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

Director:

Arnaud Desplechin

Writers:

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

Release Date:

22 December 2004 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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:

Musician | Grenoble | Hospital | Art Gallery | Cancer

Awards:

10 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

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
Noémie Lvovsky	...	Elizabeth
Jan Hammenecker	...	Nicolas
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	Chloé Jenssens
Marie-Françoise Gonzales	...	L'infirmière
Joachim Salinger	...	Pierre Cotterelle
Daniel Cohen	...	Le gynécologue
Frédéric Epaud	...	L'employé de mairie
Claude Phor	...	Le dingue
Karim Belkhadra	...	L'interne psy
Hippolyte Girardot	...	Maître Marc Mamanne
Elsa Wolliaston	...	Dr. Devereux (as Elsa Woliaston)
Gaëlle Dill	...	Victorine
Magali Woch	...	Arielle
Shulamit Adar	...	Mme Seyvos
Marc Betton	...	Léopold Virag, l'éditeur
Gilles Cohen	...	Simon
Francis Leplay	...	Christian, le félon
Bernard Garnier	...	Le médecin-légiste
Joël Dahan	...	L'auteur
Rachid Hami	...	Marcello
Marion Touitou	...	Delphine
Yann Coridian	...	Fidèle
Andrée Tainsy	...	La grand-mère
Sarah Lefèvre	...	L'amie de Nora
Denis Falgoux	...	Le flic
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Laurencina Lam	...	Hospital receptionist (uncredited)
Anh Lili	...	(uncredited)
Alain Pointier	...	L'huissier (uncredited)

Directed by
Arnaud Desplechin

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

Produced by
Pascal Caucheteux	....	producer

Original Music by
Grégoire Hetzel

Cinematography by
Eric Gautier

Film Editing by
Laurence Briaud

Casting by
Stéphane Touitou

Production Design by
Dan Bevan

Costume Design by
Nathalie Raoul

Makeup Department
Frédéric Lainé	....	special makeup effects artist
Benoît Lestang	....	special makeup effects artist
Eric Monteil	....	key hair stylist
Thi-Loan Nguyen	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Marine Billet	....	assistant unit manager
Mederic Bourlat	....	unit production manager
Martine Cassinelli	....	production manager
Laurencina Lam	....	post-production manager
Thibault Mattei	....	production general manager
Monica Taverna	....	second unit manager
Isabelle Tillou	....	production manager
Edouard Decker	....	assistant unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Barbara Canale	....	assistant director
Julien Greco	....	second assistant director
Denis Kralj	....	second assistant director
Gabriele Roux	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Yann Dury	....	construction coordinator
Sophie Lampkin	....	head painter
Laurent Saimond	....	property master
Nathalie Serrière	....	assistant art director
Maxime Girault	....	art department trainee (uncredited)

Sound Department
Nicolas Bouvet	....	assistant sound editor
Frank Ceven	....	assistant foley artist
Pascal Chauvin	....	foley artist
Yves Coméliau	....	assistant sound
Edouard d'Heucqueville	....	sound mix technician
Rym Debbarh-Mounir	....	dialogue editor
Jean-Pierre Laforce	....	sound re-recording mixer
Sophie Laloy	....	assistant sound
Claire-Anne Largeron	....	sound editor
Christian Monheim	....	sound
Sébastien Noiré	....	sound editor
Seppe van Groeningen	....	boom operator
Benjamin Viau	....	assistant foley artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Néwine Behi	....	second assistant camera
Patrick de Ranter	....	Steadicam operator
Claudia Imbert	....	assistant camera
Nicolas Leroy	....	grip
Jean-Claude Lother	....	still photographer
Pascale Marin	....	assistant camera
Eric Martinot	....	key grip
Thomas Collignon	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)

Casting Department
Amélie Covillard	....	extras casting assistant
Viviane Lesser	....	casting: children

Editorial Department
Idit Bloch	....	assistant editor
Célia Lafitedupont	....	assistant editor
Jérome Pey	....	additional assistant editor
Benjamin Weill	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Thomas Jamois	....	soundtrack producer
Stéphane Reichart	....	music scoring mixer

Other crew
Marie Barré	....	location scout
Lysiane Biagini	....	location scout
Agnès Chabot	....	press attache
Sylvia Pain	....	administrator
Emmanuel Dehaene	....	additional location assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Why Not Productions
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Rhône-Alpes Cinéma (co-production)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)
• Procirep (participation)
• Canal+ (participation)
• CinéCinéma (participation)
• Centre Européen Cinématographique Rhône-Alpes (participation)
• Cofimage 15 (participation)
• Wild Bunch (participation)

Distributors

• 791 Cine (2007) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Filmhouse (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Groupement National des Cinémas de Recherche (GNCR) (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• JMH Distribution (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical) (French speaking region)
• JMH Distribution (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical) (German speaking region)
• Wellspring Media (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Wild Bunch (2004) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Amazonia Films (2004-2012) (Venezuela) (all media)
• Four Films (2007) (Chile) (DVD)
• Orlando Films (2005) (Israel) (all media)
• Wellspring Media (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Kodak  film stock
• Les Auditoriums de Joinville  sound re-recording (as Auditoriums de Joinville)

Also Known As:

"Rois et reine" - France (original title)
"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 | Australia:M | 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:

The title of the movie was inspired to Arnaud Desplachin by the five first lines of a poem by Michel Leiris: "Rois sans arrois Reine sans arène Tour trouée Fou à lier Cavalier seul"

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Notorious (1946)

Soundtrack:

Moon River

Both moving and irritating : the work of a great auteur

How do you create a follow up to the two masterpieces that were "Comment je me suis disputé" and "Ester Kahn" (we won't talk about the dull "Léo... en jouant Dans la compagnie des hommes") ? You just listen to what your heart has to say, however hard and difficult it might be, and make no compromises. You don't fear to be misunderstood. You care about the audience but do not let them influence your work. You're a genius but you still have doubts, and these doubts make your art even better. "Rois et Reine" ("Kings and Queen"), Arnaud Desplechin's latest film, lasts 2h40mn and, in spite of its length and its harsh contents, is utterly entertaining, fascinating, moving and even funny. It does not fear to be (often) irritating and boring : the burlesque moments, for instance, are quite annoying, but then again, that's a personal point of view. The thing is, the storyline about Nora's relationship with her father and her ex boyfriend and her son, and then again Ismael's relationship with Nora's son and with his family are so powerful, they don't need more. Unfortunately, Desplechin is often reluctant to cut deep in his movie and as a result, "Rois et Reine" sometimes looks like a long, long ride. Add to that some unfortunate flash backs burdened by bad acting (the character of Pierre) and boy does the movie sound dull at times. Emmanuelle Devos and Mathieu Amalric, finding here the roles of a lifetime, are absolutely fascinating. When in the end, Nora discovers the secret pages of her father's diary, or when Ismael spends an afternoon with Nora's son, it's devastating. I've rarely seen a movie that translates human emotions so beautifully. Just for that, "Rois et reine" is a must see.