Clean (I) (2004)

London-based Emily Wang gained minor notoriety from her VJ-ing on cable television. She is now more renowned for being the longtime girlfriend and pseudo manager of rock musician Lee Hauser... See full summary »

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas

Stars:

Maggie Cheung, Nick Nolte, Béatrice Dalle

2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maggie Cheung	...	Emily Wang
Nick Nolte	...	Albrecht Hauser
Béatrice Dalle	...	Elena
Jeanne Balibar	...	Irene Paolini
Don McKellar	...	Vernon
Martha Henry	...	Rosemary Hauser
James Johnston	...	Lee Hauser
James Dennis	...	Jay
Rémi Martin	...	Jean-Pierre
Laetitia Spigarelli	...	Sandrine
Arnaud Churin	...	Store Manager
Man Kit Cheung	...	Restaurant Owner
Kurtys Kidd	...	Detective
Shaun Austin-Olsen	...	Record Label Owner
Jodi Crawford	...	Gloria

Storyline

London-based Emily Wang gained minor notoriety from her VJ-ing on cable television. She is now more renowned for being the longtime girlfriend and pseudo manager of rock musician Lee Hauser, who seems to be on the brink of stardom. Those that know the couple believe she is a bad influence on him, and is the reason why he is a junkie. After Lee dies from an accidental heroin overdose and Emily is imprisoned for six months on possession charges, she learns that the courts have awarded custody of their young adolescent son, Jay, to Lee's aging parents, Albrecht and Rosemary Hauser, who live in Vancouver. A concerned Albrecht asks that she not attempt to see Jay for at least two years while she cleans up her act so as to give Jay a fighting chance at a decent life. Emily initially agrees, knowing that she is in no position to look after Jay. To regain her life, she decides to move back to her old stomping grounds of Paris. As Emily tries mostly unsuccessfully to become clean while eking ...

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Plot Keywords:

jail | motel | heroin | death | singer | 

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Taglines:

When you don't have a choice, you change.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for drug content, language and brief nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp]

Country:

France Canada UK

Language:

French English Cantonese

Release Date:

1 September 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Czysta

Filming Locations:

Gare du Nord, Paris 10, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

£4,500 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$14,953 (USA) (28 April 2006)

Gross:

$136,007 (USA) (14 July 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Haystack Productions, Rhombus Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 110 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lead actress Maggie Cheung and director Olivier Assayas were already divorced when they made this movie.

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Connections

Features Machine Robo: Butchigiri Battle Hackers (1987)

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Soundtracks

"Starfucker"
Written by Ryder Graham, James Payment, Ben Boles and Shelton Deverell
Performed by z'Howndz
Courtesy of New Glue Records

User Reviews

outstanding performances lift conventional drama

To get the full, globe-trotting flavor of "Clean," one need simply note that Emily Wang is a Chinese immigrant living in Paris with her British rock star boyfriend, and that their child is being raised by the young man's parents in Vancouver, Canada. All I can say is that "Babel" clearly has nothing on this film when it comes to international story lines spanning widely varying cultures and time zones.

Though a French film, "Clean" actually begins in the English-speaking section of Canada where Emily and her husband, Lee Hauser, both heroin addicts, are desperately attempting to jumpstart Hauser's fading music career. The couple seems to be patterned somewhat after John Lennon and Yoko Ono, since everyone around them seems to think that Emily's undue influence on him is bringing him down both personally and professionally. When Hauser dies of a drug overdose, Emily - who earned some renown of her own as a music show hostess on an MTV-style interview show on French TV a decade or so back - is arrested for heroin possession and sentenced to six months in prison. Upon her release, she returns to Paris, agreeing not to have any contact with her son until she can kick her drug habit and make a decent life for herself.

As a cautionary tale about drug addiction in the music business, "Clean" doesn't show us anything we haven't already seen in countless films (and VH-1 specials) on this very same subject before. Yet, although the movie is a bit too scattered in its focus at times, when it is zeroing in on the things that really matter - Emily's attempts at overcoming her addiction and her efforts at forging a meaningful relationship with her young son - it is poignant, profound and deeply touching. The movie is blessed with a pair of outstanding performances by Maggie Cheung as Emily and Nick Nolte as Hauser's father, a kindhearted soul who believes in forgiveness and who offers a helping hand to a woman whose life, despite all her best efforts, is constantly teetering on the edge of disaster. Their scenes together, as the two characters reveal their fears, insecurities and even tentative hopes to one another, are both spellbinding and breathtaking, and show us what fine movie acting is really all about.