French California (2006)
"La Californie" (original title)

Director:

Jacques Fieschi

Writers:

Jacques Fieschi, Georges Simenon (short story)

Stars:

Nathalie Baye, Roschdy Zem, Ludivine Sagnier

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nathalie Baye	...	Maguy
Roschdy Zem	...	Mirko
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Helène
Mylène Demongeot	...	Katia
Rasha Bukvic	...	Stefan
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

Storyline

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

France

Language:

Serbo-Croatian French

Release Date:

25 October 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

French California

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rectangle Productions, Thelma Films, StudioCanal

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

User Reviews

French California is it's title as shown in the USA

I saw this at the 2007 Palm Springs International Film Festival. It's a small film but has a great cast. This is set in Cannes and based on a short story and the film seems a little stretched out to the point of being thin. Prollific author and Cannes resident George Simeon wrote the short and his daughter-in-law actress Mylène Demongeot who was married to Simeon's son, director Marc Simeon, is cast in the film in the role of Katia. Nathalie Baye is Maguy and delivers a terrific performance as an aging wealthy socialite whose money and looks are running out. She owns a yacht but hates being on the water so it's docked near her home and serves as the home of her Croatian lover Mirko (Roschdy Zem) and his childhood pal Stephan (Radivoje Bukvic). Rounding out this menagerie of humanity are two gay lovers who are hanger-ons in Maguy's house that she also shares with her longtime friend Katia. Maguy has a daughter Helène who has fallen in love with Stephan and plan to marry and start a book publishing business in Paris. It's a good story but things unravel just too rapidly in this story to be believable. There are nice touches of humor to offset the brooding drama. It's worth a look and I would give it a 7.0 out of 10.