Esther Kahn (2000)

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

Emmanuel Bourdieu (writer)
Arnaud Desplechin (writer)

Release Date:

4 October 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A Jewish girl in 19th century London dreams of becoming a stage actress. |

Plot Keywords:

Actress | 19th Century | Theater | Independent Film | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Summer Phoenix	...	Esther Kahn
Ian Holm	...	Nathan Quellen
Fabrice Desplechin	...	Philippe Haygard
Akbar Kurtha	...	Samuel Kahn
Frances Barber	...	Rivka Kahn
László Szabó	...	Ytzhok Kahn
Hilary Sesta	...	Buba
Claudia Solti	...	Mina Kahn
Berna Raif	...	Becky Kahn
Paul Regan	...	Joel
Arnold Brown	...	Rabbi
Leon Lissek	...	Theatre manager
Ian Bartholomew	...	Norton
Samantha Lavelle	...	Christel
Paul Ritter	...	Alman, the photographer

Also Known As:

eSTheR KaHN (France) (poster title)

Runtime:

USA:142 min

Country:

France | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Arts Council of England

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2000 (#01)

A haunting, great performance!

I have seen the movie at the Viennale a few years ago, where the audiences liked it. I liked it as well, Summer Phoenix performance still haunts me, that´s why I decided to write a comment.

The story unfolds in London around 1900, where a jewish girl decides to become an actress. She tries desperately to become one, but it isn´t before a man treats her badly that she realizes on stage, that she has talent and that she connects with the audience and emerges as a stronger human being.

There were certain reviews, were her performance was smashed, they accused her of being dull, not able to bring life to her character. I think that´s her strong point, that´s exactly what Esther Kahn should be and Phoenix makes a brave decision to make her Esther a rather boring girl. So her transformation at the end is more powerful than it could have been otherwise.

The cinematography is great, the images of London around the turn of the century are very dark and sad, you can see how unpleasant life was back then.

The only fault in my opinion is the length of the movie, you loose touch with the characters, after all it´s only about finding the actor in yourself, so there are no dramatic actions in the film. It´s Phoenix credit that we don´t loose the interest in the movie after the first hour.