Studiocanal has unveiled the first clip of Michel Hazanavicius’s “The Most Precious of Cargoes,” an allegorical hand-drawn animated feature which is competing at the Cannes Film Festival. The first animated film to vie for a Palme d’Or since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name.
Set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust,” the film has been developed by Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” for many years.Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings, with Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat providing the score.
The drama intertwines the fate of a Jewish family, including newborn twins, deported to Auschwitz, with that of a poor and childless woodcutter couple living deep in a Polish forest. On the train to the death camp, the young father wraps...
Set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust,” the film has been developed by Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” for many years.Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings, with Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat providing the score.
The drama intertwines the fate of a Jewish family, including newborn twins, deported to Auschwitz, with that of a poor and childless woodcutter couple living deep in a Polish forest. On the train to the death camp, the young father wraps...
- 5/13/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The Most Precious of Cargoes, the first animated feature from Oscar-winning French director Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), will open this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
The feature is a 2D animated adaptation of the best-selling book by French author Jean-Claude Grumberg. Set during World War II, it tells the story of a French Jewish family deported to Auschwitz. On the train to the death camp, in a desperate gesture, the father throws one of his baby twins out into the snow, where he’s discovered by a childless Polish couple living deep in the forest.
Hazanavicius presented the film as a work-in-progress at Annecy two years ago. French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant narrates the film with voice acting from Dominique Blanc, Denis Podalydès, and Grégory Gadebois. Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) composed the score. Animation is from 3.0 Studio – formerly Prima Linea — the group behind the...
The feature is a 2D animated adaptation of the best-selling book by French author Jean-Claude Grumberg. Set during World War II, it tells the story of a French Jewish family deported to Auschwitz. On the train to the death camp, in a desperate gesture, the father throws one of his baby twins out into the snow, where he’s discovered by a childless Polish couple living deep in the forest.
Hazanavicius presented the film as a work-in-progress at Annecy two years ago. French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant narrates the film with voice acting from Dominique Blanc, Denis Podalydès, and Grégory Gadebois. Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat (The Shape of Water) composed the score. Animation is from 3.0 Studio – formerly Prima Linea — the group behind the...
- 4/25/2024
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is finally making his way back to the Cannes Film Festival following the controversy surrounding his Un Certain Regard 2023 jury appointment.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
After announcing a whopping number of English-language films in competition, Cannes Film Festival has added some international titles: Michel Hazanavicius’ animated feature “The Most Precious of Cargoes” and Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Variety has learned.
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy stars as a scheming factory worker with designs on a mega-rich fortune in this classy feast of backstabbing, double cross and venal greed
Succession meets Knives Out in this comedy-thriller directed by Sébastien Marnier in what is an extremely French comic style: tongue-in-cheek, a little frothy, tiptoeing close to camp. It stars Call My Agent’s brilliant Laure Calamy as a scheming factory worker who wheedles her way into a dysfunctional mega-rich family. Calamy is often cast as likable, relatable women but here she does a very convincing Isabelle Huppert (circa her Claude Chabrol years); there’s something a bit off about her character from the start, possibly even unhinged.
Calamy is Stéphane – at least that’s what she calls herself. Bored of her job on the production line at a fish factory, and broke, out of the blue she calls her father, a self-made hotel and restaurant tycoon.
Succession meets Knives Out in this comedy-thriller directed by Sébastien Marnier in what is an extremely French comic style: tongue-in-cheek, a little frothy, tiptoeing close to camp. It stars Call My Agent’s brilliant Laure Calamy as a scheming factory worker who wheedles her way into a dysfunctional mega-rich family. Calamy is often cast as likable, relatable women but here she does a very convincing Isabelle Huppert (circa her Claude Chabrol years); there’s something a bit off about her character from the start, possibly even unhinged.
Calamy is Stéphane – at least that’s what she calls herself. Bored of her job on the production line at a fish factory, and broke, out of the blue she calls her father, a self-made hotel and restaurant tycoon.
- 3/27/2024
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
A femme fatale is in the business of fooling people, though we’ve seen enough of these characters to be overly familiar with their tricks. Maybe that’s why, in 2023, the most effective femme fatale is one who can fool the audience. Take Stéphane (Laure Calamy), the desperate young woman at the center of the delectable French family thriller “The Origin of Evil.” The film’s rather abstract title could refer to several things, but the most accurate is probably the cliché that first leaps to mind: Money is the root of all evil. For money — what it can and cannot do, and what people will do to get it — is the film’s theme, and the toxic life force that courses through it.
When we meet Stéphane, she’s in the women’s locker room of the fish plant she works at on an assembly line; her job consists...
When we meet Stéphane, she’s in the women’s locker room of the fish plant she works at on an assembly line; her job consists...
- 10/28/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Self-destructive characters who grift and deceive are ever the province of French filmmakers, from Claude Chabrol to “Tell No One” director Guillaume Canet. In Sébastien Marnier’s sinister and sly domestic thriller “The Origin of Evil,” Laure Calamy plays a woman whose lies can’t stop falling out of her mouth. Calamy is one of the MVPs of the French show business satire “Call My Agent!,” in which she plays a flustered assistant at a fictional talent agency run by ridiculous people. In “The Origin of Evil,” Calamy gives an unsettling performance as Stéphane, a grifter crawling out of a busted relationship and a toxic job at a cannery and into the life of a wealthy man, Serge, played by Jacques Weber. She contacts him out of the blue and insists she’s his long-lost daughter, and the two form a parasitic relationship that recalls the uneasy power dynamics of...
- 9/29/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
"Those two women will steal all my money." IFC Films has revealed an official US trailer for an extra dark wealthy family satire from France titled The Origin of Evil, made by filmmaker Sébastien Marnier. This first premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival, with stops at TIFF and London as well. It also won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Frameline47. A woman is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal as the battle over her estranged father's massive estate soon reveals him to be more than the genial patriarch she'd assumed in this twisted satire. Described as a "wildly entertaining thriller that will keep you guessing all the way to the end." Starring Laure Calamy (of Call My Agent! and Full Time) as Nathalie, with Doria Tillier, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Weber, Suzanne Clément, Céleste Brunnquell, and Véronique Ruggia Saura. The twisty, subversive film will release...
- 8/22/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A long-lost daughter or an impostor looking for a cash-grab?
Laure Calamy stars as an elusive family member in Sebastien Marnier’s satirical thriller “The Origin of Evil,” where she reconnects with her alleged father as he nears his deathbed. “The Origin of Evil” premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and went on to screen at TIFF, BFI, and Frameline47, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The official synopsis reads: When Stéphane (Calamy) gets in touch with wealthy Serge (Jacques Weber), announcing that she is his long-abandoned daughter, his immediate family are none too thrilled. As Stéphane embarks on an extended visit in hopes of getting to know Serge, she also becomes entangled with the hostile women who share a tense existence in his beautifully appointed mansion by the sea: the restaurateur’s wife (Dominique Blanc), his other daughter (Doria Tillier), a rebellious granddaughter (Céleste Brunnquell), and a strangely off-putting housemaid,...
Laure Calamy stars as an elusive family member in Sebastien Marnier’s satirical thriller “The Origin of Evil,” where she reconnects with her alleged father as he nears his deathbed. “The Origin of Evil” premiered at the 2022 Venice Film Festival, and went on to screen at TIFF, BFI, and Frameline47, where it won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature.
The official synopsis reads: When Stéphane (Calamy) gets in touch with wealthy Serge (Jacques Weber), announcing that she is his long-abandoned daughter, his immediate family are none too thrilled. As Stéphane embarks on an extended visit in hopes of getting to know Serge, she also becomes entangled with the hostile women who share a tense existence in his beautifully appointed mansion by the sea: the restaurateur’s wife (Dominique Blanc), his other daughter (Doria Tillier), a rebellious granddaughter (Céleste Brunnquell), and a strangely off-putting housemaid,...
- 8/21/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Release set for 2023.
IFC Films has picked up North American rights from Charades to The Origin Of Evil, the Venice world premiere that went on to screen at TIFF.
Sébastien Marnier wrote and directed the story about a woman who reconnects with her estranged father, now a wealthy man, and learns he may not be the genial patriarch she believed him to be.
Laure Calamy, Jacques Weber, Doria Tillier, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Weber, Suzanne Clément, Céleste Brunnquell, and Véronique Ruggia Saura star.
Producers are Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope. Avenue B Productions served as executive producer.
IFC Films has picked up North American rights from Charades to The Origin Of Evil, the Venice world premiere that went on to screen at TIFF.
Sébastien Marnier wrote and directed the story about a woman who reconnects with her estranged father, now a wealthy man, and learns he may not be the genial patriarch she believed him to be.
Laure Calamy, Jacques Weber, Doria Tillier, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Weber, Suzanne Clément, Céleste Brunnquell, and Véronique Ruggia Saura star.
Producers are Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope. Avenue B Productions served as executive producer.
- 9/28/2022
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has bought North American rights to Sebastien Marnier’s thriller “The Origin of Evil” starring “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy. The film world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at Toronto.
The suspense-filled ensemble film also stars Doria Tillier (“La belle époque”), Suzanne Clément (“Mommy”), Dominique Blanc (“Indochine”) and Jacques Weber (“En thérapie”).
Marnier’s follow up to “Faultless”and “School’s Out,” “The Origin of Evil” was produced by Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing. IFC Films will release the film in 2023.
“The Origin of Evil” follows Stéphane (Calamy), a working class woman whose living situation takes a turn for the worse, prompting her to reconnect with her estranged father, Serge (Weber), who after abandoning her and her mother years earlier, has become incredibly wealthy with a massive estate.
The suspense-filled ensemble film also stars Doria Tillier (“La belle époque”), Suzanne Clément (“Mommy”), Dominique Blanc (“Indochine”) and Jacques Weber (“En thérapie”).
Marnier’s follow up to “Faultless”and “School’s Out,” “The Origin of Evil” was produced by Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing. IFC Films will release the film in 2023.
“The Origin of Evil” follows Stéphane (Calamy), a working class woman whose living situation takes a turn for the worse, prompting her to reconnect with her estranged father, Serge (Weber), who after abandoning her and her mother years earlier, has become incredibly wealthy with a massive estate.
- 9/28/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Can a rich man trust anyone? Bien sûr que non. But then again, should a rich man be trusted by anyone else? Again, non. Never mind that everyone in Sebastien Marnier’s Gallic fable The Origin of Evil claims either the best of motives or victim status; you shouldn’t believe any of them. And oui, you’re going to have to trust me on this.
Billed as a thriller, the Venice Film Festival Horizons Extra entry is more of a murderous romp that has something of the spirit of Knives Out, although it doesn’t hit its plot points with anything like that film’s whip-smartness.
Venice Film Festival 2022 Photos
Serge (Jacques Weber) is the rich man in question, partly incapacitated by a stroke but — so he says — still in charge of his property conglomerate. When Stephane (Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy) turns up and says she is...
Billed as a thriller, the Venice Film Festival Horizons Extra entry is more of a murderous romp that has something of the spirit of Knives Out, although it doesn’t hit its plot points with anything like that film’s whip-smartness.
Venice Film Festival 2022 Photos
Serge (Jacques Weber) is the rich man in question, partly incapacitated by a stroke but — so he says — still in charge of his property conglomerate. When Stephane (Call My Agent’s Laure Calamy) turns up and says she is...
- 9/1/2022
- by Stephanie Bunbury
- Deadline Film + TV
Sébastian Marnier’s psychological thriller Origin of Evil, starring Call My Agent! actress Laure Calamy as a factory worker who discovers the father she never knew is a wealthy businessman, opens Venice’s Horizons Extra sidebar on Thursday.
Embarrassed by her humble background when she meets her father and stepmother and sister in their luxury Mediterranean mansion, Calamy’s character pretends she is an entrepreneur on the verge of success. But nothing is as it seems and the lies begin to pile up.
Calamy was in Venice last year in Horizons title A Plein Temps for which she won the best actress award for her performance as a single mother trying to get to a job interview during a transport strike. Marnier was previously at Venice with the chilling drama School’s Out, starring Laurent Lafitte as a teacher in charge of a class of disturbed teenagers who witnessed his predecessor commit suicide.
Embarrassed by her humble background when she meets her father and stepmother and sister in their luxury Mediterranean mansion, Calamy’s character pretends she is an entrepreneur on the verge of success. But nothing is as it seems and the lies begin to pile up.
Calamy was in Venice last year in Horizons title A Plein Temps for which she won the best actress award for her performance as a single mother trying to get to a job interview during a transport strike. Marnier was previously at Venice with the chilling drama School’s Out, starring Laurent Lafitte as a teacher in charge of a class of disturbed teenagers who witnessed his predecessor commit suicide.
- 8/31/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”) has unveiled his first-ever animation film project at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival.
Entitled “The Most Precious of Cargos,” it is an adaptation of the eponymous best-selling book by acclaimed French playwright and children’s books author Jean-Claude Grumberg, who is co-writing the film with Hazanavicius.
Told in the form of a classic fairy tale in 2D animation, it is set during World War II, and tells the story of a poor woodcutter and his wife who live deep in the Polish forest. To the woman’s despair, the couple have no children.
One day, while foraging for food, she sees a bundle fall out of what she believes to be a cargo train crossing the forest. Inside is a baby girl who was thrown from the train by her Jewish father – whose wife no longer has enough milk to feed both his...
Entitled “The Most Precious of Cargos,” it is an adaptation of the eponymous best-selling book by acclaimed French playwright and children’s books author Jean-Claude Grumberg, who is co-writing the film with Hazanavicius.
Told in the form of a classic fairy tale in 2D animation, it is set during World War II, and tells the story of a poor woodcutter and his wife who live deep in the Polish forest. To the woman’s despair, the couple have no children.
One day, while foraging for food, she sees a bundle fall out of what she believes to be a cargo train crossing the forest. Inside is a baby girl who was thrown from the train by her Jewish father – whose wife no longer has enough milk to feed both his...
- 6/18/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Laure Calamy, Doria Tillier, Suzanne Clément, Dominique Blanc and Jacques Weber lead the cast of this Avenue B production sold by Charades. The first clapperboard slammed today on L’origine du mal, Sébastien Marnier’s 3rd feature film after Faultless (which earned its protagonist a nomination for Best Actress at the 2017 Césars) and School’s Out. The cast includes Laure Calamy, Doria Tillier...
Dominique Blanc, Gaël Kamilindi, Clément Hervieu-Léger, Michel Vuillermoz, Jennifer Decker, Florence Viala, and Christophe Montenez in Tony Kushner’s Angels In America, directed by Arnaud Desplechin at the Comédie-Française Photo: Christophe Raynaud de Lage
In the final instalment of my in-depth conversation with Arnaud Desplechin on Oh Mercy!, which received six César nominations, we discussed how a Bob Dylan album and a joke by Kent Jones inspired the title. The director and co-screenwriter (with Léa Mysius) spoke about the influence of Emmanuel Lévinas, the performance by Lumière winner Roschdy Zem as Commissaire Daoud, the costumes by Nathalie Raoul, and the dynamic between Sara Forestier as Marie and Léa Seydoux as Claude.
Lieutenant Cotterel (Antoine Reinartz) confronts Marie (Sara Forestier) and Claude (Léa Seydoux)
Anne-Katrin Titze: Now we’ve chatted more about the animals than about your marvellous actresses. I would like to talk about the frown. The permanent frown on Sara’s face.
In the final instalment of my in-depth conversation with Arnaud Desplechin on Oh Mercy!, which received six César nominations, we discussed how a Bob Dylan album and a joke by Kent Jones inspired the title. The director and co-screenwriter (with Léa Mysius) spoke about the influence of Emmanuel Lévinas, the performance by Lumière winner Roschdy Zem as Commissaire Daoud, the costumes by Nathalie Raoul, and the dynamic between Sara Forestier as Marie and Léa Seydoux as Claude.
Lieutenant Cotterel (Antoine Reinartz) confronts Marie (Sara Forestier) and Claude (Léa Seydoux)
Anne-Katrin Titze: Now we’ve chatted more about the animals than about your marvellous actresses. I would like to talk about the frown. The permanent frown on Sara’s face.
- 2/4/2020
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
After screening at the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, Kattell Quillévéré’s lauded “Heal the Living” is headed for its theatrical release.
Read More: Venice Film Festival 2016 Winners: Emma Stone And Tom Ford Earn Major Prizes
Based on the novel “Heart,” “Heal the Living” takes place in the aftermath of a tragic car accident leaving a young man, Simon (Gabin Verdet), braindead and forcing his family to decide his fate. Intertwining with a other narrative plots, the decisions one family makes regarding the donation of their son’s organs changes the lives of both the ones he leaves behind and the ones with the possibility of a greater future.
The film has an incredible cast, starring Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet,” “The Past”), Emmanuelle Seigner (“Venus in Fur,” “In The House,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Anne Dorval (“Mommy,” “I Killed My Mother”), Kool Shen,...
Read More: Venice Film Festival 2016 Winners: Emma Stone And Tom Ford Earn Major Prizes
Based on the novel “Heart,” “Heal the Living” takes place in the aftermath of a tragic car accident leaving a young man, Simon (Gabin Verdet), braindead and forcing his family to decide his fate. Intertwining with a other narrative plots, the decisions one family makes regarding the donation of their son’s organs changes the lives of both the ones he leaves behind and the ones with the possibility of a greater future.
The film has an incredible cast, starring Tahar Rahim (“A Prophet,” “The Past”), Emmanuelle Seigner (“Venus in Fur,” “In The House,” “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”), Anne Dorval (“Mommy,” “I Killed My Mother”), Kool Shen,...
- 4/6/2017
- by Kerry Levielle
- Indiewire
Toronto International Film Festival continues to add to its already eclectic slate by announcing their Platform line-up today. Beginning last year as a special program to highlight auteur-driven features from around the world, this year’s line-up looks remarkably strong, opening with Bertrand Bonello‘s Paris-set terrorism drama Nocturama.
Also featuring new films from Fien Troch, Zacharias Kunuk, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Ivan Sen, Katell Quillévéré, Khyentse Norbu, Pablo Larraín, William Oldroyd, Mijke de Jong, Barry Jenkins, Mathieu Denis, and Simon Lavoie, check out the line-up below.
Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium
World Premiere
Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his first film outside Japan with this French-language ghost romance fantasy, about an aging photographer whose obsession with an archaic technique draws his young assistant and beautiful daughter into a dark and mysterious world. Starring Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric. ***
Goldstone Ivan Sen, Australia...
Also featuring new films from Fien Troch, Zacharias Kunuk, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Ivan Sen, Katell Quillévéré, Khyentse Norbu, Pablo Larraín, William Oldroyd, Mijke de Jong, Barry Jenkins, Mathieu Denis, and Simon Lavoie, check out the line-up below.
Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium
World Premiere
Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his first film outside Japan with this French-language ghost romance fantasy, about an aging photographer whose obsession with an archaic technique draws his young assistant and beautiful daughter into a dark and mysterious world. Starring Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric. ***
Goldstone Ivan Sen, Australia...
- 8/11/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Director: Eugène Green
Writer: Eugène Green
American born French director Eugène Green usually premieres his films at Locarno, though despite critical acclaim many fail to get considerable attention in the Us (of note, his last film 2014’s La Sapienza, also starring Belgian Fabrizio Rongione, was distributed by Kino Lorber). His latest film, Le fils de Joseph (Joseph’s Son), is described by the director as having allusions to the Bible whilst meanwhile being a topical narrative wrapped up in elements of film noir. And it boasts an incredibly prolific cast. The story revolves around a young man (Ezenfis) who lives with his mother (Régnier). Having never known his father, he heads off to look for him. He finds a cynical and Machiavellian man (Amalric) who works as a publisher in Paris. After he attempts to kill him, he will then find filial love thanks to his uncle (Rongione).
Cast: Mathieu Amalric,...
Writer: Eugène Green
American born French director Eugène Green usually premieres his films at Locarno, though despite critical acclaim many fail to get considerable attention in the Us (of note, his last film 2014’s La Sapienza, also starring Belgian Fabrizio Rongione, was distributed by Kino Lorber). His latest film, Le fils de Joseph (Joseph’s Son), is described by the director as having allusions to the Bible whilst meanwhile being a topical narrative wrapped up in elements of film noir. And it boasts an incredibly prolific cast. The story revolves around a young man (Ezenfis) who lives with his mother (Régnier). Having never known his father, he heads off to look for him. He finds a cynical and Machiavellian man (Amalric) who works as a publisher in Paris. After he attempts to kill him, he will then find filial love thanks to his uncle (Rongione).
Cast: Mathieu Amalric,...
- 1/5/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Many deflect from it, but a writer/director’s intent can change the viewer’s outlook on his/her film. Danielle Arbid‘s fictional coming-of-age drama about a college-aged immigrant from Lebanon to France (Manal Issa‘s Lina) is one containing many new acquaintances able to help her find the freedom she covets but never found back home. It can prove convenient because of this since she never truly hits rock bottom like many in her situation do. Instead there’s always a guardian angel watching out for her—sometimes manipulated and sometimes a compassionate soul. While trying to reconcile her luck with the unfortunate and horrific acts befalling her can be overwhelming, hearing Arbid state her goal as providing a “‘Thank you’ to the people who shaped [her own] life” goes a long way towards accepting its almost stifling optimism.
Parisienne isn’t therefore a strict autobiography as much as a...
Parisienne isn’t therefore a strict autobiography as much as a...
- 9/28/2015
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
In today's roundup of news and views: A rare video interview with Anthony Mann, the return of a distinguished film journal, a clip from an erotic movie edited by Orson Welles, words of grizzled wisdom from John Waters, Jonathan Rosenbaum on Raúl Ruiz, the guy who is definitely not Thomas Pynchon in Inherent Vice, Quentin Tarantino's ambitious plans for the release of The Hateful Eight—and Eugène Green is now shooting Le fils de Joseph with Mathieu Amalric, Fabrizio Rongione, Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Régnier and Dominique Blanc. » - David Hudson...
- 6/8/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
In today's roundup of news and views: A rare video interview with Anthony Mann, the return of a distinguished film journal, a clip from an erotic movie edited by Orson Welles, words of grizzled wisdom from John Waters, Jonathan Rosenbaum on Raúl Ruiz, the guy who is definitely not Thomas Pynchon in Inherent Vice, Quentin Tarantino's ambitious plans for the release of The Hateful Eight—and Eugène Green is now shooting Le fils de Joseph with Mathieu Amalric, Fabrizio Rongione, Victor Ezenfis, Natacha Régnier and Dominique Blanc. » - David Hudson...
- 6/8/2015
- Keyframe
Patrice Chéreau dead at 68: French director best known for ‘Queen Margot,’ gay-related dramas (photo: Patrice Chéreau; Isabelle Adjani in ‘Queen Margot’) Screenwriter, sometime actor, and stage, opera, and film director Patrice Chéreau, whose clinically cool — some might say sterile — films were arthouse favorites in some quarters, has died of lung cancer in Paris. Chéreau was 68. Born on November 2, 1944, in Lézigné, in France’s Maine-et-Loire department, and raised in Paris, Patrice Chéreau began directing plays in his late teens. In the mid-’60s, he became the director of a theater in Sartrouville, northwest of Paris, where he staged plays with a strong left-wing bent. Later on he moved to Milan’s Piccolo Teatro, and in the ’80s became the director of the Théâtre des Amandiers in the Parisian suburb of Nanterre. His 1976 staging of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth was considered revolutionary. Patrice Chéreau...
- 10/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Scherbachenko/Cernoch/Blanc/Groves/Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus/Currentzis
(Teatro Real)
Directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by Teodor Currentzis, this unusual double bill, from Madrid's Teatro Real, pairs Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta, with Perséphone, Stravinsky's 1934 melodrama for singers, dancers and actors. Sellars, uncompromising as always, views each heroine in political-religious terms: Iolanta, the blind girl who wills herself to see so as to experience love, represents human striving towards God; Perséphone, descending to the underworld to relieve the suffering of its inhabitants, embodies belief in action. The Tchaikovsky, though musically strong, is at times too didactic. Perséphone, however, is extraordinarily beautiful. There are fine performances from Dominique Blanc in the title role and Paul Groves as Eumolpe. The real touch of genius, though, is Sellars' decision to reimagine the piece in terms of eastern dance rather than ballet, and the choreography, by Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, is exquisite.
(Teatro Real)
Directed by Peter Sellars and conducted by Teodor Currentzis, this unusual double bill, from Madrid's Teatro Real, pairs Tchaikovsky's last opera, Iolanta, with Perséphone, Stravinsky's 1934 melodrama for singers, dancers and actors. Sellars, uncompromising as always, views each heroine in political-religious terms: Iolanta, the blind girl who wills herself to see so as to experience love, represents human striving towards God; Perséphone, descending to the underworld to relieve the suffering of its inhabitants, embodies belief in action. The Tchaikovsky, though musically strong, is at times too didactic. Perséphone, however, is extraordinarily beautiful. There are fine performances from Dominique Blanc in the title role and Paul Groves as Eumolpe. The real touch of genius, though, is Sellars' decision to reimagine the piece in terms of eastern dance rather than ballet, and the choreography, by Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, is exquisite.
- 12/13/2012
- by Tim Ashley
- The Guardian - Film News
A Cat in Paris
Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol
Written by Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Alain Gagnol
France, 2010
As contentious as every Oscar inevitably is, one of the few areas of consistency is in the Best Animated Feature category (and perhaps the Best Documentary Feature). The 84th Academy Awards saw five worthy candidates, including France’s A Cat in Paris, and although it certainly merits a nomination, the film lacks the form of its fellow contenders. Animated with artistry and distinct visual appeal, A Cat in Paris never truly actualizes its self-imposed expectations.
In Paris, a cat named Dino leads an auspicious double life. By day, Dino is the loyal, loving pet of Zoé (Oriane Zani), a young taciturn little girl. By night, Dino becomes an accomplice to Nico (Bruno Salomone), a prolific cat burglar that roams the rooftops of the city.
During one fateful night on the prowl,...
Directed by Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol
Written by Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Alain Gagnol
France, 2010
As contentious as every Oscar inevitably is, one of the few areas of consistency is in the Best Animated Feature category (and perhaps the Best Documentary Feature). The 84th Academy Awards saw five worthy candidates, including France’s A Cat in Paris, and although it certainly merits a nomination, the film lacks the form of its fellow contenders. Animated with artistry and distinct visual appeal, A Cat in Paris never truly actualizes its self-imposed expectations.
In Paris, a cat named Dino leads an auspicious double life. By day, Dino is the loyal, loving pet of Zoé (Oriane Zani), a young taciturn little girl. By night, Dino becomes an accomplice to Nico (Bruno Salomone), a prolific cat burglar that roams the rooftops of the city.
During one fateful night on the prowl,...
- 6/3/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
After the loss of her father, Zoe (Oriane Zani) has retreated into a world of silence and isolation. Distant from her resolute Police officer mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc), Zoe’s only true advocate in life is her black and orange cat Dino. The two share a loving and mutual relationship, but Dino has a secret: At night he is an accomplice to cat-burglar Nico (Bruno Salomone).
In case you have not heard, France is all the rage right now. The French are dominating American cinema [see The Artist and Hugo], whilst American cinema is obsessing with the French [see Midnight in Paris, TinTin and The Three Musketeers]. Over 75% of the recent Oscar accolades were, in some way, awarded to or due to French involvement. It seems that the West has written a billet doux to our baguette baking cousins, and one can only hope that this is a belle époque rather than just cinema du jour (I think that’s...
After the loss of her father, Zoe (Oriane Zani) has retreated into a world of silence and isolation. Distant from her resolute Police officer mother Jeanne (Dominique Blanc), Zoe’s only true advocate in life is her black and orange cat Dino. The two share a loving and mutual relationship, but Dino has a secret: At night he is an accomplice to cat-burglar Nico (Bruno Salomone).
In case you have not heard, France is all the rage right now. The French are dominating American cinema [see The Artist and Hugo], whilst American cinema is obsessing with the French [see Midnight in Paris, TinTin and The Three Musketeers]. Over 75% of the recent Oscar accolades were, in some way, awarded to or due to French involvement. It seems that the West has written a billet doux to our baguette baking cousins, and one can only hope that this is a belle époque rather than just cinema du jour (I think that’s...
- 4/5/2012
- by Brad Williams
- Obsessed with Film
A Cat in Paris (Une vie de chat)
Directed by: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Cast: Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone
Running Time: 1 hr 10 min
Rating: Not Rated
Showtimes at Piff: Friday 2/10 6:15 at Cinemagic, Saturday 2/11 3:30 at Cinemagic, Thursday 2/16 6:30 at Pioneer Place 5 Complete Piff Schedule
Plot: By day, Dino is a house cat living with a silent little girl named Zoe. By night, he teams up with Nico for daring robberies, until one day, when his worlds collide after Zoe is kidnapped and he needs Nico to help rescue her.
Who’S It For? Older children and adults. Some of the action might be pretty scary for young kids.
Overall
This year’s Oscar nominees include two surprise choices in the animation category. One is this film, A Cat in Paris. Using traditional cel animation combined with a unique character design reminiscent of Modigliani, it tells the story of a...
Directed by: Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol
Cast: Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone
Running Time: 1 hr 10 min
Rating: Not Rated
Showtimes at Piff: Friday 2/10 6:15 at Cinemagic, Saturday 2/11 3:30 at Cinemagic, Thursday 2/16 6:30 at Pioneer Place 5 Complete Piff Schedule
Plot: By day, Dino is a house cat living with a silent little girl named Zoe. By night, he teams up with Nico for daring robberies, until one day, when his worlds collide after Zoe is kidnapped and he needs Nico to help rescue her.
Who’S It For? Older children and adults. Some of the action might be pretty scary for young kids.
Overall
This year’s Oscar nominees include two surprise choices in the animation category. One is this film, A Cat in Paris. Using traditional cel animation combined with a unique character design reminiscent of Modigliani, it tells the story of a...
- 2/10/2012
- by Megan Lehar
- The Scorecard Review
A Cat in Paris Trailer, Une Vie De Chat Trailer. Jean-Loup Felicioli, Alain Gagnol‘s A Cat in Paris / Une Vie De Chat (2010) movie trailer stars Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Jean Benguigui, Bernadette Lafont, and Oriane Zani. A Cat in Paris‘ plot synopsis: “y day a child’s beloved companion… by night, a rooftop-roaming thief! Presenting Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli’s captivating new film, from France’s most acclaimed animation studio, Folimage. Our tale’s hero is Dino, a common house cat who lives a double life.
He’s the loyal pet of Zoe, a lonely little girl who lives with her busy single mother Jeanne, a police officer. But after sundown, he clambers over the rooftops of Paris in the company of Nico, a skilled thief with a big heart. Eventually, Zoe discovers what Dino is up to and becomes drawn into a thrilling, adventure involving jewels, gangsters and capital-t trouble.
He’s the loyal pet of Zoe, a lonely little girl who lives with her busy single mother Jeanne, a police officer. But after sundown, he clambers over the rooftops of Paris in the company of Nico, a skilled thief with a big heart. Eventually, Zoe discovers what Dino is up to and becomes drawn into a thrilling, adventure involving jewels, gangsters and capital-t trouble.
- 1/26/2012
- by filmbook
- Film-Book
There hasn't been much buzz about Marthe Keller's induction into France's Legion of Honor. Or the induction of actresses Dominique Blanc and Anny Duperey. The selection of fellow 2012 Chevalier inductee Salma Hayek, however, has been a whole different matter. In early 2003, the Mexican-born Hayek, 45, was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as Frida Kahlo in Julie Taymor's Frida. Her other film credits include Desperado, From Dusk Til Dawn, After the Sunset, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and the animated hit Puss in Boots. She is now reportedly working on a biopic of Mexican superstar Maria Félix. But are Puss in Boots and an Oscar nod enough qualification for Legion of Honor "membership"? Hayek's inclusion in this year's Legion of Honor roster (as a Chevalier, or Knight) has been criticized by some who have accused French president Nicolas Sarkozy of using the ceremony...
- 1/4/2012
- by Anna Robinson
- Alt Film Guide
myfrenchfilms
Indian viewers can now enjoy a festival of French films on the internet for a small fee. The Unifrance agency, which promotes French cinema abroad, is breaking new ground internationally for it is organising the first edition of online fest MyFrenchFilmFestival from January 14-29.
The selected films can be viewed via video-on-demand for a charge of €1.99 (Rupees 120 approx.) per feature outside France (where the price is aligned with national VoD sites) with the exception of Latin America and Russia where access will be free. Pacs systems are also offered.
The films will be available in ten languages (German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian; there will also be a Korean version on the website of partner KT) and the website includes film trailers and interviews with the directors and actors.
There are some top-quality flicks in the feature film selection, including Nassim Amaouche’s Goodbye Gary...
Indian viewers can now enjoy a festival of French films on the internet for a small fee. The Unifrance agency, which promotes French cinema abroad, is breaking new ground internationally for it is organising the first edition of online fest MyFrenchFilmFestival from January 14-29.
The selected films can be viewed via video-on-demand for a charge of €1.99 (Rupees 120 approx.) per feature outside France (where the price is aligned with national VoD sites) with the exception of Latin America and Russia where access will be free. Pacs systems are also offered.
The films will be available in ten languages (German, English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Russian; there will also be a Korean version on the website of partner KT) and the website includes film trailers and interviews with the directors and actors.
There are some top-quality flicks in the feature film selection, including Nassim Amaouche’s Goodbye Gary...
- 1/3/2011
- by Cineuropa
- DearCinema.com
Paris – French Academy members got serious on Friday with two politically charged dramas heading the major categories for the 35th annual Cesar Awards that will see Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" go head to head with Philippe Lioret's "Welcome." The nominees were announced Friday at a press conference in Paris.
While no one can foresee the winners, "A Prophet" looks bound to triumph with Jacques Audiard's prison drama nominated for 13 awards including best film, best director and a best actor and most promising male newcomer nod for the film's breakout star Tahar Rahim.
Academy voters also gave a hearty reception to Phillipe Lioret's "Welcome" with 10 nods and Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" with 11 nominations.
Radu Mihaileanu's "The Concert" was also music to voters' ears with the tragicomedy about a washed-up former conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra who travels to Paris to make his career comeback scoring six nominations.
While no one can foresee the winners, "A Prophet" looks bound to triumph with Jacques Audiard's prison drama nominated for 13 awards including best film, best director and a best actor and most promising male newcomer nod for the film's breakout star Tahar Rahim.
Academy voters also gave a hearty reception to Phillipe Lioret's "Welcome" with 10 nods and Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" with 11 nominations.
Radu Mihaileanu's "The Concert" was also music to voters' ears with the tragicomedy about a washed-up former conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra who travels to Paris to make his career comeback scoring six nominations.
- 1/22/2010
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Sometimes, I should tell you that there are times when I wish I lived in France because of its cultural life. After all, I already know how to speak French so, I shouldn't have any difficulty to find a job and blend in. Anyway, yesterday, the trailer of the upcoming film L'autre Dumas (unofficial translation: The Other Dumas) has been released online and the film will be released in France on February 10, 2010.
Directed by Safy Nebbou, this film is a biopic dealing with the relation between French novelist Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet, Dumas's ghostwriter (or "literary Negro" as the French said it back in the 18th and 19th century). The film takes place in February 1848. Alexandre Dumas (Gérard Dépardieu?) is at the height of his fame. Besides, what would his novels such as The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte-Cristo have been without the help of Auguste Maquet (Benoît Poelvoorde)? However,...
Directed by Safy Nebbou, this film is a biopic dealing with the relation between French novelist Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet, Dumas's ghostwriter (or "literary Negro" as the French said it back in the 18th and 19th century). The film takes place in February 1848. Alexandre Dumas (Gérard Dépardieu?) is at the height of his fame. Besides, what would his novels such as The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte-Cristo have been without the help of Auguste Maquet (Benoît Poelvoorde)? However,...
- 12/22/2009
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Similar to the Golden Globes because it is a foreign group of film journalists who conduct the voting (though I'm sure they have no mandate to prefer films loaded in stars), this year's the 15th Lumiere Awards has a pair of films in the top tier that recently that duked it out for the Louis Delluc award. Philippe Lioret's Welcome (which just got picked up by Film Movement this week) and Jacques Audiard's A Prophet (a Spc release next February) received five and four noms respectively. - Similar to the Golden Globes because it is a foreign group of film journalists who conduct the voting (though I'm sure they have no mandate to prefer films loaded in stars), this year's the 15th Lumière Awards has a pair of films in the top tier that recently that duked it out for the Louis Delluc award. Philippe Lioret...
- 12/18/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Frenchwomen in films are just like you and me, except they go a bit further in their failure to grasp reality and masochistic self-loathing, says Anne Billson
In Séraphine, Yolande Moreau gives one of those great female performances more often to be found in French films than in British or American ones. This is not an anorexic Barbie doll with a no-nudity clause in her contract, whose facial expressiveness has been Botoxed out of existence. This is the real deal, a stonking, physical tour de force which makes even De Niro or Keitel's greatest hits look mannered and actorly.
Martin Provost's film was inspired by the life of the "primitive modernist" painter Séraphine de Senlis, whose story carries echoes of the Susan Boyle phenomenon, though let us hope Boyle doesn't end up like Séraphine, who from the outset is clearly a few sandwiches short, but ends up misplacing her entire picnic.
In Séraphine, Yolande Moreau gives one of those great female performances more often to be found in French films than in British or American ones. This is not an anorexic Barbie doll with a no-nudity clause in her contract, whose facial expressiveness has been Botoxed out of existence. This is the real deal, a stonking, physical tour de force which makes even De Niro or Keitel's greatest hits look mannered and actorly.
Martin Provost's film was inspired by the life of the "primitive modernist" painter Séraphine de Senlis, whose story carries echoes of the Susan Boyle phenomenon, though let us hope Boyle doesn't end up like Séraphine, who from the outset is clearly a few sandwiches short, but ends up misplacing her entire picnic.
- 11/26/2009
- by Anne Billson
- The Guardian - Film News
The only authoritative voice of Israeli filmmaking prior to the recent influx of micro-masterpieces -- let's see if it constitutes a "wave" -- Amos Gitai has had a rocky time of it. He's dared to iron-maiden his audience with hyper-long one-shot sequences and elaborate camera roamings, he's seduced Natalie Portman into doing an Israeli film right after "Closer" and the second "Star Wars" prequel, he's made "Kippur" (2000), an indisputable home run that explored the soldier's experience of the Yom Kippur War. On the other hand, and at the same time, many of his films have been broad, goonish and didactic, and for the most part, his approach toward the Palestinian question has been to not have one. His new film, "One Day You'll Understand," is an all-French probing of the Euro-legacy of the Holocaust, so Gitai has again avoided his own nation's actions in a post-Holocaust world. But it is...
- 7/14/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
Some prominent 2008's Actress wins in roughly chronological order: Sally Hawkins, Sandra Corveloni, Dominique Blanc, Melissa Leo, Hawkins (twice more), Anne Hathaway (twice), Kate Winslet and Hawkins
Many awards groups have come and gone eager to have their say and loudly proclaim their opinions on the "best" of film acting for 2008. That these diverse opinions, once you get past festival season, are often barely distinguishable from one another is neither here nor there for this discussion since this time it's all about me!me!me! or, rather, mine!mine!mine! (I get so territorial with my beloved actresses, you know).
If you value awards consensus, which is often an interesting curio for each film year, there's roughly only 7 great performances by a leading actress given this year (so far ... Oscar speaks on Thursday morning and could surprise). Those are, alphabetically:
Anne Hathaway as "Kym" in Rachel Getting MarriedSally Hawkins as...
Many awards groups have come and gone eager to have their say and loudly proclaim their opinions on the "best" of film acting for 2008. That these diverse opinions, once you get past festival season, are often barely distinguishable from one another is neither here nor there for this discussion since this time it's all about me!me!me! or, rather, mine!mine!mine! (I get so territorial with my beloved actresses, you know).
If you value awards consensus, which is often an interesting curio for each film year, there's roughly only 7 great performances by a leading actress given this year (so far ... Oscar speaks on Thursday morning and could surprise). Those are, alphabetically:
Anne Hathaway as "Kym" in Rachel Getting MarriedSally Hawkins as...
- 1/19/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
Any screen appearance by French New Wave icon Jeanne Moreau ("Jules et Jim," etc.) is cause for celebration. "One Day You'll Understand," by prolific Israeli director Amos Gitai, is no exception.
Gitai takes his cameras to Paris, where 80ish Rivka (Moreau), a Holocaust survivor, keeps a dark family secret from her son, Victor (Hippolyte Girardot), and daughter, Tania (Dominique Blanc).
Tania is willing to let the past be, but Victor wants to know more about his forebears. He scours old...
Gitai takes his cameras to Paris, where 80ish Rivka (Moreau), a Holocaust survivor, keeps a dark family secret from her son, Victor (Hippolyte Girardot), and daughter, Tania (Dominique Blanc).
Tania is willing to let the past be, but Victor wants to know more about his forebears. He scours old...
- 10/31/2008
- by By V.A. MUSETTO
- NYPost.com
Creating a buzz at the 65th Annual Venice International Film Festival which ran from August 27 to September 6, "The Wrestler" came out as champion by the end of the special event. On Saturday, September 6, the movie about the has-been professional wrestler has been awarded with the festival's top prize, the Golden Lion, by the Venezia 65 Jury chaired by German filmmaker Wim Wenders.
Taking the stage to receive the coveted prize alongside director Darren Aronofsky, the movie's star Mickey Rourke who dedicated the award to all the wrestlers they have met "who are making 200 dollars a night and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it" said, "I'd like to really thank the jury for making the right decision." Meanwhile, Aronofsky threw his appreciation to the actor saying, "We need to thank Mickey Rourke for opening up his heart and soul for the camera...and reminding the world what a great talent he is.
Taking the stage to receive the coveted prize alongside director Darren Aronofsky, the movie's star Mickey Rourke who dedicated the award to all the wrestlers they have met "who are making 200 dollars a night and are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their souls for it" said, "I'd like to really thank the jury for making the right decision." Meanwhile, Aronofsky threw his appreciation to the actor saying, "We need to thank Mickey Rourke for opening up his heart and soul for the camera...and reminding the world what a great talent he is.
- 9/8/2008
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” took home the prestigious Golden Lion Saturday at the 65th edition of the Venice Film Festival.
Starring Mickey Rourke, the drama tells the story of a retired pro wrestler who risks his life by returning to the ring for one final match against his big rival. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood co-star.
Ever since the film’s premiere at the festival, critics having raving about Rourke’s performance as lead character Randy “The Ram” Robinson. Some even speculated Rourke would leave the festival with the best actor award.
The Coppa Volpi Award for best actor, however, went to Silvio Orlando for his performance in “Il Papà di Giovanna” (Giovanna’s Father). Directed by Italian helmer Pupi Avati, the film centers on the relationship between a father and his daughter, who is committed to a psychiatric hospital after killing her best friend.
Meanwhile, Dominique Blanc...
Starring Mickey Rourke, the drama tells the story of a retired pro wrestler who risks his life by returning to the ring for one final match against his big rival. Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood co-star.
Ever since the film’s premiere at the festival, critics having raving about Rourke’s performance as lead character Randy “The Ram” Robinson. Some even speculated Rourke would leave the festival with the best actor award.
The Coppa Volpi Award for best actor, however, went to Silvio Orlando for his performance in “Il Papà di Giovanna” (Giovanna’s Father). Directed by Italian helmer Pupi Avati, the film centers on the relationship between a father and his daughter, who is committed to a psychiatric hospital after killing her best friend.
Meanwhile, Dominique Blanc...
- 9/7/2008
- by Franck Tabouring
- screeninglog.com
The Wrestler has just been awarded the Golden Lion at the 65th Venice Film Festival. Darren Aronofsky’s film won rave reviews at the festival and will be now screened at the Toronto Film Festival. A lot of praise of lavished over the spirited performance of the lead actor Mickey Rourke. Other winners included Aleksey German Jr., who won the Silver Lion for Best Director for his work on Bumaznyj Soldat, Silvio Orlando for Best Actor for Il papa di Giovanna, and Dominique Blanc for Best Actress in L’autre.
Here is the list of the winners at the concluded festival. Official Venezia 65 Awards The Venezia 65 Jury, chaired by Wim Wenders and comprised of Juriy Arabov, Valeria Golino,...
(more...)...
Here is the list of the winners at the concluded festival. Official Venezia 65 Awards The Venezia 65 Jury, chaired by Wim Wenders and comprised of Juriy Arabov, Valeria Golino,...
(more...)...
- 9/7/2008
- by John
- ReelSuave.com
Locarno International Film Festival
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Yes, it's that famous whale-hunter but French director Philippe Ramos uses "Moby Dick" for only the last fifth of his film "Captain Ahab", choosing to an invent a back-story that's more Mark Twain than Herman Melville. There's much to like in the sweeping tale of how a resourceful orphan grew up to become the fearless harpoonist and seeker of the great white whale. Virgil Leclaire has terrific screen presence as the young Ahab and, being new, his tale is more engrossing than the familiar story of the fated captain.
Flawed only by some anachronistically modern songs on the soundtrack, the film's well-drawn period atmosphere and gripping tale should see it sail into rewarding boxoffice territory around the world. It screened in Competition at Locarno.
Told as a fable, the yarn follows young Ahab after his mother's death and his temporary adoption by her pious sister Rose (Mona Heftre). But then his absentee father (Jean-Francois Stevenin) takes him away to live in a log cabin in the woods where they encounter a free-spirited nymph named Louise (Hande Kodja). Ahab is as enamored of Louise as his father but she dallies with a wandering rascal named Will Adams (Bernard Blancan) and soon their idyll is ended. The boy is returned to his aunt, but before she leaves, Louise gives him a locket with her name engraved inside and that becomes his talisman.
When his aunt gets married to a dandy who likes to use his cane on the lad, Ahab runs away and has a series of huckleberry adventures before he grows up to become an obsessed sea captain.
Ramos has a good sense of what is fun in a boy's adventure and whether or not his Ahab would have turned into the man in Melville's tale is another question. Much of the appealing whimsy disappears when the stern features of Denis Lavant show up as the adult Ahab.
His love affair with the widow Anna (Dominique Blanc) is handled well and so are the seagoing trials of the Pequod with the reliable Starbuck (Jacques Bonnaffe) at the tormented captain's side. But it's the wide-eyed wonder of the young Ahab and his captivating Louise that linger when the movie is done.
CAPTAIN AHAB
Sesame Films
Credits:
Writer/director/editor: Philippe Ramos
Executive producer: Florence Borelly
Director of photography: Laurent Desmet
Production designers: Ramos, Christophe Sartori, Erika von Weissenberg
Music: Pierre-Stephane Meuge, Olivier Bombarda, Tonio Matias
Co-producer: Olivier Guerpillon
Costume designer: Marie-Laure Pinsard
Cast:
Captain Ahab: Denis Lavant
Young Ahab: Virgil Leclaire
Ahab's father: Jean-Francois Stevenin
Louise: Hande Kodja
Rose: Mona Heftre
Mulligan: Carlo Brandt
Anna: Dominique Blanc
Starbuck: Jacques Bonnaffe
Minister: Jean-Paul Bonnaire
Will Adams: Bernard Blancan
Henry: Philippe Katerine
Jim Larsson: Pierre Pellet
King of England: Jean-Christophe Bouvet
Dr. Hogganbeck: Lou Castel
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
LOCARNO, Switzerland -- Yes, it's that famous whale-hunter but French director Philippe Ramos uses "Moby Dick" for only the last fifth of his film "Captain Ahab", choosing to an invent a back-story that's more Mark Twain than Herman Melville. There's much to like in the sweeping tale of how a resourceful orphan grew up to become the fearless harpoonist and seeker of the great white whale. Virgil Leclaire has terrific screen presence as the young Ahab and, being new, his tale is more engrossing than the familiar story of the fated captain.
Flawed only by some anachronistically modern songs on the soundtrack, the film's well-drawn period atmosphere and gripping tale should see it sail into rewarding boxoffice territory around the world. It screened in Competition at Locarno.
Told as a fable, the yarn follows young Ahab after his mother's death and his temporary adoption by her pious sister Rose (Mona Heftre). But then his absentee father (Jean-Francois Stevenin) takes him away to live in a log cabin in the woods where they encounter a free-spirited nymph named Louise (Hande Kodja). Ahab is as enamored of Louise as his father but she dallies with a wandering rascal named Will Adams (Bernard Blancan) and soon their idyll is ended. The boy is returned to his aunt, but before she leaves, Louise gives him a locket with her name engraved inside and that becomes his talisman.
When his aunt gets married to a dandy who likes to use his cane on the lad, Ahab runs away and has a series of huckleberry adventures before he grows up to become an obsessed sea captain.
Ramos has a good sense of what is fun in a boy's adventure and whether or not his Ahab would have turned into the man in Melville's tale is another question. Much of the appealing whimsy disappears when the stern features of Denis Lavant show up as the adult Ahab.
His love affair with the widow Anna (Dominique Blanc) is handled well and so are the seagoing trials of the Pequod with the reliable Starbuck (Jacques Bonnaffe) at the tormented captain's side. But it's the wide-eyed wonder of the young Ahab and his captivating Louise that linger when the movie is done.
CAPTAIN AHAB
Sesame Films
Credits:
Writer/director/editor: Philippe Ramos
Executive producer: Florence Borelly
Director of photography: Laurent Desmet
Production designers: Ramos, Christophe Sartori, Erika von Weissenberg
Music: Pierre-Stephane Meuge, Olivier Bombarda, Tonio Matias
Co-producer: Olivier Guerpillon
Costume designer: Marie-Laure Pinsard
Cast:
Captain Ahab: Denis Lavant
Young Ahab: Virgil Leclaire
Ahab's father: Jean-Francois Stevenin
Louise: Hande Kodja
Rose: Mona Heftre
Mulligan: Carlo Brandt
Anna: Dominique Blanc
Starbuck: Jacques Bonnaffe
Minister: Jean-Paul Bonnaire
Will Adams: Bernard Blancan
Henry: Philippe Katerine
Jim Larsson: Pierre Pellet
King of England: Jean-Christophe Bouvet
Dr. Hogganbeck: Lou Castel
Running time -- 97 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 8/10/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CANNES -- Emmanuel Bourdieu's second feature, which opens Cannes' Critics Week, tells the story of three student friends, intelligent, articulate and passionate about literature, who meet at that crucial point in their lives where their potential has been established but the path to self-realization remains shrouded in uncertainty.
The charismatic Andre (Thibault Vincon) -- brilliant, self-confident and peremptory in his judgments -- rapidly assumes the role of mentor to his comrades, guiding Alexandre (Alexandre Steiger) toward a career in theater and advising Eloi (Malik Zidi) in his work and love life. In return, he demands and obtains unconditional loyalty. He himself appears destined for great things, preparing a doctorate under Sorbonne professor Claude Mortier (Jacques Bonnaffe).
The movie is slow to show its hand, but it gradually becomes clear that Andre, despite or perhaps because of his promise, is going off the rails. He alienates his supervisor, maliciously deletes a story written by his sweet-natured librarian girlfriend Marguerite (Natacha Regnier) from her computer and then announces that he is leaving for America on a prestigious scholarship when in fact he has signed up with the French army for a lowly job as a cultural instructor.
Alexandre, meanwhile, has been finding himself as an actor, and Eloi -- who teams up Marguerite after she has broken with Andre -- writes a novel that becomes a critical success after his novelist mother Florence (Dominique Blanc) presents it to her publisher.
Andre's deceptions are duly revealed, and the final confrontation in a restaurant where the friends gather to celebrate their success sees him cast as the chronic underachiever whose former disciples are now set to scale the heights.
Bourdieu, the son of a noted academic and formerly a writer for directors Arnaud Desplechin and Nicole Garcia, convincingly portrays the tensions of university life, particularly the role-playing and testing of limits among students. However, the movie, absorbing rather than gripping, does not really deliver on the promise of malfeasance contained in the title.
Andre, whose story forms its core, is more the victim than the beneficiary of the sway he exercises over his companions, and the origins of his inability to make anything of his talents are not seriously examined. The stories of Alexandre and Eloi, particularly the latter's relationship with his mother, are thinly developed, and the suddenness of their success is rather baffling, so that the resolution feels imposed rather than a natural consequence of what has come before.
But the actors' performances, particularly those of the relative newcomers in the lead roles, are uniformly excellent, and together with the crisp dialogue by Bourdieu and co-writer Marcia Romano, the warm colors, frequent night settings and Gregoire Hetzel's original score in the style of Schumann and Hoffmann make for an intelligent entertainment.
POISON FRIENDS
4X4 Prods.
Cast: Director: Emmanuel Bourdieu; Screenwriters: Emmanuel Bourdieu, Marcia Romano; Director of photography: Yorick Le Saux; Production designer: Nicolas de Boiscuille; Music: Gregoire Hetzel; Editor: Benoit Quinon.
Cast: Eloi: Malik Zidi; Andre: Thibault Vincon; Alexandre: Alexandre Steiger; Mortier: Jacques Bonnaffe; Marguerite: Natacha Regnier; Florence Duhaut: Dominique Blanc; Edouard: Thomas Blanchard.
No MPAA rating, running time 100 minutes.
The charismatic Andre (Thibault Vincon) -- brilliant, self-confident and peremptory in his judgments -- rapidly assumes the role of mentor to his comrades, guiding Alexandre (Alexandre Steiger) toward a career in theater and advising Eloi (Malik Zidi) in his work and love life. In return, he demands and obtains unconditional loyalty. He himself appears destined for great things, preparing a doctorate under Sorbonne professor Claude Mortier (Jacques Bonnaffe).
The movie is slow to show its hand, but it gradually becomes clear that Andre, despite or perhaps because of his promise, is going off the rails. He alienates his supervisor, maliciously deletes a story written by his sweet-natured librarian girlfriend Marguerite (Natacha Regnier) from her computer and then announces that he is leaving for America on a prestigious scholarship when in fact he has signed up with the French army for a lowly job as a cultural instructor.
Alexandre, meanwhile, has been finding himself as an actor, and Eloi -- who teams up Marguerite after she has broken with Andre -- writes a novel that becomes a critical success after his novelist mother Florence (Dominique Blanc) presents it to her publisher.
Andre's deceptions are duly revealed, and the final confrontation in a restaurant where the friends gather to celebrate their success sees him cast as the chronic underachiever whose former disciples are now set to scale the heights.
Bourdieu, the son of a noted academic and formerly a writer for directors Arnaud Desplechin and Nicole Garcia, convincingly portrays the tensions of university life, particularly the role-playing and testing of limits among students. However, the movie, absorbing rather than gripping, does not really deliver on the promise of malfeasance contained in the title.
Andre, whose story forms its core, is more the victim than the beneficiary of the sway he exercises over his companions, and the origins of his inability to make anything of his talents are not seriously examined. The stories of Alexandre and Eloi, particularly the latter's relationship with his mother, are thinly developed, and the suddenness of their success is rather baffling, so that the resolution feels imposed rather than a natural consequence of what has come before.
But the actors' performances, particularly those of the relative newcomers in the lead roles, are uniformly excellent, and together with the crisp dialogue by Bourdieu and co-writer Marcia Romano, the warm colors, frequent night settings and Gregoire Hetzel's original score in the style of Schumann and Hoffmann make for an intelligent entertainment.
POISON FRIENDS
4X4 Prods.
Cast: Director: Emmanuel Bourdieu; Screenwriters: Emmanuel Bourdieu, Marcia Romano; Director of photography: Yorick Le Saux; Production designer: Nicolas de Boiscuille; Music: Gregoire Hetzel; Editor: Benoit Quinon.
Cast: Eloi: Malik Zidi; Andre: Thibault Vincon; Alexandre: Alexandre Steiger; Mortier: Jacques Bonnaffe; Marguerite: Natacha Regnier; Florence Duhaut: Dominique Blanc; Edouard: Thomas Blanchard.
No MPAA rating, running time 100 minutes.
- 5/20/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- Georges Feydeau may be the most frequently performed playwright in France, but "The Art of Breaking Up", a film based on his first successful farce, "Fly in the Ointment" (1890), doesn't do justice to the form or to his work. Adapted by Rosalinde Deville and directed by her husband, Michel Deville, the play gets lost in translation to the screen.
Despite the presence of the ravishing Emmanuelle Beart and the usually meticulous Charles Berling as well as burlesque shtick and wild camera moves, "Art" remains stagebound and predictable. Lacking any variation in dynamics, the film hits a piercing note and sings it for the duration. Few of Deville's works have traveled well -- or often -- outside his native France, and this, which is reportedly his swan song, will probably be no exception. With its narrow appeal and mannered subject matter, Deville's last project, capping a 45-year career, is unlikely to find an audience outside of festival slots.
In a series of wacky, loosely knit vignettes, Beart camps it up as Lucette, a beautiful, lusty chanteuse who in the first scene is found weeping copious tears as Charles Gounod's hyperdramatic score from "Faust" blasts on the soundtrack. (Beart's luscious physicality is the main reason, perhaps the only reason, to see this film.) It is Lucette's misfortune to be in love with a cad, Edouard de Bois-d'Enghien (Berling), who desires her but, unbeknownst to Lucette, has pledged to marry another woman for money. Edouard's future mother-in-law, Madame Duverger (Dominique Blanc), puts the moves on him, too. Pandemonium, sexual calisthenics and overacting ensue.
Madeline Fontaine's sumptuous and colorful period costumes, especially for Beart, complement Thierry Leproust's production design, which evokes vaudeville, 19th-century drawing room formality and elegant country living.
Characteristically a restrained actor, Berling sacrifices his dignity and vamps his way through the proceedings. He's not alone. Yes, it's farce, but the film is too zany for its own good: The nonstop gags and episodes of energetic fornication soon grow tiresome. A more apt film title might have been: "Subtlety takes a vacation".
Despite the presence of the ravishing Emmanuelle Beart and the usually meticulous Charles Berling as well as burlesque shtick and wild camera moves, "Art" remains stagebound and predictable. Lacking any variation in dynamics, the film hits a piercing note and sings it for the duration. Few of Deville's works have traveled well -- or often -- outside his native France, and this, which is reportedly his swan song, will probably be no exception. With its narrow appeal and mannered subject matter, Deville's last project, capping a 45-year career, is unlikely to find an audience outside of festival slots.
In a series of wacky, loosely knit vignettes, Beart camps it up as Lucette, a beautiful, lusty chanteuse who in the first scene is found weeping copious tears as Charles Gounod's hyperdramatic score from "Faust" blasts on the soundtrack. (Beart's luscious physicality is the main reason, perhaps the only reason, to see this film.) It is Lucette's misfortune to be in love with a cad, Edouard de Bois-d'Enghien (Berling), who desires her but, unbeknownst to Lucette, has pledged to marry another woman for money. Edouard's future mother-in-law, Madame Duverger (Dominique Blanc), puts the moves on him, too. Pandemonium, sexual calisthenics and overacting ensue.
Madeline Fontaine's sumptuous and colorful period costumes, especially for Beart, complement Thierry Leproust's production design, which evokes vaudeville, 19th-century drawing room formality and elegant country living.
Characteristically a restrained actor, Berling sacrifices his dignity and vamps his way through the proceedings. He's not alone. Yes, it's farce, but the film is too zany for its own good: The nonstop gags and episodes of energetic fornication soon grow tiresome. A more apt film title might have been: "Subtlety takes a vacation".
- 10/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opened
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Opened
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
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