Chile’s Ignacio Agüero has triumphed in the international competition, Jean-Marc Chapoulie dominated the French competition and Germany’s Ute Adamczewski also scooped a prize. Chaired by Us photographer-director Sharon Lockhart, who was aided by Cecilia Barrinuevo, Richard Billingham, Delphine Chuillot and Katsuya Tomita, the international competition jury at the 30th FIDMarseille handed the 2019 Grand Prix to I Never Climbed the Provincia by Chile’s Ignacio Agüero, who previously won the 2016 edition of the gathering with This Is the Way I Like It 2.As for the French competition (the jury for which was presided over by actress Agathe Bonitzer), victory was claimed by Jean-Marc Chapoulie’s Mittelmeer. The film gathers views found on the internet, provided by strategically placed surveillance cameras facing the Mediterranean sea, all along its north and south shores: on hotel roofs, beaches, along the coasts, in harbours and so on. Chapoulie decides to alter these shots: he changes.
These days, the number of indies premiering on a weekly basis can be both thrilling and intimidating. To help sift through the number of new releases (independent or otherwise), we've created the Weekly Film Guide. Below you'll find basic plot, personnel and cinema information for today's fresh offerings. Happy viewing! Here are the films opening theatrically in the U.S. the week of Friday, May 30th. (Synopses provided by distributor unless listed otherwise.) Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas Director: Arnaud des PallièresCast: Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Roxane Duran, Paul Bartel, David Bennent, Swann Arlaud, Sergi Lopez, Amira Casar, Jacques Nolot, Christian Chaussex, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h, Laurent Delbecque, Guillaume DelaunaySynopsis: "With the age of feudalism in decline, Europe rests at a tense crossroads between the old world and the new. Respected, well-to-do horse merchant Michael...
- 5/30/2014
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, Mélusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, Swann Arlaud, David Kross, Bruno Ganz, Denis Lavant, Roxane Duran | Written by Arnaud des Pallières, Christelle Berthevas | Directed by Arnaud des Pallières
In the 16th Century, in the Cévennes, Michael Kohlhaas (Mads Mikkelsen) is leading a happy life with his family raising horses to sell at the market. When a corrupt Baron (Swann Arlaud) seizes some of his horses and mistreats them, Kohlhaas attempts to sue the Baron for the damage but due to the Baron’s influence in local government finds his case is ignored. When his wife travels to plead his case to the royal family she returns fatally injured leading to Kohlhaas forming a rebellion aimed at taking down the Baron and his cohorts and regain the rights he feels he has lost.
When a character like Kohlhaas forms a rebellion you would expect there to be some action, and...
In the 16th Century, in the Cévennes, Michael Kohlhaas (Mads Mikkelsen) is leading a happy life with his family raising horses to sell at the market. When a corrupt Baron (Swann Arlaud) seizes some of his horses and mistreats them, Kohlhaas attempts to sue the Baron for the damage but due to the Baron’s influence in local government finds his case is ignored. When his wife travels to plead his case to the royal family she returns fatally injured leading to Kohlhaas forming a rebellion aimed at taking down the Baron and his cohorts and regain the rights he feels he has lost.
When a character like Kohlhaas forms a rebellion you would expect there to be some action, and...
- 3/9/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Established in 2012 to bolster the film community in Mexico, the Riviera Maya Film Festival has announced the official program of domestic and international films to screen during its third edition. This year's festival includes more than 50 feature films from 23 countries. The festival will go down simultaneously in Cancun, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen and Tulum from March 9-15. Here's a selection of some of the films which will be shown. Additional titles forthcoming.A Promise (Director Patrice Leconte, Starring Rebecca Hall, Alan Rickman, Richard Madden, Toby Murray)Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas (Director Arnaud des Pallieres, Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Delphine Chuillot, David Kross)Grand Central (Director Rebecca Zlotowski, Starring Tahar Rahim, Oliver Gourmet, Lea Seydoux)Hard to Be a God (Director Aleksei German, Starring Leonid Yarmolnik, Dmitriy Vladimirov, Laura Lauri)Holy Field Holy War (Director Lech Kowalski)Night...
- 2/10/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
With a mere matter of moments into Arnaud des Palliéres’ 16th century set, Palme d’Or nominated Age of Uprising, an uncomfortable, disquieting atmosphere is created, and it’s a tone which then takes precedence over the rest of the movie. Here is a feature that opts for a more subtle, naturalistic approach over a typically overstated, gung-ho style that often blights period dramas.
Based on a true story, Age of Uprising is set in the South of France, as we delve into the life of a horse dealer Michael Kohlhaas (Mads Mikkelsen), who lives a comfortable life with his wife (Delphine Chuillot) and young daughter (Mélusine Mayance). However Kohlhaas is a man of principles, and when he’s disrespected by a lord in a dispute over two of his horses – his wife heads over to the palace to argue his case, but is brutally murdered in her attempt. Our...
Based on a true story, Age of Uprising is set in the South of France, as we delve into the life of a horse dealer Michael Kohlhaas (Mads Mikkelsen), who lives a comfortable life with his wife (Delphine Chuillot) and young daughter (Mélusine Mayance). However Kohlhaas is a man of principles, and when he’s disrespected by a lord in a dispute over two of his horses – his wife heads over to the palace to argue his case, but is brutally murdered in her attempt. Our...
- 12/30/2013
- by Stefan Pape
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Arnaud des Pallieres’ take on Heinrich von Kleist’s novella, Michael Kohlhaas, has all the makings of a riveting, party-crashing entry into the Cannes Film Festival’s In Competition banner, what with its focus on adventure and righteous vengeance. Disappointing it is, then, that while it features Mads Mikkelsen in as game a mode as ever, and the landscapes are sumptuously shot, the soporific narrative pulse has kept this oddly forgettable film clear of festival discussion pretty much altogether, which many could argue is even worse than it being an alright flop. The story begins as the titular character (Mikkelsen), a merchant, is forced by a local Baron (Swann Arlaud) to relinquish two of his prized horses as collateral on the way to the market due to him not having the proper documentation. When Kohlhaas returns to discover that the steeds are of ill health and Cesar (David Bennent), the man he left behind to tend for...
- 5/29/2013
- by Shaun Munro
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
★★★★☆ The 66th Cannes Film Festival just got medieval on our asses with Arnaud des Pallières' Palme d'Or outsider Michael Kohlhaas (2013), a tale of injustice and revolt set in 16th century France. Adapted from the Heinrich von Kleist novella, Pallières' latest follows the plight of its eponymous hero (Denmark's Mads Mikkelsen), a happy and prosperous family man and horse trader who suffers an injustice at the hands of an arrogant young baron. Kohlhaas seeks redress legally, only to be rebuffed and threatened. Tragedy strikes when Judith, his wife (Delphine Chuillot), is murdered, leading our protagonist on the path to vengeance.
The towering Mikkelsen wowed Cannes last year as a teacher stubbornly refusing to bow to injustice in Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt (Jagten, 2012). Injustice is one again on the menu here; however, as an actor in possession of a range as epic as the Cevénnes landscape against which his latest film plays against,...
The towering Mikkelsen wowed Cannes last year as a teacher stubbornly refusing to bow to injustice in Thomas Vinterberg's The Hunt (Jagten, 2012). Injustice is one again on the menu here; however, as an actor in possession of a range as epic as the Cevénnes landscape against which his latest film plays against,...
- 5/29/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Mads Mikkelsen has one of the most expressive faces in cinema today. Emotional, challenging, demanding and domineering, and this is before he ever bats an eye, furrows his brow or says a word. For these reasons I was able to stay with Michael Kohlhaas for the better part of an hour, but then it began to wear on me, though not in a way that had me giving up on it. It's not that the narrative is slow, in fact it's rather lyrical, but director Arnaud des Pallieres is overly patient, lingering from one scene to the next. Many, if not most, scenes could be chopped down by 10-15 seconds, making room for more story. While des Pallieres is committed to the story of his title character, he forgets to show us more of his actions after a lovely set up, all leading to an emotional conclusion, that would have...
- 5/24/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Schedules change when you have so many movies to choose from while you're in Cannes. Of course you're going to see all the most anticipated titles, but when faced with the decision to either see a film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival such as Magic Magic as I had planned or a French film starring Mads Mikkelsen as a 16th century horse dealer that raises an army and puts his country to fire and sword in order to have his rights restored, it's hard not to choose the latter when who knows when you'll get a chance to see it again. The latter film I mention is Arnaud des Pallieres' Michael Kohlhaas and along with Mikkelsen it co-stars Melusine Mayance, Delphine Chuillot, David Kross (The Reader), Bruno Ganz (Downfall), Denis Lavant (Holy Motors) and Roxane Duran and is already set to hit French theaters this July. In preparation...
- 5/23/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Directed and written by Pawel Pawlikowski, The Woman In The Fifth is a French-British-Polish mystery thriller based on the novel by American novelist Douglas Kennedy. As an adaptation of this deeply detailed novel, the film is a pensive and psychological drama, but it doesn’t quite fill you in on everything as you are constantly left to detect what’s real and what’s not.
The Woman In The Fifth centres around a college lecturer named Tom Wicks (Ethan Hawke) who flees to Paris to move closer to his six-year-old daughter Chloe (Julie Papillon), currently living with his estranged wife Nathalie (Delphine Chuillot), as he attempts to escape an implied troubling past couple of years. When robbed of all his possessions on his journey home, Tom takes a job as a watchman for a local crime boss, Sezer (Samir Guesmi), to earn his keep. Here he finds friendship in one of the waitresses,...
The Woman In The Fifth centres around a college lecturer named Tom Wicks (Ethan Hawke) who flees to Paris to move closer to his six-year-old daughter Chloe (Julie Papillon), currently living with his estranged wife Nathalie (Delphine Chuillot), as he attempts to escape an implied troubling past couple of years. When robbed of all his possessions on his journey home, Tom takes a job as a watchman for a local crime boss, Sezer (Samir Guesmi), to earn his keep. Here he finds friendship in one of the waitresses,...
- 6/19/2012
- by Charlie Derry
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
We need movies like The Woman in the Fifth, because they remind us how intensely on-fire Ethan Hawke can be. He stars here as Tom Ricks, in a grungy mystery-thriller that starts off as an atmospheric noir and quickly — the film’s barely a tick over 80 minutes — descends into a prickly little personality study. The writer-director, Pawel Pawlikowski (My Summer of Love), has adapted Douglas Kennedy‘s same-named novel with unshrinking ambiguity, allowing Hawke to sink in and fire off one mixed signal after another while never losing the compassion underneath. It’s a satisfying move.
Tom’s an American novelist with one Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted work under his belt. The film opens as he relocates to Paris, in an attempt to smooth things over with his bitter ex-wife, Nathalie (Delphine Chuillot), so that he can see his daughter, Chloé (Julie Papillon), on a more frequent basis. Things go poorly from the very beginning,...
Tom’s an American novelist with one Pulitzer Prize-shortlisted work under his belt. The film opens as he relocates to Paris, in an attempt to smooth things over with his bitter ex-wife, Nathalie (Delphine Chuillot), so that he can see his daughter, Chloé (Julie Papillon), on a more frequent basis. Things go poorly from the very beginning,...
- 6/18/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The Cabin In The Woods (15)
(Drew Goddard, 2011, Us) Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz. 95 mins
It's clear from the outset this Jj Abrams-produced genre offering isn't your standard slasher movie, as a traditional teen country break set-up is monitored by wisecracking officials in some mysterious bunker. But exactly what the twist is, it's better to discover for yourself. Let's just say it gives the horror formula an exhilarating jolt without destroying it, in a Lost-meets-Scooby-Doo sort of way – a meta-mystery tour signposted with spoiler alerts.
Battleship (12A)
(Peter Berg, 2012, Us) Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna. 131 mins
After the triumph of Transformers, Hasbro spin off another of their products, resulting in an effects-driven alien invasion that looks a lot like, er, Transformers. Expect Michael Bay-scale destruction, lots of CG explosions and military heroism, with extra cheese.
A Night To Remember (PG)
(Roy Ward Baker,...
(Drew Goddard, 2011, Us) Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz. 95 mins
It's clear from the outset this Jj Abrams-produced genre offering isn't your standard slasher movie, as a traditional teen country break set-up is monitored by wisecracking officials in some mysterious bunker. But exactly what the twist is, it's better to discover for yourself. Let's just say it gives the horror formula an exhilarating jolt without destroying it, in a Lost-meets-Scooby-Doo sort of way – a meta-mystery tour signposted with spoiler alerts.
Battleship (12A)
(Peter Berg, 2012, Us) Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna. 131 mins
After the triumph of Transformers, Hasbro spin off another of their products, resulting in an effects-driven alien invasion that looks a lot like, er, Transformers. Expect Michael Bay-scale destruction, lots of CG explosions and military heroism, with extra cheese.
A Night To Remember (PG)
(Roy Ward Baker,...
- 4/13/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
This revisionist account of Mozart's early life reclaims one of history's lost women. If only the film weren't so turgid
René Féret's earnest and ponderously acted movie is partly a feminist reclaiming of one of history's lost women, and also a revisionist, speculative account of Mozart's early life that is not so far away from Milos Forman's Amadeus. It has a seriousness that commands attention, and a very believable sense of the hardship and bitterness Mozart Sr put his family through. It is a good subject. If only this film weren't so turgid, and didn't have that strained quality in the sound recording that picks up every extraneous costume-rustle and makes the background silence in every scene seem like a continuous hiss.
Marc Barbé and Delphine Chuillot are Léopold and Anna-Maria Mozart, parents who are putting their children through a gruelling and continuous continental tour. Their remarkable 10-year-old,...
René Féret's earnest and ponderously acted movie is partly a feminist reclaiming of one of history's lost women, and also a revisionist, speculative account of Mozart's early life that is not so far away from Milos Forman's Amadeus. It has a seriousness that commands attention, and a very believable sense of the hardship and bitterness Mozart Sr put his family through. It is a good subject. If only this film weren't so turgid, and didn't have that strained quality in the sound recording that picks up every extraneous costume-rustle and makes the background silence in every scene seem like a continuous hiss.
Marc Barbé and Delphine Chuillot are Léopold and Anna-Maria Mozart, parents who are putting their children through a gruelling and continuous continental tour. Their remarkable 10-year-old,...
- 4/12/2012
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
While in Paris an academic meets a woman who may be involved in a series of mysterious murders.
A rumpled, raspy Ethan Hawke plays a literature professor, and sometime writer, who is in central Paris for a reconciliation with his wife and daughter. His wife (Delphine Chuillot) is not so pleased to see him, citing a restraining order as the reason she calls in the police. Escaping on a bus, he soon falls asleep and wakes up in a dodgy-looking suburb with his luggage stolen. Finally finding some income and a place to stay, he continues to attempt to re-establish contact with his family...
A rumpled, raspy Ethan Hawke plays a literature professor, and sometime writer, who is in central Paris for a reconciliation with his wife and daughter. His wife (Delphine Chuillot) is not so pleased to see him, citing a restraining order as the reason she calls in the police. Escaping on a bus, he soon falls asleep and wakes up in a dodgy-looking suburb with his luggage stolen. Finally finding some income and a place to stay, he continues to attempt to re-establish contact with his family...
- 2/17/2012
- by James Benefield
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
★★★★☆ Pawel Pawlikowski's The Woman in the Fifth (2011) - starring Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas - is stylishly shot, slickly directed and frustratingly enigmatic. Pawlikowski cut his teeth in documentary filmmaking, forging a name for himself in the 1990s, and remarkably this is only his third feature film to date. Hawke plays Tom Ricks, an American professor and novelist, who arrives in Paris hoping to reconcile with his estranged French wife (Delphine Chuillot) and six-year old daughter, Chloé (Julie Papillon). But when he turns up unannounced at their apartment his wife calls the police, hinting at a violent past.
Read more »...
Read more »...
- 2/15/2012
- by CineVue
- CineVue
Successful film biographies often inspire ‘back-story’ sequels. Since many of these movies end at the conclusion of the subject’s life, producers will go back back and explore an earlier chapter of this remarkable individuals history. Hence, we’ve seen films like Young Mr. Lincoln and Young Tom Edison. Now many years after Amadeus, cinema explores the life of ten year old Mozart, but from a different viewpoint. As the title suggests Mozart’S Sister is indeed this story told through the eyes of Wolfgang’s older sister (by five years). The movie is a fresh look at the formative years of this musical genius, but it also tells the story of an older sibling possessed of incredible talent who had no chance to shine in her brother’s long shadow.
Like many musician stories we first encounter the artists between ‘gigs’ and on the road. The Mozart family (father,...
Like many musician stories we first encounter the artists between ‘gigs’ and on the road. The Mozart family (father,...
- 9/30/2011
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Directed by René Feret
Starring Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin, Lisa Féret
Trapped forever in the shadow of her genius younger brother, Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed Nannerl) has inspired much speculation over the centuries.
Was her musical talent equivalent to Wolfgang’s? Did she compose her own music only for her father to deny its existence? What made her give up performing? After touring Europe’s palaces with her family as a child, why did she hide away in Salzburg from her mid-teens onwards? She cuts an intriguing figure in Baroque history. She is typical of all the talented female writers, composers and artists who never had a chance to shine because of their gender, yet she is unique in that she did have her opportunity on the public stage, and, given Mozart’s support of her ability, could have had her day in the sun.
Starring Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin, Lisa Féret
Trapped forever in the shadow of her genius younger brother, Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed Nannerl) has inspired much speculation over the centuries.
Was her musical talent equivalent to Wolfgang’s? Did she compose her own music only for her father to deny its existence? What made her give up performing? After touring Europe’s palaces with her family as a child, why did she hide away in Salzburg from her mid-teens onwards? She cuts an intriguing figure in Baroque history. She is typical of all the talented female writers, composers and artists who never had a chance to shine because of their gender, yet she is unique in that she did have her opportunity on the public stage, and, given Mozart’s support of her ability, could have had her day in the sun.
- 8/18/2011
- by Karina
- Planet Fury
Title: Mozart’s Sister (Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart) Directed By: Rene Feret Written By: Rene Feret Cast: Marie Feret, Marc Barbe, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin, Lisa Feret, Adele Lepretre, Valentine Duval, Dominique Marcas Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 8/2/11 Opens: August 19, 2011 When Milos Forman’s “Amadeus” was released in 1984, a fictionalized look at Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, it quickly became revered by cognoscenti as the most exciting film ever to depict the life and work of a European composer. “Amadeus” had everything-costumes, a full range of Mozart’s actual compositions, a humor-filled, sometimes melodramatic biopic situated in the world of Austrian nobility. Wolfgang’s sister, nicknamed Nannerl or Nana,...
- 8/3/2011
- by Brian Corder
- ShockYa
Quickcard Review – 46th Chicago International Film Festival
Click Here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010)
Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister
Directed by: Rene Feret
Cast: Marie Feret, Marc Barbe, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin
Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: Nr
Release Date: Tbd
Plot: This film follows the story of Nannerl, the older but often overshadowed sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It chronicles her struggle to define herself in a male-dominated world and her journey into womanhood.
Who’S It For? Classical musical fans will enjoy this one for its emphasis on music, but also period piece fans. Self professed feminists may struggle with what to make of this film, but it’s an interesting topic for fans of gender studies.
Overall
Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister is an interesting piece of work. Director Rene Feret does an excellent job of illustrating the time period. The architecture is lavish,...
Click Here for complete coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival (Ciff 2010)
Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister
Directed by: Rene Feret
Cast: Marie Feret, Marc Barbe, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin
Running Time: 1 hr 55 mins
Rating: Nr
Release Date: Tbd
Plot: This film follows the story of Nannerl, the older but often overshadowed sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It chronicles her struggle to define herself in a male-dominated world and her journey into womanhood.
Who’S It For? Classical musical fans will enjoy this one for its emphasis on music, but also period piece fans. Self professed feminists may struggle with what to make of this film, but it’s an interesting topic for fans of gender studies.
Overall
Nannerl, Mozart’s Sister is an interesting piece of work. Director Rene Feret does an excellent job of illustrating the time period. The architecture is lavish,...
- 10/7/2010
- by Calhoun Kersten
- The Scorecard Review
It’s the latest in poster technology — motion posters. It moves, it has sound, and it’s annoying. Okay, maybe not annoying, but definitely, well, I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get used to this new poster style. Maybe I’m just old school that way and think that posters just shouldn’t move. Or at least, make me all nervous and what have you. “Get off my lawn!” “Pandorum” stars Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Cam Gigandet, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Eddie Rouse, Norman Reedus, Wotan Wilke Möhring , Delphine Chuillot, and is directed by Christian Alvart. Get gooey stuff under your skin September 25, 2009. Via Yahoo! Movies.
- 8/27/2009
- by Nix
- SciFiCool.com
PARIS -- The question behind Nicolas Klotz's wordy, unwieldy, stylish and absorbing feature Heartbeat Detector is simply this: Is your boss a fascist? As an idea-driven political thriller, the movie is a natural for the art house and festival circuits. Mainstream audiences are likely to find its leisurely pace and mixture of styles -- ranging from documentary to poetic-literary -- heavy going.
Simon Kessler (Mathieu Amalric) is the in-house psychologist for Franco-German petrochemicals giant SC Farb (the name is chosen to remind us of IG Farben). He is charged with smoothing out wrinkles in the work force and, when asked to, providing a rationale for shrinking the payroll by hundreds of "units," as the workers are called in technospeak.
Until now, Kessler has worked clinically and efficiently as the company trouble-shooter. His moment of truth arrives when the sinister managing director, Karl Rose (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), asks him to investigate CEO Mathias Just (Michael Lonsdale) who, he says, has been behaving erratically of late.
As a cover, Kessler pretends to create a company orchestra and visits Just, who Kessler knows played cello many years before. Just, who is indeed having qualms about company practices, lets Kessler know that he knows that Rose is scheming to have him removed. Meanwhile, Kessler (who is unmarried) is beginning to feel the strain mentally and bodily. Then he receives anonymous letters providing gruesome details of SC Farb's murky past as a supplier of services to the Nazis, notably its helping hand in the Final Solution.
The core of this ambitious movie, scripted by Elisabeth Perceval from a novel by Francois Emmanuel, is the notion that there are continuities between the inhumane procedures used by the Nazis in the name of efficient racial purging and the dehumanizing methods used by modern capitalism in the pursuit of ever-increasing profits.
Klotz's objective, largely achieved, is to update Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the age of IT, enterprise systems and globalization, a nightmare world in which human relations have been stripped to bare essentials.
Shot mostly in interiors and mostly, it appears, at night, the movie is visually striking, its color range reduced to a palette of blue and black. The sound is deliberately muffled, the dialogue spoken in low tones, as if in fear of being overheard. Music also plays a key role as a humanizing factor, as much for Just, who favors Schubert, as for Kessler, who dances off his tensions at a rave or listens -- in an unbroken, wordless seven-minute sequence -- to the aching beauties of flamenco-singing and Portuguese fado.
The movie is, arguably, too long and overladen with ideas. Klotz and Perceval are particularly keen on nailing the use and abuse of language in formatting human behavior. Both the plot and the love interest, provided by Kessler's colleague-girlfriend Isabelle (Delphine Chuillot), are perfunctory.
HEARTBEAT DETECTOR
Sophie Dulac Prods.
Credits:
Director: Nicolas Klotz
Screenwriter: Elisabeth Perceval
Producers: Sophie Dulac, Michel Zana
Director of photography: Josee Deshaies
Production designer: Antoine Platteau
Music: Syd Matters
Costume designer: Dorothee Guiraud
Editor: Rose-Marie Lausson
Cast:
Simon Kessler: Mathieu Amalric
Mathias Just: Michael Lonsdale
Karl Rose: Jean-Pierre Kalfon
Arie Neuman: Lou Castel
Lucy Just: Edith Scob
Isabelle: Delphine Chuillot
Louisa: Laetitia Spigarelli
Jacques Paolini: Remy Carpentier
Lynn Sanderson: Valerie Dreville
Running time -- 144 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Simon Kessler (Mathieu Amalric) is the in-house psychologist for Franco-German petrochemicals giant SC Farb (the name is chosen to remind us of IG Farben). He is charged with smoothing out wrinkles in the work force and, when asked to, providing a rationale for shrinking the payroll by hundreds of "units," as the workers are called in technospeak.
Until now, Kessler has worked clinically and efficiently as the company trouble-shooter. His moment of truth arrives when the sinister managing director, Karl Rose (Jean-Pierre Kalfon), asks him to investigate CEO Mathias Just (Michael Lonsdale) who, he says, has been behaving erratically of late.
As a cover, Kessler pretends to create a company orchestra and visits Just, who Kessler knows played cello many years before. Just, who is indeed having qualms about company practices, lets Kessler know that he knows that Rose is scheming to have him removed. Meanwhile, Kessler (who is unmarried) is beginning to feel the strain mentally and bodily. Then he receives anonymous letters providing gruesome details of SC Farb's murky past as a supplier of services to the Nazis, notably its helping hand in the Final Solution.
The core of this ambitious movie, scripted by Elisabeth Perceval from a novel by Francois Emmanuel, is the notion that there are continuities between the inhumane procedures used by the Nazis in the name of efficient racial purging and the dehumanizing methods used by modern capitalism in the pursuit of ever-increasing profits.
Klotz's objective, largely achieved, is to update Fritz Lang's Metropolis to the age of IT, enterprise systems and globalization, a nightmare world in which human relations have been stripped to bare essentials.
Shot mostly in interiors and mostly, it appears, at night, the movie is visually striking, its color range reduced to a palette of blue and black. The sound is deliberately muffled, the dialogue spoken in low tones, as if in fear of being overheard. Music also plays a key role as a humanizing factor, as much for Just, who favors Schubert, as for Kessler, who dances off his tensions at a rave or listens -- in an unbroken, wordless seven-minute sequence -- to the aching beauties of flamenco-singing and Portuguese fado.
The movie is, arguably, too long and overladen with ideas. Klotz and Perceval are particularly keen on nailing the use and abuse of language in formatting human behavior. Both the plot and the love interest, provided by Kessler's colleague-girlfriend Isabelle (Delphine Chuillot), are perfunctory.
HEARTBEAT DETECTOR
Sophie Dulac Prods.
Credits:
Director: Nicolas Klotz
Screenwriter: Elisabeth Perceval
Producers: Sophie Dulac, Michel Zana
Director of photography: Josee Deshaies
Production designer: Antoine Platteau
Music: Syd Matters
Costume designer: Dorothee Guiraud
Editor: Rose-Marie Lausson
Cast:
Simon Kessler: Mathieu Amalric
Mathias Just: Michael Lonsdale
Karl Rose: Jean-Pierre Kalfon
Arie Neuman: Lou Castel
Lucy Just: Edith Scob
Isabelle: Delphine Chuillot
Louisa: Laetitia Spigarelli
Jacques Paolini: Remy Carpentier
Lynn Sanderson: Valerie Dreville
Running time -- 144 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/22/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
French director Leos Carax makes films about obsession and instability, themes by their very nature designed to repel and alienate, so the angry critical reaction to his new work "Pola X" isn't surprising. Fully considered, Carax's fourth feature should be taken for what it is, an often remarkable, deeply unsettling and original piece of work.
His first feature since his notorious financial failure, the 1991 "Les amants du Pont-Neuf", Carax remains a singular talent with an uncommon feel for poetry, space and movement. "Pola X" doesn't betray his abilities but it amplifies the contradictions of his work, that for all of his visual talent his tendency toward narrative ambiguity and the unaccountable frustrates those predisposed to taking a chance on his movies. There appears to be no middle ground with Carax. Critics and viewers love or despise him, so despite the attractive cast and the stunning visuals, "Pola X" seems destined to play to only a small, vocal cult of admirers.
From its opening shots, black and white footage of World War II bombing footage, virtually every shot transmutes a shock of surprise, possibility and emotional intensity. Carax's first three movies -- "Boy Meets Girl" and "Bad Blood" are the others -- featured Denis Levant playing a character named Alex. With "Pola X", an adaptation of Herman Melville's "Pierre, or the Ambiguities", Carax continues the loose autobiographical underpinnings. His protagonist, Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu), is a promising writer whose first novel, written under the pseudonym "Alladin", has struck a resonant chord with young French intellectuals (Carax is notoriously reclusive and also invented his own name).
The son of a once-prominent, now dead French diplomat, Pierre lives with his mother (Catherine Deneuve) in an imposing chateau in Normandy and is engaged to a beautiful young woman Lucie (Delphine Chuillot). Pierre rejects his comfortable, privileged life when the feral, intense woman haunting his dreams literally materializes in the shape of Isabelle A very strong Katerina Golubeva). In a strong scene unfolding in virtual darkness, Isabelle, speaking in halting, fractured French, informs Pierre that she is his sister. Increasingly obsessed with the woman, Pierre sets out to determine the authenticity of her claims, abandoning his home for Paris to live with Isabelle.
Not unexpectedly Pierre's choices produce devastating results for those around him, leading to his mother's death, his estrangement from his cousin (Laurent Lucas) and Lucie's physical disintegration. In the film's second half, which is less successful than the first, Lucie is reunited with Pierre and Isabelle, who've taken refuge in an immense warehouse ruled by a sect of radicals, mercenaries and musicians. Like John Cassavetes, Carax works in such extreme states of emotional aggression that he risks disdain and condescension, not to mention charges of pretension and self-absorption. By the end, when the narrative ambiguities are revealed, the movie turns even darker, one of pessimism and self-destruction.
Carax's first three features were shot by Jean-Yves Escoffier (Tim Robbins' "Cradle Will Rock"), but the dreamlike imagery evoked by Eric Gautier ("Irma Vep"), the gradations of light and dark, has a hypnotic pull. "Pola X" is an easy target because of what it attempts, but more often than not Carax pulls it off. He develops modulated and interesting performances from his leads. Depardieu is noticeably expressive, Golubeva projects a continual sense of the unknowable, and Chuillot provides a vivid portrait of dissolution. At a time when most movies have little to say, here is a work that in articulating its vision demands attention and respect.
POLA X
A Bruno Pesery production
in association with Arena Films, Pol Production, Theo Films, France 2 Cinema, Pandora Produktion, Euro Space and Vega Film
CREDITS
Director-writer:Leos Carax
Screenwriters:Lauren Sedofsky, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Based on the novel by:Herman Melville
Producer:Bruno Pesery
Cinematographer:Eric Gautier
Editor:Nelly Quettier
Music:Scott Walker
Production designers:Sylvie Barthet, Dschingis Bowakow
Costumes:Esther Walz
CAST
Pierre:Guillaume Depardieu
Isabelle:Katerina Golubeva
Lucie:Delphine Chuillot
Marie:Catherine Deneuve
Thibault:Laurent Lucas
Razerka:Petruta Catana
Running time: 134 minutes...
His first feature since his notorious financial failure, the 1991 "Les amants du Pont-Neuf", Carax remains a singular talent with an uncommon feel for poetry, space and movement. "Pola X" doesn't betray his abilities but it amplifies the contradictions of his work, that for all of his visual talent his tendency toward narrative ambiguity and the unaccountable frustrates those predisposed to taking a chance on his movies. There appears to be no middle ground with Carax. Critics and viewers love or despise him, so despite the attractive cast and the stunning visuals, "Pola X" seems destined to play to only a small, vocal cult of admirers.
From its opening shots, black and white footage of World War II bombing footage, virtually every shot transmutes a shock of surprise, possibility and emotional intensity. Carax's first three movies -- "Boy Meets Girl" and "Bad Blood" are the others -- featured Denis Levant playing a character named Alex. With "Pola X", an adaptation of Herman Melville's "Pierre, or the Ambiguities", Carax continues the loose autobiographical underpinnings. His protagonist, Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu), is a promising writer whose first novel, written under the pseudonym "Alladin", has struck a resonant chord with young French intellectuals (Carax is notoriously reclusive and also invented his own name).
The son of a once-prominent, now dead French diplomat, Pierre lives with his mother (Catherine Deneuve) in an imposing chateau in Normandy and is engaged to a beautiful young woman Lucie (Delphine Chuillot). Pierre rejects his comfortable, privileged life when the feral, intense woman haunting his dreams literally materializes in the shape of Isabelle A very strong Katerina Golubeva). In a strong scene unfolding in virtual darkness, Isabelle, speaking in halting, fractured French, informs Pierre that she is his sister. Increasingly obsessed with the woman, Pierre sets out to determine the authenticity of her claims, abandoning his home for Paris to live with Isabelle.
Not unexpectedly Pierre's choices produce devastating results for those around him, leading to his mother's death, his estrangement from his cousin (Laurent Lucas) and Lucie's physical disintegration. In the film's second half, which is less successful than the first, Lucie is reunited with Pierre and Isabelle, who've taken refuge in an immense warehouse ruled by a sect of radicals, mercenaries and musicians. Like John Cassavetes, Carax works in such extreme states of emotional aggression that he risks disdain and condescension, not to mention charges of pretension and self-absorption. By the end, when the narrative ambiguities are revealed, the movie turns even darker, one of pessimism and self-destruction.
Carax's first three features were shot by Jean-Yves Escoffier (Tim Robbins' "Cradle Will Rock"), but the dreamlike imagery evoked by Eric Gautier ("Irma Vep"), the gradations of light and dark, has a hypnotic pull. "Pola X" is an easy target because of what it attempts, but more often than not Carax pulls it off. He develops modulated and interesting performances from his leads. Depardieu is noticeably expressive, Golubeva projects a continual sense of the unknowable, and Chuillot provides a vivid portrait of dissolution. At a time when most movies have little to say, here is a work that in articulating its vision demands attention and respect.
POLA X
A Bruno Pesery production
in association with Arena Films, Pol Production, Theo Films, France 2 Cinema, Pandora Produktion, Euro Space and Vega Film
CREDITS
Director-writer:Leos Carax
Screenwriters:Lauren Sedofsky, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Based on the novel by:Herman Melville
Producer:Bruno Pesery
Cinematographer:Eric Gautier
Editor:Nelly Quettier
Music:Scott Walker
Production designers:Sylvie Barthet, Dschingis Bowakow
Costumes:Esther Walz
CAST
Pierre:Guillaume Depardieu
Isabelle:Katerina Golubeva
Lucie:Delphine Chuillot
Marie:Catherine Deneuve
Thibault:Laurent Lucas
Razerka:Petruta Catana
Running time: 134 minutes...
- 5/14/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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