Rois et reine (2004)

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

Arnaud Desplechin (scenario & dialogue) &
Roger Bohbot (scenario & dialogue)

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Parallel storylines tell the current state of affairs for two ex-lovers: Nora's a single mother who comes to care for her terminally ill father; holed in up in mental ward, Ismael, a brilliant musician, plots his escape.

Plot Keywords:

Grenoble | Psychiatric Hospital | Playing With Gun | Hanging | Guilt

Awards:

9 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Emmanuelle Devos	...	Nora Cotterelle
Mathieu Amalric	...	Ismaël Vuillard
Catherine Deneuve	...	Mme Vasset
Maurice Garrel	...	Louis Jenssens
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	Chloé Jenssens
Jean-Paul Roussillon	...	Abel Vuillard
Magali Woch	...	Arielle, la "chinoise"
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Maître Marc Mamanne
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Elizabeth
Elsa Wolliaston	...	Dr. Devereux (as Elsa Woliaston)
Geoffrey Carey	...	Claude
Valentin Lelong	...	Elias Cotterelle
Thierry Bosc	...	M. Mader
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean-Jacques
Olivier Borle	...	Le moniteur

Also Known As:

Kings & Queen (USA)
Kings and Queen (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:150 min | USA:150 min | Argentina:150 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Hungary:16 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | South Korea:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | France:U | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Grenoble, Isère, France

Company:

Why Not Productions

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France #102243

Quotes:

Nora Cotterelle: There are four men I loved. I killed two of them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Trust the Man (2005)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

the most extravagantly praised french film of the year...

I was so hoping it would live up to the hype...and it almost does - but you know how it goes with extravagantly praised films.

Desplechin's 1996 "My Sex Life" was brilliant - a rambling, shambling, thoroughly engaging 3 hour trip through the lives of a group of rambling, shambling, lost characters, made by a director looking to pour as much raw life into a film as possible and let the rest sort itself out. He has no interest in a well-knit story....

This somehow doesn't work as well here...what is missing is the "engaging" part. This isn't a matter of his being unable edit himself; it's just characters and their situations just seem less able to cross the divide and touch you.

But i'm all in favor of Desplechin's intentions. This is a director definitely worthy of trust and respect. And can all those critics be wrong? I'm going to see this again.

"My Sex Life" had the benefit of three wonderful actors: Mathieu Almaric, Jeanne Ballibar and Emmanuelle Devos...we need more films from all three. Almaric and Devos return here. He is, as always, terrifically fun to watch. But this is her movie...Emmanuelle Devos seems to be coming into her own now, after years of playing lesser roles (The Beat my Heart Skipped). She is a marvel. Always playing the victim, stoic and long-suffering, and always bringing to this role a huge richness of feeling. She is heart-wrenching here, as she was in "My Sex Life", which she practically stole. And what a remarkable look she has...one moment the ugly duckling, another moment a ravishing beauty. I can't take my eyes off her. A great actress.