Hidden Love (2007) L'amore nascosto (original title)

Director:

Alessandro Capone

Writers:

Alessandro Capone
Luca D'Alisera
(more)

Release Date:

5 June 2009 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Subway | Mother Daughter Relationship | Taxi | Psychiatrist | Shower

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Danielle
Greta Scacchi	...	Dr. Dubois
Mélanie Laurent	...	Sophie
Olivier Gourmet	...	Morris
Jean-Michel Larre	...	Luc
Giorgio Lupano	...	Sébastien
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tonino Accolla	...	Gentleman caller
Marc Brun

Directed by
Alessandro Capone

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alessandro Capone
Luca D'Alisera
Danièle Girard		book

Produced by
Jeremy Burdek	....	associate producer
John Cairns	....	executive producer
Romain Coche	....	line producer
Massimo Cristaldi	....	producer
Marina Gefter	....	executive producer
Eddy Géradon-Luyckx	....	co-producer
Mark Hammond	....	producer
Nadia Khamlichi	....	associate producer
Adrian Politowski	....	associate producer
Donato Rotunno	....	co-producer
Joseph Rouschop	....	co-producer
Jean-Claude Schlim	....	line producer

Original Music by
Riccardo Fassi
Butch Morris		(as Lawrence 'Butch' Morris)

Cinematography by
Luciano Tovoli

Film Editing by
Roberto Perpignani

Production Design by
Marta Zani

Set Decoration by
François Dickes

Costume Design by
Uli Simon

Makeup Department
Antonella Prestigiacomo	....	key hair stylist
Katja Reinert-Alexis	....	makeup artist: Greta Scacci

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alessandro Palestro	....	third assistant director
Alessandro Sanacore	....	assistant director

Art Department
Alexandre Brown	....	art department coordinator
Manuel Demoulling	....	property master
Milo Geleng	....	assistant art director
Milo Geleng	....	painter
Annett 'Gogo' Golinski	....	draper
Marc Ridremont	....	painter

Sound Department
Guadalupe Cassius	....	assistant sound editor
Ricardo Castro	....	sound
Dumont Jean-Philippe	....	sound trainee
Bridget O'Driscoll	....	sound editor
Francesco Tumminello	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jérôme Wiciak	....	foley mixer
Jérôme Wiciak	....	sound re-recording mixer
Carine Zimmerlin	....	boom operator

Visual Effects by
Andrea Baracca	....	digital artist
Andrea Baracca	....	digital color timing
Andrea Cavallini	....	scanning operator
Fabrizio Cucinotta	....	scanning and recording operator
Marco Geracitano	....	digital artist: Proxima
Dionisio Greco	....	I/O manager
Lorenzo Moneta	....	main titles design
Gian Luca Rizzo	....	visual effects producer
Marco Ruggieri	....	scanning & recording

Camera and Electrical Department
Timothée Anciaux	....	grip
Loïc Andrieu	....	Steadicam operator
Tanguy Boulanger	....	video assist operator
Gilbert Degrand	....	best boy
Vania Guinsbourg	....	clapper loader: "b" camera
Graham Johnston	....	focus puller: "a" camera
Helder Loureiro Alves Da Silva	....	lighting technician
Aleks Sandrine Neumuller	....	location grip
Maurizio Piano	....	camera operator: "a" camera
Ferencz Radnai	....	gaffer
Jean-Marc Selva	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Théodore Theodorides	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Wolfgang Wesemann	....	clapper loader: "a" camera

Editorial Department
Irma Misantoni	....	assistant editor
Linda Taylor	....	assistant editor
Danilo Torre	....	first assistant editor

Transportation Department
Gaby Meyers	....	truck driver
Francois Muller	....	truck driver
Olivier Printz	....	picture car coordinator
Amaury Serieye	....	transportation coordinator
Hrouchoff Svet	....	additional driver: costume/make-up department

Other crew
Joe Kotroczo	....	location assistant: daily
Roberto Ornaro	....	account administrator
Gregor Rudolph	....	assistant location manager
Iwona Sellers	....	production executive
Hrouchoff Svet	....	additional groupman
Anne Van Hove	....	script supervisor
Gilles Waterkeyn	....	production executive

Production Companies

• Backup Films (in association with)
• Cristaldi Pictures
• Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique (with the support of)
• Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali (MiBAC) (support)
• Soho Films
• Tarantula
• uFilm (co-production)

Distributors

• Zelig Films Distribution (2009) (France) (theatrical)
• Cinema Epoch (2010) (USA) (all media)
• Parkland Pictures (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Other Companies

• Bollux  film stock provided by
• Bollux  grip rental company
• Film & Television Facilities  facility vehicles
• Fresh Farm Films  trailers
• Location Consulting & Facilities  facilities vehicles
• Proxima  post-production (digital intermediate)
• uFund  funding

Also Known As:

"L'amore nascosto" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

100 min | Canada:92 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Italy | Luxembourg | Belgium

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Company:

Backup Films

Devastating psycho-drama on motherhood

It is impossible not to be shocked by this movie, focused on a very delicate theme, and on three female characters. An over the top (and very courageous) Isabelle Huppert plays the main role of Danielle, a mother who hates her daughter in a visceral way, and has spent her whole life between indifference and sense of guilt, but incapable of elaborating her suffering condition. Her interpretation is devastating, her face is completely blank and the camera focused on it underlines the void of her inner world, still more underlined by the aseptic, white, impersonal environment surrounding her. Her troubled relationship with motherhood is probably part of a mental disorder, since also the relation with her good husband has always been difficult, as she has often felt disgusted by him, and she feels in general incapable of experiencing any human feelings. Mélanie Laurent plays Sophie, the hated daughter, she shifts from total inexpressiveness when she is with Danielle (although she feels some kind of love for her), to tender maternal love when she is with her own daughter. Greta Scacchi plays the analyst and is the only soothing and positive human female figure, trying to elaborate some sense and to assert the value of human sympathy.

The atmosphere throughout the movie never ceases to be tense, sometimes too tense, the moments of "dialogue" between Danielle and Sophie convey such anger, rage, hate that they are almost unbearable. The final outcome tries to offer some relief, although not too convincing, as if a backwards step seemed to be necessary in order to bring all the hate we have perceived to a more humanly-acceptable dimension, as if some kind of rescue were to be found, but it seems too a hasty ending, which leaves many unsolved, but probably unsolvable questions (above all, the only hinted reference by Danielle to the possibility that every mother could have negative feelings for a child, that you cannot enforce yourself to love someone, not even your own child). Undoubtedly, a very well interpreted movie, but, obviously, very sad and depressing, you need to be prepared and be in the right mood to see it.