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

Gross USA:

$7,621

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

Jean Van Hamme declared that though Tomer Sisley doesn't look like Largo Winch as drawn by Philippe Francq, he nevertheless resembles the one depicted in the novels, which preceded the comic book series.

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Goofs

The diver who drowned Nerio Winch was using a rebreather. Rebreathers do not produce bubbles since the exhaled air is circulated back to a compartment containing a substance to absorb the carbon dioxide before oxygen is added for reinhalation.

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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

Version of Largo Winch: Legacy (2001)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Now the French are beating us at action/thrillers--we better start calling ours "Freedom Films"

I put off watching this movie for a long time, but I ran out of things to watch with a certain group of people whose tastes I had to all satisfy, so I decided to this a try. I was thinking that a French action/thriller set in the world of corporate high finance sounds like an oxymoron; however, I was really wrong, and this movie was great.

It's quite intelligent for this kind of movie and is well-filmed in a variety of interesting locales. While obviously working with a way lower budget than a typical American blockbuster, it managed to be feel much more real and satisfying, with the added bonus of no unpleasant aftertaste of guilt for time wasted.

If you watch typical Hollywood thrillers, you really should give this foreign one a try, since, while it is not exactly brain food, it's a good step up from pure Tinseltown junk food.