Heading South (2005)

Three female tourists have their eyes opened while visiting the poverty-stricken and dangerous world of 1980s Haiti.

Director:

Laurent Cantet

Writers:

Laurent Cantet (scenario), Robin Campillo (scenario)

Stars:

Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise Portal

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlotte Rampling	...	Ellen
Karen Young	...	Brenda
Louise Portal	...	Sue
Ménothy Cesar	...	Legba
Lys Ambroise	...	Albert
Jackenson Pierre Olmo Diaz	...	Eddy
Wilfried Paul	...	Neptune
Anotte Saint Ford	...	Limousine Girl
Marie-Laurence Hérard	...	Airport Woman
Michelet Cassis	...	Charlie
Pierre-Jean Robert	...	Chico
Jean Delinze Salomon	...	Jérémy
Kettline Amy	...	Denise
Daphné Destin	...	Lossita
Guiteau Nestant	...	Frank

Storyline

Haiti, late 1970's. Sea, sex and sun for Ellen, Brenda and Sue, three North American ladies, on the wrong side of forty or fifty-odd, going through an enchanted interlude. Lonely, forsaken, neglected by men in their native countries, they can indulge here in carnal exultation without shame, thanks to handsome local young men they pay a few dollars. Ellen is a Boston French literature professor, Brenda, an unfulfilled wife from Savannah, Georgia and Sue, a sexually frustrated but good-natured Canadian factory worker. In this second garden of Eden they don't care too much about the neighboring poverty nor about Baby Doc's violent dictatorship. The trouble is that that two of the three women have sights on a single man, Legba. And Legba is beginning to be fed up with being a stud...

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Plot Keywords:

haiti | sex tourism | race relations | murder | lust | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France Canada Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

25 January 2006 (France)

Also Known As:

Heading South

Filming Locations:

Playa Bonita, Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,810, 9 July 2006

Gross USA:

$896,923, 24 November 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haut et Court, Les Films Séville, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Visa d'exploitation en France: #107737.

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Goofs

When Brenda is desperately looking for Legba and she wanders around the village at night, one of the guys she crosses by is wearing a Larry Johnson NBA New York Knicks basketball jacket with number 2. Larry Johnson played for the Knicks in the mid '90s.

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Quotes

Ellen: Brenda, a word of advice. Give him a free reign.
Brenda: Look who's talking.
Ellen: Listen, if you're out to snare a husband, you've come to the wrong address. Legba belongs to everyone. He makes the decisions.
Brenda: He does, or you do?

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Connections

Featured in The Look (2011)

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Soundtracks

La femme de mes rêves
Traditional
Performed by Ti Koka et Wanga Negès

User Reviews

Sex starved in Haiti! YAY!

A great topic and script headline 'Heading South' a movie about three women who vacation in Haiti in the 1970's for the sun and surf, but mainly to bed any black men they can find (who are available for the price). I mean, THAT'S fabulous! Who would've thought of that? All of them though, seem to have sights on one man, Legba. The competition for this man, soon becomes to the point that Legba tries to get out of his job as stud-for-hire, to somewhat catastrophic results. The three women, headed by the always excellent Charlotte Rampling, are quite great here, but the star here is the actor playing Legba, Menothy Cesar. The story essentially revolves around him, and he does a great job with actually a really demanding role.