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

Nelly: [In a fancy restaurant] There are more waiters than customers here.
Monsieur Arnaud: That explains the prices. You saved my life,
[by giving him a back massage]
Monsieur Arnaud: so that ruled out McDonald's.

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Connections

Featured in Claude Sautet ou La magie invisible (2003)

User Reviews

The Jury Is In

When you gotta go you gotta go and if Claude Sautet had to go he certainly went in style. He gave us some of the finest and most durable films in late 20th century French cinema - Vincent, Francois, Paul et les Autres, En Cour en Hiver and so many more, films we can watch again and again with renewed pleasure and he signed off with a doozy. It is, of course, a cliché that only the French know how to handle the man-woman relationship in all its nuances, unorthodoxy, etc, but one worth repeating. Its all too easy to imagine the clumsiness with which modern English/US directors would have handled the older man/younger woman situation that lies at the heart of this story but I'm ready to bet plenty of twelve-to-seven that none would have brought the delicacy of touch, subtlety that is synonymous with Sautet. When we talk of a 'mood' piece we think of Chekhov and Sautet invokes the Russian master in spinning out of thin air a fragile, gossamer-thin tacit understanding between his two leads. Beart is almost too impossibly beautiful to be true and she needs to be the fine actress she is to get past the handicap of classical features while Serrault is a consummate actor still turning out great performances. A word too about the support, Michele Laroque, a stand-up comedienne in her spare time, brings the same solid support here as she did later in Francis Veber's 'Le Placard'. I can pay this movie no higher compliment than to bracket it with 'Brief Encounter', another masterpiece of unconsummated love that is still enchanting audiences fifty years on, as Nelly and Mr. Arnaud surely will be.