Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (1995)

When Nelly, a woman being just divorced, meets by chance M. Arnaud, a mature salesman just retired, begins a strange and special relationship between the two personalities.

Director:

Claude Sautet

Writers:

Jacques Fieschi, Claude Sautet

Stars:

Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Serrault, Jean-Hugues Anglade

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Nelly
Michel Serrault	...	M. Pierre Arnaud
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Vincent Granec
Claire Nadeau	...	Jacqueline
Françoise Brion	...	Lucie
Michèle Laroque	...	Isabelle
Michael Lonsdale	...	Dolabella
Charles Berling	...	Jerôme
Jean-Pierre Lorit	...	Christophe
Michel Albertini	...	Djamel
Coraly Zahonero	...	Marianne
Graziella Delerm	...	Laurence
Olivier Pajot	...	Jean-Marc
Alexandre Chappuis	...	Luc
Karine Foviau	...	Sandrine

Storyline

When Nelly, a woman being just divorced, meets by chance M. Arnaud, a mature salesman just retired, begins a strange and special relationship between the two personalities.

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Plot Keywords:

friendship | writing | publishing | divorce | character name in title | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Italy Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

21 June 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nelly and Mr. Arnaud

Filming Locations:

Chantilly, Oise, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$937,000, 12 July 1996

Gross USA:

$858,345, 25 August 1996

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica, Les Films Alain Sarde, Prokino Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Arnaud: [Speaking of his computer] "I wanted to use it once and erased everything."
Nelly: It's easy. You want to see? It's a typewriter with memory.
Arnaud: That's what's scary. A memory without memories.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Eraser/Wallace and Gromit: The Best of Aardman Animation/The Hunchback of Notre Dame/Lone Star/Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (1996)

User Reviews

Goddess Beart

I guess the main reason for "Nelly" to be one of the most popular Eruopean movies of the last years is the presence of the Goddess Beart in each and every one of the sequences: her eyes, her mouth, her perfection. Without any make-up, without wonderful dresses... she does not need anything but her natural beauty to make Mr. Arnaud to fall in love her. He hires her as a personal assistant while he's writing his memoirs, but she'll end up being his closest confident. The connection between both of them is neither sexual nor platonic... it's something else. Maybe they're just kindred spirits that meet each other at the wrong time: he knows she's too young and beautiful to stay with him. It doesn't matter if she'd be willing to begin a relationship with Arnaud, 'cause the truth is that he won't let her beauty to fade in the company of an old man which has anything but memories.

This is a sober and reflexive movie, that doesn't live up to its world wide fame (in my opinion); but, as I said before, the presence of Emmanuelle Beart worth watching it.

*My rate: 7/10