To say this is a strange and interesting film doesn't begin to describe the Opening Night and Paris Premiere of "Valley of Love" by Guillaume Nicloux, which had its World Premier in competition at Cannes last month.
Starring two of Europe's most famous actors (Isabelle Hupert and Gérard Dépardieu) who play two lost souls on a mystical mission in one of the most barren, frightening and glorious places on earth - Death Valley.
Speaking in French, Isabelle and Gérard, lovers and parents in their youth but now separated for many years and really not knowing each other anymore, just lost their adult son Michael, a gay man.
However, 6 months after his death, they each receive a strange and compelling letter from him in which he beckons each of them to come together for a reunion, a meeting with him in Death Valley, in various places on succeeding days.
Despite the absurdity of the situation, the now much older mother and father each decide to go there and wait for Michael.
The film then, in glorious locales, becomes a dialogue between two strangers about their lives, their former connection, and about a son whom both barely knew.
The two actors are fascinating. Dépardieu seems particularly lost and even speaks about his vast girth (He Is fat!!!) which seems symbolic of his wasted life and he doesn't hesitate here to show it off.
Hupert, whenever she is on screen, takes over and rages with amazing skill about her anger, disappointment and loss of the son she mourns but hardly knew.
The film is a compelling, interesting discourse on life's disappointments set in a vast mysterious location. The spiritual upheaval both characters experience at the end throws their confused, lost lives further into question in ways they never expected.
Credits
Guillaume Nicloux - director
Guillaume Nicloux - screenplay
Sylvie Pialat - producer
International rights are being handled by Le Pacte, U.S. Rights are still available.
Abut the Director
From experimental cinema ("The Flying Children," "Punctured Life") to his triptych of noir films (A Private Affair, Hanging Offense, The Key ), from unconventional comedy (The Octopus, Holiday) to political film ("The Gordji Affair"), through to drama ("Happiness Is No Joke," "La Reine des Connes"), Guillaume Nicloux’s work is dense and highly personal. "La Religieuse" and "L’Enlèvement" de Michel Houellebecq, presented at the last Berlinale Film Festival, is no exception. "Valley of Love," shot in the USA, starring Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert, is his 15th film. Guillaume Nicloux is also a novelist and he has been teaching at Femis for ten years.
Starring two of Europe's most famous actors (Isabelle Hupert and Gérard Dépardieu) who play two lost souls on a mystical mission in one of the most barren, frightening and glorious places on earth - Death Valley.
Speaking in French, Isabelle and Gérard, lovers and parents in their youth but now separated for many years and really not knowing each other anymore, just lost their adult son Michael, a gay man.
However, 6 months after his death, they each receive a strange and compelling letter from him in which he beckons each of them to come together for a reunion, a meeting with him in Death Valley, in various places on succeeding days.
Despite the absurdity of the situation, the now much older mother and father each decide to go there and wait for Michael.
The film then, in glorious locales, becomes a dialogue between two strangers about their lives, their former connection, and about a son whom both barely knew.
The two actors are fascinating. Dépardieu seems particularly lost and even speaks about his vast girth (He Is fat!!!) which seems symbolic of his wasted life and he doesn't hesitate here to show it off.
Hupert, whenever she is on screen, takes over and rages with amazing skill about her anger, disappointment and loss of the son she mourns but hardly knew.
The film is a compelling, interesting discourse on life's disappointments set in a vast mysterious location. The spiritual upheaval both characters experience at the end throws their confused, lost lives further into question in ways they never expected.
Credits
Guillaume Nicloux - director
Guillaume Nicloux - screenplay
Sylvie Pialat - producer
International rights are being handled by Le Pacte, U.S. Rights are still available.
Abut the Director
From experimental cinema ("The Flying Children," "Punctured Life") to his triptych of noir films (A Private Affair, Hanging Offense, The Key ), from unconventional comedy (The Octopus, Holiday) to political film ("The Gordji Affair"), through to drama ("Happiness Is No Joke," "La Reine des Connes"), Guillaume Nicloux’s work is dense and highly personal. "La Religieuse" and "L’Enlèvement" de Michel Houellebecq, presented at the last Berlinale Film Festival, is no exception. "Valley of Love," shot in the USA, starring Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert, is his 15th film. Guillaume Nicloux is also a novelist and he has been teaching at Femis for ten years.
- 6/15/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
The Key
PARIS -- The huge local success last year of Tell No One has encouraged French filmmakers to develop more thriller projects.
Guillaume Nicloux, already known for peculiar crime stories (such as Le Poulpe in 1998 and A Private Affair in 2002) offers the very actor-director of Tell No One -- Guillaume Canet -- the main part in this gloomy film that navigates among the codes of film noir, detective story and family drama. The impressive cast, bringing together famous French actors of various generations as well as the father-and-son couple of Tell No One, could open European markets to the film, but U.S. distribution is uncertain.
The Key focuses on Eric (Canet), a young man in his 30s whose lovely wife (Marie Gillain) wants a baby. As he never knew his father, Eric is reluctant to become one. But it just happens that his father enters his life unexpectedly when a man calls to announce his death. The voice also asks Eric to come by and collect his father's ashes. It's the beginning of a nightmare for the young man, drawn into a situation involving thieves, a network of drug dealers and untold secrets going back to his father's youth and his own birth.
Two layers of time intertwine: The contemporary crime story alternates with a long flashback explaining the source of the trouble Eric has gotten into. The past story, set in the 1970s, involves physical and moral violence, which gives the whole film a sordid atmosphere.
Nicloux certainly can create ambiance: The desolate landscapes with the use of close-ups, the camera always moving and an imaginative supporting cast stir audience interest. But the story lurches in too many directions, and the secrets behind the crimes become too obvious and just not that intriguing.
Only the cast justifies watching The Key. Canet has never been very expressive -- he seems satisfied with his physical engagement in films -- but the two female leads, Gillain and Vanessa Paradis, deliver subtle performances. Behind her character's apparent gentleness, Gillain reveals the hidden wounds of a perfect housewife. Paradis enjoys one of her best roles as a fragile and moving junkie whose path crosses that of Eric.
Josiane Balasko and Thierry Lhermitte play two characters they have impersonated in previous films by Nicloux: Balasko is the same depressed cop as in Hanging Offense (2003), while Lhermitte adds the final touch to the private eye of A Private Affair. Both bring a melancholic touch to an otherwise curt film. As for Jean Rochefort, he is as brilliant as ever, obviously taking much pleasure in playing a pure villain.
THE KEY
Les Films de la Suane, M6 Films, Mandarin Films
Credits:
Director: Guillaume Nicloux
Screenwriters: Pierre Trividic, Guillaume Nicloux
Producers: Philippe Rousselet, Frederic Bourboulon
Director of photography: Christophe Offenstein
Production designer: Olivier Radot
Costume designer: Anais Romand
Editor: Guy Lecorne
Cast:
Eric Vincent: Guillaume Canet
Audrey: Marie Gillain
Cecile: Vanessa Paradis
Michele Varin: Josiane Balasko
Francois Maneri: Thierry Lhermitte
Joseph Arp: Jean Rochefort
Running time -- 115 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Guillaume Nicloux, already known for peculiar crime stories (such as Le Poulpe in 1998 and A Private Affair in 2002) offers the very actor-director of Tell No One -- Guillaume Canet -- the main part in this gloomy film that navigates among the codes of film noir, detective story and family drama. The impressive cast, bringing together famous French actors of various generations as well as the father-and-son couple of Tell No One, could open European markets to the film, but U.S. distribution is uncertain.
The Key focuses on Eric (Canet), a young man in his 30s whose lovely wife (Marie Gillain) wants a baby. As he never knew his father, Eric is reluctant to become one. But it just happens that his father enters his life unexpectedly when a man calls to announce his death. The voice also asks Eric to come by and collect his father's ashes. It's the beginning of a nightmare for the young man, drawn into a situation involving thieves, a network of drug dealers and untold secrets going back to his father's youth and his own birth.
Two layers of time intertwine: The contemporary crime story alternates with a long flashback explaining the source of the trouble Eric has gotten into. The past story, set in the 1970s, involves physical and moral violence, which gives the whole film a sordid atmosphere.
Nicloux certainly can create ambiance: The desolate landscapes with the use of close-ups, the camera always moving and an imaginative supporting cast stir audience interest. But the story lurches in too many directions, and the secrets behind the crimes become too obvious and just not that intriguing.
Only the cast justifies watching The Key. Canet has never been very expressive -- he seems satisfied with his physical engagement in films -- but the two female leads, Gillain and Vanessa Paradis, deliver subtle performances. Behind her character's apparent gentleness, Gillain reveals the hidden wounds of a perfect housewife. Paradis enjoys one of her best roles as a fragile and moving junkie whose path crosses that of Eric.
Josiane Balasko and Thierry Lhermitte play two characters they have impersonated in previous films by Nicloux: Balasko is the same depressed cop as in Hanging Offense (2003), while Lhermitte adds the final touch to the private eye of A Private Affair. Both bring a melancholic touch to an otherwise curt film. As for Jean Rochefort, he is as brilliant as ever, obviously taking much pleasure in playing a pure villain.
THE KEY
Les Films de la Suane, M6 Films, Mandarin Films
Credits:
Director: Guillaume Nicloux
Screenwriters: Pierre Trividic, Guillaume Nicloux
Producers: Philippe Rousselet, Frederic Bourboulon
Director of photography: Christophe Offenstein
Production designer: Olivier Radot
Costume designer: Anais Romand
Editor: Guy Lecorne
Cast:
Eric Vincent: Guillaume Canet
Audrey: Marie Gillain
Cecile: Vanessa Paradis
Michele Varin: Josiane Balasko
Francois Maneri: Thierry Lhermitte
Joseph Arp: Jean Rochefort
Running time -- 115 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/3/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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