Twentynine Palms (2003)

David, an independent photographer, and Katia, an unemployed woman, leave Los Angeles, en route to the southern California desert, where they search a natural set to use as a backdrop for a... See full summary »

Director:

Bruno Dumont

Writer:

Bruno Dumont

Stars:

Yekaterina Golubeva, David Wissak

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Yekaterina Golubeva	...	Katia (as Katia Golubeva)
David Wissak	...	David

Storyline

David, an independent photographer, and Katia, an unemployed woman, leave Los Angeles, en route to the southern California desert, where they search a natural set to use as a backdrop for a magazine photo shoot. They find a motel in the town of Twentynine Palms and spend their days in their sport-utility vehicle, discovering the Joshua Tree Desert, and losing themselves on nameless roads and trails. Frantically making love all the time and almost everywhere, they regularly fight, then kiss and make up, with little else going on in their empty relationship and quite ordinary daily life--until something horrible and hideous brutally puts an end to their trip.

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Plot Keywords:

desert | nude | nudity | male pubic hair | public nudity | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

3B Productions [France] (French, English) Official site [France]

Country:

France Germany USA

Language:

French English Russian

Release Date:

17 September 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

29 Palms

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,870, 11 April 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$54,523, 12 September 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

3B Productions, The 7th Floor, Thoke Moebius Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Casting Director Elisabeth Jereski originally planned to cast Marine Corporal Joshua James in the lead, but was rebuffed by his local Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. F.J. Usry, as the graphic sex scenes and violence would portray the Marine Corps, with which James was actively serving in 29 Palms, in a "less than positive light in the community."

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Connections

Referenced in Prisoner (2007)

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Soundtracks

Takatomi Sunset
Written by Takashi Hirayasu
Performed by Takashi Hirayasu and Bob Brozman

User Reviews

A great film, but no entertainment

I thought this film was excellent! (maybe not as good as La vie de Jesus or L'Humanite=same director) But you have to look at it differently than when you watch an entertaining Hollywood-film. This film is not entertaining at all, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The film doesn't really tell a story. It does something else: it "captures" an atmosphere, a strange kind of tension, a weird feeling, it captures the flux of life without dramatization... something which, for me at least, is much more interesting than just telling a story. There are other great directors doing it (in different ways of course): Hungarion Directot Béla Tarr, Austrian Director Michael Haneke, Gus van Sant (in his best films), or look at the films of Japanese director Ozu: his films have a lot in common with bruno dumont's in the sense that they don't rely on the script when making a film. they rely on the film when making the film!... The film is what touches me, not the story. A masterpiece!