Complete credited cast: | |||
Juliette Binoche | ... | Elle | |
William Shimell | ... | James Miller | |
Jean-Claude Carrière | ... | L'homme de la place | |
![]() |
Agathe Natanson | ... | La femme de la place |
![]() |
Gianna Giachetti | ... | La patronne du café |
![]() |
Adrian Moore | ... | Le fils |
![]() |
Angelo Barbagallo | ... | Le traducteur |
![]() |
Andrea Laurenzi | ... | Le guide |
![]() |
Filippo Trojano | ... | Le marié (as Filippo Troiano) |
![]() |
Manuela Balsimelli | ... | La mariée (as Manuela Balsinelli) |
James Miller has just written a book on the value of a copy versus the original work of art. At a book reading, a woman gives him her address, and the next day they meet and take a country-side drive to a local Italian village. Here, they discuss various works of art found in the town, and also the nature of their relationship - which gets both more revealed and concealed as the day progresses. Written by napierslogs
I came across the film when researching a piece I was writing on Plato's ideas of beauty and aesthetics. Although Plato isn't for everyone I thought this film really helped my students understand some of his central concerns relating to the difference between an idea, a reality and an imitation. In our class discussions on Plato's notions of Mimesis and Diegesis, this film greatly helped.
The film forces us to wonder to what extent the relationship between the two central characters is real, or an imitation of a once real relationship. It asks is a real relationship any better than a certified copy i.e a fake relationship where both parties pretend it is real. That is the central question - the value of the authentic versus the value of the fake.