Kings & Queen (2004)
"Rois et reine" (original title)

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.

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

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

Stars:

Emmanuelle Devos, Geoffrey Carey, Thierry Bosc

10 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Nora Cotterelle
Geoffrey Carey	...	Claude
Thierry Bosc	...	M. Mader
Olivier Rabourdin	...	Jean-Jacques
Maurice Garrel	...	Louis Jenssens
Valentin Lelong	...	Elias Cotterelle
Olivier Borle	...	Le moniteur
Didier Sauvegrain	...	Le chirurgien
Mathieu Amalric	...	Ismaël Vuillard
François Toumarkine	...	Prospero
Miglen Mirtchev	...	Caliban
Marc Bodnar	...	Le psy de garde
Jean-Paul Roussillon	...	Abel Vuillard
Catherine Rouvel	...	Monique Vuillard
Catherine Deneuve	...	Mme Vasset

Storyline

The stories of Nora during a brief period when her father falls ill and of Ismaël while involuntarily committed to a mental institution for observation. Nora's in her 30s and has loved four men - her son Elias, Elias's deceased father, her own father, and Ismaël, a musician given to odd behavior with whom she lived seven years. She will soon marry a businessman. Faced with her father's death, Nora seeks out Ismaël to ask that he reconnect with Elias; a great deal else roils from her past. Ismaël has his own challenges, not the least of which are his feelings toward adopting Elias and his meeting Arielle, another patient. Ismaël's surface shows a lot; Nora's, very little.

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Plot Keywords:

grenoble | musician | psychiatric hospital | cancer | viola | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English German

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Kings & Queen

Filming Locations:

Grenoble, Isère, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$24,180 (USA) (20 May 2005)

Gross:

$289,592 (USA) (2 December 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, France 2 Cinéma, Rhône-Alpes Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

150 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France #102243

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Quotes

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

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Connections

References Notorious (1946)

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Soundtracks

"Do U Remember"
by Marley Marl

User Reviews

Has anyone ever told you you're beautiful?

There is SO much going on in this film, but it has rhythm, pace, a great soundtrack, and enjoyable, charismatic performances, that kept me engaged from the word go. The editing owes something to 60s Godard - lots of jump cuts in the dialogue scenes - and 80s Rohmer - anguished 30 somethings worrying about true love - and possibly, in its tour de force final sequence, a reference to La Jetee, which is also of course about memory, fate, and mortality. And then there is the rather bizarre Audrey reference which opens the film: as Nora steps out of a black car, clutching her morning coffee, clothed in black, her hair wound up on her head, the strains of Monn River sound. So far, so post-modern. This is is a film that is freighted with filmic, literary, theatrical (esp Shakespeare and the Tempest) and artistic allusions, but that uses these in service of a specific point: that these cultural references and allusions make the web of our being - that art is how we communicate to each other (notice that all the characters communicate through art - the gift Nora gives her father, the music Ismael dances to, the book the father writes - even the 'murder scene' is filmed through a highly stylised mise-en-scene): that 'artifice' can reveal the deepest and most moving of human emotions. It is a beautiful film that will move you and make you leave the cinema feeling transported. And Deneuve is just great! I love the bit where Ismael asks her if anyone has ever told her she's beautiful, and she gives a slight twist of her lips, sighs, and says, yes, she has heard that before. Just because something has become cliché, doesn't mean it's not true.