La Californie (2006)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Jacques Fieschi

Writers:

Jacques Fieschi (writer)
Georges Simenon (short story)

Release Date:

25 October 2006 (France)

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Nathalie Baye	...	Maguy
Roschdy Zem	...	Mirko
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Helène
Mylène Demongeot	...	Katia
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Stefan (as Rasha Bukvic)
Xavier De Guillebon	...	Francis
Caroline Ducey	...	Lila
Antoine Bibiloni	...	Doudou
Radha Valli	...	Frédérique
Soria Moufakkir	...	Khadija
Ridouane Yazit	...	Mimoun
Mirko Stanic	...	L'homme au chapeau
Bojan Kolak	...	Barman serbe
Sanja Filipovic	...	Jeune fille Belgrade
Marko Bocereg	...	Jeune homme Belgrade

Also Known As:

French California (International: English title)
Le chemin sans issue (France) (working title)

Runtime:

France:105 min

Country:

France

Language:

Serbo-Croatian | French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud)

Company:

Rectangle Productions

A good screenwriter is not necessarily a good director

Mr Fieschi was a good screenwriter for famous French directors, such as Claude Sautet. When he decided to go behind the movie camera, he picked up a not well known short story by Georges Simenon and some well known good actors, such as Mylene Demongeot, Ludivine Sagnier and mainly Nathalie Baye,who gives here one of her best performances. Located in the beautiful capital of the French Festivals (Cannes), with two Croatian actors who are quite good, the story is going rather smoothly for the first hour, until the whole story goes apart, because too many changes have been brought to the subject in order to give it a touch of modernism. And the tragic but incomprehensible ending made me awfully regret the money spent to see this movie, palatable only to the fans of Ms. Baye But who am I to give such a drastic comment? Just one of those who adores American movies and contributes via the heavy taxation to provide fresh money for amateur movie makers.. Harry Carasso, Paris, France