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Clean (2004/I)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Olivier Assayas (writer)
Release Date:
1 September 2004 (France)
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Tagline:
When you don't have a choice, you change.
Plot:
The former successful forty-two years old rock star Lee Hauser is decadent and his friends blame his...
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Plot Keywords:
Awards:
2 wins
&
7 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
Cannes: Maggie Cheung and Your Nine "Great Directors"
(From FilmExperience. 23 May 2009, 10:46 AM, PDT)
Family Values
(From IFC. 14 May 2009, 11:09 AM, PDT)
(From FilmExperience. 23 May 2009, 10:46 AM, PDT)
Family Values
(From IFC. 14 May 2009, 11:09 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
outstanding performances lift conventional drama
more (32 total)
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 |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated R for drug content, language and brief nudity.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
111 min | France:110 min | USA:90 min | Argentina:110 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Certification:
Canada:14A (Ontario) |
Australia:M |
Argentina:16 |
Singapore:NC-16 |
South Korea:15 |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) |
Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) |
UK:15 |
USA:R |
Brazil:14
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
During the scene where Albrecht has a meeting concerning the artwork for Lee's album, a Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds poster is seen on the wall behind him. James Johnston (who plays Lee Hauser) plays guitar and organ in The Bad Seeds.
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Movie Connections:
References M.D. Geist (1996) (V)
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Soundtrack:
The Lost Day
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (32 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Clean (2004/I)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Music | astgregg-1 |
| Maggie's Weight | asc85 |
| Why London? | gatur |
| kurt and courtney | drc235 |
| Directing Blend | gusolivo |
| Other Films Like this Culture-wise? | wantapieceapizza |
Recommendations
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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.