Private Property (2006)

A divorced mother of two boys reaching adulthood decides to sell their house, find love and get on with her life away from her husband and sons; a decision that will lead to an escalating fraternal dispute.

Director:

Joachim Lafosse

Writers:

Joachim Lafosse, François Pirot

Stars:

Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Renier, Yannick Renier

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Isabelle Huppert	...	Pascale
Jérémie Renier	...	Thierry
Yannick Renier	...	François
Kris Cuppens	...	Jan
Patrick Descamps	...	Luc
Raphaëlle Lubansu	...	Anne
Sabine Riche	...	Gerda
Dirk Tuypens	...	Dirk
Philippe Constant	...	Ami de Jan
Catherine Salée	...	Amie de Jan
Delphine Bibet	...	Karine
Mathias Wertz	...	Enfant amis 1
Jonas Wertz	...	Enfant amis 2
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anton Biral	...	Gerda as a child
Jean-Benoît Ugeux	...	Ami de Thierry

Storyline

Since Luc granted a divorce to Pascale ten years ago, he paid generous alimony and left a fine country house as long as their twin sons remain at home. Pascale always acted as if she was the provider and head of the household, even now the inseparable brothers are twenty. But she started a secret affair with Flemish neighbor, cook Jan, whose ambition is to start a restaurant and B&B with her. As the boys learn she wants to cancel her job and sell the house for the project, college-man Thierry, who has a steady girl Anne, naturally refuses to let her spend dad's money meant for them. Gentler François, content to remain a handyman, would consider letting her and maybe working in the 'family business'. This causes trouble, even after Pascale moves out to Gerda's indefinitely, leading to tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | pubic hair | lingerie | copulation | coitus | 

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Taglines:

Superb... Shades Of Early Polanski.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 115083.

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Quotes

Pascale: Look, I told you not to come here anymore. Don't come round anymore, full stop. Just transfer the money. Meet wherever you want, but not here.
Luc: Pascale, I'm not a bank. And I can still see them, can't I? Are we going to have a fight because I came to see the kids?
Pascale: No, but do I go and do my stuff at your place?
Luc: I bought this house. Without my money, who knows where you'd be?
Pascale: If you want to see your father, you'll have to do it somewhere else.
Luc: I still have a right to see them, God damn it!
Pascale: All right, ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

À Nos Limites.

User Reviews

Twin Piques

Isabelle Huppert, who has A-list directors standing in line to work with her is celebrated for her willingness to help new writer-directors by lending her name to attract finance and her presence on set to attract audiences. This can, of course, prove embarrassing - Josie Balasko's first directorial effort Sac de Noeuds didn't exactly set the screen alight but Huppert was right to see the promise which has since been kept over and over - but on the other hand it can result in something as delightful as Aleandra Leclerc's Les Soeurs fachees (Huppert has a new film with Leclerc, Les Mediaturs, in post-production even as we speak). She got it right this time, too, with Joachim Lafosse who probably wouldn't have got this one off the ground without Huppert. Real-life brothers Jeremie and Yannick Renier play Huppert's twin sons who live with her in what was the family home til Huppert divorced their father Patrick Descamps, who has remarried and lives within driving distance with his new wife and child. The French title Nue Propriete, is more specific, a French legal term in which a family member, usually an ex-spouse, is allowed to live in a house but has no legal right to ownership so that they cannot, for example, sell it or take in lodgers. This, in fact is the position in which Huppert finds herself and as it happens she does want to sell, move away with a neighbour/lover and open a B&B. This brings us to the twins, neither of whom appears to have any friends although one has a girl he uses as a sex-object. Long before we, the audience, enter the scene, the boys have become dominant, especially Jeremie Renier who thinks nothing of interrogating his mother daily, verbally abusing her and going through her bag. It goes without saying that her attempt to introduce her lover to the twins is a disaster. This is a cloistered, unhealthy family with Huppert thinking nothing of taking a shower openly whilst one son cleans his teeth two or three feet away; a great deal of screen time is given over to meals, traditionally a time when families come together in harmony but not, of course, here. As usual Huppert gives a Master-Class in Screen acting but there isn't really a bad performance throughout. It's not exactly Feelgood but it is a fine film and worth anyone's time.

Details

Official Sites:

Haut et Court [France]

Country:

Belgium France Luxembourg

Language:

French

Release Date:

24 January 2007 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Propiedad privada

Filming Locations:

Café de la Poste, 243 chaussée de Huy, Chaumont-Gistoux, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,086, 20 May 2007

Gross USA:

$62,897

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$545,473

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tarantula, MACT Productions, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1