The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000) La veuve de Saint-Pierre (original title)

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Claude Faraldo
Patrice Leconte (adaptation)

Release Date:

19 April 2000 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Guillotine | Island | Murder | Love | Prison

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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
Isabelle Spade	...	President Venot's Wife
Arianne Mallet	...	Governor's Child
Julián Gutiérrez	...	Governor's Son
Sylvie Moreau	...	Adrienne
Genevieve Cocke	...	Washhouse Woman
Manon Gauthier	...	Washhouse Woman
Marianne C. Miron	...	Mme Chevassus
Jean-Paul Rouvray	...	The Priest
Michel Daigle	...	Father Coupard
Luc Guérin	...	Captain Dumontier
Neil Kroetsch	...	Captain of the Marie Galante
Sylvain Eluau	...	Captain Goelette / Raymound Cloutier (The Adjutant)
Patrick Steltzer	...	The Brigadier
Patrick Caux	...	Young Soldier
Bernard Tanguay	...	The Orderly
Serge Christianssens	...	Drummer
Martin Larocque	...	Town Crier
Boris Napes	...	Assessor
Yvon Roy	...	Granjean
Luc Proulx	...	Cafe Customer
Kendall Negro	...	The Child
Stefan Perrault	...	Oarsman
Sarah McKenna	...	Emilie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lee Delong

Directed by
Patrice Leconte

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Claude Faraldo
Patrice Leconte		adaptation

Produced by
Frédéric Brillion	....	producer
Gilles Legrand	....	producer
Daniel Louis	....	co-producer
Denise Robert	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Pascal Estève

Cinematography by
Eduardo Serra		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joëlle Hache

Casting by
Jacques Dublin

Production Design by
Ivan Maussion

Art Direction by
Ivan Maussion

Costume Design by
Christian Gasc

Makeup Department
Sophie Asse	....	assistant hair stylist
Marie-France Cardinal	....	key hair stylist
Kathryn Casault	....	key makeup artist
Michel Demonteix	....	key hair stylist
Réjean Forget	....	key hair stylist
Evan Hyisky	....	hair stylist
Joël Lavau	....	key makeup artist
Isabelle Luzet	....	key hair stylist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Pierre Allard	....	unit production manager
Rémi Bergman	....	unit production manager
Frédéric Blum	....	production manager
Daniel Hilaréguy	....	assistant production manager
Nicole Hilaréguy	....	production manager
Emmanuel Legrand	....	production manager
Philippe Lenfant	....	unit manager trainee
Daniel Ross	....	assistant unit manager
Donald Tetreault	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Anne Alloucherie	....	assistant director
Grégoire Barachin	....	first assistant director
Olivier Chouinard	....	assistant director
Anne Gilles	....	second assistant director
Angus Maclean	....	assistant director
Jacques Pasquier	....	assistant director
Simon-Édouard Pilon	....	assistant director

Art Department
François Aïssa	....	construction laborer
Gilles Baillot	....	construction laborer
Martin Bartherotte	....	set dresser
Alain Bergé	....	construction laborer
Bernard Boivin	....	construction coordinator
Jean-Michel Boivin	....	construction laborer
Michel Bourgeois	....	construction laborer
Xavier Buffin	....	construction laborer
Michel Charvaz	....	property master
Daniel Clerici	....	construction laborer
Dominique Coutelle	....	construction laborer
Jamie Day	....	construction laborer
Virginie Denis Roy	....	set dresser (as Virginie Denis)
Pierre Denis	....	set dresser
Daniel Donovan	....	construction laborer
Eric Frion	....	construction laborer
Ludovic Garçon	....	construction laborer
Christian Guillebaud	....	construction laborer
Claude Guyon	....	construction laborer
Brian Hanson	....	construction laborer
Mario Hervieux	....	set dresser
Marie Ève Lacasse	....	set dresser
Frédérique Menichetti	....	construction laborer
Igor Mollet	....	construction laborer
Henry Morash	....	construction laborer
Michel Méry	....	set dresser
Véronique Pagnoux	....	construction laborer
Xavier Palud	....	construction laborer
Frédéric Perron	....	construction laborer
Robert Perry	....	construction laborer
Manuel Poulain	....	construction laborer
Pol Richard	....	construction laborer
Nicolas Rufy	....	set dresser
Annie Tourriol	....	construction laborer

Sound Department
Annabel Acquaviva	....	sound assistant (as Annabelle Acquaviva)
Jean-Philippe Angelini	....	post-synchronization engineer
Fanchon Brulé	....	dialogue editor
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Pascal Dedeye	....	foley artist
Michel Filippi	....	post-synchronization engineer
Jean Goudier	....	sound
Claude Hazanavicius	....	sound engineer
Katrina Heaulme	....	post-synchronization engineer
Dominique Hennequin	....	sound
Jean-Paul Hurier	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Lainé	....	sound engineer
Jean-Louis Lebras	....	boom operator
Gilles Missir	....	foley recordist
Thierry Morlaas-Lurbe	....	sound assistant
Sandrine Strauss	....	assistant sound editor

Special Effects by
Pierre Côté	....	special effects
Daniel Pereira de Abreu	....	special optical effects
Lorne Dosogne	....	special effects
Mario Dumont	....	special effects
Francis Marleau	....	special effects
Frederic Papon	....	special optical effects
Louis Pedneault	....	special effects
Benoit Talenton	....	special effects
Pierre Turmeau	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Christophe Belena	....	digital visual effects
Coralie Boulay	....	digital visual effects
Thomas Buchwalder	....	digital visual effects
Alain Carsoux	....	digital visual effects
Solena Collignon	....	digital visual effects (as Solen Collignon)
Stéphanie Dargent	....	digital visual effects
Thierry Delobel	....	digital visual effects
François Dupuy	....	digital visual effects
Sylvian Fabre	....	digital visual effects
Xavier Fourmond	....	digital visual effects
Chia-Chi Hu	....	digital visual effects
Alexandre Jeanneret	....	digital visual effects
Alexandre Kolasinski	....	digital visual effects
Emmanuel Le Courbe	....	digital compositor
Jeremie Leroux	....	digital visual effects
Karine Marchandou	....	digital visual effects
Frederic Medioni	....	digital compositor
Olivier Poujaud	....	digital compositor
Céline Sene	....	digital visual effects
Antoine Simkine	....	visual effects executive producer: Duboi
Daniel Trujillo	....	digital artist
Edouard Valton	....	digital visual effects
Nicolas Vibert	....	digital visual effects

Stunts
Antonio Vidosa	....	stunt arranger

Camera and Electrical Department
Brian A. Adams	....	grip
Claude Atanassian	....	chief electrician
Michel Atanassian	....	electrician
Eric Baraillon	....	electrician
Florent Bazin	....	assistant camera
Jacques F. Bernier	....	assistant camera (as Jacques Bernier)
Gérald Bourget	....	generator operator
Stéphanie Branchu	....	assistant still photographer
Geoffrey Brown	....	assistant camera
Catherine Cabrol	....	still photographer
Stéphane Cry	....	electrician
Stéphane de Ernsted	....	grip
Jérôme Doidy	....	grip
Bernard Estève	....	electrician
Dominique Fortier	....	electrician
Jacob Fortier	....	electrician
Jacques Fortier	....	chief electrician
Marie Gennesseaux	....	video controller
David Grinberg	....	assistant camera
Warren Jeffries	....	grip
Kevin Jewison	....	camera operator: second unit
Raphaël Jordan	....	grip
Raphael Jourdan	....	grip
Edith Labbe	....	assistant camera
Patrice Leconte	....	camera operator
Anne Nicolet	....	assistant camera
Stéphane Pilon	....	grip
Denis Scozzesi	....	key grip
Bruce Sharpe	....	grip
Marc Simpson-Threlford	....	clapper loader
Nicolas Venne	....	electrician
Stephen Wells	....	grip
Stephen Wells	....	rigging grip

Casting Department
Geneviève Acien	....	extras casting
Catherine Deserbais	....	extras casting
Eric Guy	....	casting: Canada
Mireille La Febriere	....	extras casting
Anne Lockquell	....	casting: Canada
Wendy Ross	....	extras casting (as Wendy Cohen Ross)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Françoise Attal Roth	....	costumer
Claudette Babin	....	costumer
Brigitte Bourneuf	....	seamstress
Maureen Burke	....	costumer
Caroline Easterey	....	seamstress
Tess Hammami	....	costumer
Carla Kaiberlah	....	costumer
Rose Kreutz	....	costumer
Alec Lahey	....	costumer
Daniel Lalande	....	chief costumer
Françoise Lecours	....	costume coordinator
Jocelyne Lucas	....	seamstress
Faye MacLeod	....	seamstress
Edwige Morel D'Arleux	....	costume coordinator
Corinne Page	....	seamstress
Pascale Paoli	....	costumer
Lyse Pomerleau	....	costume coordinator
Germaine Ribel	....	costumer
Ginette Régis	....	costumer
Florence Sadaune	....	assistant costume designer
Florence Sadaune	....	chief costumer
Bénédicte Simon	....	seamstress
Laurent Sévigny	....	costumer
Géraldine Touesnard Joyce	....	costumer
Andrée Tremblay	....	seamstress

Editorial Department
Christian Dutac	....	color timer
Emilie Monod	....	assistant editor
Clara Ott	....	assistant editor
Van der Vorm	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jean-Paul Batailley	....	musician: percussion
Denis Caribaux	....	assistant music mixer
Denis Caribaux	....	assistant music recordist
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant
Frédéric Guérouet	....	musician: accordion
Didier Lizé	....	music mixer
Didier Lizé	....	music recordist
Nicolas Meyer	....	music mixer
Nicolas Meyer	....	music recordist
Frédéric Moreau	....	musician: violin
Gilberta Pereyra	....	musician: bass
Daniel Py	....	musician: English horn
Frédéric Robin	....	musician: alto
Alexandre Soumagne	....	musician: cello
Bernard Wystraete	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Jasmine Lewandowski	....	driver: cast

Other crew
Danielle Baldwin	....	production staff
Jérôme Barboux	....	video reporter
Nick Barker	....	location scout
Andrée Bouvier	....	production coordinator
Eric Burchill	....	boat wrangler
Michael Burke	....	production assistant
Martin Desroches	....	production staff
Sylvie Desrosiers	....	administrator
Damaris Detours	....	production assistant
Luc Detours	....	production assistant
Jean-Pierre Devillers	....	video reporter
Hakim Falek	....	production assistant
Walter Flower Jr.	....	boat wrangler (as Walter Flower)
William Flower	....	boat wrangler
Massimo Gallizzi	....	production assistant
Hélène Grimard	....	administrator (as Hélène Gallizzi)
Hélène Grimard	....	production accountant (as Hélène Gallizzi)
Anne-Lyse Haket	....	production staff
Neil Halverson	....	boat wrangler
Vanessa Jerrom	....	press relations
Alexandre Juaneda	....	set production assistant
Serge Klinger	....	production assistant
François Lacasse	....	son
Eric Lacesse	....	international sales
Sylvie Lalonde	....	production assistant
Renaud Le Van Kim	....	video reporter
Eric Leca	....	production staff
Armelle Lecoeur	....	production staff
Marie Leconte	....	script supervisor
Nicolas Lecovic	....	production assistant
Muriel Lizé	....	production coordinator
Nicky Luca	....	production assistant
Mario Luraschi	....	horse wrangler
Deborah MacNeil	....	production staff
Pascal Madura	....	horse wrangler
Christophe Maratier	....	weapons consultant
Lina Martins	....	assistant: Juliette Binoche
Lisa Martins	....	production assistant
Géraldine Milles	....	production staff
Marc Moisan	....	horse groom
Stéphane Montmorency	....	production assistant
Robert Henry Morash	....	boat wrangler
Cecilia Nyström	....	production coordinator
Anne O'Neill	....	coordinator: Forteresse de Louisbourg
Charles Obrul	....	laboratory liaison
Xavier Reboli	....	horse groom
Sarah Richer	....	production staff
Tiffany Rieder	....	production staff
Daniel Ross	....	assistant unit manager
Terry Rudderham	....	production assistant
Karen Smail	....	administrator
Stéphane Teillet	....	administrator
Donald Tetreault	....	production assistant
Vanessa K. Tingley	....	production staff
Marisol Turcot	....	production assistant
Pete White	....	horse wrangler

Production Companies

• Cinémaginaire Inc. (coproducers)
• Epithète Films
• France 2 Cinéma
• France 3 Cinéma

Distributors

• Atlantis Entertainment (2001) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• Cinema Mondo (2001) (Finland) (theatrical)
• United International Pictures (UIP) (2000) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (Argentina)
• Cine Qua Non Films
• Keyfilms Roma
• Lions Gate Films (2001) (USA) (subtitled)
• Movie Star (Brazil) (DVD)
• Movie Star (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pathé
• PolyGram Film Distribution (France)
• Prooptiki Video (Greece) (VHS)
• Prooptiki (Greece)
• Pyramide Distribution (worldwide)
• Trimark Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Orchestre Philarmonique d'Île-de-France  orchestra

Also Known As:

"La veuve de Saint-Pierre" - France (original title)
"The Widow of St. Pierre" - Canada (English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for a scene of sexuality and brief violence

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

France | Canada

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Fortress of Louisbourg, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada

Company:

Cinémaginaire Inc.

Trivia:

Director Patrice Leconte approached Emir Kusturica for the role of Neel Auguste after seeing a newspaper picture of the director looking exactly how he pictured Auguste.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 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.

Fat, or big?

The actions of two men on a drunken spree turns out to be fatal for the man who is being harassed because he dies as a consequence of a fight with his two tormentors. Both men are apprehended and condemned to die as punishment for their actions. The way to die is beheading by guillotine, or "the widow" in the vernacular.

Thus begins this story that director Patrice Leconte directed, based on the screen play by Claude Faraldo. The story is set in the remote island of Saint Pierre, off the coast of Newfoundland. This is a hostile environment settled by the French. Saint Pierre boasts a lot of widows who have survived the rigors of the climate and the hard lives their husbands led.

Into this milieu we find a military captain and his wife. Both are Parisians and appear to be compassionate, at heart. When Neel, the surviving drunk is brought to be kept in a cell within the military quarters of the island, the wife, Madame La, takes an interest in the man. With her husband's consent, she asks for his help in tending a green house in the premises and other errands.

Neel and Madame La are at simple view, just opposites. The kindness Neel sees in her, transforms him. Madame La even goes to help him learn to read. All these actions don't sit well with the rest of the inhabitants and the people in the government who demand a guillotine is sent over and have him execute the prisoner.

The film works because the brilliant performance of Juliette Binoche, who as Madame La, makes her mark in the picture. Her compassion for Neel is genuine; in her heart she believes this man, a product of the environment in which he was born, shows qualities that no one has seen in him.

Emir Kusturica, a noted film director himself, is also one of the assets of the movie. Mr. Kusturica is a large man with unkempt looks, who is totally believable as Neel. His interaction with Madame La turns from gratitude into a noble love that is not meant to be.

The other principal is Daniel Auteuil who is perfect as the captain, the husband of Madame La, who is outraged by what he perceives to be the wrong punishment for the accused Neel. In spite of the menacing presence of Neel next to his wife, he trusts her as he knows her kind heart belongs to him only.

"La veuve de Saint Pierre" is a great movie that will satisfy viewers in search of a different story. Patrice Leconte has directed with panache as he takes us to see the beauty of Saint Pierre, something that is so bleak, yet it's a place that has a magnetic attraction as we watch the film unfold.