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IMDbPro

Pola X

  • 1999
  • Not Rated
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
5.7/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
Pola X (1999)
A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.
Play trailer1:37
2 Videos
89 Photos
DramaRomance

A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involvin... Read allA young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.A young writer becomes intrigued with a mysterious dark-haired woman who claims to be his long-lost sister, starting an unusual relationship with her and prompting a downward spiral involving his domineering mother and lovely fiancée.

  • Director
    • Leos Carax
  • Writers
    • Leos Carax
    • Jean-Pol Fargeau
    • Herman Melville
  • Stars
    • Guillaume Depardieu
    • Yekaterina Golubeva
    • Catherine Deneuve
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.7/10
    5.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Leos Carax
    • Writers
      • Leos Carax
      • Jean-Pol Fargeau
      • Herman Melville
    • Stars
      • Guillaume Depardieu
      • Yekaterina Golubeva
      • Catherine Deneuve
    • 48User reviews
    • 45Critic reviews
    • 65Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 2 nominations

    Videos2

    Trailer 2 [OV]
    Trailer 1:37
    Watch Trailer 2 [OV]
    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 0:45
    Watch Trailer [OV]

    Photos89

    Catherine Deneuve and Guillaume Depardieu in Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Guillaume Depardieu and Yekaterina Golubeva in Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Guillaume Depardieu and Yekaterina Golubeva in Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Guillaume Depardieu and Yekaterina Golubeva in Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)
    Guillaume Depardieu and Yekaterina Golubeva in Pola X (1999)
    Pola X (1999)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Guillaume Depardieu
    Guillaume Depardieu
    • Pierre
    Yekaterina Golubeva
    Yekaterina Golubeva
    • Isabelle
    Catherine Deneuve
    Catherine Deneuve
    • Marie
    Delphine Chuillot
    Delphine Chuillot
    • Lucie
    Laurent Lucas
    Laurent Lucas
    • Thibault
    Patachou
    Patachou
    • Marguerite
    Petruta Catana
    • Razerka
    Mihaella Silaghi
    • La Petite
    Sharunas Bartas
    Sharunas Bartas
    • Le Chef
    Samuel Dupuy
    • Fred
    Mathias Mlekuz
    • Présentateur TV
    Dine Souli
    • Chauffeur de Taxi
    Miguel Yeco
    • Augusto
    Khireddine Medjoubi
    • FIls du Patron du Café
    Mark Zak
    • L'Ami Roumain
    Anne Richter
    • Femme du Chef
    Myriam Defremont
    • Policier
    Michel B. Dupérial
    • Policier
    • Director
      • Leos Carax
    • Writers
      • Leos Carax
      • Jean-Pol Fargeau
      • Herman Melville
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Pola is an acronym for "Pierre ou les ambiguites," the French translation of the title of the Herman Melville novel on which the film is based.
    • Quotes

      Margherite: Be careful! You dream of writing a mature work, but your charm lies in your thorough immaturity. You dream of setting fire to God knows what, of rising above your times like a dazzling cloud, leaving everyone terrified and admiring. But you weren't born for that, Pierre! You don't even believe it yourself.

    • Crazy credits
      After credits there's a dedication "à mes trois soeurs" ("for my three sisters").
    • Alternate versions
      An alternate longer TV version entitled "Pierre ou les ambiguïtés", edited in 3 one-hour episodes, was shown for the first time on September 24, 2001 on 'Arte', the German-French TV channel. The 3 episodes feature an additional 40 minutes of footage and are titled 'A la lumière' (In the Light), 'A l'ombre des lumières' (In the Shadows of the Lights) and 'Dans le sang' (In the Blood). The TV-version is closer to Carax' original concept, that the film should consist of 3 distinct parts: "The film was thought to be in three parts, three chapters. There's the one chapter in the countryside, called 'In the Light.' I knew this chapter would be light, it would be green and white, green for nature. I dyed all of the actors' hairs blonde and put them in white shirts. (...) So the film is going from light to darkness and rust. (...) So there was a conscious [decision] of going from light to dark, and from 35mm to 16mm." (Sept. 2000) The 3-episodes-TV-version is not only longer, but features different footage. The new sequences explore the dreams of Pierre and his relationship with his mother, sister and fiancée. The 3-episodes-TV-version has not been released on other media yet.
    • Connections
      Featured in Mr. X, a Vision of Leos Carax (2014)
    • Soundtracks
      Light
      Written by Scott Walker

      Performed by Orchestre Philharmonique de Paris

      Conducted by Jean-Claude Dubois

      Christophe Guiot (1st violin)

    User reviews48

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Taking pretension to new heights
    I had just returned from France and was craving a French film to take the edge off the end of a vacation. However, Pola X was the most disjointed and pretentious film I've seen in years. It felt like a bad parody of the genre -- bleak, stilted dialogue; freaky feral-women; and oh the agonizingly beautiful angst of it all. The X in the title apparently refers to the 10th rewrite of the script. One wishes he'd had the insight to take it to 11.
    helpful•6
    6
    • Cookie-87
    • Oct 30, 2000

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 9, 1999 (Japan)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Switzerland
      • Germany
      • Japan
    • Official site
      • Atlanta Filmes (Portugal)
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • 寶拉X
    • Filming locations
      • North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
    • Production companies
      • ARD Degeto Film
      • Arena Films
      • Canal+
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • FRF 71,500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
      • DTS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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