The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch (2008)

After a powerful billionaire is murdered, his secret adoptive son must race to prove his legitimacy, find his father's killers and stop them from taking over his financial empire.

Director:

Jérôme Salle

Writers:

Julien Rappeneau (screenplay), Jérôme Salle (screenplay)

Stars:

Tomer Sisley, Kristin Scott Thomas, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tomer Sisley	...	Largo Winch
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Ann Ferguson
Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic	...	Nerio Winch (as Miki Manojlovic)
Mélanie Thierry	...	Léa / Naomi
Gilbert Melki	...	Freddy
Karel Roden	...	Mikhail Korsky
Steven Waddington	...	Stephan Marcus
Anne Consigny	...	Hannah
Radivoje Bukvic	...	Goran
Nicolas Vaude	...	Gauthier
Benedict Wong	...	Wiliam Kwan
Gérard Watkins	...	Cattaneo
Wolfgang Pissors	...	Attinger
Theodore Thomas	...	Greenfield (as Ted Thomas)
David Gasman	...	Alexander Meyer

Storyline

Billionaire Nerio Winch is found dead, drowned. An obviously suspicious death as Nerio is the founder and majority shareholder of the powerful and sprawling W Group. Who will inherit this financial empire? Officially, Nerio had no family. But he had a secret he kept well-hidden: a son, Largo, adopted nearly thirty years before from a Bosnian orphanage. The only problem is this young heir has just been thrown in prison deep in the Amazon. Accused of drug trafficking, he claims he's innocent. Nerio murdered. Largo in prison. What if these two events were part of a plot to take control of the Winch empire?

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Plot Keywords:

based on comic book | 2000s | failed brakes | businessman | predatory capitalism | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Music Box Films [United States] Official Facebook [France]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French English Serbian Portuguese

Release Date:

17 December 2008 (France)

Also Known As:

The Heir Apparent

Filming Locations:

Mtahleb Chapel, Ir-Rabat, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

€24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,830, 20 November 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,621, 11 December 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pan Européenne, Wild Bunch, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film, Nerio and later Largo stay in a yacht off the coast of Hong Kong. In the comic book, they stay in a penthouse at the top of the W Group building.

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Goofs

When Largo is in Korski's plane, the length of his beard is shorter than it was in the earlier scene when he was waiting on the landing field.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Man: [whipping her] Bitch! Who do you think you are?

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Crazy Credits

"Tomer Sisley would like to thank Mr. Jack Waltzer for his passion and for working with him over the last ten years."

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Connections

Followed by The Burma Conspiracy (2011)

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Soundtracks

Milo moje
(uncredited)
Written by Kornelije Kovac and Dusan Radovic
Performed by Bisera Veletanlic

User Reviews

Nice shot, but...

Who doesn't know Largo Winch in the France-Belgium-Luxemburg trio (the three countries where the French "BD" or "Bandes Dessinées" are massively published) ? 18 years after the publication of the first comic book, which is itself an adaptation of a series of novels, it HAD to be adapted on screens. After a first - and failed- attempt with a TV show, the real thing begins.

First of all, and that's what most of the fans didn't get, the goal of this movie is not strictly to adapt the comic book series. Some essential parts, characters and actions of the original are missing. The movie itself offers an alternative and more modern version of the series. As a 1st class-fan of the comic book, I must confess I was nicely surprised. The actors are good, so is the scenario, though it might seem too fast. I thus recommend this movie to all those interested by financial/political thrillers, but it is clearly not an alternative to James Bond or Jason Bourne series as I could read over the internet.