I've Loved You So Long (2008) Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (original title)

Director:

Philippe Claudel

Writer:

Philippe Claudel (writer)

Release Date:

19 March 2008 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A woman struggles to interact with her family and find her place in society after spending fifteen years in prison.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Doctor | Visit | Death | Colleague

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Juliette Fontaine
Elsa Zylberstein	...	Léa
Serge Hazanavicius	...	Luc
Laurent Grévill	...	Michel (as Lauren Grevill)
Frédéric Pierrot	...	Capitaine Fauré
Claire Johnston	...	La mère de Juliette et Léa
Catherine Hosmalin	...	La conseillère d'insertion
Jean-Claude Arnaud	...	Papy Paul
Olivier Cruveiller	...	Gérard
Lise Ségur	...	P'tit Lys (as Lise Segur)
Mouss	...	Samir (as Mouss Zouheyri)
Souad Mouchrik	...	Kaisha
Nicole Dubois	...	La DRH hôpital
Laurent Claret	...	Directeur hôpital
Marcel Ouendeno	...	Bamakalé
Gérard Barbonnet	...	Monsieur Lucien
Jérémie Covillault	...	Le jeune inspecteur
Kevin Lipka	...	L'étudiant (as Kévin Lipka)
Bruno Raffaelli	...	Monsieur Dupuis
Pascal Demolon	...	L'homme du bar
Aïcha Mimouni	...	Serveuse du bar
Catherine Antoine	...	Bimbo Lucien
Lily-Rose	...	Emelia
Valentin Jalet	...	Bébé Kaisha
Claire Lefevre	...	Marie-Paule - dite Katrina (voice)
Pascal Bordes	...	Patrick
Alain Buron	...	François
Isabelle Destrez	...	Muriel
Nathalie Hamel	...	Nathalie
Dominique Kucharzewski	...	Anne
Marc Léonian	...	Yves (as Marc Leonian)
Eva Quinto	...	Florence
Elio Guarino	...	Enfant
Alixane Pachot	...	Enfant
Laurine Pachot	...	Enfant
Hannah Peytavi-Müller	...	Enfant
Olga Peytavi-Müller	...	Enfant
Théo Urbauer	...	Enfant
Alexandre Voisin	...	Enfant
Maryse Voisin	...	Enfant
Angèle Zidi	...	Enfant
Paul Zidi	...	Enfant
Bryce Hitchcock	...	Emelia (voice)

Directed by
Philippe Claudel

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Philippe Claudel		writer

Produced by
Sylvestre Guarino	....	executive producer
Yves Marmion	....	producer

Original Music by
Jean-Louis Aubert

Cinematography by
Jérôme Alméras

Film Editing by
Virginie Bruant

Production Design by
Samuel Deshors

Art Direction by
Emmanuelle Cuillery

Costume Design by
Laurence Esnault		(assistant costume designer)

Makeup Department
Patrick Girault	....	key hair stylist

Production Management
Abraham Goldblat	....	post-production manager
Antoine Moussault	....	unit production manager
Jean-Patrick Nourricier	....	assistant unit manager
Arzur Ronan	....	assistant unit manager
Sandrine Rouquié	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philippe Crave	....	third assistant director
Thomas Ghitti	....	third assistant director
Hicham Kadiri	....	assistant director
Stanislas Klos	....	trainee assistant director
Claire Lefevre	....	trainee assistant director
Thomas Parnet	....	second assistant director
Aurelie Poulain	....	third assistant director
Julien Zidi	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Catherine Bourgeois	....	set dresser
Benjamin Bouygues-Faugeron	....	assistant art director
Denis Lourenco	....	ripper
Romain Scavazza	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Julien Baissat	....	foley artist assistant
Pierre Bompy	....	sound trainee
Stéphane Brunclair	....	sound editor
Stéphane Brunclair	....	sound
Denis Carquin	....	boom operator
Guadalupe Cassius	....	dialogue editor
Nicolas d'Halluin	....	sound recordist
Pascal Dedeye	....	foley artist
Sophie Durand	....	assistant sound editor
Gérard Lamps	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pierre Lenoir	....	sound
Armelle Mahé	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Grégoire Delage	....	special effects supervisor
Charles-Axel Vollard	....	special effects technician

Camera and Electrical Department
Karine Arlot	....	second assistant camera
Damien Auriol	....	key grip
Simon Beaufils	....	camera operator
Simon Blanchard	....	first assistant camera
Aurélie Blin	....	video assist operator
Xavier Cholet	....	gaffer
Julien Coquillet	....	grip
Arnaud Delannoy	....	first assistant camera
Cyril Dupont	....	electrician
Sébastien Plessis	....	electrician
Nicolas Rideau	....	additional camera operator
Jan Rubens	....	Steadicam operator
Thierry Valletoux	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Elisa Aboulker	....	assistant editor
Natacha Louis	....	colorist

Music Department
Edouard Dubois	....	music consultant

Other crew
Séverine Barré	....	administrator of production
Lucie Truffaut	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Roger Viry-Babel	....	in memory of

Production Companies

• UGC YM
• Integral Film
• France 3 Cinéma (in co-production with)
• UGC Images (in co-production with)
• Sofica UGC 1 (in association with)
• Sofica Soficinéma 4 (in association with)
• Fonds Eurimages du Conseil de l'Europe (with the support of)
• Région Lorraine (with the support of)
• Ville de Nancy (with the support of)
• Communaute Urbaine du Grand Nancy (with the support of)
• Canal+ (with the participation of)
• TPS Star (with the participation of)

Distributors

• UGC Distribution (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Film (2009) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmware International (2009) (Taiwan) (theatrical)
• Londra Films P&D (2011) (Bolivia) (theatrical)
• Longride (2009) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2008) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (2008) (Canada) (theatrical) (English Canada)
• Moviemobz Rain (2009) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Métropole Films Distribution (2008) (Canada) (theatrical) (Quebec)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Spentzos Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Alamode Film (2008) (Germany) (all media)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2009) (UK) (DVD)
• Lionsgate Home Entertainment (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Lumière Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (Canada) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Teleview International (2008) (Lebanon) (all media) (Middle East)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera dollies
• Creative Regie  production services and equipment (production services)

Also Known As:

"Il y a longtemps que je t'aime" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material and smoking

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

France | Germany

Language:

French | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:6 | USA:PG-13 | Ireland:12A | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Australia:M | UK:12A | Sweden:7 | Argentina:16 | Japan:G | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Peru:14 | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France

Company:

UGC YM

Trivia:

The note written by Juliette's dead son, which Lea finds by accident, reads: "un jardin sous la plui sé doux triste come moi san toit maman je veus pas que tu meure jamai on sera ensemble toujour tu ai mon amour ton petit Pierre" (A garden under the rain is sweet sad like me without you Mama I don't want you to die ever. We'll be together always. You are my love. Your little Pierre.)

Quotes:

Juliette Fontaine:The worst prison is the death of one's child. You never get out of it.

Movie Connections:

References To Be or Not to Be (1942)

French movie-making at its best

This is one of those films that, the less you know about it in advance, the more you are likely to appreciate it - which makes reviewing it a little problematic. All you really need to know is that it's French and excellent. But you might like to know that it's a wonderful vehicle for Kristin Scott Thomas, the British actress married to a Frenchman, who plays Juliette, an Anglo-French woman with some dark and painful secrets which only slowly unfold as the narrative takes its traumatic course. The movie opens and closes with close-ups of her haunted face and, in between, she is rarely off the screen in a marvellously nuanced performance, well supported by Elsa Zylberstein who plays her younger sister Léa. Written and directed by Philippe Claudel, this is French movie-making at its best.