Pola X (1999)

A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister and he begin an unusual relationship with her prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée

Director:

Leos Carax

Writers:

Leos Carax, Jean-Pol Fargeau,

Stars:

Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guillaume Depardieu	...	Pierre
Yekaterina Golubeva	...	Isabelle
Catherine Deneuve	...	Marie
Delphine Chuillot	...	Lucie
Laurent Lucas	...	Thibault
Patachou	...	Margherite
Petruta Catana	...	Razerka
Mihaella Silaghi	...	The Child
Sharunas Bartas	...	The Chief
Samuel Dupuy	...	Fred
Mathias Mlekuz	...	TV presenter
Dine Souli	...	Taxi driver
Miguel Yeco	...	Augusto
Khireddine Medjoubi	...	Cafe owner's son
Mark Zak	...	Romanian friend

Storyline

Pierre, a young man of privilege, whose anonymously-published novel is a hit and who's about to marry his blond cousin, Lucie, abandons all when a dark-haired vagrant tells him her secret late one night in the woods: that she is Isabelle, his sister, abandoned by their father. Pierre breaks off with Lucie and his doting mother, heading for Paris with Isabelle, intent on knowing the dark side of human nature. He begins a novel, sending chapters under a pseudonym to his publisher; his relationship with Isabelle moves beyond the fraternal; and, in winter, the frail Lucie comes to live with them. Family jealousies mount, and Pierre may have discovered despair instead of the truth.

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Plot Keywords:

secret | publisher | long lost sister | writer | explosion | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Atlanta Filmes (Portugal)

Country:

France Switzerland Germany Japan

Language:

French

Release Date:

9 October 1999 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Pierre oder Der Kampf mit der Sphinx

Filming Locations:

Gladbeck, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 71,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,007 (USA) (8 September 2000)

Gross:

$172,107 (USA) (6 April 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arena Films, Canal+, Degeto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Pola is an acronym for "Pierre ou les ambiguites," the French translation of the title of the Herman Melville novel on which the film is based.

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Quotes

Margherite: Be careful! You dream of writing a mature work, but your charm lies in your thorough immaturity. You dream of setting fire to God knows what, of rising above your times like a dazzling cloud, leaving everyone terrified and admiring. But you weren't born for that, Pierre! You don't even believe it yourself.

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Connections

Referenced in Minority Report (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Light"
Written by Scott Walker
Performed by Paris Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Jean-Claude Dubois
Christophe Guiot (1st violin)

User Reviews

Fascinating Aesthetics

I watched Pola X because Scott Walker composed the film score and I admire his music a lot. Frankly, I expected a somewhat pretentious and possibly incoherent French movie. I was wrong. The vision of the film quickly managed to engage my attention to the fullest - starting with the opening sequence, which shows black and white footage of military airplanes throwing bombs at graves at the sounds of music and Scott Walker's beautiful wailing voice. The film explores the identity crisis of Pierre (Guillaume Depardieu - a brilliant choice for the role) and his consequential (self-)destruction. The story is divided into two parts – the first depicts Pierre's carefree life in a beautiful house in the French countryside and the second follows his utter personal disintegration after he abandons everything and moves to Paris to live in squalor with his supposed half-sister. Both parts contain some amazingly stunning photography – the first very colorful and bright, the second utterly gloomy and nearly apocalyptic - adding up to a true aesthetic feast. Pola X is a fascinating and quite unique movie experience.