La veuve de Saint-Pierre (2000)

In a small French colony, a drunken man kills someone. While a guillotine is being shipped in, he changes, becoming a good and popular man.

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Claude Faraldo, Patrice Leconte (adaptation)

Stars:

Juliette Binoche, Daniel Auteuil, Emir Kusturica

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Juliette Binoche	...	Pauline (Madame La)
Daniel Auteuil	...	Jean (The Captain)
Emir Kusturica	...	Ariel Neel Auguste
Michel Duchaussoy	...	The Governor
Philippe Magnan	...	President Venot
Christian Charmetant	...	Supply and Secretariat Officer
Philippe du Janerand	...	Customs Officer
Maurice Chevit	...	The Governor's Father
Catherine Lascault	...	La Malvilain
Ghyslain Tremblay	...	Monsieur Chevassus
Reynald Bouchard	...	Louis Ollivier
Marc Béland	...	Soldier Loïc
Yves Jacques	...	The Rear Admiral
Dominique Quesnel	...	The Proprietor
Anne-Marie Philipe	...	The Governor's Wife

Storyline

In 1849, in the Archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the drunken Ariel Neel Auguste and his partner Louis Ollivier kill for a futile motive (to see if he is fat or just big) the fishing boat captain Coupard. Nell, who stabbed the victim, is sentenced to die with his head severed in the guillotine while Louis is sentenced to hard labor. During the transportation to the prison under the custody of Captain Jean, there is an accident and Louis dies. While spending his days in the cell waiting for the guillotine and the executioner, Neel is invited by the captain's wife Mrs. Pauline to help her in her garden and becomes her protégé. Later he has a process of rehabilitation helping the locals in minor works and becomes very popular in the island. When he saves the building Café du Nord and her owner from sinking in the sea, his popularity increases and nobody but the governor and politicians of the council wants his death. Neel marries Eleontine Jeanne-Marie, but sooner he is informed ...

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Plot Keywords:

guillotine | island | murder | love | prison | 

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Taglines:

A true story of revenge and redemption, fear and forgiveness, and the true meaning of love.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a scene of sexuality and brief violence

Details

Country:

France Canada

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 April 2000 (France)

Also Known As:

A Viúva de Saint-Pierre

Filming Locations:

Fortress of Louisbourg, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$31,702 (USA) (2 March 2001)

Gross:

$3,058,380 (USA) (27 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinémaginaire Inc., Epithète Films, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Alain Corneau' was to direct the film in 1997, but abandoned the production after disagreements with the films producers.

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Goofs

When Neel is told he's strong enough to "ramer jusqu'au chez les Anglais", the English subtitles say "row over to Canada" rather than "row over to the English". This introduces an error: both the geography and the dialogue in other scenes make it clear that Newfoundland is meant, but Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada until 1949.

User Reviews

Beautiful Story of Rehabilitation and Intolerance

In 1849, in the Archipelago of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, the drunken Ariel Neel Auguste (Emir Kusturica) and his partner Louis Ollivier (Reynald Bouchard) kill for a futile motive (to see if he is fat or just big) the fishing boat captain Coupard (Michel Daigle). Nell, who stabbed the victim, is sentenced to die with his head severed in the guillotine while Louis is sentenced to hard labor. During the transportation to the prison under the custody of Captain Jean (Daniel Auteuil), there is an accident and Louis dies. While spending his days in the cell waiting for the guillotine and the executioner, Neel is invited by the captain's wife Mrs. Pauline (Juliette Binoche) to help her in her garden and becomes her protégé. Later he has a process of rehabilitation helping the locals in minor works and becomes very popular in the island. When he saves the building Café du Nord and her owner from sinking in the sea, his popularity increases and nobody but the governor and politicians of the council wants his death. Neel marries Eleontine Jeanne-Marie, but sooner he is informed that the ship Marie Galante has just left Martinique bringing a guillotine. Now the Governor and politicians need to find an executioner in the population to execute the sentence.

"La Veuve de Saint-Pierre" is a beautiful dramatization of a story of rehabilitation and intolerance. I do not know whether this event is partially true or not – there are references in Internet to this story but in sites that I can not trust – but this movie is wonderful. The story and screenplay are engaging and very well written with powerful lines; the direction of Patrice Leconte and the performances are top- notch, with Juliette Binoche extremely beautiful and elegant as usual and showing a magnificent chemistry with Daniel Auteuil; the cinematography and costumes are wonderful. Based on my adjectives, it is unnecessary to say that I loved this movie. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Viúva de Saint-Pierre" ("The Widow of Saint-Pierre")