Mauvaise passe (1999)

Director:

Michel Blanc

Writers:

Michel Blanc (dialogue)
Michel Blanc (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 November 1999 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

He'll be your friend, he'll be your lover, but it's strictly by the hour.

Plot Keywords:

Author | Gigolo | Escort

Cast

Daniel Auteuil	...	Pierre
Stuart Townsend	...	Tom
Liza Walker	...	Kim
Noah Taylor	...	Gem
Frances Barber	...	Jessica
Claire Skinner	...	Patricia
Béatrice Agenin	...	Catherine
Keith Allen	...	Jessica's Husband
Ben Whishaw	...	Jay
Barbara Flynn	...	Kim's Mother
Anastasia Hille	...	Steffy
Sarah-Jane Potts	...	Liz
Amanda Ryan	...	Ann
Peter Mullan	...	Patricia's Husband
Julie Wilson Nimmo	...	Girl in Soho

Also Known As:

The Escort
The Wrong Blonde

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Bordeaux, Gironde, France

Company:

Canal+

Goofs:

Continuity: After Pierre is beaten up, he says that he is badly bruised, but when we see him soon afterwards wearing only a towel, there is no sign of bruising.

Surprising

Intrigued is what I felt when I bought my ticket, surprised is what I felt when the movie started, but what exactly is what I felt when I left the theater ? I still don't know, but it felt good.

Michel Blanc is more used to making funny movies (either as an actor or as a director), and is very good at that. But here, that's a totally different kind of movie. Here he goes deeper into human relationships by trying to understand what happens when a human being freaks out.

The story of Pierre, leaving his whole life behind to flee to London, escaping something (but what, really ?) is just what could happen to the guy next door, or even to you. And therefore, you see the movie with a totally different perspective, getting in the stead of this guy, seeing and understanding what happens to him, and saying to yourself "gosh, this could be me".

Pierre's freaking out and all that happens thereafter, is so very understandable that it makes the movie reach you to your deepest core. You take the character in sympathy, feel like he's someone you know. And when he trips, you trip along with him.

In the end, I spent a very good time watching this movie though I just didn't really know what to expect (my girlfriend took me to seeing it). This movie leaves you with a sensation inside, but what kind of sensation, I'm unable to describe... But it was NOT the sensation of having lost my time.