The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)
"De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté" (original title)

Will Thomas still lead a life of crime and cruelty, just like his thuggish father, or will he pursue his dream of becoming a pianist?

Director:

Jacques Audiard

Writers:

Jacques Audiard, Tonino Benacquista,

Stars:

Romain Duris, Niels Arestrup, Aure Atika

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 17 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Thomas Seyr
Niels Arestrup	...	Robert Seyr
Jonathan Zaccaï	...	Fabrice
Gilles Cohen	...	Sami
Linh Dan Pham	...	Miao Lin
Aure Atika	...	Aline
Emmanuelle Devos	...	Chris
Anton Yakovlev	...	Minskov
Mélanie Laurent	...	Minskov's Girlfriend
Agnès Aubé	...	Woman
Etienne Dirand	...	Old Man
Denis Falgoux	...	Metreur
Serge Onteniente	...	Man
Sandy Whitelaw	...	Mr. Fox
Emmanuel Finkiel	...	Conservatory Professor

Storyline

Twenty-eight-year-old Tom leads a life that might be termed as criminal. In doing so, he follows in the footsteps of his father, who made his money from dirty, and sometimes brutal, real estate deals. Tom is a pretty hard-boiled guy but also strangely considerate as far as his father is concerned. Somehow he appears to have arrived at a critical juncture in his life when a chance encounter prompts him to take up the piano and become a concert pianist, like his mother. He senses that this might be his final opportunity to take back his life. His piano teacher is a Chinese piano virtuoso who has recently come to live in France. She doesn't speak a lick of French so music becomes the only language they have in common. Before long, Jacques' bid to be a better person means that he begins to yearn for true love. But, when he finally has the chance of winning his best friend's wife, his passion only succeeds in scaring her. And then, one day, his dubious past comes to light...

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Plot Keywords:

piano | pianist | love | concert pianist | money | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Music | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Wellspring Media [us] Why Not / UGC [fr]

Country:

France

Language:

French English Russian Vietnamese Mandarin

Release Date:

16 March 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Filming Locations:

91 Café Les Jardins d'Issoire, Rue de la Tombe Issoire, Paris 14, Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

€5,300,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$52,122 (Argentina) (16 June 2006)

Gross:

$152,280 (Argentina) (30 June 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, Sédif Productions, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Romain Duris's sister is a pianist, and she is the one who taught him to play piano for this film.

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Quotes

Sami: Playing piano is making you flip. Stop it now!
Thomas Seyr: Nothing's making me flip. I'm not flipping. I'm having a ball. I feel fantastic, dont' you see? It's important, I'm serious about it.
Sami: You gonna make dough from pianos?
Thomas Seyr: Not pianos, the piano! It's not about making money, it's about art.
Sami: What's in it for us? You coming to meetings all, 'Hi guys, I've been playing piano.' Shit, I'll take up the banjo.
Thomas Seyr: It's over your head

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Connections

Remake of Fingers (1978)

User Reviews

excellent

This is an excellent film, and highly recommended. Its script is absolutely wonderful, showing the protagonist having a dark and ugly side, yet possessing the ability to express his sensitivity, as a classical pianist, through music, as he prepares for an audition with an agent. The juxtaposition of the two opposing sides of the protagonist lends the film an unexpected power and impact. It is a violent film, yet a humorous one at the same time, with great acting. De battre mon coeur is a remake of Fingers, which unfortunately I have not seen (yet). I can only hope that the French film will be released in The Netherlands as well, so I can see it again.