Meurtrières (2006)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Patrick Grandperret

Writers:

Patrick Grandperret (writer)
Hande Kodja (script contribution)

Release Date:

28 June 2006 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Nina and Lizzy meet at the mental institution they are committed to. Nina , who feels guilty for her father's death...

Plot Keywords:

Friendship Between Women | Island Of Ré

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Hande Kodja	...	Nina
Céline Sallette	...	Lizzy
Gianni Giardinelli	...	Yann Jobert
Anaïs de Courson	...	Hélène Jobert
Isabelle Caubère	...	Madame Jobert
Shafik Ahmad	...	Malik
Karine Pinoteau	...	Joanna
Marc Rioufol	...	Le père de Nina
Eugene Durif	...	Le psychiatre
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Teiva Airault	...	Bébé
Raja Aïtou	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Sonia Amori	...	Petite amie de Malik
Alain Artur	...	M. Jobert
Marc Bassler	...	Un forain
Joël Berthelot	...	Pompier
Cédric Blaizot	...	Pompier
Thomas Bloch	...	Musicien à l'hôpital
Chantal Boutonne	...	Concierge de Malik
Bratsch	...	Le groupe tzigane
Clarky Brunkler	...	Malade de l'hôpital
François Castiello	...	Accordéon tzigane
Bastien Catenacci	...	Le bassiste de Silth
Christophe Colfounic	...	Pompier
Marie Colin	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Martial Courclet	...	Chauffeur de taxi
Norbert Courset	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Eric Deméaults	...	Cracheur de feu
Brigitte Faure	...	Femme de la brocante
Cédric Foucaud	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Gérald Gamler	...	Forain
Gerard Garnier	...	Un forain
David Ghachi	...	Patron du café concert
Dan Gharibian	...	Guitare tzigane
Bruno Girard	...	Violon tzigane
Fanny Gontles	...	Cousine de Nina
Denis Gougeon	...	Client du routier
Léo Grandperret	...	Le guitariste de Silth
Martin Grandperret	...	Homme de la jonque
Stéphane Guérin	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Yoram Gué	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Pierre Jacquet	...	Contrebasse tzigane
Nathalie Kirzin	...	Voisine de Malik
Trang Lam	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Alain Marchesseau	...	Client du routier
Annie Marchesseau	...	Patronne du routier
Francis Mercier	...	Routier
Stéphane Michaut-Palermo	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Alyssa Milon	...	Fille adoptive
Nano Peytet	...	Clarinette tzigane
Santiago Isidro Pin	...	Peintre à l'hôpital
Karelle Prugnaud	...	Jongleuse
Pierre Renverseau	...	Homme au pick-up
Catherine Rouzeau	...	Mère adoptive
Mark Rutledge	...	Le batteur de Silth
Nadia Sadji	...	Malade de l'hôpital
Yannick Sagot	...	Pompier
Pierre Trapel	...	Vendeur de sous-vêtements
Gabriel Vergnaud	...	Le skater
Olivia Zulke	...	Chanteuse du groupe rock

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Filming Locations:

Ars, Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, France

Company:

Les Films du Worso

Trivia:

Visa d'exploitation en France # 113558.

An inescapable bad dream!

An extremely thought-provoking movie that leaves you wanting a sequel - I can't help thinking that this is the film that Baise Moi ought to have been.

While it is easy to see the story as about innocent girls fighting an unpleasant, chauvinistic world, it should be remembered that Nina is the central character, and Lizzy is actually a supporting cypher. It is Nina who we see as a newly orphaned teen, wandering in a fog of repressed grief and rage, depressed and wanting only to be somewhere else - a role Kodja plays masterfully - while Lizzy we are introduced to as an anarchic girl with no past who has taken too many pills and narrowly avoided death.

Nina finds herself handed off by a sympathetic but shallow cousin who simply places her with one of her beauty salon clients to drive to La Rochelle. The lady in question is very obviously a sexual predator, yet Nina is too lost and too innocent to notice. She ends up in the family hotel, and what a family! The laissez-faire father, the monstrous mother, the spoilt and petulant son...

Finally overwhelmed by grief, Nina is dumped by these lovely people at the hospital, where she is consigned to a sanitarium, and here she meets the apparently delightful Lizzy, who is also in recovery.

Soon enough, they 'escape' and rapidly find themselves without friends, family, money, a home... they can't wash, they can't eat, they can't sleep. Every time they ask, they are refused or abused, and every time they try to take instead, they mess up. The end result is the suspense of an inevitable confrontational ending. Yet that is not quite how the film DOES end.

And it isn't quite that simple. Lizzy is, in fact, a psychotic who really ought to have stayed in hospital. Not everyone is horrible - Lizzy's boyfriend is actually a caring kind of guy, who does try to help; there's a distrustful but kind lorry driver, a fatalistic old market stall seller and a self-obsessed affluent do-gooder.

Yet the only people who actually offer charity want something in exchange - and if there is no money, then sex is demanded. Yet perhaps the most harrowing scene in that respect is where the girls simply try to get a shower in a truck stop - the mercenary stares of the clientèle become truly horrifying.

The story of the two girls unfolds as a bad dream, where every door is closed to them in turn. Whatever they try to do, and wherever they go, they seem to end up in the same place. They are, in geographical reality, travelling in small circles, and yet all they really need to do is travel from La Rochelle to Bordeaux.

Meurtrieres is a highly polished movie that succeeds in placing the viewer in the minds of the leads. This is due in part to the wonderfully empathetic direction, but mainly to the outstanding performances from Kodja and Sallette, who really deserve accolades, and hopefully great careers ahead.