism was bright, and everything Russian was a source of joy and amazement. In the story, Irene was rescued from Auschwitz by soldiers from the U.S.S.R., and since that time she has enthusiatically considered Russia to be the source of hope in the world. Her more pragmatic husband has, by 1958, grown somewhat weary of her enthusiasm, which has ...
Off and Running
Character: Serge
A missed highway exit leads Darry Marzouki, an unemployed magician, to cross paths with Irène Montier Duval, a wealthy woman carrying a Hermès bag full of cash. Out of love, she acted as an intermediary in an arms deal between a French minister and Korea. When the deal was exposed, the minister tried to pin the blame on her. On the run, she offers to pay Darry to drive her to Geneva in his BMW. The problem? The BMW isn’t his—he impulsively stole it from his hot-tempered brother-in-law, who’s ou...
The Passenger
Character: Joseph
When he learns of the death of his older brother Richard, Thomas sets out for Marseilles to identify the body. Having collected his brother’s possessions, he returns to their home town, hoping to recall their earlier life together. Here, Thomas insinuates himself into the company of Richard’s friends, whilst keeping his own identity a secret. As he does so, he begins to bring his brother back to life, although not all the memories are pleasant ones......
If You Die, I'll Kill You
Character: L'employé de la morgue
In Paris' cosmopolitan and colorful 10th arrondissement, Philippe, who's fresh out of prison, crosses paths with Avdal, a Kurd who is trying to track down an Iraqi war criminal. Avdal, who dreams of staying in France, plans to bring his fiancee Siba to Paris. She's due to arrive in the next few days. The two men strike up a friendship and when Avdal dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Philippe finds himself left to organize the funeral arrangements. What should he do with the body? Siba arrives in P...
Mordbüro
Character: Léo Stoychev
The neologistic title of this film translates as "Death Bureau," a secret vigilante organization used by ordinary working folk to rid the city of criminals through secret executions. Woodworker Leo Stoychev goes to the organization for help because his boss Branco won't repay a loan and may have had something to do with the accident that crippled Leo. The Mordbüro is responsible for the death of a crooked lawyer, and Inspector Raoul becomes suspicious....
Paris Does Not Exist
Character:
In this film, an artist attending a party smokes some dope and develops the ability to see into the future and the past. He returns to his apartment where he sees the vision of a woman who had lived there 30 years ago. His psychedelic hallucinations increase with time. Starring Richard Leduc and Danièle Gaubert with Serge Gainsbourg who also did the score....
Cross My Heart
Character: The neighbour
Young Martin has been acting strange. At his school, his teacher and classmates notice that he is less talkative and more withdrawn. When those around him begin to prod, they discover that Martin’s single mother has died. Fearful that he will be sent away from home now that he has no parents, Martin looks to his friends for help. With Jerome leading the charge to save Martin from the orphanage, the first thing they decide to do is dispose of the mother’s body....
Au cas où je n'aurais pas la palme d'or
Character: Le rabbin / Maurice Bénichou
Simon, a forty-year-old filmmaker, is more prone to shooting himself in the foot than he is to shooting films. After losing a bet, he shaves off his hair and discovers a strange bump on top of his scull. Believing he's got a terminal illness, he gathers his family, friends and actors at his house in the Lilas neighborhood in Paris to shoot the comedy of his life !...
Boxes
Character: Max
Anna, 50 years old, moves into her new house. Rooms are full of boxes which contain a lot of things and plenty of memories. Anna has lived many lives and her past comes out of these boxes. Her parents surely, but also her children and their fathers, the living and the dead. In this breakneck period of her life, time is running faster and faster and Anna takes a run-up to face the past and try to go towards the future. And, maybe, to manage to still believe in love?...
La Cerisaie
Character: Yacha
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Man Is a Woman
Character: Rosalie's father
Simon Eskenazy is a gay Parisian clarinet player who lives his single life to the fullest. One day, he receives a very tempting offer from his homophobic uncle, looking to continue the family legacy – if he gets married and has a child, he will receive ten million francs and inherit his uncle's luxurious mansion. After meeting Rosalie Baumann at his cousin David's wedding, and with some convincing on his mother's part, Simon sees an opportunity to fulfill his uncle's wishes and the pair go ahead...
Quand on sera grand
Character:
At thirty, Simon is juggling with life and it's problems. He is torn between his job as a journalist at "Tobacco Monthly", his girlfreind Christine with whom he can't seem to have a child and his friends Fabrice, Léa and Roché. On the family side, he should be sorting things out with his psychiatrist father but he mainly takes care of his Granma who is loosing her mind and making life impossible for everyone around her. When he meets Claire, a pregnant neighbour neglected by her husband, his lif...
Candidature
Character:
Jean, a young Parisian philosopher, travels to Angoulême to take part in a recruitment competition for the National Education. On the bus, he meets two other candidates, Pauline, an unscrupulous young woman, and Luc Dunoyer, a brilliant specialist of Descartes. The presence of the latter, who has never failed an exam, makes Jean lose all his means. But Dunoyer has fallen asleep on the bus....
The French Calvinists
Character: Moïse Plantat
A few years after the revocation of theEdict of Nantes, the Camisards, Protestants from the Cévennes region, mostly peasants and silk workers, formed groups following Gédéon Laporte and fought Louis XIV's dragoons....
Beneath the Rooftops of Paris
Character: Amar
An old man living in an attic in a rundown part of Paris, becomes increasingly lonely and prey to ill-health....
La Tueuse
Character: Tarnowski
Mathilde, despite her nurse's diploma, is a thirty year old struggling when it comes to work. She discovers poker when she becomes pregnant. Her nickname, La Tueuse (The Killer), is due to the pitiless way she destroys her opponents at the gaming table. But Mathilde becomes addicted to the game and her life turns upside down....
Code Unknown
Character: The Old Arab
A series of events unfold like a chain reaction, all stemming from a minor event that brings the film's five characters together. Set in Paris, France, Anne is an actress whose boyfriend Georges photographs the war in Kosovo. Georges' brother, Jean, is looking for the entry code to Georges' apartment. These characters' lives interconnect with a Romanian immigrant and a deaf teacher....
The Patriots
Character: Yuri
Ariel, a young French Jew, decides to leave his family to go to Israel and secretly become an agent of Mossad, the Israeli secret service. After years of training, his first mission is in Paris to steal secrets from Remy Prieur, a French atomic scientist....
The Little Apocalypse
Character: Arnold
An unknown Polish writer can't publish his novels, so his ex-wife decides to help him and get some of the profit for herself. She finally finds a publisher, but there's a strange single condition that could cost the writer his life....
Qu'est-ce qui fait courir David ?
Character: Albert
David, a Jewish filmmaker in his thirties, is working on a screenplay with autobiographical overtones. His girlfriend, Anna, with whom he lives, finds his story very narcissistic....
Little Marcel
Character: Garcia
A homeless young man, living in his delivery truck, is simultaneously adopted by a pranksome group of youngsters and made into a police informer. Believing that he is doing something good both for the other kids and for himself, he has no qualms....
Marriage a la Mode
Character: Leporello
The main character is a woman trapped in the long stifling marriage in a boring province. She has an affair with a traveling photographer, follows him to Paris, and then has a series of unsatisfactory but interesting relationships, one of which is with a woman....
Time of the Wolf
Character: M. Azoulay
When Anna and her family arrive at their holiday home, they find it occupied by strangers. This confrontation is just the beginning of a painful learning process....
Roads to the South
Character: García
France, 1975. Jean, an exiled Spanish Communist, is a successful screenwriter who, after a tragic event, struggles with his political commitment, his love for his country, under the boot of General Franco, whose death he and his comrades have waited for years, and his complicated relationship with his son. (A sequel to “The War Is Over,” 1966.)...
Pardon Mon Affaire
Character: Gonthier
On an otherwise normal day, Étienne, a happily married man and a good father, sees something that stops him dead in his tracks: a gorgeous woman in a billowing red dress. Long after she has left his vision, her memory continues to haunt his mind. He falls instantly in love with her and tries everything to get to know her better. Helping Étienne snare his elusive lady in red are his three bumbling buddies, which all have secret affairs and/or cheat on their wives....
The Question
Character: Vincent
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....
Travail du comédien
Character:
We follow the rehearsals and the staging work of Bertold Brecht's play 'Dans la jungle des villes' in 1972 by the company Théâtre de l'Espérance. The three directors: Jean-Pierre Vincent, Jean Jourdheuil and André Engel discuss their joint work of staging and their vision of the play. Interviews with the actors (Gérard Desarthe, Maurice Bénichou, Hélène Vincent), whom we follow at different stages of the work (source: Média Scérén). The film was screened for the 1973 Directors' Fortnight, at the...
Le jardinier
Character: The overseer
This is a surreal comedy is about a factory set in a barren landscape that dispenses a minute portion of water to stragglers carrying pans as receptacles. Inside, the workers seem to be doing nothing that makes any sense, and they are watched over by a periscope set up by twins who run the factory. An unexplained, plain woman living on the premises is sought after by the whimsical foreman (Maurice Benichou) -- also known as the "gardener" because he has planted flowers in the coal wagons that re...
Cadoudal
Character: Savary
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Ile Flottante
Character: Maurice Bénichou
Île flottante is not an island, nor a dessert, but a somewhat unusual cinema, floating, that's for sure! While in his booth, a young projectionist, nervous about launching his first screening, panics a little, at the entrance to the building, whose contours are difficult to make out in the foggy night, a queue forms, resembling a huge centipede of impatient people....
Les Fossés de Vincennes
Character: La voix de Bonaparte
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