Alice et Martin (1998)

At the age of 20, Martin leaves his home town and comes to Paris, where he fortunately becomes a model by chance. He meets Alice, his brother's friend, and falls in love with her. They ... See full summary »

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

Olivier Assayas, Gilles Taurand,

Stars:

Juliette Binoche, Alexis Loret, Mathieu Amalric

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juliette Binoche	...	Alice
Alexis Loret	...	Martin Sauvagnac
Mathieu Amalric	...	Benjamin Sauvagnac
Carmen Maura	...	Jeanine
Jean-Pierre Lorit	...	Frederic Sauvagnac
Marthe Villalonga	...	Lucie
Roschdy Zem	...	Saïd
Pierre Maguelon	...	Victor Sauvagnac
Eric Kreikenmayer	...	Francois Sauvagnac
Jeremy Kreikenmayer	...	Martin - Child
Kevin Goffette	...	Christophe
Christiane Ludot	...	Laurence
Véronique Rioux	...	Musician 1
Corinne Hache	...	Musician 2
Mauricio Angarita	...	Musician 3

Storyline

At the age of 20, Martin leaves his home town and comes to Paris, where he fortunately becomes a model by chance. He meets Alice, his brother's friend, and falls in love with her. They start a passionate relationship, although Martin remains very mysterious about his past and the reasons why he left his family. But when Alice tells him she's pregnant, he is suddenly almost driven to madness, as his past comes back to his mind. Alice will now do anything she can to help him.

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Plot Keywords:

adopted son | nervous breakdown | male model | gay character | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

If life is a trap, love is the escape.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sexuality and language

Details

Country:

France Spain

Language:

French Spanish German English

Release Date:

4 November 1998 (France)

Also Known As:

Alice and Martin

Filming Locations:

Grenada

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$21,350 (USA) (21 July 2000)

Gross:

$498,106 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Alain Sarde, Vértigo Films, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Alice: He's like an extra terrestrial hobo!

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Soundtracks

"Kalina Malina"
Arranged by Corinne Hache
Performed by Quintette Tres&Dos

User Reviews

Give it a few hours to sink in.

Martin, age 20, runs away from his rural French home under mysterious circumstances and ends up at his half-brother's flat in Paris, where he meets and falls in love with the half-brother's female roommate Alice, age somewhat older. When Alice informs him, halfway through the film, that she is pregnant, he has a flashback (which we don't see for a while yet) of what happened to make him flee his father's house, and for the rest of the film, while Martin languishes in a psychiatric facility, Alice must resolve the situation Martin created, a labor of love she doesn't hesitate to perform even though it involves the sacrifice of her own happiness.

The bad news: This is a long, slow movie, and the characters are not really as well-defined as they perhaps could have been, especially given the film's character-centered plot. The good news: It's really beautiful to watch, and when the end of the movie sneaks up on you, and you've given what you've seen a little while to sink in, it's so brilliantly sad that you just want to fly to Paris and find Alice and hug her or take her to dinner or something. Not a good choice for a first-date movie--rent the video and have a close friend over for wine and cheese.