Paris and Los Angeles-based sales agency has boarded films by Nicolas Benamou, Artus and Christophe Duthuron
Paris and Los Angeles-based Other Angle Pictures has boarded three French comedy dramas: Nicolas Benamou’s We Should Have Gone to Greece, Artus’ A Little Something Extra and Christophe Duthuron’s Happiness Therapy.
The company will launch sales for all three films at this week’s Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris in the French capital.
We Should Have Gone to Greece is the latest feature from Benamou, known for co-directing local and international hit comedies Babysitting and Babysitting 2 with Philippe Lacheau, 2020’s Mystery in St. Tropez,...
Paris and Los Angeles-based Other Angle Pictures has boarded three French comedy dramas: Nicolas Benamou’s We Should Have Gone to Greece, Artus’ A Little Something Extra and Christophe Duthuron’s Happiness Therapy.
The company will launch sales for all three films at this week’s Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous in Paris in the French capital.
We Should Have Gone to Greece is the latest feature from Benamou, known for co-directing local and international hit comedies Babysitting and Babysitting 2 with Philippe Lacheau, 2020’s Mystery in St. Tropez,...
- 1/16/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
A trio of French films, the melodrama “A Family for 1640 Days,” political thriller “Goliath” and comedy “Adieu Paris,” are set to be released in the U.S. by the New York-based company Distrib Films.
Both Fabien Gorgeart’s “A Family for 1640 Days” (“Une vraie famille”) and Edouard Baer’s “Adieu Paris” are represented in international markets by Le Pacte.
“A Family for 1640 Days,” winner of the top prize at last year’s American French Film Festival, revolves around Simon, a six-year old adopted boy who is about to reunite with his biological father. The movie stars Melanie Thierry (“En therapie”) and Lyes Salem. Distrib Films is planning to release the film in early 2023 and have it play at festivals.
A love letter to the French capital, “Adieu Paris” marks the fourth directorial outing of actor-turned-helmer Baer, who last directed “Ouvert la nuit” in which he starred opposite Audrey Tautou and Sabrina Ouazani.
Both Fabien Gorgeart’s “A Family for 1640 Days” (“Une vraie famille”) and Edouard Baer’s “Adieu Paris” are represented in international markets by Le Pacte.
“A Family for 1640 Days,” winner of the top prize at last year’s American French Film Festival, revolves around Simon, a six-year old adopted boy who is about to reunite with his biological father. The movie stars Melanie Thierry (“En therapie”) and Lyes Salem. Distrib Films is planning to release the film in early 2023 and have it play at festivals.
A love letter to the French capital, “Adieu Paris” marks the fourth directorial outing of actor-turned-helmer Baer, who last directed “Ouvert la nuit” in which he starred opposite Audrey Tautou and Sabrina Ouazani.
- 9/26/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Disney+ has ordered “Tout va bien,” a new French original series which will be co-directed and co-produced by ‘The Bureau’ creator and showrunner Eric Rochant. The anticipated series will also be directed by Xavier Legrand (“Custody”), Cathy Verney (“Vernon Subutex”) and Audrey Estrougo (“Supremes”).
Slated to start shooting in Paris soon, “Tout va bien” is created by Camille de Castelnau, a rising talent whose screenwriting credits include episodes of “The Bureau,” “Call My Agent” and “Standing Up.”
“Tout va bien” will be headlined by Virginie Efira (pictured) who stars in Rebecca Zlotowski’s upcoming Venice competition title “Les enfants des autres,” and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”), among others.
The series, which will launch on Disney+ around the world in 2023, revolves around an dysfunctional Parisian family confronted to the tragic illness of one their children.
The cast also includes Sara Giraudeau, Aliocha Schneider, Bernard Le Coq, Eduardo Noriega, Yannik Landrein, Mehdi Nebbou and Angèle Mièle.
Slated to start shooting in Paris soon, “Tout va bien” is created by Camille de Castelnau, a rising talent whose screenwriting credits include episodes of “The Bureau,” “Call My Agent” and “Standing Up.”
“Tout va bien” will be headlined by Virginie Efira (pictured) who stars in Rebecca Zlotowski’s upcoming Venice competition title “Les enfants des autres,” and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”), among others.
The series, which will launch on Disney+ around the world in 2023, revolves around an dysfunctional Parisian family confronted to the tragic illness of one their children.
The cast also includes Sara Giraudeau, Aliocha Schneider, Bernard Le Coq, Eduardo Noriega, Yannik Landrein, Mehdi Nebbou and Angèle Mièle.
- 8/26/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Documentary
More than a dozen members of the British Royal Family offer their personal thoughts in a new documentary as they pay tribute to the life of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April at 99.
All the children of the Queen and the Duke, along with their adult grandchildren and other members of the Royal Family, agreed to take part in Oxford Films’ “Prince Philip: The Royal Family.” Originally conceived to mark Prince Philip’s 100th birthday, the documentary features interviews filmed both before and after the Duke’s death and has footage filmed inside Buckingham Palace, including the Duke’s study, private office and library.
It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, BBC director of factual, arts and classical music, and Claire Sillery, head of commissioning, documentaries. The BBC commissioning editor is Simon Young.
The writer and co-producer is Robert Hardman and the executive producer is Nicolas Kent.
More than a dozen members of the British Royal Family offer their personal thoughts in a new documentary as they pay tribute to the life of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who died in April at 99.
All the children of the Queen and the Duke, along with their adult grandchildren and other members of the Royal Family, agreed to take part in Oxford Films’ “Prince Philip: The Royal Family.” Originally conceived to mark Prince Philip’s 100th birthday, the documentary features interviews filmed both before and after the Duke’s death and has footage filmed inside Buckingham Palace, including the Duke’s study, private office and library.
It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, BBC director of factual, arts and classical music, and Claire Sillery, head of commissioning, documentaries. The BBC commissioning editor is Simon Young.
The writer and co-producer is Robert Hardman and the executive producer is Nicolas Kent.
- 9/9/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Emma de Caunes joins the jury for the 26th British Film Festival in Dinard Photo: Richard Mowe
Actress Emma de Caunes (daughter of former Eurotrash host Antoine de Caunes) will join president Jean Rochefort as a member of this year’s jury at the 26th edition of Dinard British Film Festival, it was announced today (13 Sept).
Among the other jurors at the event from 30 September until 4 October will be actress Melanie Doutey, Virginia Efra, Amara Karan, Alexandra Lamy, actor Bernard Lecoq and producer Bertrand Favre with a few names still to be confirmed. Among the awards to be deliberated will be the top accolade the Golden Hitchcock.
A Long Way Down, directed by Pascal Chaumeil and starring Pierce Brosnan, will be presented as a tribute to the director in the opening slot at the Dinard British Film Festival
The opening film will be A Long Way Down, directed by Pascal Chaumeil and starring Pierce Brosnan,...
Actress Emma de Caunes (daughter of former Eurotrash host Antoine de Caunes) will join president Jean Rochefort as a member of this year’s jury at the 26th edition of Dinard British Film Festival, it was announced today (13 Sept).
Among the other jurors at the event from 30 September until 4 October will be actress Melanie Doutey, Virginia Efra, Amara Karan, Alexandra Lamy, actor Bernard Lecoq and producer Bertrand Favre with a few names still to be confirmed. Among the awards to be deliberated will be the top accolade the Golden Hitchcock.
A Long Way Down, directed by Pascal Chaumeil and starring Pierce Brosnan, will be presented as a tribute to the director in the opening slot at the Dinard British Film Festival
The opening film will be A Long Way Down, directed by Pascal Chaumeil and starring Pierce Brosnan,...
- 9/13/2015
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The first Tiff premiere has been picked up ahead of its debut, as Cohen Media Group (Frozen River, The Lady, The Awakening) grabbed the latest political suspense thriller from the great Costa-Gavras. The man responsible for such classics as Z and Missing has returned after a few years with Capital, which takes a look at the high finance sector of France.
We’ve also found the first trailer, which indicates quite a thrilling take on a new sort of Robin Hood. Judging by this fast acquisition, it looks Costa-Gravas has replicated the same intense style found in some of his other work. Check out the trailer below for the film adapted from Stephane Osmont‘s novel and starring Gabriel Byrne, Gad Elmaleh, Natacha Regnier, Céline Sallette, Liya Kebede, Hyppolite Girardot, Daniel Mesguich and Bernard Le Coq.
Capital premieres at Tiff, but no Us release date as been announced yet.
We’ve also found the first trailer, which indicates quite a thrilling take on a new sort of Robin Hood. Judging by this fast acquisition, it looks Costa-Gravas has replicated the same intense style found in some of his other work. Check out the trailer below for the film adapted from Stephane Osmont‘s novel and starring Gabriel Byrne, Gad Elmaleh, Natacha Regnier, Céline Sallette, Liya Kebede, Hyppolite Girardot, Daniel Mesguich and Bernard Le Coq.
Capital premieres at Tiff, but no Us release date as been announced yet.
- 9/5/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
DVD Release Date: April 10, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95
Studio: Music Box
Denis Podalydès (l.) mimics president of France Nicolas Sarkozy in The Conquest.
The 2011 movie biography The Conquest chronicles the rise to power of Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France.
The film kicks off in early 2002, when up-and-coming politico Sarkozy (Denis Podalydes, The Da Vinci Code) first begins laying the groundwork for his presidential campaign. making his move on the presidency. Currying favor with his predecessor Jacques Chirac (Bernard Le Coq, The High Life) and sparring gamely with his glib rival Dominique de Villepin (Samuel Labarthe, Strayed), Sarkozy is depicted as a bold and unashamed virtuoso of political combat. It’s Sarkozy’s inattention to his disintegrating domestic partnership that results in his second wife, Cécilia (Florence Pernel, Blue), leaving him for good on the day he is elected president of France in 2007.
Written and directed for maximum dramatic and satiric punch by Xavier Durringer,...
Price: DVD $29.95
Studio: Music Box
Denis Podalydès (l.) mimics president of France Nicolas Sarkozy in The Conquest.
The 2011 movie biography The Conquest chronicles the rise to power of Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France.
The film kicks off in early 2002, when up-and-coming politico Sarkozy (Denis Podalydes, The Da Vinci Code) first begins laying the groundwork for his presidential campaign. making his move on the presidency. Currying favor with his predecessor Jacques Chirac (Bernard Le Coq, The High Life) and sparring gamely with his glib rival Dominique de Villepin (Samuel Labarthe, Strayed), Sarkozy is depicted as a bold and unashamed virtuoso of political combat. It’s Sarkozy’s inattention to his disintegrating domestic partnership that results in his second wife, Cécilia (Florence Pernel, Blue), leaving him for good on the day he is elected president of France in 2007.
Written and directed for maximum dramatic and satiric punch by Xavier Durringer,...
- 3/8/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Bérénice Bejo as Peppy Miller in Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius, A Separation: César Winners Pt.1 Best Actor Sami Bouajila, Omar m'a tuer / Omar Killed Me François Cluzet, Intouchables / Untouchable Jean Dujardin, The Artist Olivier Gourmet, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Denis Podalydes, La conquête / The Conquest * Omar Sy, Intouchables / Untouchable Philippe Torreton, Présumé coupable / Guilty Best Actress Ariane Asquaride, Les neiges du Kilimanjaro / The Snows of Kilimanjaro * Bérénice Bejo, The Artist Leila Bekhti, La Source des femmes / The Source Valérie Donzelli, La guerre est déclarée / Declaration of War Marina Foïs, Polisse Marie Gilain, Toutes nos envies / All Our Desires Karin Viard, Polisse Best Supporting Actor * Michel Blanc, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Nicolas Duvauchelle, Polisse Joey Starr, Polisse Bernard Lecoq, La conquête / The Conquest Frédéric Pierrot, Polisse Best Supporting Actress Zabou Breitman, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Anne Le Ny, Intouchables / Untouchable Noémie Lvovsky, L'Apollonide,...
- 2/25/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Bérénice Bejo, Malcolm McDowell, The Artist The Artist, Polisse, Intouchables: César Nominations Pt.1 Best Actor Sami Bouajila, Omar m'a tuer / Omar Killed Me François Cluzet, Intouchables / Untouchable Jean Dujardin, The Artist Olivier Gourmet, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Denis Podalydes, La conquête / The Conquest Omar Sy, Intouchables / Untouchable Philippe Torreton, Présumé coupable / Guilty Best Actress Ariane Asquaride, Les neiges du Kilimanjaro / The Snows of Kilimanjaro Bérénice Bejo, The Artist Leila Bekhti, La Source des femmes / The Source Valérie Donzelli, La guerre est déclarée / Declaration of War Marina Foïs, Polisse Marie Gilain, Toutes nos envies / All Our Desires Karin Viard, Polisse Best Supporting Actor Michel Blanc, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Nicolas Duvauchelle, Polisse Joey Starr, Polisse Bernard Lecoq, La conquête / The Conquest Frédéric Pierrot, Polisse Best Supporting Actress Zabou Breitman, L'exercice de l'État / The Minister Anne Le Ny, Intouchables / Untouchable Noémie Lvovsky, L'Apollonide, souvenirs de la maison close / House of Tolerance Carmen Maura,...
- 2/21/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Denis Podalydes attends Cesar Film Awards 2012 Nominee Luncheon. Photo copyright Pixplanete / PR Photos. Denis Podalydes attends Cesar Film Awards 2012 Nominee Luncheon. Photo copyright Pixplanete / PR Photos. Denis Podalydes attends Cesar Film Awards 2012 Nominee Luncheon. Photo copyright Pixplanete / PR Photos. Alain Terzian attends Cesar Film Awards 2012 Nominee Luncheon. Photo copyright Pixplanete / PR Photos. Pierre Niney attends Cesar Film Awards 2012 Nominee Luncheon. Photo copyright Pixplanete / PR Photos. 02/04/2012 - Anne Sophie Bion - Cesar Film Awards 2012 - Nominee Luncheon - Le Fouquet's Restaurant - Paris, France © Pixplanete / PR Photos 02/04/2012 - Bernard le Coq - Cesar Film Awards 2012 - Nominee Luncheon - Le Fouquet's Restaurant - Paris, France...
- 2/7/2012
- by M&C
- Monsters and Critics
The Conquest (La conquéte)
Directed by: Xavier Durringer
Starring: Denis Podalydes, Florence Pernel, Bernard Le Coq
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: November 4, 2011 (limited)
Trailer Score: 7/10
Thoughts by Tsr: Not your typical political film. This cinematic take on the rise of Nicolas Sarkozy seems more satiric and tongue in cheek than other recent American and British political films, like W. or The Deal. He’s a controversial figure in international politics (as any G8 world leader is) and still in office so it seems odd to come at it from that angle. Also, the film seems to focus on the relationship Sarkozy and then wife Cécilia as much as his election campaign. You gotta love the French. Despite or because of the unusual take, I’m interested in this film. I have to wonder what Sarkozy thinks as well.
Read Scorecard Reviews from our film reviews database Watch movie trailers and read...
Directed by: Xavier Durringer
Starring: Denis Podalydes, Florence Pernel, Bernard Le Coq
Rating: Unrated
Release Date: November 4, 2011 (limited)
Trailer Score: 7/10
Thoughts by Tsr: Not your typical political film. This cinematic take on the rise of Nicolas Sarkozy seems more satiric and tongue in cheek than other recent American and British political films, like W. or The Deal. He’s a controversial figure in international politics (as any G8 world leader is) and still in office so it seems odd to come at it from that angle. Also, the film seems to focus on the relationship Sarkozy and then wife Cécilia as much as his election campaign. You gotta love the French. Despite or because of the unusual take, I’m interested in this film. I have to wonder what Sarkozy thinks as well.
Read Scorecard Reviews from our film reviews database Watch movie trailers and read...
- 10/29/2011
- by Megan Lehar
- The Scorecard Review
Check out the trailer for The Conquest, starring Denis Podalydès, Florence Pernel and Bernard Le Coq. Xavier Durringer directs and adapts from a script by writer/documentary filmmaker Patrick Rotman. Political journalist Michaël Darmon served as writing consultant. The Conquest is a droll fly on the wall French drama about Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power and was an Official Selection for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The day is May 6, 2007, France's run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon knows he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia but to no avail. The last five years unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy's unstoppable...
- 10/19/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out the trailer for The Conquest, starring Denis Podalydès, Florence Pernel and Bernard Le Coq. Xavier Durringer directs and adapts from a script by writer/documentary filmmaker Patrick Rotman. Political journalist Michaël Darmon served as writing consultant. The Conquest is a droll fly on the wall French drama about Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power and was an Official Selection for the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. The day is May 6, 2007, France's run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon knows he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia but to no avail. The last five years unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy's unstoppable...
- 10/19/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Music Box Films has released the first trailer for The Conquest, which opens in New York and Los Angeles on November 11. Click on the video player below for your first look at this drama centering on the 2007 French presidential elections.
Click to watch The Conquest Trailer!
The day is May 6, 2007, France's run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon knows he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia but to no avail. The last five years unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy's unstoppable ascent, riddled with in-party backstabbing, media manipulation, riots, sarcastic confrontations and extra-marital affairs. The Conquest chronicles the volatile right-leaning Sarkozy's startling rise to become...
Click to watch The Conquest Trailer!
The day is May 6, 2007, France's run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon knows he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia but to no avail. The last five years unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy's unstoppable ascent, riddled with in-party backstabbing, media manipulation, riots, sarcastic confrontations and extra-marital affairs. The Conquest chronicles the volatile right-leaning Sarkozy's startling rise to become...
- 10/19/2011
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
The French biopic The Conquest (La conquete) recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and also opened in France last week. The film’s music is composed by Academy Award-winning composer Nicola Piovani (Life is Beautiful) and has recently been released commercially. The soundtrack album featuring 14 tracks from Piovani’s score is currently available to download on Amazon. For a preview of all tracks, check out the audio clips below. The Conquest takes a look at French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s rise to power. The film is directed by Xavier Durringer (Chok-Dee) and stars Florence Pernel, Bernard Le Coq and Samuel Labarthe. Music Box Films has acquired domestic rights for the film and is planning a release to precede the upcoming American presidential primary season.For more information, watch the trailer below and visit the French official movie website.
Amazon.com Widgets...
Amazon.com Widgets...
- 5/25/2011
- by filmmusicreporter
- Film Music Reporter
Updated through 5/19.
Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, which opened the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, already has its own entry, of course (and it's still being updated, too), but it's here that I'll collect all that's notably linkable related to the films in the Official Selection yet screening Out of Competition (excluding Special Screenings, which'll have their own upcoming roundup). We already have plenty on Jodie Foster's The Beaver here; and I'm sure Christophe Honoré's Beloved will warrant an entry of its own when it closes the Festival on May 22.
"Bursting with light and color, and a torrent of martial arts action both swift and savage (arguably the best that lead actor Donnie Yen has choreographed for years), Wu Xia is coherently developed and stylishly directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan to provide unashamedly pleasurable popular entertainment," writes Maggie Lee in the Hollywood Reporter, where Karen Chu interviews Chan.
Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, which opened the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, already has its own entry, of course (and it's still being updated, too), but it's here that I'll collect all that's notably linkable related to the films in the Official Selection yet screening Out of Competition (excluding Special Screenings, which'll have their own upcoming roundup). We already have plenty on Jodie Foster's The Beaver here; and I'm sure Christophe Honoré's Beloved will warrant an entry of its own when it closes the Festival on May 22.
"Bursting with light and color, and a torrent of martial arts action both swift and savage (arguably the best that lead actor Donnie Yen has choreographed for years), Wu Xia is coherently developed and stylishly directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan to provide unashamedly pleasurable popular entertainment," writes Maggie Lee in the Hollywood Reporter, where Karen Chu interviews Chan.
- 5/19/2011
- MUBI
What should have been a daring portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power falls flat like a cold soufflé
Heralded as the French answer to Stephen Frears's The Queen, a daring portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power, La Conquête (The Conquest) promised to shake up French cinema, no less. Teams of lawyers had to read the script for fear of legal retaliation. How audacious, how brave was the team behind the film, director-writer Xavier Durringer and the producers, the Altmeyer brothers.
La Conquête promised all but delivers little, and sadly falls flat like a cold soufflé. First of all, we don't learn anything new. No new insight, no daring hypothesis, no cunning analysis on the kind of political animal Nicolas Sarkozy is. Performances by Denis Podalydès, interpreting Sarkozy, and Bernard Le Coq, playing Chirac, may be tremendous, with all the right mimics, tics, grimaces and more importantly the perfect voice intonations,...
Heralded as the French answer to Stephen Frears's The Queen, a daring portrait of Nicolas Sarkozy's rise to power, La Conquête (The Conquest) promised to shake up French cinema, no less. Teams of lawyers had to read the script for fear of legal retaliation. How audacious, how brave was the team behind the film, director-writer Xavier Durringer and the producers, the Altmeyer brothers.
La Conquête promised all but delivers little, and sadly falls flat like a cold soufflé. First of all, we don't learn anything new. No new insight, no daring hypothesis, no cunning analysis on the kind of political animal Nicolas Sarkozy is. Performances by Denis Podalydès, interpreting Sarkozy, and Bernard Le Coq, playing Chirac, may be tremendous, with all the right mimics, tics, grimaces and more importantly the perfect voice intonations,...
- 5/18/2011
- by Agnès Poirier
- The Guardian - Film News
It is rare for a president to see his life adapted to the big screen while he is still in office. George W Bush had the honors with Oliver Stone’s W in 2008, and equally controversial French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s political life is now the subject of La Conquête (The Conquest). Described as a thriller, it follows his ambitious rise to power. La Conquête recounts the events between April 27, 2002 and May 6, 2007 and follows Nicolas Sarkozy’s political career, thirst for power and concludes with his ultimate conquest: the presidency of France. (His other conquest, Carla Bruni, came months later.) Hit the jump for more details, photos and the trailer. Producers Eric and Nicolas Altmayer initially wanted François Ozon (Swimming Pool, Potiche) to helm the film, but they finally chose Xavier Durringer. Patrick Rotman, a well-known writer of political documentaries, has penned the screenplay. Denis Podalydès dons a wig and plays a very convincing Sarko,...
- 4/4/2011
- by Talia Soghomonian
- Collider.com
Joyeux Noel (Merry Christmas)
It is odd to think that a relative handful of British, French and German soldiers on the front lines of World War I could have foreseen the harmony between those three countries that would only be achieved toward the end of the 20th century.
On Christmas Eve 1914, officers and soldiers who slaughtered each other from trenches barely 100 kilometers apart on a daily basis, put down their weapons to share wine and food, exchange photographs and memories, and play a game of soccer in the snow.
It was an extraordinary act of human generosity and humility although later the men's superior officers would regard it as fraternizing with the enemy and make them pay for it.
With a cast of Scottish, German and French actors all speaking their own language, writer-director Christian Carion has fashioned a deeply moving and uplifting piece that should find appreciative audiences everywhere.
That is not to say the film is overly sentimental, only that when war-torn men facing the darkest hell imaginable join to shake hands and smile and sing to the plangent accompaniment of bagpipes, only the sternest eye will remain dry.
Stories from war are often bizarre, and World War I seemed to offer the strangest. Carion's screenplay swiftly sketches the characters who soon become fully formed. There are scenes of great bravery, simple decency and extraordinary humor.
On the German side, there's a famous tenor named Sprink (Benno Furmann) who is called up to serve as a private. His partner, Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger), conspires to arrange a recital for a Prussian nobleman near the front line so they can be together.
On the British side, there are two brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) who rush to sign up for war, accompanied to their surprise by their local priest, Palmer (Gary Lewis), who registers as stretcher bearer.
The French are led by a talented lieutenant named Audebert (Guillaume Canet) whose superior officer is his father, General Francais Bernard Le Coq) and whose pregnant wife is at home behind enemy lines.
All three military services send booze and trinkets to their men at the front to give them a forlorn sort of Christmas. The Germans send out 100,000 Christmas trees complete with lights and tinsel.
Palmer starts things off by playing the bagpipes with the Scots joining him in song. Then Sprink, who has taken Sorensen to the trenches to sing for his fellows, responds with the carol "Silent Night", and Palmer accompanies him. Palmer follows with "O Come All Ye Faithful", which Sprink starts to sing and, placing a Christmas tree atop the trench, he climbs up himself risking potential gunfire.
No one fires, and soon the trench is alight with Christmas trees as men on all sides climb out to meet and greet each other. The episode was briefly but brilliantly depicted in Richard Attenborough's 1969 epic "Oh What a Lovely War!" and Carion's film, beautifully shot and acted, fleshes out the story to make it ever more memorable.
JOYEUX NOEL (MERRY CHRISTMAS)
Nord-Ouest
Credits: Director/screenwriter: Christian Carion; Producer: Christophe Rossignon; Cinematographer: Walther Vanden Ende; Production designer: Jean-Michel Simonet; Editor: Andrea Sedlackova; Music: Philippe Rombi. Cast: Anna Sorensen: Diane Kruger; Nikolaus Sprink: Benno Furmann; Audebert: Guillaume Canet; Palmer: Gary Lewis; Ponchel: Danny Boon; Horstmayer: Daniel Bruhl; Gordon: Alex Ferns; Jonathan: Steven Robertson; Gueusselin: Lucas Belvaux; General: Bernard Le Coq; Bishop: Ian Richardson; Jorg: Frank Witter; Le Konprinz: Thomas Schmauser; Zimmermann: Joachim Bissmeier; William: Robin Laing; La chatelaine: Suzanne Flon; Le chatelain: Michel Serrault.
No MPAA rating, running time 115 minutes...
On Christmas Eve 1914, officers and soldiers who slaughtered each other from trenches barely 100 kilometers apart on a daily basis, put down their weapons to share wine and food, exchange photographs and memories, and play a game of soccer in the snow.
It was an extraordinary act of human generosity and humility although later the men's superior officers would regard it as fraternizing with the enemy and make them pay for it.
With a cast of Scottish, German and French actors all speaking their own language, writer-director Christian Carion has fashioned a deeply moving and uplifting piece that should find appreciative audiences everywhere.
That is not to say the film is overly sentimental, only that when war-torn men facing the darkest hell imaginable join to shake hands and smile and sing to the plangent accompaniment of bagpipes, only the sternest eye will remain dry.
Stories from war are often bizarre, and World War I seemed to offer the strangest. Carion's screenplay swiftly sketches the characters who soon become fully formed. There are scenes of great bravery, simple decency and extraordinary humor.
On the German side, there's a famous tenor named Sprink (Benno Furmann) who is called up to serve as a private. His partner, Anna Sorensen (Diane Kruger), conspires to arrange a recital for a Prussian nobleman near the front line so they can be together.
On the British side, there are two brothers Jonathan (Steven Robertson) and William (Robin Laing) who rush to sign up for war, accompanied to their surprise by their local priest, Palmer (Gary Lewis), who registers as stretcher bearer.
The French are led by a talented lieutenant named Audebert (Guillaume Canet) whose superior officer is his father, General Francais Bernard Le Coq) and whose pregnant wife is at home behind enemy lines.
All three military services send booze and trinkets to their men at the front to give them a forlorn sort of Christmas. The Germans send out 100,000 Christmas trees complete with lights and tinsel.
Palmer starts things off by playing the bagpipes with the Scots joining him in song. Then Sprink, who has taken Sorensen to the trenches to sing for his fellows, responds with the carol "Silent Night", and Palmer accompanies him. Palmer follows with "O Come All Ye Faithful", which Sprink starts to sing and, placing a Christmas tree atop the trench, he climbs up himself risking potential gunfire.
No one fires, and soon the trench is alight with Christmas trees as men on all sides climb out to meet and greet each other. The episode was briefly but brilliantly depicted in Richard Attenborough's 1969 epic "Oh What a Lovely War!" and Carion's film, beautifully shot and acted, fleshes out the story to make it ever more memorable.
JOYEUX NOEL (MERRY CHRISTMAS)
Nord-Ouest
Credits: Director/screenwriter: Christian Carion; Producer: Christophe Rossignon; Cinematographer: Walther Vanden Ende; Production designer: Jean-Michel Simonet; Editor: Andrea Sedlackova; Music: Philippe Rombi. Cast: Anna Sorensen: Diane Kruger; Nikolaus Sprink: Benno Furmann; Audebert: Guillaume Canet; Palmer: Gary Lewis; Ponchel: Danny Boon; Horstmayer: Daniel Bruhl; Gordon: Alex Ferns; Jonathan: Steven Robertson; Gueusselin: Lucas Belvaux; General: Bernard Le Coq; Bishop: Ian Richardson; Jorg: Frank Witter; Le Konprinz: Thomas Schmauser; Zimmermann: Joachim Bissmeier; William: Robin Laing; La chatelaine: Suzanne Flon; Le chatelain: Michel Serrault.
No MPAA rating, running time 115 minutes...
- 5/17/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
La Fleur du Mal
Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- "La Fleur du Mal" (The Flower of Evil) takes place deep in Claude Chabrol territory. Here, the veteran French director stalks his usual prey -- the bourgeoisie with all their foibles, insularity, pettiness and self-obsession. There is, of course, a crime. We see a corpse during the opening credits, but the victim does not meet his fate until the third act. Thus, we wait for nearly 90 minutes of pitiless probing into rather ordinary if not dull lives before anything dramatic happens.
Chabrol has been making and remaking this film for six decades now. He seemingly will never tire of explaining how tired he is of the petit bourgeoisie. In his best films, this theme gets entangled in Hitchcockian tales of crime and infidelity, where the suspense makes his obsessions with class more than tolerable. But "La Fleur du Mal" is no such film. It has been drained of dramatic tension, leaving only an arid examination of manners and mores. One can never rule out North American distribution for a Chabrol film, but the best audiences for this "evil flower" live in Western European territories.
Three generations of a wealthy Bordeaux family find themselves in the family home over several days. Its gracefully aging matriarch, Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon), is the one link to scandal, having been acquitted of murdering her father, a Nazi sympathizer and collaborator, after the war. The film hints broadly that her acquittal came at the expense of true justice.
Her niece Anne (Nathalie Baye) is in the midst of a campaign for mayor despite the objections of her pharmacist husband, Gerard Bernard Le Coq). The couple each lost a first spouse in a tragic accident, then married each other. Their grown children, Francois (Benoit Magimel), son of Gerard who has just returned from a three-year stay in the United States, and Michele (Melanie Doutey), Anne's daughter, are in love with each other.
A vile political pamphlet makes the rounds in the small town, dredging up the old murder scandal and alleging several others. No one, it seems, likes Gerard, so both children and even Aunt Line think he may have authored the pamphlet himself.
For most of the film, characters talk to one another in cars, at receptions and in various tasteful rooms.
The actors bring enough subtlety and dramatic instinct to these chats to keep them vaguely interesting. But nothing about the characters engages the viewer, and the dialogue is burdened with so much exposition and back story that one can be excused for inattentiveness.
Occasionally, a camera movement or ominous chord of music reminds us that we are in Chabrol territory: Beware, emotions lurk beneath the surface that will inevitably lead to a dramatic rupture. Alas, the story never really pays off either as thriller or drama. Its well-upholstered art direction and understated cinematography only underscore how anemic the drama is.
LA FLEUR DU MAL
An MK2 SA/France 3 Cinema co-production with the participation of Canal Plus and the Aquitaine Regional Council
Credits:
Director: Claude Chabrol
Screenwriters: Caroline Eliacheff, Louise Llambrichs, Claude Chabrol
Producer: Marin Karmitz
Director of photography: Eduardo Serra
Production designer: Francoise Benoit-Fresco
Music: Matthieu Chabrol
Costume designer: Mic Cheminal
Editor: Monique Fardoulis
Cast:
Anne: Nathalie Baye
Francois: Benoit Magimel
Aunt Line: Suzanne Flon
Gerard: Bernard Le Coq
Michele: Melanie Doutey
Matthieu: Thomas Chabrol
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
BERLIN -- "La Fleur du Mal" (The Flower of Evil) takes place deep in Claude Chabrol territory. Here, the veteran French director stalks his usual prey -- the bourgeoisie with all their foibles, insularity, pettiness and self-obsession. There is, of course, a crime. We see a corpse during the opening credits, but the victim does not meet his fate until the third act. Thus, we wait for nearly 90 minutes of pitiless probing into rather ordinary if not dull lives before anything dramatic happens.
Chabrol has been making and remaking this film for six decades now. He seemingly will never tire of explaining how tired he is of the petit bourgeoisie. In his best films, this theme gets entangled in Hitchcockian tales of crime and infidelity, where the suspense makes his obsessions with class more than tolerable. But "La Fleur du Mal" is no such film. It has been drained of dramatic tension, leaving only an arid examination of manners and mores. One can never rule out North American distribution for a Chabrol film, but the best audiences for this "evil flower" live in Western European territories.
Three generations of a wealthy Bordeaux family find themselves in the family home over several days. Its gracefully aging matriarch, Aunt Line (Suzanne Flon), is the one link to scandal, having been acquitted of murdering her father, a Nazi sympathizer and collaborator, after the war. The film hints broadly that her acquittal came at the expense of true justice.
Her niece Anne (Nathalie Baye) is in the midst of a campaign for mayor despite the objections of her pharmacist husband, Gerard Bernard Le Coq). The couple each lost a first spouse in a tragic accident, then married each other. Their grown children, Francois (Benoit Magimel), son of Gerard who has just returned from a three-year stay in the United States, and Michele (Melanie Doutey), Anne's daughter, are in love with each other.
A vile political pamphlet makes the rounds in the small town, dredging up the old murder scandal and alleging several others. No one, it seems, likes Gerard, so both children and even Aunt Line think he may have authored the pamphlet himself.
For most of the film, characters talk to one another in cars, at receptions and in various tasteful rooms.
The actors bring enough subtlety and dramatic instinct to these chats to keep them vaguely interesting. But nothing about the characters engages the viewer, and the dialogue is burdened with so much exposition and back story that one can be excused for inattentiveness.
Occasionally, a camera movement or ominous chord of music reminds us that we are in Chabrol territory: Beware, emotions lurk beneath the surface that will inevitably lead to a dramatic rupture. Alas, the story never really pays off either as thriller or drama. Its well-upholstered art direction and understated cinematography only underscore how anemic the drama is.
LA FLEUR DU MAL
An MK2 SA/France 3 Cinema co-production with the participation of Canal Plus and the Aquitaine Regional Council
Credits:
Director: Claude Chabrol
Screenwriters: Caroline Eliacheff, Louise Llambrichs, Claude Chabrol
Producer: Marin Karmitz
Director of photography: Eduardo Serra
Production designer: Francoise Benoit-Fresco
Music: Matthieu Chabrol
Costume designer: Mic Cheminal
Editor: Monique Fardoulis
Cast:
Anne: Nathalie Baye
Francois: Benoit Magimel
Aunt Line: Suzanne Flon
Gerard: Bernard Le Coq
Michele: Melanie Doutey
Matthieu: Thomas Chabrol
Running time -- 104 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/12/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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