Clad in a scarlet suit, Isabelle Huppert approaches a mirror in the opening scene of “White as Snow,” director Anne Fontaine’s modern-day retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s tale “Snow White.” Playing widowed hotel owner Maud, the French star — as ravishing a screen presence as ever — studies her face, searching for the inevitable imperfections of maturity.
That unspoken concern with age is negatively reinforced in the company of her stepdaughter, quiet ingénue Claire. Little is said about the women’s relationship before the passing of Claire’s father, but in the present, the older woman worries that Claire’s amicable temperament and unaffected beauty have bewitched Maud’s current lover. The film’s major downfall resides in the lackluster central conflict, limited to a one-sided fit of jealousy.
Early on, Fontaine deploys an enchanting fairytale score from Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) to ease us into the slightly heightened tone of the piece.
That unspoken concern with age is negatively reinforced in the company of her stepdaughter, quiet ingénue Claire. Little is said about the women’s relationship before the passing of Claire’s father, but in the present, the older woman worries that Claire’s amicable temperament and unaffected beauty have bewitched Maud’s current lover. The film’s major downfall resides in the lackluster central conflict, limited to a one-sided fit of jealousy.
Early on, Fontaine deploys an enchanting fairytale score from Bruno Coulais (“Wolfwalkers”) to ease us into the slightly heightened tone of the piece.
- 8/11/2021
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Night Shift
French director Anne Fontaine continues to be a perennial presence in 2020 with her seventeenth feature, Night Shift (formerly titled Police). Produced by Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne and lensed by Yves Angelo, Fontaine has assembled a quartet of notables to headline her latest, including Virginie Efira, Omar Sy, Payman Maadi and Gregory Gadebois. Fontaine has become an increasingly prolific director over the past thirty years, competing in Venice in 1997 with Dry Cleaning, a festival she returned to in Horizons in 2017 with Reinventing Marvin (which won the Queer Lion).…...
French director Anne Fontaine continues to be a perennial presence in 2020 with her seventeenth feature, Night Shift (formerly titled Police). Produced by Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne and lensed by Yves Angelo, Fontaine has assembled a quartet of notables to headline her latest, including Virginie Efira, Omar Sy, Payman Maadi and Gregory Gadebois. Fontaine has become an increasingly prolific director over the past thirty years, competing in Venice in 1997 with Dry Cleaning, a festival she returned to in Horizons in 2017 with Reinventing Marvin (which won the Queer Lion).…...
- 1/2/2020
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Boespflug co-founded Pyramide and was managing director of Warner France.
French producer Francis Boespflug, best known as the co-founder of historic Paris-based production and distribution company Pyramide and the former managing director of Warner France, has died aged of 70.
Boespflug first became involved in cinema in his native city of Strasbourg in north-eastern France, working as a student volunteer at a cinema-club aimed at under-privileged, difficult teenagers.
It was through this volunteer work he met his future wife and life-long collaborator, the late producer Fabienne Vonier, who at the time was the manager of Le Club, the arthouse theatre founded...
French producer Francis Boespflug, best known as the co-founder of historic Paris-based production and distribution company Pyramide and the former managing director of Warner France, has died aged of 70.
Boespflug first became involved in cinema in his native city of Strasbourg in north-eastern France, working as a student volunteer at a cinema-club aimed at under-privileged, difficult teenagers.
It was through this volunteer work he met his future wife and life-long collaborator, the late producer Fabienne Vonier, who at the time was the manager of Le Club, the arthouse theatre founded...
- 11/6/2018
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
In the spirit of fun and satire as only the Lebanese can do it (think Nadine Labaki), “ Very Big Shot” (Lebanon, Qatar; 2015) takes an unexpected twist from its initial drug heist opening to its anti-hero protagonist grasping the power of the image of media and ultimately spinning into the power of image in politics. This romp brings to mind 2012 Toronto Film Festival’s “Seven Boxes” (“7 Cajas”) which sold very well internationally.
The comedic mask covers a lot more for the audience to either pick up on or just to enjoy for what it is: a well told fun and funny story. The story has a particular Lebanese flavor and it began in a particular community which has drug dealers and violence and fanatics, but it moves into more universal contradictions between what is real, what is fiction as depicted in the movie being made within the film we are watching and how fiction becomes political fodder.
“ Very Big Shot “depicts the lives of three brothers – Jad, who is just coming out of prison after serving five years for a crime committed by his elder brother Ziad, and their middle brother Joe. A delivery for a local crime ring spins out of control and Ziad seizes the opportunity to make a fortune.
That “Very Big Shot” was made by three brothers and actually stars an actor who, after coming out of prison for manslaughter could not find other employment, makes this movie more nuanced than most audiences would imagine.
The directorial debut of Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, who worked with his two brothers, Christian Bou Chaaya and Lucien Bou Chaaya, “Very Big Shot” started out as a short and received such positive attention and critical acclaim at several international festivals, that the idea of developing it into a full-fledged feature film was born.
The feature film project received support both from the region and international talent, giving the Arab world a powerful film on organized crime and the political nexus.
Earning tremendous acclaim at its screening at the third Ajyal Youth Film Festival, “Very Big Shot” is a dark comedy that pans the camera on Lebanese society, tackling multiple layers of the society. Says director Mir-Jan, “in Lebanon there is no separation between social life and political life and the scenario reflects that”.
It is co-written by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and Alain Saadeh, who also stars in the film. The three Bou Chaaya Brothers combine financial know-how of brother Lucien who was (and still is) an investment attorney in Paris before turning his attention to raising financing for this film and talent; director Mir-Jean and actor producer Christian, a real-life restaurant owner which reflects directly on this film where the three fictitious brothers make a living running their father’s legacy, a pizza take-out place. In real-life one of the three brothers would always keep the others going in the face of obstacles which are inevitable for first time filmmakers.
We sat and spoke with the three brothers and actors Alain Saadi,Fouad Yammine, and Alexandra Kahwagi
Sydney at SydneysBuzz: One of my favorite scenes was when the woman’s scarf was snatched off of her in the movie scene being shot within the actual movie and how locals believed it was real and joined the staged fight. It was very much like neorealism in “The Bicycle Thief” when what was being shot on film as a mob stopping the thief was amplified by real citizens joining in and actually beating up the thief/ actor.
Mir-Jean: In the short, the film was shot in the street and a fifty, fifty-five year old woman saw the Muslim woman and the Christian man fighting and entered the scene and slapped the actor and so we put the scarf scene in the movie as well.
What are your favorite movies about movie making?
Mir-Jean: De Sica’s “After the Fox”, Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, Truffaut’s “Day for Night”, Kiarostami’s “Through the Olive Trees” , “ Living in Oblivion”. Reality and fiction is a very interesting subject, but the power of the image was the key in our film, not the making a movie within a movie.
It’s funny, “Argo” premiered in 2012 when the short was also showing. “Argo” won an Oscar and the short was compared to it.
Alexandra Kahwagi : “Living in Oblivion” and “Singing in the Rain” are my favorites.
Alain Saadeh, how do you play the characters you play?
I work from within. As a kid, I liked the sort of tough guy character. I wanted to be like a tough guy in our family. There is a neighborhood in Lebanon where they say, “Don’t make trouble, just shoot him and go home”. But aside from liking that kind of character, to get to the human side, you have to be open minded to your own inner motivations as well.
Being true to yourself leaves no room for imitation.
Mir-Jean: I tried to be true to the milieu and therefore used the same street lingo without any modification to lend the film an authentic feel. The participation of Marcel Ghanem, multi-award winning television host, helped raise the profile of the movie as well as give confidence to the cast and crew.
We did not interfere with the actors and gave them total freedom, thus giving them the space to deliver a nuanced performance.
It seemed like an anachronism to be using “film” in the movie.
The use of film in the movie was a gesture to pay homage to George Nasser, the first Lebanese in the Cannes Film Festival.
The ending seemed rather sudden and I didn’t quite understand it…
There were three endings to this movie. One was a well-developed one but this was not convincing. It was about the ultimate form of manipulation, therefore the screen went to black. The story really ends at the airport, but the movie ending as it was, was more important than the ending of the story itself. There was a transformation of the character who, in being true to himself, discovers the power of image and the power of media. He had to become either a lobbyist or a politician. The ending also said something about the nature of politics in Lebanon.
What about the film’s distribution?
After “Very Big Shot” premiered in Toronto this fall, word of mouth was good but no international sales agent was on board to make deals for these first time filmmakers. B for Film picked it up for international representation and it went on to play in Talinn and London Film Festivals.
Here in Doha, Qatar, we were thrilled by the audience’s strong and positive reception. “Very Big Shot” looks like it could do very well at the box office, not only in the Middle East and North Africa where it will be distributed by Front Row after playing Dubai and Marrakesh Film Festivals. It has already been released in Lebanon November 19 to very good attendance considering it has no names. It opened in the top four (against three Hollywood blockbusters) which proves that people are interested in home-grown cinema.
The film will earn returns on sales in North America, Europe and Latin America as well for those loving a good (if foreign-language) caper with a view into Lebanon today (did you know there has not been a president there for 18 months?).
How did you go about financing the film?
Lucien: The biggest challenge for unknown new talents is finding finance and the platform to take the film to a global audience. We thank Doha Film Institute for its support to the film and Ajyal Youth Film Festival for screening it and supporting the emerging talent.
When the short was first seen in Abu Dhabi, an investor associated with Doha came in to help and that was how we became a Doha Film Institute grant recipient. Doha’s support did more than give us the first monies; it made us count in the international film community.
I knew every financial detail had to be transparent to create a comfort zone for investors. I furnished a completion bond and a detailed budget. Four Lebanese expats in Paris invested to support Lebanese film.
Well known music composer Michel Elefterides was one of its first investors which also gave credence to the film. He had liked the short and saw its potential. He also discovered two musicians, the Chehade Brothers who played in the film and who are now best sellers in Lebanon.
The film gained from the international collaboration that came from writer George Nasser whose 1957 film “Whither?” was the only Lebanese film to make it to Cannes Film Festival and Yves Angelo. They brought Hollywood and French cinematic sensibility to the production.
This combination helped us to create a powerful script and a movie that resonates with the global audience.
We are also seeking to support filmmakers and film industry in Lebanon and the Arab World through our institute SuppAr-the Arab Art Support Group.” The Arab Art Support Group gives us and other filmmakers a support system to raise money in a sustainable, ongoing way. In effect it is a financial company created to support the arts.
The comedic mask covers a lot more for the audience to either pick up on or just to enjoy for what it is: a well told fun and funny story. The story has a particular Lebanese flavor and it began in a particular community which has drug dealers and violence and fanatics, but it moves into more universal contradictions between what is real, what is fiction as depicted in the movie being made within the film we are watching and how fiction becomes political fodder.
“ Very Big Shot “depicts the lives of three brothers – Jad, who is just coming out of prison after serving five years for a crime committed by his elder brother Ziad, and their middle brother Joe. A delivery for a local crime ring spins out of control and Ziad seizes the opportunity to make a fortune.
That “Very Big Shot” was made by three brothers and actually stars an actor who, after coming out of prison for manslaughter could not find other employment, makes this movie more nuanced than most audiences would imagine.
The directorial debut of Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, who worked with his two brothers, Christian Bou Chaaya and Lucien Bou Chaaya, “Very Big Shot” started out as a short and received such positive attention and critical acclaim at several international festivals, that the idea of developing it into a full-fledged feature film was born.
The feature film project received support both from the region and international talent, giving the Arab world a powerful film on organized crime and the political nexus.
Earning tremendous acclaim at its screening at the third Ajyal Youth Film Festival, “Very Big Shot” is a dark comedy that pans the camera on Lebanese society, tackling multiple layers of the society. Says director Mir-Jan, “in Lebanon there is no separation between social life and political life and the scenario reflects that”.
It is co-written by Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and Alain Saadeh, who also stars in the film. The three Bou Chaaya Brothers combine financial know-how of brother Lucien who was (and still is) an investment attorney in Paris before turning his attention to raising financing for this film and talent; director Mir-Jean and actor producer Christian, a real-life restaurant owner which reflects directly on this film where the three fictitious brothers make a living running their father’s legacy, a pizza take-out place. In real-life one of the three brothers would always keep the others going in the face of obstacles which are inevitable for first time filmmakers.
We sat and spoke with the three brothers and actors Alain Saadi,Fouad Yammine, and Alexandra Kahwagi
Sydney at SydneysBuzz: One of my favorite scenes was when the woman’s scarf was snatched off of her in the movie scene being shot within the actual movie and how locals believed it was real and joined the staged fight. It was very much like neorealism in “The Bicycle Thief” when what was being shot on film as a mob stopping the thief was amplified by real citizens joining in and actually beating up the thief/ actor.
Mir-Jean: In the short, the film was shot in the street and a fifty, fifty-five year old woman saw the Muslim woman and the Christian man fighting and entered the scene and slapped the actor and so we put the scarf scene in the movie as well.
What are your favorite movies about movie making?
Mir-Jean: De Sica’s “After the Fox”, Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors”, Truffaut’s “Day for Night”, Kiarostami’s “Through the Olive Trees” , “ Living in Oblivion”. Reality and fiction is a very interesting subject, but the power of the image was the key in our film, not the making a movie within a movie.
It’s funny, “Argo” premiered in 2012 when the short was also showing. “Argo” won an Oscar and the short was compared to it.
Alexandra Kahwagi : “Living in Oblivion” and “Singing in the Rain” are my favorites.
Alain Saadeh, how do you play the characters you play?
I work from within. As a kid, I liked the sort of tough guy character. I wanted to be like a tough guy in our family. There is a neighborhood in Lebanon where they say, “Don’t make trouble, just shoot him and go home”. But aside from liking that kind of character, to get to the human side, you have to be open minded to your own inner motivations as well.
Being true to yourself leaves no room for imitation.
Mir-Jean: I tried to be true to the milieu and therefore used the same street lingo without any modification to lend the film an authentic feel. The participation of Marcel Ghanem, multi-award winning television host, helped raise the profile of the movie as well as give confidence to the cast and crew.
We did not interfere with the actors and gave them total freedom, thus giving them the space to deliver a nuanced performance.
It seemed like an anachronism to be using “film” in the movie.
The use of film in the movie was a gesture to pay homage to George Nasser, the first Lebanese in the Cannes Film Festival.
The ending seemed rather sudden and I didn’t quite understand it…
There were three endings to this movie. One was a well-developed one but this was not convincing. It was about the ultimate form of manipulation, therefore the screen went to black. The story really ends at the airport, but the movie ending as it was, was more important than the ending of the story itself. There was a transformation of the character who, in being true to himself, discovers the power of image and the power of media. He had to become either a lobbyist or a politician. The ending also said something about the nature of politics in Lebanon.
What about the film’s distribution?
After “Very Big Shot” premiered in Toronto this fall, word of mouth was good but no international sales agent was on board to make deals for these first time filmmakers. B for Film picked it up for international representation and it went on to play in Talinn and London Film Festivals.
Here in Doha, Qatar, we were thrilled by the audience’s strong and positive reception. “Very Big Shot” looks like it could do very well at the box office, not only in the Middle East and North Africa where it will be distributed by Front Row after playing Dubai and Marrakesh Film Festivals. It has already been released in Lebanon November 19 to very good attendance considering it has no names. It opened in the top four (against three Hollywood blockbusters) which proves that people are interested in home-grown cinema.
The film will earn returns on sales in North America, Europe and Latin America as well for those loving a good (if foreign-language) caper with a view into Lebanon today (did you know there has not been a president there for 18 months?).
How did you go about financing the film?
Lucien: The biggest challenge for unknown new talents is finding finance and the platform to take the film to a global audience. We thank Doha Film Institute for its support to the film and Ajyal Youth Film Festival for screening it and supporting the emerging talent.
When the short was first seen in Abu Dhabi, an investor associated with Doha came in to help and that was how we became a Doha Film Institute grant recipient. Doha’s support did more than give us the first monies; it made us count in the international film community.
I knew every financial detail had to be transparent to create a comfort zone for investors. I furnished a completion bond and a detailed budget. Four Lebanese expats in Paris invested to support Lebanese film.
Well known music composer Michel Elefterides was one of its first investors which also gave credence to the film. He had liked the short and saw its potential. He also discovered two musicians, the Chehade Brothers who played in the film and who are now best sellers in Lebanon.
The film gained from the international collaboration that came from writer George Nasser whose 1957 film “Whither?” was the only Lebanese film to make it to Cannes Film Festival and Yves Angelo. They brought Hollywood and French cinematic sensibility to the production.
This combination helped us to create a powerful script and a movie that resonates with the global audience.
We are also seeking to support filmmakers and film industry in Lebanon and the Arab World through our institute SuppAr-the Arab Art Support Group.” The Arab Art Support Group gives us and other filmmakers a support system to raise money in a sustainable, ongoing way. In effect it is a financial company created to support the arts.
- 12/7/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Family Matters: Hue’s Continued Fascination With Yenish Community
Director Jean-Charles Hue continues with the exploration of the Yenich community, a nomadic group of people that would be referred to as gypsies in passing parlance, with his third feature, Eat Your Bones, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight program. Partially autobiographical due to Hue’s (a growing multimedia artist) distant relations, the film follows his 2010 title The Lord’s Ride, utilizing some of the same non-professional cast members here as well (in reality, most of them are members of the family being depicted). While the previous film was seen as hybrid of narrative and documentary formats, Hue’s latest injects film noir tropes into its examination of familial bonds amongst a vaguely defined colony where values conflict with the staunch grip of Christianity which seems to paralyze the residents whenever they aren’t committing blatant crimes.
Director Jean-Charles Hue continues with the exploration of the Yenich community, a nomadic group of people that would be referred to as gypsies in passing parlance, with his third feature, Eat Your Bones, which premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in the Directors’ Fortnight program. Partially autobiographical due to Hue’s (a growing multimedia artist) distant relations, the film follows his 2010 title The Lord’s Ride, utilizing some of the same non-professional cast members here as well (in reality, most of them are members of the family being depicted). While the previous film was seen as hybrid of narrative and documentary formats, Hue’s latest injects film noir tropes into its examination of familial bonds amongst a vaguely defined colony where values conflict with the staunch grip of Christianity which seems to paralyze the residents whenever they aren’t committing blatant crimes.
- 3/9/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
They didn’t make our final Top 100 cut, but here is a list of foreign film titles that are on our radar for 2015. We being with…
200. Remember – Dir. Atom Egoyan
199. Suffragette – Dir. Sarah Gavron
198. Kills on Wheels – Dir. Attila Till
197. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend – Dir. Yuen Woo-ping
196. The Go-Between – Dir. Pete Travis
195. Peur de Rien Dir. Danielle Arbid
194. Regular Boy – Dir. Michele Civetta
193. Flaskepost – Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
192. The Lady in the Van – Dir. Nicolas Hytner
191. Zoom – Dir. Pedro Morelli
190. Away from the Sea – Dir. Imanol Uribe
189. Tulip Fever – Dir. Justin Chadwick
188. Ulrike’s Brain – Dir. Bruce La Bruce
187. Tsunami – Dir. Jacques Deschamps
186. And Your Sister? – Dir. Marion Vernoux
185. There Was Las Vegas – Dir. Alexandre Castas
184. Prejudice – Dir. Antoine Cuypers
183. Stepne – Dir. Maryna Vroda
182. Irreplaceable – Dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
181. Histoire de Judas Iscariot – Dir. Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
180. The First, the Last – Dir. Bouli Lanners
179. Selection Officielle – Dir. Jacques Richard
178. Desierto – Dir.
200. Remember – Dir. Atom Egoyan
199. Suffragette – Dir. Sarah Gavron
198. Kills on Wheels – Dir. Attila Till
197. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend – Dir. Yuen Woo-ping
196. The Go-Between – Dir. Pete Travis
195. Peur de Rien Dir. Danielle Arbid
194. Regular Boy – Dir. Michele Civetta
193. Flaskepost – Dir. Nikolaj Arcel
192. The Lady in the Van – Dir. Nicolas Hytner
191. Zoom – Dir. Pedro Morelli
190. Away from the Sea – Dir. Imanol Uribe
189. Tulip Fever – Dir. Justin Chadwick
188. Ulrike’s Brain – Dir. Bruce La Bruce
187. Tsunami – Dir. Jacques Deschamps
186. And Your Sister? – Dir. Marion Vernoux
185. There Was Las Vegas – Dir. Alexandre Castas
184. Prejudice – Dir. Antoine Cuypers
183. Stepne – Dir. Maryna Vroda
182. Irreplaceable – Dir. Olivier Masset-Depasse
181. Histoire de Judas Iscariot – Dir. Rabah Ameur-Zaimeche
180. The First, the Last – Dir. Bouli Lanners
179. Selection Officielle – Dir. Jacques Richard
178. Desierto – Dir.
- 1/5/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Le Monde and other French news outlets are reporting that Alain Corneau has succumbed to cancer at the age of 67. Just last week, Jordan Mintzer reviewed Corneau's latest, Crime d'amour (Love Crime), for Variety, calling it a "taut, sinister psycho-procedural." Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier and having just opened in theaters in France, the film is set to screen in a couple of weeks at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In 1992, Corneau's Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) swept France's César Awards, winning best film, director, cinematography (Yves Angelo), supporting actress (Anne Brochet), music (Jordi Savall), costume design (Corinne Jorry) and sound. In 2004, Corneau was awarded the Prix René Clair.
Updates, 8/31: "Mr Corneau's movies included science fiction, police thrillers, a look at office politics in Japan and a mood piece about ancient India," writes Douglas Martin in the New York Times, "but...
In 1992, Corneau's Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) swept France's César Awards, winning best film, director, cinematography (Yves Angelo), supporting actress (Anne Brochet), music (Jordi Savall), costume design (Corinne Jorry) and sound. In 2004, Corneau was awarded the Prix René Clair.
Updates, 8/31: "Mr Corneau's movies included science fiction, police thrillers, a look at office politics in Japan and a mood piece about ancient India," writes Douglas Martin in the New York Times, "but...
- 9/1/2010
- MUBI
French filmmaker Alain Corneau (Le Deuxième souffle) will peer into the nastier aspects of being a career woman. Corneau began filming Une Femme Parfaite (eng. translation: A Perfect Woman) this week with Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier trading blows in the offices of a powerful multinational co. Humiliation and revenge unfold. - French filmmaker Alain Corneau (Le Deuxième souffle) will peer into the nastier aspects of being a career woman. Corneau began filming Une Femme Parfaite (eng. translation: A Perfect Woman) this week with Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier trading blows in the offices of a powerful multinational co. Humiliation and revenge unfold. Co-written by Corneau and Natalie Carter (wrote Jean-Paul Salomé's The Chameleon), the film centres on two women who work for the French subsidiary of a large Us multinational. Isabelle (Sagnier) works under Christine (Scott Thomas) and while they appear similar and compatible,...
- 12/13/2009
- by Ioncinema.com Staff
- IONCINEMA.com
- Author-turned-director Philippe Claudel makes a calculated and self-assured debut in a tale about how guilt and the act of bonding occurs when a pair of sisters confront a fifteen year gap brought about by an unplanned prison sentence. Instead of opting for flashy visuals, Claudel avoids clichés and stays focused on the characters and peels away the layers from leads Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein's characterizations. Both actresses deliver pitch-perfect perfs and as award season creeps in on both sides of the Atlantic, Scott Thomas can count on undoubtedly garnering further lead roles (in both her native tongue and adopted second language) that are given to those who experience a career revival of this magnitude. In the chaotic fall schedule, I've Loved You So Long is a film performance not to be missed. Philippe Claudel Yama Rahimi: Tell us about your inspiration for this story and
- 10/23/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Jean-Pierre Melville's seminal 1966 gangster movie, "Le deuxieme souffle" gets a second wind courtesy of a visually dazzling remake by Alain Corneau.
Turning to the 1958 Jose Giovanni novel as his source material, the veteran French filmmaker has added a gorgeous dollop of saturated color to the noir palette, in addition to much more dialogue, while still retaining the original's Very. Deliberate. Pace.
The striking cinematography and production design, combined with a masterful lead performance by the always effective Daniel Auteuil, certainly make for potent Cesar Awards bait.
It also stands a good chance of securing American distribution at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received its world premiere, although at a very noticeable two-and-a-half hours it could be a tough sell for those audiences accustomed to bullets flying with greater speed.
Auteuil more than capably fills the late Lino Ventura's shoes as Gustave "Gu" Minda, a career gangster who has busted out of prison, where he was serving a life sentence.
Waiting for him on the outside is the beautiful and determinedly self-possessed Manouche (Monica Bellucci), who wants them to start a new life in Italy, but the cash-strapped Gu insists on first pulling one last job so that he'll be able to provide her with the kind of life to which she's been accustomed.
The job goes without a hitch, which serves to further infuriate the police as embodied by the cagey Inspector Blot (Michel Blanc) and the sadistic Fardiano (Alexandre Faure), who aren't above employing any dirty trick necessary to bring Gu and his gang to justice.
While Corneau's cast is, across-the-board, excellent, this is Auteuil's film all the way.
When we first see Gu during that jail break, he looks like a beaten-down, scared rabbit, but beneath that hesitant demeanor there's a lingering intensity lying in wait for the right moment to ignite once more.
A man who lives by a strict moral code when it comes to not ratting on one's colleagues, Gu is the kind of character who would have been right a home in a Greek tragedy.
Startlingly lit and shot (by Yves Angelo), the film's moody atmosphere is further enhanced by Thierry Flamand's pungent period art direction, which wears well under all those errant bullet holes and neatly contained pools of blood.
Completing the effect are costume designer Corinne Jorry's tough guy suits and composer Bruno Coulais' swirling, insistent score.
LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE (SECOND WIND)
Wild Bunch
ARP/TF1 Films/Canal +/Cinecinema Kiosque/Sogecinema 4/Sogecinema 5
Director-writer: Alain Corneau
Based on the novel by Jose Giovanni
Producers: Michele Halberstadt, Laurent Petin
Director of photography: Yves Angelo
Production designer: Thierry Flamand
Music: Bruno Coulais
Costume designer: Corinne Jorry
Editor: Marie-Josephe Yoyotte
Cast:
Gu: Daniel Auteuil
Manouche: Monica Bellucci
Blot: Michel Blanc
Orloff: Jacques Dutronc
Alban: Eric Cantona
Venture Ricci: Daniel Duval
Joe Ricci: Gilbert Melki
Fardiano: Alexandre Faure
MPAA rating: Not yet rated, running time 156 minutes...
TORONTO -- Jean-Pierre Melville's seminal 1966 gangster movie, "Le deuxieme souffle" gets a second wind courtesy of a visually dazzling remake by Alain Corneau.
Turning to the 1958 Jose Giovanni novel as his source material, the veteran French filmmaker has added a gorgeous dollop of saturated color to the noir palette, in addition to much more dialogue, while still retaining the original's Very. Deliberate. Pace.
The striking cinematography and production design, combined with a masterful lead performance by the always effective Daniel Auteuil, certainly make for potent Cesar Awards bait.
It also stands a good chance of securing American distribution at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it received its world premiere, although at a very noticeable two-and-a-half hours it could be a tough sell for those audiences accustomed to bullets flying with greater speed.
Auteuil more than capably fills the late Lino Ventura's shoes as Gustave "Gu" Minda, a career gangster who has busted out of prison, where he was serving a life sentence.
Waiting for him on the outside is the beautiful and determinedly self-possessed Manouche (Monica Bellucci), who wants them to start a new life in Italy, but the cash-strapped Gu insists on first pulling one last job so that he'll be able to provide her with the kind of life to which she's been accustomed.
The job goes without a hitch, which serves to further infuriate the police as embodied by the cagey Inspector Blot (Michel Blanc) and the sadistic Fardiano (Alexandre Faure), who aren't above employing any dirty trick necessary to bring Gu and his gang to justice.
While Corneau's cast is, across-the-board, excellent, this is Auteuil's film all the way.
When we first see Gu during that jail break, he looks like a beaten-down, scared rabbit, but beneath that hesitant demeanor there's a lingering intensity lying in wait for the right moment to ignite once more.
A man who lives by a strict moral code when it comes to not ratting on one's colleagues, Gu is the kind of character who would have been right a home in a Greek tragedy.
Startlingly lit and shot (by Yves Angelo), the film's moody atmosphere is further enhanced by Thierry Flamand's pungent period art direction, which wears well under all those errant bullet holes and neatly contained pools of blood.
Completing the effect are costume designer Corinne Jorry's tough guy suits and composer Bruno Coulais' swirling, insistent score.
LE DEUXIEME SOUFFLE (SECOND WIND)
Wild Bunch
ARP/TF1 Films/Canal +/Cinecinema Kiosque/Sogecinema 4/Sogecinema 5
Director-writer: Alain Corneau
Based on the novel by Jose Giovanni
Producers: Michele Halberstadt, Laurent Petin
Director of photography: Yves Angelo
Production designer: Thierry Flamand
Music: Bruno Coulais
Costume designer: Corinne Jorry
Editor: Marie-Josephe Yoyotte
Cast:
Gu: Daniel Auteuil
Manouche: Monica Bellucci
Blot: Michel Blanc
Orloff: Jacques Dutronc
Alban: Eric Cantona
Venture Ricci: Daniel Duval
Joe Ricci: Gilbert Melki
Fardiano: Alexandre Faure
MPAA rating: Not yet rated, running time 156 minutes...
PARIS -- French actor Gerard Depardieu and Italian opera star Cecilia Bartoli are starring in L'Affaire Salieri, a 60-minute documentary based on the life of 18th century Italian composer Antonio Salieri, the project's executive producer Klaus Zimmermann said Wednesday. The idea for the project came from Bartoli, who plays herself singing the music of the Italian composer who was cast as the villain responsible for Mozart's death in Milos Forman's Amadeus. The 800,000 ($1 million) film is directed by cinematographer Yves Angelo. Bartoli and Depardieu have begun shooting in the Czech Republic. Zimmerman is working with French production company GMT on the film, which will be shot in both Italian and French, and German TV channel ZDF is co-producing.
- 1/22/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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