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 second of the "Heaven"-"Hell"-"Purgatory" trilogy that Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski had written before his death. The first, "Heaven" was shot by Tom Tykwer.

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Connections

Features Winged Migration (2001)

User Reviews

Going to Hell was Heavenly

Just saw this film at TIFF. I was quite moved by it. The voting stats here claim the film was better received by females than males. I can understand this completely. The characters all had elements a woman could relate to and some of the scenes just felt so real. Particularly the scene involving Emmanuelle Beart and her husband in the kitchen. Gosh, don't you just want to kiss her bee-stung lips?

I feel it was masterfully executed by the director (who seemed like a nice guy during his Q&A session -- great sense of humour). The cinematography, the editing, the performances. Fabulous. You could tell that Danis has a real passion for film-making and has clearly studied the greats with an exceptional eye for detail. His self-proclaimed homage to Krzysztof Kieslowski hit the mark for me with it's claustrophobic interiors and dark females haunted desperate secrets. I highly recommend this film.