IMDb RATING
6.2/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
Finding herself penniless after her art-dealer husband Stephan is convicted of theft, Marya Zelli accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who let her live in thei... Read allFinding herself penniless after her art-dealer husband Stephan is convicted of theft, Marya Zelli accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who let her live in their home.Finding herself penniless after her art-dealer husband Stephan is convicted of theft, Marya Zelli accepts the hospitality of a strange couple, H.J. and Lois Heidler, who let her live in their home.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 2 nominations total
Sébastien Floche
- Mr. Hautchamp
- (as Sebastien Floche)
Isabelle Canto da Maya
- Cri-Cri
- (as Isabelle Canto Da Maya)
Annie Noël
- Maid
- (as Annie Noel)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWriter and Director James Ivory initially resisted the casting of Dame Maggie Smith in this movie. Although he did not think her appropriate for the role, despite her talent, she was cast by Producer Ismail Merchant over Ivory's objections. Ivory later conceded, "it was one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to me."
- Quotes
Lois Heidler: If you see only Anglo-Americans in Paris, what's the use of being here at all?
- Alternate versionsFrench dubbed version with French credit roll for French Release version.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Sneak Previews: Rollover, Quartet, My Dinner with Andre, Reds (1981)
- SoundtracksThe 509
Arranged by Luther Henderson
Written by Richard Robbins (uncredited)
Performed by Armelia McQueen (uncredited)
Featured review
Abandoned in Paris with no work permit and no savings, when her art-dealing (illegal) Polish husband is sent to prison, Marya Zelli (Isabelle Adjani) accepts the hospitality of the Heidlers, Lois and H.J.(as Lois invariably calls him) which, probably inevitably, involves her providing bed service to H.J. The video box describes the Heidlers as a "freethinking British couple" - if you can accept a couple, with such limited self-awareness and inability to talk through their problems, as freethinkers.
The film is based on the novel by Jean Rhys, based on her own experiences with Ford Madox Ford who presumably had more going for him than H.J., or else he wouldn't be in all those books on the literature of the twenties. Apparently Ford helped Rhys with her novel, and after he tired of her body got her a ghost-writing job on the Riviera. Rhys' husband was out of prison and had abandoned her before she moved in with the Fords. Presumably her major motivation was her devotion to her writing. Marya Zelli, in the film is not a writer, and she stays in Paris because her husband is still in prison. She says more than once to Lois that if given 100 Fr she would disappear (back to England where she could legally work?) but she gets 250 Fr just before moving in with the Heidlers when she sells almost everything she has to the hotel concierge.
Thus while the film is of the desperation of no choice, Marya has in fact fewer options than the real-life Rhys, and the film ending where Marya is thrown on the mercy of her husband's acquaintance from prison, is very bleak, unlike Rhys' fate of being ejected to a writing job.
The film is based on the novel by Jean Rhys, based on her own experiences with Ford Madox Ford who presumably had more going for him than H.J., or else he wouldn't be in all those books on the literature of the twenties. Apparently Ford helped Rhys with her novel, and after he tired of her body got her a ghost-writing job on the Riviera. Rhys' husband was out of prison and had abandoned her before she moved in with the Fords. Presumably her major motivation was her devotion to her writing. Marya Zelli, in the film is not a writer, and she stays in Paris because her husband is still in prison. She says more than once to Lois that if given 100 Fr she would disappear (back to England where she could legally work?) but she gets 250 Fr just before moving in with the Heidlers when she sells almost everything she has to the hotel concierge.
Thus while the film is of the desperation of no choice, Marya has in fact fewer options than the real-life Rhys, and the film ending where Marya is thrown on the mercy of her husband's acquaintance from prison, is very bleak, unlike Rhys' fate of being ejected to a writing job.
- How long is Quartet?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Quartett
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $12,042
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,150
- May 5, 2019
- Gross worldwide
- $12,042
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content