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IMDb > Pola X (1999)
Pola X
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Overview

User Rating:
5.7/10   1,540 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Leos Carax
Writers:
Leos Carax (writer)
Jean-Pol Fargeau (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Pola X on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 May 1999 (Belgium) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Plot:
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 full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 wins & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Tokyo! (review)
 (From FlickFilosopher. 12 May 2009, 12:47 PM, PDT)

Toronto's Over The Top film fest is back headlining White Lightnin'
 (From QuietEarth. 29 April 2009, 4:26 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Another misunderstood masterpiece. more

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
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Pierre oder Der Kampf mit der Sphinx (Germany) (TV title)
Pierre ou les ambiguïtés (France) (TV title (longer version))
more
Runtime:
134 min
Language:
French
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | DTS
Certification:
USA:Not Rated | Iceland:16 | France:U | Portugal:M/16 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | South Korea:18 (edited version) | Germany:18
Company:
Arena Films more

Fun Stuff

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. more
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. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Killing Floor (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Tra Mo Ben Suo more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
19 out of 24 people found the following comment useful:-
Another misunderstood masterpiece., 25 January 2003
9/10
Author: DrMoonlight from Norman, OK

When Melville's "Pierre; or The Ambiguities" hit bookstores in 1852, his first publication since "Moby Dick" a year earlier, the public response was similar to that found among the IMDB reviews of "POLA X". Newspapers even published headlines like: "Melville Insane!" which, of course, he wasn't. But, when one compares the writing styles found in "Moby Dick" and "Pierre," one finds in the latter a sharp departure from the simple and often declamatory style found in the former. Clearly, he was mimicking the overly florid style of the now-forgotten Victorian Romances that were easily outselling his immortal "Moby Dick." He was not content, however, to turn out the sort of product that his publishers wanted, and that surely would have sold. His version of a Victorian romance was a twisted, cynical one, perhaps, but brilliant in its synthesis. The alternate title: "The ambiguities" is quite appropriate. As Pierre searches for, and thinks he finds, truth, we become more and more uncertain what and whom to believe. As he searches for happiness, he becomes more and more miserable.

"POLA X" is a fascinating adaptation of this novel, set in modern or nearly modern France. Though, in some ways, it leaves little to the imagination, and shows us graphically the incestuous relations that Melville could only hint at, the ambiguities which make the novel and its message so alluring are perfectly in tact. The questions it raises are ones that few films have thought to ask, yet the answers are left to the viewer.

I recommend a reading of the novel, which is much shorter than "Moby Dick," before seeing this movie. I hope more people discover this tantalizing film.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Pola X (1999)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Where to get the uncensored version? vkmunn
Ambiguities on3gin
Classical piece...not on OST whatsgoingahn
After seeing this film manfo
depardieu commentary track a bore teejay6682
Pola X Post Industrial Music Group jjlasne
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