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

The movie is based on the short stories "Rust and Bone" and "Rocket Ride" from the book "Rust and Bone" by Canadian author Craig Davidson. In the book, is a man who loses his legs after a killer whale attack, but director Jacques Audiard decided to change for a woman because he thought that already had enough men in his previous movie A Prophet.

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Quotes

Stéphanie: What have you done with my legs?

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Connections

Featured in 19th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2013)

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Soundtracks

"State Trooper"
Written and performed by Bruce Springsteen
Courtesy of Columbia Records

User Reviews

difficult and charming, brutal and beautiful, melancholic and humorous throughout, exactly when and where it needs to be

Rust and Bone is new film by Jacques Audiard known largely for his breakout success A Prophet and concerns the burgeoning relationship between whale trainer Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) and street fighter Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts).

If you can avoid it, it's probably best to avoid much of the plot, but given it's been fairly publicised this is fairly difficult, but this is a film that deals with disability, image and to some extent, class.

It's been mentioned a lot, but what's really wonderful about this film is it's complete sidestepping of exaggerated sentimentality it could so easily fall prey to.

In the wrong hands, this could be a feel-good, motivational tale of a disabled person overcoming their hardships and finding love and personal confidence with a emotionally crippled partner who learns to overcome his own shortcomings in a fantastical fairy-tale rather like another rather successful French film that was released earlier this year.

In all honesty too, what I just described isn't completely far-off the narrative arc in Rust and Bone.

The way the film handles its characters' emotionally however is so much more satisfying due, partly to the brilliant performances by both Cotillard and Schoenaert, but also in Audiard's writing and direction.

After all, Rust and Bone is a feel-good tale eventually, but it takes a really long time to get there and doesn't revel in it.

The two leads do overcome their physical and emotional traumas through their relationship but it is a slow process of recovery, one that is instantly recognisable in every day life.

For a film with such a potentially over-the-top synopsis, it does incredibly well to stay focused on this small set of characters it presents us as believable and relate-able figures.

It poses some fascinating questions; is street fighting really any more or less cruel than training beautiful orcas to perform tricks for our pleasure? Why do this father and son move in the first place? We only have to assume that whatever was going on before the narrative was worse than what is happening on screen.

What was Stephanie like before her accident? And, like in Beasts of the Southern Wild, is being tough with your child sometimes necessary? These questions leave the film open, even though the main narrative is fairly straightforward.

All in all, the sheer range of emotions this film produces is testament to it's strength.

It is difficult and charming, brutal and beautiful, melancholic and humorous throughout, exactly when and where it needs to be.

My only real criticism is that the narrative dips a tiny bit in the third act, once the central relationship is finally consummated (which again, takes along time and initially is very matter-of-fact in a suitably amusing scene), the narrative begins to drag its heels a tiny bit, as the film seems to completely forget about Ali's son (though his character seems to for a bit as well) but the final coda remains to avoid sentimentality in an excellent closing few scenes.

The cinematography and soundtrack are pretty beautiful too, completing a fantastic triumph of an understated film. www.ravechild.co.uk