The Witnesses (2007) Les témoins (original title)

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

André Téchiné (scenario, adaptation and dialogue) and
Laurent Guyot (scenario, adaptation and dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 March 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Paris, 1984: A group of friends contend with the first outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Gay | Summer | Doctor | Opera Singer

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Michel Blanc	...	Adrien
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Sarah
Sami Bouajila	...	Mehdi
Julie Depardieu	...	Julie
Johan Libéreau	...	Manu
Constance Dollé	...	Sandra
Lorenzo Balducci	...	Steve
Alain Cauchi	...	Sheriff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Barbas	...	Medhi's colleague
Xavier Beauvois	...	L'éditeur
Raphaëline Goupilleau	...	La mère de Julie et Manu
Jacques Nolot	...	Le patron de l'hôtel
Maïa Simon	...	La mère de Sarah
Bertrand Soulier	...	Doctor #1
Michèle Moretti	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
André Téchiné

Writing credits
André Téchiné		(scenario, adaptation and dialogue) and
Laurent Guyot		(scenario, adaptation and dialogue) and
Viviane Zingg		(scenario, adaptation and dialogue)
Michel Camesi		(idea) and
Jamil Rahmani		(idea)

Produced by
Saïd Ben Saïd	....	producer

Original Music by
Philippe Sarde

Cinematography by
Julien Hirsch

Film Editing by
Martine Giordano

Production Design by
Michèle Abbé-Vannier		(as Michèle Abbé)

Costume Design by
Khadija Zeggaï

Makeup Department
Laurence Boulet	....	hair stylist
Dominique Colladant	....	key makeup artist
Cédric Gérard	....	key makeup artist
Frédéric Souquet	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Albert Blasius	....	unit production manager
David Crenn	....	assistant unit manager
Yvon Crenn	....	production manager
Abraham Goldblat	....	post-production supervisor
Etienne Grandon	....	assistant unit manager
Bruno Jouan	....	assistant unit manager
Mélanie Pienne	....	unit manager trainee
Eric Vedrine	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Marie Fischer	....	second assistant director
Michel Nasri	....	first assistant director
Maëva Poli	....	trainee assistant director
Cyprien Vial	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Pascal Martin	....	property master
Mylene Riccardi	....	set designer
Catherine Werner Schmit	....	set decorator (as Catherine Werner-Schmidt)

Sound Department
Boris Chapelle	....	assistant sound editor
Cyril Holtz	....	sound re-recording mixer
Albertine Lastera	....	dialogue editor
Florent Lavallée	....	foley recordist
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	sound
Yves-Marie Omnes	....	boom operator
Francis Wargnier	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Thomas Duval	....	visual effects supervisor
Aurélie Laumont	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Olivier Abelé	....	electrician
Jean-Christophe Beauvallet	....	first assistant camera
Edwin Broyer	....	grip
Christophe Duroyaume	....	gaffer
Luc Roux	....	still photographer
Fabien Veillas	....	grip
Lou Vernin	....	second assistant camera (as Lou Vernen)

Casting Department
Jacques Grant	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Claire Tong	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Richard Deusy	....	colorist
Emmanuelle Joly	....	assistant editor
Marie-Julie Maille	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Marie-Hélène Astruc	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Laurent Balandras	....	music supervisor
Sylvie Brochard	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Isabelle Chabrier	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Aline Corbière	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Christophe Dacharry	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Anne-Sophie Domergue	....	vocal coach
Il Giardino Armonico	....	musician
Manon Grandjean	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Emmanuel Kirklar	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Christel Marion	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Anne Mercier	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Christian Parmentier	....	musician: Les musician de l'orchestre du Duodijon
Franck Quinfoleau	....	music recording engineer
Daniela Romano	....	music supervisor

Other crew
David Barbas	....	technical advisor
Laure Darie	....	production secretary
Charles Sire	....	assistant script
Claudine Taulère	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Anne Boissard	....	thanks
Olivier Chiavassa	....	thanks
Chantal Fischer	....	thanks
Jean-Robert Gibard	....	thanks
Jamal Hadir	....	thanks
Michèle Moretti	....	thanks

Production Companies

• UGC Distribution (presents) (as UGC)
• SBS Films
• France 2 Cinéma (co-production)
• Soficinéma 2 (in association with) (as Soficinéma 2 & 3)
• Soficinéma 3 (in association with) (as Soficinéma 2 & 3)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (with the support of)
• Sofica UGC 1 (in association with)
• Canal+ (participation)
• TPS Star (participation)
• Région Ile-de-France (with the support of)

Distributors

• UGC Distribution (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• UGC Video (2007) (France) (DVD)
• Benelux Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmes do Estação (2009) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Impacto Cine (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Strand Releasing (2008) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Video Film Express (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Auditorium de Dijon  thanks
• Bureau Parisien des Tournages de la Ville de Paris, Le  thanks
• Bureau Parisien du Film  thanks
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)  support
• Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA)  thanks
• La Direction des Parcs et Jardins de la ville de Paris  thanks
• La Ville de Marseille  thanks
• Mairie de Créteil, La  thanks
• Mairie de La Ciotat, La  thanks
• Mairie de Paris  thanks
• Mairie de Saint-Girons, La  thanks
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne  support
• Préfecture de Police de Paris  thanks
• Région Ile-de-France  support
• Éditions Raoul Breton  music publisher: original music

Also Known As:

"Les témoins" - France (original title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Italy:VM14 | Taiwan:R-12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Créteil, Val-de-Marne, France

Company:

UGC Distribution

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In a hospital scene towards the end of the film, the pillow behind the actor's head reads "HOPITAUX DE PARIS 2006" on the design in numerous places, though the film was supposed to be shot in the 80s.

Movie Connections:

References Dracula (1931)

Soundtrack:

I'm A Lover

Love and Passion in the 1980s: Enter the Spectre

Les Témoins (The Witnesses) is another fine artwork by French director André Téchiné that continues to examine relationships in times of stress and through areas of rough travel. As written by Téchiné, Laurent Guyot, and Viviane Zingg this film is a love story and a social commentary on life in 1984 when AIDS raised its ugly head and disrupted lives, hopes and relationships. What could have been a heavy-handed woeful tale is instead a story about ordinary people and how the spectre of the then 'new disease' affected a small group of friends. In the intimacy of the story there is an opportunity to reflect and to see more clearly the atmosphere of that time in history.

Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart) is a writer of children's books married to Mehdi (Sami Bouajila), a member of the Paris police force vice squad. They have an open marriage and have just given birth to a baby boy - a factor that disrupts their separate lives while conflicting their married life. Sarah has a physician friend Adrien (Michel Blanc, so memorable in his role in 'Monsieur Hire') who is gay, and while he is older, he still longs for the company of young men. Adrien meets the young catering student Manu (Johan Libéreau), a lad whose sexual appetite is satisfied by trysts in parks, back rooms of bars, etc. Manu and his opera singer sister Julie (Julie Depardieu) live modestly in a sleazy hotel cum brothel that is under surveillance by Mehdi. Adrien and Manu strike up a friendship and are invited to join Sarah and Mehdi to Sarah's mother's cabin by the sea and while there a relationship between Manu and Mehdi begins, one that will become an affair in secret.

A strange disease comes to public attention and it is Adrien who is in charge of the investigation of the disease now called AIDS. Though Adrien's ties with Manu have become platonic while Manu see Mehdi daily, Adrien is the first to notice lesions on Manu, lesions that are the hallmark of AIDS. How this discovery affects the lives of each of the characters we have met (the 'witnesses' to a very important time in our history) serves as the crux of the story - part tragedy and part a torch of resilience the weaves the story to a close in an honest, touching but never maudlin manner.

The acting is consistently excellent, the sort of ensemble acting that keeps the focus on the message of the film rather than on individual attention to characters. The movie is beautifully photographed by Julien Hirsch and the musical score by Philippe Sarde wisely blends excerpts from Vivaldi and Mozart with original music that recalls the 1980s. This is yet another triumph for André Téchiné - a film that deserves the widest possible audience. Grady Harp