Une vieille maîtresse (2007)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writers:

Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (novel)
Catherine Breillat (adaptation)

Release Date:

30 May 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy. |

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Opposites Attract | Period Piece | Flashback Sequence | 1830s

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Asia Argento	...	Vellini
Fu'ad Ait Aattou	...	Ryno de Marigny
Roxane Mesquida	...	Hermangarde
Claude Sarraute	...	La marquise de Flers
Yolande Moreau	...	La comtesse d'Artelles
Michael Lonsdale	...	Le vicomte de Prony
Anne Parillaud	...	Mme de Solcy
Jean-Philippe Tesse	...	Le vicomte de Mareuil
Sarah Pratt	...	La comtesse de Mendoze
Amira Casar	...	Mademoiselle Divine des Airelles
Lio	...	La chanteuse
Isabelle Renauld	...	L'arrogante
Léa Seydoux	...	Oliva
Nicholas Hawtrey	...	Sir Reginald
Caroline Ducey	...	La dame de Pique

Also Known As:

The Last Mistress (Canada: English title) (USA) (new title)
An Old Mistress (Australia) (new title)

Runtime:

104 min | South Korea:113 min | Canada:114 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R | Taiwan:R-18 | Argentina:18 | UK:15 | Singapore:R21 | South Korea:18 | USA:Unrated | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia)

Company:

Flach Film

Trivia:

Catherine Breillat discovered Fu'ad Ait Aattou in a Paris café.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In one shot, Asia Argento's tailbone tattoo is visible. Although tattoos were known to early 19th century Europeans (in fact, they date back before civilization), it seems improbable that Argento's character, a Spanish lady in France, was meant to have a tattoo in a design like the actress's tattoo.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Metropolis: Cannes 2007 - Special" (2007)

Breaking the Mold for Love, Women and Film-making.

Its been awhile since I fell in love with a film, THE LAST MISTRESS reignited the flame. It is by far the best film yet of 2008. Few films can really develop the inexplicable magnetism of one person to another, the unbreakable bond that keeps them from drifting afar for too long. Its rare to experience, and difficult to understand. Somehow Breillat has brought to life a rich portrait of the love of a lifetime. Criticisms of pacing are way off, the performers are thinking, soaking in their melancholy and you track that sadness out of the theater in wet footprints. It was hard to leave the room when the credits were over, I wanted more of them, to believe in love no matter how much pain or consequence weathers its journey. Steadfast and true. One of the best female characters to date, and by far a groundbreaking performance from Argento! Rich, passionate, heartbreaking and Breillat's greatest success yet. This is film-making my friends! The younger ones may have trouble understanding or appreciating. For those of us still in love.