The Big Picture (2010)

A successful Paris lawyer is forced to re-invent his life after he makes a fatal mistake.

Director:

Eric Lartigau

Writers:

Eric Lartigau (scenario, adaptation and dialogue), Laurent de Bartillat (scenario, adaptation and dialogue)

Stars:

Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	Paul Exben
Marina Foïs	...	Sarah Exben
Niels Arestrup	...	Bartholomé
Branka Katic	...	Ivana
Catherine Deneuve	...	Anne
Eric Ruf	...	Grégoire Kremer
Enzo Caçote	...	Hugo Exben
Luka Antic	...	Baptiste
Rachel Desmarest	...	Fiona Exben (as Rachel Berger)
Esteban Carvajal-Alegria	...	Valéry Grey (as Esteban Carvajal Alegria)
Florence Muller	...	Clarisse
Jean-Paul Bathany	...	Jean-Claude
Carole Weiss	...	Annie
Philippe Dusseau	...	Emmanuel
Olivier Rogers	...	Pierre

Storyline

Paul Exben is a success story - partner in one of Paris's most exclusive law firms, big salary, big house, glamorous wife and two sons straight out of a Gap catalog. But when he finds out that Sarah, his wife, is cheating on him with Greg Kremer, a local photographer, a rush of blood provokes Paul into a fatal error. Standing over the corpse of his wife's lover, Paul knows that his perfect life has gone for good. But by assuming the dead man's identity and fleeing for an isolated part of former Yugoslavia on the beautiful Adriatic coast, Paul gets another shot at being himself and, at last, seeing the big picture.

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Plot Keywords:

starting a new life from scratch | fleeing the country | based on novel | former yugoslavia | photographer | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Professional photographer Antoine d'Agata took the photos used in this film. Marina Foïs, who plays Sarah Exben in the film, had a postcard of Antoine d'Agata's work. She showed the postcard to the director, Eric Lartigau, who is also her husband.

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Goofs

As Paul watches from the shore, the sound and light from the explosion of his sailboat (on the horizon), reach him nearly simultaneously. At the height Paul was sitting, the horizon was roughly 5 miles away and the sound would take over 20 seconds to reach him, while the light would reach him almost instantly.

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Quotes

Paul Exben: What are you doing here?
Bartholomé: I'm sorry, I was in the mood for a little beer.
Paul Exben: Anyone else, besides me, likes beer.
Bartholomé: Sure, anyone else likes it, but I wanted to have a drink with you.

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Soundtracks

Hell Freezes Over
Written by Mark Williams / Patrick Sturrock
Editions Music House - K Music

User Reviews

A superb french thriller

I really have to write a review about this great French thriller. Firstly, although not a French Language expert, the original title which means roughly - THE MAN WHO WANTED TO CHANGE HIS LIFE - is much more appropriate than THE BIG PICTURE. Although the circumstances that lead the main character to change his life for something that he should have done years ago were quite shocking, it resonated with me and I am sure so many others. How many of us have not pursued what we were really good at and traded ourselves in to the banal life of the office, security of the pension and benefits etc. etc. The list goes on. If you can watch this film twice then do as you will appreciate it even more. The acting is very good. The ending may confuse some and I have not ticked the spoiler box so will not give anything away. After leaving the auditorium you will piece it together though. Overall an excellent film. The main actor was great in Heartbreaker and the same here with THE BIG PICTURE.

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French Serbian English

Release Date:

12 October 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Big Picture

Filming Locations:

17 Avenue de La Motte-Picquet, Paris 7, Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,760, 14 October 2012

Gross USA:

$158,411

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,013,768

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, TF1 Films Production, CiBy 2000

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1