De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté (2005)

Director:

Jacques Audiard

Writers:

Jacques Audiard (writer)
Tonino Benacquista (writer)

Release Date:

16 March 2005 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Music

Plot:

Should Tom (Duris) make like his thuggish father or pursue his dream of becoming a pianist?

Plot Keywords:

Chinese | Failure | Remake Of American Film | Business Deal | Audition

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 17 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Romain Duris	...	Thomas Seyr
Niels Arestrup	...	Robert Seyr
Jonathan Zaccaï	...	Fabrice
Gilles Cohen	...	Sami
Linh Dan Pham	...	Miao Lin
Aure Atika	...	Aline
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Chris
Anton Yakovlev	...	Minskov
Mélanie Laurent	...	Minskov's Girlfriend
Agnès Aubé	...	Woman
Etienne Dirand	...	Old Man
Denis Falgoux	...	Metreur
Serge Boutleroff	...	Man (as Serge Onteniente)
Sandy Whitelaw	...	Mr. Fox
Emmanuel Finkiel	...	Conservatory Professor

Also Known As:

The Beat That My Heart Skipped (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:107 min | Japan:108 min | USA:108 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Cantonese | English | Russian | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Singapore:NC-16 | Norway:11 | UK:15 | Sweden:15 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:13 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | Netherlands:16 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | France:U | Australia:M | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

91 - Café Les Jardins d'Issoire, rue de la Tombe Issoire, Paris 14, Paris, France

Company:

Why Not Productions

Trivia:

The film's title comes from a line in French singer Jacques Dutronc's song, "La fille du père Noël" ("Santa Claus's daughter").

Movie Connections:

Remake of Fingers (1978)

Don't miss this one (in America it's called "The Beat My Heart Skipped")

Rising French director Jacques Audiard ("Read My Lips") has naturally relocated James Toback's "Fingers" from New York City to Paris. He's also modified the Mafioso's in the original by creating a tight gang of 'real estate' brokers (brokers that break windows, dump rats, etc. to move squatters off their properties).

Basic plot line involves a young man, 'Tom', who is very much caught up in 'the life' of being a thug like his father. He pals around with his two partners and they work hard by day and party harder at night (usually ending with a barfight). Then one day he spots his deceased mother's old music agent who offers him an audition in gratitude (Tom's mother was a professional concert pianist).

What follows is an intriguing and humorous plot line as Tom takes on a piano coach (from Beijing no less) and tries to regain his affinity with the piano almost ten years after he'd stopped playing.

Extremely well-acted film with Romain Duris (as 'Tom') offering up one of those rare performances that's absolutely mesmerizing (most USA audiences will remember him from "L'Auberge espagnole" - another French film worth your time!).