Rust and Bone (2012)
"De rouille et d'os" (original title)

Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

Director:

Jacques Audiard

Writers:

Jacques Audiard (screenplay), Thomas Bidegain (screenplay),

Stars:

Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 21 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marion Cotillard	...	Stéphanie
Matthias Schoenaerts	...	Alain van Versch
Armand Verdure	...	Sam
Céline Sallette	...	Louise
Corinne Masiero	...	Anna
Bouli Lanners	...	Martial
Jean-Michel Correia	...	Richard
Mourad Frarema	...	Foued
Yannick Choirat	...	Simon
Fred Menut	...	Le patron d'ELP Sécurité
Duncan Versteegh	...	Soigneur d'orques
Katia Chaperon	...	Soigneuse d'orques
Catherine Fa	...	Soigneuse d'orques
Andès Lopez Jabois	...	Soigneur d'orques
Océane Cartia	...	La baby-sitter

Storyline

Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

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Plot Keywords:

killer whale | whale | antibes | depression | locker room sex | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content, brief graphic nudity, some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Sony Pictures Classics [us]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

17 May 2012 (France)

Also Known As:

Rust and Bone

Filming Locations:

Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Box Office

Budget:

€15,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$27,154 (USA) (21 November 2012)

Gross:

$2,061,449 (USA) (29 March 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not Productions, Page 114, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marion Cotillard claimed that she hates filming sex scenes, which for her are usually the worst part of being an actress, but for the first time she enjoyed her sex scenes in a movie with Rust and Bone. She said: "I am shaking; I feel very bad and I want to cry most of the time because I hate it so much, but here it was totally different. I was so involved with my character that I was happy she would enjoy something like that. It's a movie about love, about flesh, about rust and bone and heart and sex, so without the sex scenes the movie would have missed something".

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Quotes

Stéphanie: What have you done with my legs?

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Life of Pi (2012)

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Soundtracks

"The Wolves (Act I And II)"
Written by Bon Iver
Performed by Bon Iver
Courtesy of Jagjaguwar

User Reviews

Superior craftsmanship on all levels

Jacques Audiard is the maker of the sensational, Oscar-nominated movie Un Prophète. Matthias Schoenaerts is the lead actor in the sensational, Oscar-nominated movie Bullhead. Together, they now have made De rouille et d'os. Is it sensational? Well, um, yes. Will it be nominated for an Oscar? Time will tell!

Like those other two movies, De rouille et d'os is about strong characters, fighting their way through life against all odds. One of those characters is played by Schoenaerts, the Flemish actor who is on the verge of his breakthrough in international cinema. At least, that's what everyone in Cannes was talking about. Next year's American remake of the Flemish blockbuster Loft might well be his ticket to Hollywood.

In De rouille et d'os, Schoenaerts basically plays the same sort of character as he did in Bullhead: lots of muscles, little brainpower. In this movie, he succeeds in embarrassing, hurting or insulting everyone he cares about: his child, his sister and his girlfriend. He seems incapable of showing the least bit of empathy. His rude and insensitive way of treating other people would almost be funny, if it weren't for the sometimes dramatic consequences.

The story is about the relationship between this emotionally handicapped man and a physically handicapped woman. Although they have almost opposite characters, they find each other in their mutual experience of being different from the rest. His lack of sympathy and understanding is almost an advantage for her. She lost her legs, but he doesn't ask her how she copes or if she wants a shoulder to cry on. No, he asks her if she wants to take a dive in the ocean with him. 'Do you realize what you're saying?', she replies. He answers by carrying her in his arms to the sea and letting her discover that she can swim by using only her arms.

Audiard knows how to let his two lead actors excel. Schoenaerts is completely believable as a primitive macho who means well but screws everything up nevertheless. And Marion Cotillard is cast perfectly as a strong-willed woman who refuses to be confined to a wheelchair. I was amazed by her physical appearance as an amputee - you'd swear that she had her legs cut off in order to be able to make this movie. The visual effects are awesome.

But apart from the acting achievements, Audiard also has some nice visual treats. Most of the time, the movie focuses on the actors, but now and then aesthetics take over. The scene with Cotillard in an orca show is an example of superb directing: the huge animals are filmed in such a way, that it becomes clear something terrible is about to happen. De rouille et d'os shows superior craftsmanship on all levels.