L'ennui (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Cédric Kahn

Writers:

Laurence Ferreira Barbosa (writer)
Cédric Kahn (writer)

Release Date:

16 December 1998 (France)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

A philosophy teacher restless with the need to do something with his life meets a young woman suspected of driving an artist to his death...

Plot Keywords:

Foreign Language Adaptation | Sex | Underage Sex | Male Frontal Nudity | Sexual Obsession

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Charles Berling	...	Martin
Sophie Guillemin	...	Cécilia
Arielle Dombasle	...	Sophie
Robert Kramer	...	Meyers
Alice Grey	...	Cécilia's Mother
Maurice Antoni	...	Cécilia's Father
Tom Ouedraogo	...	Momo
Patrick Arrachequesne	...	Doctor
Mirtha Caputi Medeiros	...	Meyers' concierge
Pierre Chevalier	...	University dean
Oury Milshtein	...	Jean-Paul
Anne-Sophie Morillon	...	Agnes
Marc Chouppart	...	Ferdinand
Cécile Reigher	...	Ferdinand's girlfriend
Antoine Beau	...	Pierre

Also Known As:

O Tédio (Portugal)

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

France | Portugal

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Germany:16 | Australia:R | France:-12 | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:(Banned) (original rating) | South Korea:18 (re-rating) (uncut) | UK:18

Company:

Gémini Films

Quotes:

Sophie: Abstinence is turning you sour; give it up.
Martin: I have.
Sophie: Really? Do I know her?
Martin: No, I met her in odd circumstances a few weeks ago.
Sophie: Really? You must be pleased.
Martin: You're quite wrong, I don't like her at all. She's totally uninteresting. I'm trying to get rid of her.
Sophie: Why? Is she ugly?
Martin: Not particularly.
Sophie: Is she stupid then?
Martin: No. Not at all. She never says anything stupid. It's complicated. She bores me. I have no contact with her. Or rather only physical contact.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Jade (1988)

Soundtrack:

Melao de Cana

Ennui, Why Karl Self Comments are wrong

This film is a work of genius, capturing the feeling of Ennui in explicit detail. The sex scenes are just that, scenes of sex. To show passion would be to break out of the male leads feeling of boredom or ennui. The female part if one dimensional to give her no redeeming features, after all the male wants her but can't understand why he wants her as she does nothing for him, his pursuit is simply because he can't control her. If she showed any kind of feelings towards him the film would be finished. The film is about obsession and not being able to do anything else because this obsession controls your life and takes all your energy. I found the film both breathtaking and disturbing in equal measures. Definitely one to watch.