Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

24 heures de la vie d'une femme

  • 20022002
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
415
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)
  • Drama
Set in 1913, 1936 and 2001. When he returns to the casino and sea-side resort of his early adolescence, Louis, a seventy-eight-year-old man encounters Olivia, a nineteen-year-old girl madly ... Read allSet in 1913, 1936 and 2001. When he returns to the casino and sea-side resort of his early adolescence, Louis, a seventy-eight-year-old man encounters Olivia, a nineteen-year-old girl madly in love with a violent cad. Louis tells the story of his own mother having a passionate, d... Read allSet in 1913, 1936 and 2001. When he returns to the casino and sea-side resort of his early adolescence, Louis, a seventy-eight-year-old man encounters Olivia, a nineteen-year-old girl madly in love with a violent cad. Louis tells the story of his own mother having a passionate, driven fling with his Italian tennis instructor in 1936, and of Marie Collins Brown, the sl... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
415
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Laurent Bouhnik
  • Writers
    • Laurent Bouhnik
    • Gilles Taurand
    • Stefan Zweig(novel "24 Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau")
  • Stars
    • Agnès Jaoui
    • Michel Serrault
    • Bérénice Bejo
Top credits
  • Director
    • Laurent Bouhnik
  • Writers
    • Laurent Bouhnik
    • Gilles Taurand
    • Stefan Zweig(novel "24 Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau")
  • Stars
    • Agnès Jaoui
    • Michel Serrault
    • Bérénice Bejo
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
    • 7Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos

    Laurent Bouhnik at an event for 24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)
    Laurent Bouhnik at an event for 24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)
    Laurent Bouhnik at an event for 24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)
    Laurent Bouhnik at an event for 24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Agnès Jaoui
    Agnès Jaoui
    • Marie Collins Brownas Marie Collins Brown
    Michel Serrault
    Michel Serrault
    • Louisas Louis
    Bérénice Bejo
    Bérénice Bejo
    • Oliviaas Olivia
    Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
    Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
    • Antonas Anton
    Clément van den Bergh
    • Louis jeuneas Louis jeune
    Frances Barber
    Frances Barber
    • Bettyas Betty
    Bruno Slagmulder
    • Hervéas Hervé
    Jean-Claude Lamy
    • Directeur casinoas Directeur casino
    Pascal Greggory
    Pascal Greggory
    • Joueur casinoas Joueur casino
    Valérie Dréville
    • Henrietteas Henriette
    Serge Riaboukine
    Serge Riaboukine
    • Mauriceas Maurice
    Édith Le Merdy
    Édith Le Merdy
    • Femme médecinas Femme médecin
    Philippe Sturbelle
    • Médecin belgeas Médecin belge
    • (as Philippe Sturbel)
    Chloé Lambert
    Chloé Lambert
    • Pensionnaireas Pensionnaire
    François Caron
    • Pensionnaire blondas Pensionnaire blond
    Anette Burgdorf
    • Mme Gruberas Mme Gruber
    Christian Schneller
    • M. Gruberas M. Gruber
    Jean-François Gallotte
    Jean-François Gallotte
    • Le taxias Le taxi…
    • Director
      • Laurent Bouhnik
    • Writers
      • Laurent Bouhnik
      • Gilles Taurand
      • Stefan Zweig(novel "24 Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau")
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    1999 Madeleine
    5.8
    1999 Madeleine
    My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure
    4.5
    My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure
    The Headsman
    6.0
    The Headsman
    Angel of the Night
    4.1
    Angel of the Night
    Himmerland
    4.1
    Himmerland
    Misery Harbour
    6.0
    Misery Harbour
    Entre le jour et la nuit
    L'invité
    5.5
    L'invité
    Zonzon
    5.7
    Zonzon
    Sélect Hôtel
    6.2
    Sélect Hôtel
    Manden bag døren
    5.8
    Manden bag døren
    1,000 Times Good Night
    7.0
    1,000 Times Good Night

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alexia Barlier's debut.
    • Connections
      Remake of 24 Stunden aus dem Leben einer Frau (1931)

    User reviews2

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Sensitive, intelligent homage to Stefan Zweig
    "24 Hours of a Woman's Life" (2003) is the sixth film version of the famous novella by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881-1942). In the book, a certain Mrs. C., a 67 year-old upper-class English widow, befriends a male stranger (the narrator) in a hotel at the Côte d'Azur and tells him about her long kept secret: an eventful day in her life, 25 years before, when she met a young Polish army officer and compulsive gambler half her age, saved his life, fell madly in love and was finally let down by him -- all in the course of 24 hours, dramatically changing her life forever.

    While the book deals with a single narrative -- the confession of Mrs C. -- the film adds complexity and new characters to the original story. In the film, we deal with three interwoven narratives, all taking place at the Côte d'Azur but in different periods: a) 1910s: the tragic love story between Mrs C. (now renamed Mrs. Collins-Brown, played by Agnès Jaoui) and the young Polish gambler Anton (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau); b) 1936: Mrs. Collins-Brown's account of those events in an attempt to comfort teenage Louis (Clément van der Bergh), whose mother has just eloped with a tennis instructor she had met only the day before; c) 2001: Louis (Michel Serrault) is now a lonely, depressed bachelor and retired diplomat. He returns to the Côte d'Azur of his youth and accidentally meets desperate young Olivia (Bérénice Béjo), who's running away from her abusive, violent boyfriend. At first unwilling to help her but eventually identifying with her loneliness and despair, old Louis takes her to his hotel room and tells her the story he once heard from the English lady in 1936 -- and that same story will have a life-changing effect on THEIR own lives.

    Zweig, though not in the same literary "league" as his friends and contemporaries Thomas Mann, Rilke and Joyce, was nevertheless highly thought of and successful in the Europe of the 1920s and 1930s. Many international films have been based on his oeuvre since the 1920s, such as the classic "Letter from an Unknown Woman" by Max Ophüls with Joan Fontaine (1948), filmed at least another 5 times; "Confusion des Sentiments", a study in closeted homosexuality considered by some some scholars to be secretly autobiographical, directed by Étienne Périer with Michel Piccoli (1979); "Fear" by Rossellini with Ingrid Bergman (1954); the promising but ultimately disappointing "The Burning Secret" by Andrew Birkin with K.M.Brandauer and Faye Dunaway (1988), and many others. His stories, usually dealing with burning (and mostly illicit) passions that defy conventions and eventually lead to catharsis or tragedy, were greatly admired by Freud, who considered "24 Hours..." a masterpiece, "comparable to the best of Dostoevsky" (not quite, though the nature of the material had an obvious appeal for psychoanalytic theorization). Zweig shared Virginia Woolf's interest in the shattering consequences of sexual and emotional repression (especially for women) in re-shaped and traumatized Europe between the great world wars, though their literary styles were totally distinct.

    Director/co-screenwriter Laurent Bouhnik's decision to add a new contemporary episode with new characters is far from a "betrayal" or "heresy" on Zweig: on the contrary, it's an intelligent tribute to Zweig's literature, as it brings a welcome modern complexity to the story (it may sound complicated but is visually very clear, when you add costumes, make-up and different sets). Zweig's novella is not only about a Belle Époque lady who breaks free from social conventions plunging into emotional and sexual self-awareness -- it's also about the cathartic power of sharing life experiences with other people, about the search for emotional truth, about how unexpected events can change our lives overnight and forever.

    "24 Heures..." has fine production values, with beautiful locations in Cologne and the Côte d'Azur, lush costumes (the green dress Jaoui wears at the casino is a knockout!) and effective music by Michael Nyman. The production design defines the three periods very clearly, as the 1910s are all art-nouveau, the 1930s art-déco, and the 2000s icily "post-modern".

    Michel Serrault slowly unfolds the complexity of the old Louis with his consummate expertise. Agnès Joui -- though miscast, as she is is too young for her role and the few scenes in English betray her thick accent -- is an actress/writer herself, and thus has full understanding of her role; furthermore her "unglamorous" looks make her Mrs C. more realistic than earlier versions with goddess-like divas Merle Oberon, Ingrid Bergman and Danielle Darrieux. Young Clément van der Bergh ("La Ville don't le Prince est unEnfant" and "La Classe de Neige") is once again very appealing in his melancholy good looks. Danish actor Nikolaj Koster-Waldau is at once seductive, menacing and frail in the relatively short but pivotal role of gambler/officer Anton.

    "24 Hours..." is an intelligently updated homage to Zweig, the great humanist Jewish writer who fled from Nazi Germany and wandered throughout Europe in the early 1930s looking for a safe haven, finally settling in Brazil in 1941. During the Carnival of 1942, deeply depressed due to his belief that Hitler would ultimately win the war and having a hard time adapting in a totally different language and culture, Zweig and his wife Lotte committed double suicide by taking pills and poison in Petrópolis (a city near Rio de Janeiro), leaving a note stating he was "too old to start anew" and wishing his friends "good luck" while they waited for "the sun to finally rise after these darkest of times".

    P.S.: If you're interested in Zweig, try to find Sylvio Back's Brazilian documentary "Zweig: A Morte em Cena" (1995)(q.v.) and fiction film "Lost Zweig" (2002, released in 2007) about Zweig's final days, although these are hard finds EVEN if you live in Brazil.
    helpful•37
    1
    • debblyst
    • Jun 15, 2005

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 8, 2003 (France)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • Germany
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • French
    • Also known as
      • 24 Hours in the Life of a Woman
    • Filming locations
      • Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC)
      • Cinévia Films
      • Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €11,590,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,500,180
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 47 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for 24 heures de la vie d'une femme (2002)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:14
    The Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.