L'enfer (2005)

Three sisters share a connection to a violent incident from their childhood reunite to for the chance to come to terms with their past.

Director:

Danis Tanovic

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario), Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Stars:

Emmanuelle Béart, Karin Viard, Marie Gillain

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Sophie
Karin Viard	...	Céline
Marie Gillain	...	Anne
Guillaume Canet	...	Sébastien
Jacques Gamblin	...	Pierre
Jacques Perrin	...	Frédéric
Carole Bouquet	...	Marie, la mère
Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic	...	Antoin, le père (as Miki Manojlovic)
Jean Rochefort	...	Louis
Maryam d'Abo	...	Julie
Gaëlle Bona	...	Joséphine
Georges Siatidis	...	Le contrôleur du train
Serge-Henri Valcke	...	Le libraire
Tiffany Tougard	...	Céline enfant
Marie Loboda	...	Sophie enfant

Storyline

In Paris, a family is victim of a tragic incident, when the patriarch is accused by his wife of pedophilia. Years later, the three sisters have independent dysfunctional lives and never see each other. The middle sister Sophie finds that her beloved husband and photographer Pierre is unfaithful and is having an affair with Julie and he leaves her. When the lover discovers that Pierre has two children, she ends the affair. The youngest, Anne, is student of Sorbonne and has a crush and gets pregnant of her professor Frédéric, who is married and father of her best friend. The oldest sister, Céline, is a lonely woman that periodically travels by train to visit her handicapped dumb mother Marie that is trapped in a wheelchair in an asylum for elders. When the stranger Sébastien contacts Céline, she believes he is a shy admirer; however, after an awkward encounter, he reveals secrets from the past that will affect the relationship among the sisters.

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Plot Keywords:

wheelchair | sister sister relationship | paris france | parallel story | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

An intense and riveting drama about three sisters who share a connection to a violent childhood incident, who reunite to come to terms with their past.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Diaphana [France] Official site

Country:

France Italy Belgium Japan

Language:

French

Release Date:

16 November 2005 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Inferno

Filming Locations:

Château du Haut, Domaine de Villarceaux, Route de Magny, Chaussy, Val-d'Oise, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Asap Films,Sintra S.r.l.,Man's Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is targeted to have its premiere at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, possibly in-competition, but it was not accepted.

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Connections

Follows Heaven (2002)

User Reviews

Using the visual medium as it should be used.

I found this film to be visually beautiful and totally satisfying on that level. The story (already well documented here) is a bit more melodramatic than I had hoped...considering that Kieslowski (whose film I treasure) was the originator of the concept.

The saturated color throughout the film...the subtle, wordless way in which Danis Tanovic uses images to say far more than words can...is as haunting as anything I've seen in movies for many a year....probably not since Kieslowski's own work.

It seems a crime that this movie has not been released in theaters in the U.S. A real deprivation. I would urge lovers of film as art to buy the available DVD. You'll find it rewarding.