In the span of one day a story of a brief love affair unfolds on the streets of Paris. Although both sides know it has no future, they do nothing to stop it. A young woman may fancifully dream about her career and love, but a romantic encounter with an older foreigner ends up bringing her liberation and new strength. The leads are played by the enchanting Emmanuelle Devos and the wonderful Gabriel Byrne.
Two strangers exchange glances on a train traveling to Paris. Alix, an actress at a provincial theater, is nervous about an upcoming film casting in Paris. Her boyfriend isn’t answering his phone, she finds herself on the street without her cell, her credit card isn’t working, and to make matters worse she gets in an argument with her sister. As she wanders the streets aimlessly, she unexpectedly runs into the stranger from the train. This time around, she decides to give chance a little help. This is not the first movie to explore a sudden passion that both parties realize has no future, yet still do nothing to resist. But this time around, our focus is primarily on the woman: although Alix has romantic ideas about acting and love, both her feet are planted firmly on the ground; in a critical moment, she knows what’s important to her. Nevertheless, the experience of brief intimacy in a hotel room, when the accidental lovers share their long-hidden secrets, seems to bring her liberation and give her new strength. Actress Emmanuelle Devos lends Alix her radiant natural beauty and expertly expresses her character’s energy, as well as moments of helplessness and hesitation.
105 min / Color, DCP
Director Jérôme Bonnell
/ Screenplay Jérôme Bonnell
/ Dir. of Photography Pascal Lagriffoul
/ Editor Julie Dupré
/ Producer Edouard Weil
/ Production Rectangle Productions
/ Cast Emmanuelle Devos, Gabriel Byrne
/ Contact Le Pacte
Jérôme Bonnell (b. 1977, Paris) studied film for two years at Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7, after which he shot the short film Fidèle (1999) starring Nathalie Boutefeu, whom he later cast in his four features. The first of these, Olga’s Chignon (Le chignon d’Olga, 2002), received the FIPRESCI Prize at the Chicago IFF, where he was also in competition with his subsequent dramedy Les yeux clairs (2005 – Prix Jean Vigo). He returned to this milieu with Waiting for Someone (J’attends quelqu’un, 2007), then explored the crime genre in The Queen of Clubs (La dame de trèfle, 2010). Just a Sigh, an intimate story of a romantic interlude, was shown in competition at this year’s Tribeca film festival.
Le Pacte
5, rue Darcet, 750 17, Paris
France
Phone: +33 144 695 959
Fax: +33 144 695 942
E-mail: [email protected]
Jérôme Bonnell
Film Director
Nathalie Jeung
Distributor, Sales Agent
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