Le concile de pierre (2006)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Guillaume Nicloux

Writers:

Stéphane Cabel (writer)
Jean-Christophe Grangé (novel)

Release Date:

15 November 2006 (Belgium)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

In France, the single translator Diane Siprien adopts an Asian baby named Liu-San in a foundation directed by Sybille Weber...

Plot Keywords:

Scientist | Beautiful Woman | Adopted Son | Female Nudity | Based On Novel

Cast

Monica Bellucci	...	Laura Siprien
Catherine Deneuve	...	Sybille Weber
Moritz Bleibtreu	...	Serguei Makov
Sami Bouajila	...	Lucas
Elsa Zylberstein	...	Clarisse
Nicolas Thau	...	Liu-San
Lorenzo Balducci	...	L'inspecteur Frank Neves
Nicolas Jouhet	...	L'inspecteur Langlois
Peter Bonke	...	Le docteur Vonkel
Tubtchine Bayaertu	...	Barsak Thalik
Laurent Grévill	...	Daguerre
Jerzy Rogulski	...	Le professeur Bruner
Yoshi Oida	...	Kamal
Nikolai Boldaev	...	Ayrag (as Nicolaï Boldaev)
Simona Maicanescu	...	La directrice de l'orphelinat

Also Known As:

Der steinerne Kreis (Germany) (TV title)
Il concilio di pietra (Italy) (literal title)
L'eletto (Italy)
Liu San - Wächter des Lebens (Germany) (DVD title)
The Stone Council (International: English title)

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

France | Italy | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:13 | Germany:16 | Australia:MA | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Inner Mongolia, China

Company:

UGC YM

Formulaic and boring...

This is a totally by-the-number supernatural thriller that cannot be saved by the aura of its lead, nor by the exotic locales.

Le concile de pierre tries hard to hit all the buttons. Tensed atmosphere, amazing locations, some adventurous bits and action... but the wide variety of situations is all poorly thought out and the execution is even worse.

It seems the filmmakers were also under the impression that just putting the beautiful Monica Bellucci on screen with a more neglected appearance than usual would turn an Oscar-worthy performance that would carry the film. It is not the case and although Bellucci does have the star power and presence to carry such a film, she turns out an average performance at best. As for the other actors, the performances are even worse, including Catherine Deneuve who goes through the motion and looks like she wanted to collect a paycheck and nothing more.

I'd give it a 3 but since some shots are pretty enough, I'll go for a 4.