Elles (2011)

Director:

Malgorzata Szumowska

Writers:

Malgorzata Szumowska (written by)
Tine Byrckel (written by)

Release Date:

1 February 2012 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The world's oldest profession still has its secrets.

Plot:

On her latest assignment, a journalist for Elle immerses herself in a prostitution ring run by university students.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Journalist | Prostitution | Sex | Fellatio

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Anne
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Charlotte
Joanna Kulig	...	Alicja
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing	...	Patrick
Krystyna Janda	...	La mère d'Anne
Andrzej Chyra	...	Le client sadique
Ali Marhyar	...	Saïd
Jean-Marie Binoche	...	Le père d'Anne
François Civil	...	Florent
Pablo Beugnet	...	Stéphane
Valérie Dréville	...	La mère de Charlotte
Jean-Louis Coulloc'h	...	Le père de Charlotte
Arthur Moncla	...	Thomas
Scali Delpeyrat	...	Charles
Laurence Ragon	...	Colette
Alain Libolt	...	Le mari de Colette
Swann Arlaud	...	Le jeune client
Nicolas Layani	...	Le client guitare
Laurent Jumeaucourt	...	Le client grain de beauté
José Fumanal	...	Le client qui pleure
Martine Vandeville	...	La secrétaire université
Jenny Bellay	...	La voisine retraitée
Tom Hénin	...	L'ami de Florent
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anaïs Fabre	...	(uncredited)
Mateusz Kosciukiewicz	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Malgorzata Szumowska		(as Malgoska Szumowska)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Tine Byrckel		written by
Malgorzata Szumowska		written by (as Malgoska Szumowska)

Produced by
Daniel Blum	....	co-producer
Bettina Brokemper	....	co-producer
Reinhold Elschot	....	co-producer
Peter Garde	....	co-producer
Olivier Guerbois	....	line producer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	co-producer
Agnieszka Kurzydlo	....	co-producer
Johannes Rexin	....	line producer
Beata Ryczkowska	....	co-producer
Marianne Slot	....	producer
Malgorzata Szumowska	....	co-producer (as Malgoska Szumowska)

Original Music by
Pawel Mykietyn

Cinematography by
Michal Englert

Film Editing by
Jacek Drosio
Françoise Tourmen

Casting by
Aurélie Guichard

Production Design by
Pauline Bourdon

Costume Design by
Katarzyna Lewinska

Makeup Department
Cédric Gérard	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Benoit Baverel	....	unit manager
Benoît Baverel	....	unit production manager
Florence Cohen	....	assistant production manager
Laura Einmahl	....	unit manager
Rüdiger Jordan	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nicolas Cambois	....	first assistant director
Jean-Christophe Garcia	....	trainee assistant director
Boris Vassallo	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Stephanie Laurent Delarue	....	first assistant art director
Jonathan Israel	....	ripper
Martin Tronquart	....	property master

Sound Department
Ivan Dumas	....	boom operator
Matthias Lempert	....	sound re-recording mixer
André Rigaut	....	sound mixer

Casting Department
Mathilde Snodgrass	....	casting assistant
Boris Vassallo	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Olivia Lahougue	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Xavier Sirven	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Rüdiger Jordan	....	location scout: Germany
Antje Krumm	....	production press

Thanks
Christina Bentlage	....	thanks
Petra Müller	....	thanks
Arthur Simonini	....	thanks
Jeremy Zall	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Slot Machine
• Zentropa International Poland (co-production)
• Zentropa International Köln (co-production)
• Canal+ Polska (co-production)
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) (co-production)
• Shot - Szumowski (co-production)
• Liberator Productions (co-production)
• Polish Film Institute (support)
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen (support)
• Deutsche Filmförderfonds (DFFF) (support)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (support)
• Procirep (support)
• Angoa-Agicoa (support)
• Haut et Court (participation)
• Memento Films International (participation)
• Potemkine (participation)
• Kino Swiat (participation)
• Cofinova 7 (in association with)
• Arte / Cofinova 6 (in association with)
• Soficinéma 6 (in association with)

Distributors

• CDI Films (2012) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2013) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Kino Lorber (2012) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Mantarraya Producciones (2012) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Maywin Media (2012) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Officine UBU (2012) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Thim Film (2012) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Alambique Destilaria de Ideias Unipessoal (2012) (Portugal) (all media)
• Artificial Eye (2012) (Ireland) (all media)
• Artificial Eye (2012) (UK) (all media)
• Audio Visual Entertainment (2012) (Greece) (DVD)
• Camera Film (2012) (Denmark) (all media)
• Film1 (2013) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
• First Distributors (2011) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Folkets Bio (2012) (Sweden) (all media)
• Frenetic Films (2012) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Future Film (2012) (Finland) (DVD)
• Golem Distribución (2012) (Spain) (all media)
• Haut et Court (2012) (France) (all media)
• Imagine Films Distribution (2012) (Belgium) (all media)
• Imovision (2012) (Brazil) (all media)
• Inbaubel (2012) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Kino Lorber (2012) (USA) (all media)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2013) (Japan) (DVD)
• Kurmaca Film (2012) (Turkey) (all media)
• Les Films Séville (2012) (Canada) (all media)
• Mantarraya Producciones (2011) (Mexico) (all media)
• Mongkol Major (2012) (Thailand) (all media)
• Officine UBU (2012) (Italy) (all media)
• Palace Films (2012) (Australia) (all media)
• SBP (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Shapira Films (2012) (Israel) (all media)
• Videorama (2012) (Greece) (all media)
• Wide and Wise (2012) (Korea) (all media)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2012) (Netherlands) (all media)
• Zorro Film (2012) (Germany) (all media)

Other Companies

• Dinner for Tours  catering: NRW
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Filmobil  make-up/wardrobe van
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen  funding
• Upper Level Travel  travel agency

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexual content

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | Poland | Germany

Language:

French | English | Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:NC-17 | Ireland:18 | Australia:R | Germany:16 | Singapore:R21 | UK:18 | Argentina:18 | France:12 | South Korea:18 | Hong Kong:III | Sweden:15 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:M/16 | Mexico:C

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Slot Machine

Soundtrack:

Pass This On

"Unsentimental erotic drama..."

Polish screenwriter, producer and director Malgorzata Szumowska's fourth feature film which she co-wrote with Danish French-based psychoanalyst, journalist and screenwriter Tine Byrckel and co-produced, is somewhat based on stories from real-life prostitutes which the director met as part of her research. It premiered in the Special Presentations section at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival in 2011, was screened in the Spotlight section at the 11th Tribeca Film Festival in 2012, in the Panorama section at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2012 and is a Poland-France-Germany co-production which was shot in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany and produced by Danish-French producer Marianne Slot. It tells the story about Anne, a journalist for the worldwide fashion magazine Elle who lives in Paris with her husband Patrick and their two adolescent sons Florent and Stephane. Anne is doing an article about female student prostitution and is enlightened when she meets a French woman named Charlotte and a Polish woman named Alicja who explicitly tells her about their experiences with their clients.

Finely and intimately directed by Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from the viewpoints of a driven reporter and two young call girls, draws a somewhat engaging portrayal of a middle-aged woman who after getting to know and becoming intrigued by a lifestyle that is very foreign to that of her own, begins to care more about the theme of her article than her own family. While notable for it's at times atmospheric, bleak and mostly interior milieu depictions, fine production design by production designer Pauline Bourdon and cinematography by Polish cinematographer Michal Englert, this character-driven and dialog-driven independent film depicts a dense study of character and contains a good score by Polish composer Pawel Mykietin.

This at times graphic and as intended dispassionate and unattractive story about young women who supports their high-class lifestyles by pleasing the repulsive sexual fantasies of mostly married male clients who are old enough to be their fathers and how their stories and perceptions of their chosen profession affects an outsider's view on them and her own way of life, is impelled and reinforced by it's fragmented narrative structure, subtle character development, multiple viewpoints, evasive characters and the credible acting performances by French actress Juliette Binoche, Polish actress Johanna Kulig, French actress Anaïs Demoustier and French screenwriter, director and actor Louis-Do de Lencquesaing. This unsentimental erotic drama where the suspense is centred on wehther or not the protagonist's fascination and empathy for the sex workers will seduce and instigate her to risk losing her family, commendably attempts to create new perspectives on a theme that has been thoroughly examined in many other fictional and non-fictional feature films.