Demonlover (2002)

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas (written by)

Release Date:

6 November 2002 (France)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Two corporations compete for illicit 3D manga pornography, sending spies to infiltrate each other's operations.

Plot Keywords:

Torture | Corporation | Internet | Party | Spy

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Connie Nielsen	...	Diane de Monx
Charles Berling	...	Hervé Le Millinec
Chloë Sevigny	...	Elise Lipsky
Dominique Reymond	...	Karen
Jean-Baptiste Malartre	...	Henri-Pierre Volf
Gina Gershon	...	Elaine Si Gibril
Edwin Gerard	...	Edward Gomez
Thomas M. Pollard	...	Avocat américain
Abi Sakamoto	...	Kaori - la traductrice
Naoko Yamazaki	...	Eiko
Nao Ohmori	...	Shoji
Jean-Pierre Gos	...	Verkamp - Contact Diane
Julie Brochen	...	Gina - Amie de Diane
Randall Holden	...	Ray
Alexandre Lachaux	...	Erwan - Broker #1
Ludovic Schoendoerffer	...	Luis - Broker #2
Mathias Mlekuz	...	Chauffeur d'Elise
Gilles Masson	...	Homme au chien
Pascal Oumaklouf	...	Agresseur #1 de Karen
Bruno Soldani	...	Agresseur #2 de Karen
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	...	Assistant de Hervé
Stéphane Lévy	...	Assistant de Volf
Jurgen Doering	...	Styliste
Alexis Pivot	...	Frankie
Eric Weinberg	...	Père de Frankie
Laurent Jacquet	...	Chauffeur de Volf
Papis Gadio	...	Ami d'Elise
Danny Evangelista	...	Valet de chambre Volf
Carmelita Tuazan	...	Gouvernante
Margot Kansten	...	Fille Volf #1
Charlotte Kansten	...	Fille Volf #2
Paul Michineau	...	Voiturier Hôtel Raphaël
Arnaud Guenet	...	Garçon d'étage Hôtel Raphaël
Marie Modiano	...	Jeune fille au restaurant
Xinjie Ge	...	Serveuse restaurant
Tarô Suwa	...	Japon - Avocat #1
Ikko Suzuki	...	Japon - Avocat #2
Black	...	Japon - Travesti au Yellow Club
Emiko Mokudai	...	Japon - Masseuse
Toru Kodama	...	Japon - Homme d'affaires
Romantica	...	Japon - Danseuses au Yellow Club
E. Male	...	Japon - VJs au Yellow Club
Hugo Aguilera	...	Mexique - Homme de main #1
Julian Bucio	...	Mexique - Homme de main #2
Mauricio Martínez	...	Mexique - Homme de main #3
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George W. Bush	...	Himself (uncredited) (archive footage)
Arnaud Cafaxe	...	Salary man (uncredited)
Jean-Charles Dumay	...	Henri (uncredited)
Karine Lima	...	Zora (uncredited)

Directed by
Olivier Assayas

Writing credits
Olivier Assayas		(written by)

Produced by
Sylvie Barthet	....	line producer
Jean Coulon	....	executive producer
Claude Davy	....	executive producer
Xavier Giannoli	....	producer
Andres Martin	....	associate producer
Robin O'Hara	....	associate producer
Edouard Weil	....	delegate producer

Original Music by
Jim O'Rourke
Sonic Youth

Cinematography by
Denis Lenoir

Film Editing by
Luc Barnier

Casting by
Kerry Barden
Antoinette Boulat

Production Design by
François-Renaud Labarthe

Art Direction by
James David Goldmark

Set Decoration by
Cécile Deleu		(as Cécile Deleu-Montel)
Bastien Meunier

Costume Design by
Anaïs Romand

Makeup Department
Franck-Pascal Alquinet	....	hair stylist
Jean-Charles Bachelier	....	hair stylist
Christophe Giraud	....	key makeup artist
Axel Guemraoui	....	hair stylist
Bettina Keller	....	hair stylist
Myriam Kimas	....	makeup artist
Alexis Kinebanyan	....	special makeup effects artist
Benoît Lestang	....	special makeup effects artist
Stéphane Eric Monteil	....	hair stylist
Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen	....	key makeup artist
Emmanuel Pitois	....	special makeup effects artist
Marie-Claire Schori	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Stéphane Barlow	....	assistant unit manager
Sylvie Barthet	....	production manager
Olivier Jacob	....	unit manager
Didier Lasserre	....	assistant unit manager
Pierre-Yves Le Stum	....	unit manager
Carmen Lima	....	unit manager
Emmanuelle Manigaud	....	assistant unit manager
Carole Pigeaux	....	production supervisor
Chrystel Tissot	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gilles Bindi	....	trainee assistant director
Arnaud Cafaxe	....	second second assistant director
Florent Darmon	....	trainee assistant director
Maia Etcheverry	....	assistant director
Pablo Lopez Paredes	....	second assistant director
Arnaud Mathey-Dreyfus	....	additional assistant director
Marie-Jeanne Pascal	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Vincent Amiel	....	construction crew
Charlotte Bayle	....	titles designer
Jérôme Bertin	....	construction crew
Joachim Caille	....	construction crew
Marie Chapuis	....	painter
Bernard Chenevier	....	construction crew
Matthieu Degeorges	....	construction crew
Arthur Deleu	....	property master
Jean-Marc Delière	....	construction crew
Stéphane Delzenne	....	construction crew
Valérie Faynot	....	second assistant decorator
Cédric Fidone	....	construction crew
David Firmin	....	construction crew
Laurent Gantès	....	construction crew
Pascal Guyot	....	construction crew
Alexis Jorand	....	painter
Dominique Laine	....	construction crew
Benoît Leclerc	....	construction crew
Jean Lepicard	....	construction crew
Christian Lionel	....	construction crew (as Lionel Christian)
Guy Lionel	....	painter (as Lionel Guy)
Norbert Luchessi	....	construction crew
Françoise Malaplate	....	painter
Frédérique Menichetti	....	tapestry
Gregory Morell	....	construction crew
Eric Petit-Jean	....	construction crew
Emmanuel Sultan	....	construction crew
Philippe Tanasic	....	property master

Sound Department
Jonathan Acbard	....	boom operator
Christophe Bourreau	....	foley artist
Geraldine Falieu	....	assistant sound editor
William Flageollet	....	sound mixer
Dominique Gaborieau	....	sound re-recording mixer
Olivier Goinard	....	sound editor
François-Joseph Hors	....	sound re-recording mixer
Nikolas Javelle	....	dialogue editor
Johann Nallet	....	sound recordist
Alexis Place	....	assistant sound editor
Philippe Richard	....	sound
Macdara Smith	....	foley artist
Patrice Séverac	....	post-synchronisation
Jean-Alexandre Villemer	....	sound recordist
Carine Zimmerlin	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Anne Bergamaschi	....	special effects
Daniel Cordero	....	special effects: Mexico (as Daniel 'Chovy' Cordero)
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects
Jacky Dufour	....	special effects
Pascal Fauvelle	....	special effects
Pierre Foury	....	pyrotechnic special effects
Michel Gery	....	special effects
Julien Huber	....	special effects
Rodrigo 'Bigotes' Jaramillo	....	special effects: Mexico (as Rodrigo Jaramillo)
Daniel Lenoir	....	special effects
Jérome Miel	....	special effects
Benoît Squizzato	....	pyrotechnic special effects
Olivier Zenenski	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Annie Dautane	....	visual effects producer
Richard Deusy	....	digital color grader
François Dumoulin	....	digital artist
François Dumoulin	....	digital compositor
Benjamin Massoubre	....	assistant digital compositor

Stunts
Hugo Aguilera	....	stunts: Mexico
Jean-Louis Airola	....	stunt coordinator
Alain Barbier	....	stunts
Anne Barrandon	....	stunts
Julian Bucio	....	stunts: Mexico
Cyrille Dufaut	....	stunts
Odile Guillodeau	....	stunts
Michel Julienne	....	stunts
Jean-Claude Lagniez	....	stunts
Mauricio Martínez	....	stunts: Mexico

Camera and Electrical Department
Eric Aupetit	....	key grip
Stéphane Bourgoin	....	electrician
Malik Brahimi	....	grip
Julien Cottret	....	additional grip
Lucilio Da Costa Pais	....	electrician (as Lucilio Da Costa)
Jean Christophe Delinaoumis	....	assistant camera (as Jean-Christophe Delianoumis)
Emile Dubuisson	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Benoît Glaux	....	assistant camera
Brice Gomez	....	electrician
Leopold Gomez	....	gaffer (as Leo Gomez)
Virgile Gomez-Fernandez	....	electrician
Jean-François Hensgens	....	focus puller
Landry Jourdan	....	electrician
Paf le Chien	....	still photographer
Yorick Le Saux	....	director of photography: second unit
Denis Lenoir	....	camera operator
Julien Pamart	....	assistant camera
Jean-Philippe Pasquier	....	grip
Robert Polonia	....	electrician
Kurt Reybrouck	....	grip
Gilles Sollier	....	grip
Marion Stalens	....	still photographer
Thierry Taieb	....	assistant camera
Laurence Trémolet	....	still photographer
Yuji Wada	....	gaffer: Japan unit
Laurent Ziliani	....	assistant camera

Casting Department
Anne Guillemard	....	extras casting
Marie-France Michel	....	extras casting
Ryuichi Takeuchi	....	extras casting: Japan

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Agnès D'At	....	costumer
Suzanne Dangel	....	costumer
Jurgen Doering	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Fleur Augustin	....	assistant editor
Richard Deusy	....	colorist
Muriel Douvry	....	assistant editor
Christian Dutac	....	color timer
Zoé Forget	....	assistant editor
Julia Gregory	....	assistant editor
Célia Lafitedupont	....	assistant editor
Bérengère Saint-Bezar	....	assistant editor
Cécile Therond	....	second assistant editor
David Vincent	....	color timer

Music Department
Amélie de Chassey	....	music supervisor
Delphine Mathieu	....	music supervisor
Eric Michon	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Dina Arbib	....	production assistant
Dominique Bandet	....	production assistant
Françoise Bouillon-Pommerolle	....	production administrator
Marianne Capian	....	assistant location manager (as Marianne Capian-Casino)
Frederic Chene	....	assistant production administrator (as Frédéric Chene)
Julie Chojnowicz	....	assistant location manager
Agnès Feuvre	....	script supervisor
Clémentine Harland	....	production assistant
Rodrigo Herranz	....	production coordinator: Mexico
Vanessa Jerrom	....	press attache
Pierre-Yves Le Stum	....	location manager
Noé Lefebvre	....	assistant location manager
Valérie Novel	....	location manager
Manuel Pouet	....	location scout
Julien Zeitouni	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Citizen Films
• Cofimage
• Elizabeth Films
• Forensic Films (in association with)
• Group Dataciné
• La Sofica Gimages 2
• M6 Films
• Procirep
• TPS Cinéma

Distributors

• SND (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• Kairos (2005) (Italy) (TV)
• Palm Pictures (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Tohokushinsha Film (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD) (retail)
• EuroVideo (2004) (Germany) (DVD) (rental)
• Madman Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (DVD)
• SBP (2004) (Argentina) (VHS)

Special Effects

• La Maison

Other Companies

• Cinecascade  vehicle stunts
• Cinécam  camera equipment
• Cinésyl  grip equipment

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content and some language

Runtime:

129 min | USA:117 min (unrated version) | Italy:121 min | USA:115 min (R-rated version)

Country:

France

Language:

English | French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | Germany:18 | Italy:VM18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | USA:R | Japan:R-18 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Philippines:R-13

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Citizen Films

Trivia:

The prêt-a-porter featured is from a Fred Sathal collection and is credited along the movie and video game extracts featured.

Quotes:

Hervé Le Millinec:I saw you move. I saw you with Volf.
Diane de Monx:What did you see?
Hervé Le Millinec:How you operated. I admire you.
Diane de Monx:You didn't see anything. No one sees anything. Ever. They watch... But they don't understand.

Movie Connections:

Featured in SY NYC 12/12/01: The Demonlover Sessions (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Dirge

One hour masterpiece (pity the movie last two hours)

Connie Nielsen is an industrial spy, infiltrated in big international corporation searching for secret information and trying to sabotage their last project DEMONLOVER.

DEMONLOVER is the name of a web site/3D porn anime/game. Well it is never too clear what exactly it is but you have a long glimpse at what it is inside (basically violent and highly sexual anime and 3D computer generated images).

However, been an industrial spy is not as easy as it may seem, particularly when three or four corporations are competing and very unscrupulous higher minds are manipulating the game and players. Almost everybody that has or had some relation with a major corporation, knows how greed, corruption and desire for power move everything inside, so nobody will deem unrealistic when people have to die to achieve the company business plan.

During the whole setup and presentation DEMONLOVER shines as the best real world spy movie seen lately, but sadly, the second half lose strength and the story get nowhere. Some scenes and storylines have not continuity (like a piece is cut or missing during editing) and the end is disappointing and unnecessary.

The movie is however worth watching. The acting is very good and for a French movie, most actors are well known in America like Connie Nielsen or Chloe Sevigny. The music score is excellent as most technical aspects and international locations (the movie was shot in France, USA, Japan and Mexico). The story is quite original and the suspense carries you until the end. It could easily pass as a decent thriller (albeit the superb it started as).

It is worth mentioning, that some things could endanger it commercial success. There are not good guys; just bad or worse and the main characters are women (men characters are accessories here). A few people could get upset for some porn (anime and human) showed during the film, but because that part of the story occurs in Japan, the gross scenes are digitally shadowed.