La belle endormie (2010)

A young princess is the subject of a tug-of-war among witches, as each struggles to find the suitable antidote to a death sentence inculcated by an evil sister.

Director:

Catherine Breillat

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (story "The Snow Queen"), Catherine Breillat (screenplay)

Stars:

Carla Besnaïnou, Julia Artamonov, Kerian Mayan

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carla Besnaïnou	...	Anastasia
Julia Artamonov	...	Anastasia 16 ans
Kerian Mayan	...	Peter (as Kérian Mayan)
David Chausse	...	Johan
Luna Charpentier	...	Petite brigande
Rhizlaine El Cohen	...	Brigande adulte
Delia Bouglione-Romanès	...	La chanteuse Tsigane
Diana Rudychenko	...	Véroutchka
Maricha Lopoukhine	...	Grand-mère
Jean-Philippe Tesse	...	Le père (as Jean-Philippe Tessé)
Dounia Sichov	...	Fée aînée
Leslie Lipkins	...	Fée puînée
Camille Chalons	...	Fée cadette
Romane Portail	...	Reine des neiges
Anne-Lise Kedvès	...	Mère de Peter (as Anne-Lise Kedves)

Storyline

The princess Anastasia is cursed by the witch Carabosse to die but three teenage fairies change it and the girl falls into a deep sleep for one hundred years to wake-up as a sixteen year-old teenager. Along her dream, Anastasia takes a ghost train and is adopted by a woman that lives in the woods with her son Peter that becomes her stepbrother. Soon Peter is seduced by the Snow Queen and leaves home with her. Anastasia seeks him out and travels through the kingdom of albino King and Queen that offer her a stagecoach to help her to travel. However Anastasia is attacked by gypsy bandits that kidnap her, but she befriends a gypsy girl that offers a magic animal to ride in her quest. Out of the blue, the sixteen year-old Anastasia is awaken by Peter's grandson Johan.

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Plot Keywords:

gypsy | girl | princess | snow | witch | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die schlafende Schöne

Filming Locations:

Château de Vigny, 1 rue Beaudoin, Vigny, Val-d'Oise, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,553, 15 July 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$28,791, 23 October 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arte France, CB Films, Flach Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Fée aînée: You know nothing about humans. They know they'll die, but they don't worry about it, and waste their time.
The other fairies: [scandalised] No! They waste their time?
Fée aînée: But of course. It's their favourite pastime.

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Soundtracks

The Happy Farmer, Op.68, No.10
(uncredited)
By Robert Schumann

User Reviews

You should get under my furs.

Putting a finger on Sleeping Beauty is difficult. It was first published by Charles Perrault in 1697, from a story by Giambattista Basile. I was re-imagined by Walt Disney in the most popular version. However, the true version is much darker and approaches a horror story. Maybe children of an earlier time were not so protected.

Breillat puts her own stamp on the story, bringing back closer to it's roots. She even mashes it with Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

As Sleeping Beauty (Carla Besnaïnou) wanders in a dream state, she is exposed to various traumas regarding love and loss. She develops socially, psychologically, and sexually to take her place in the world when she awakens 100 years later at 16 (Julia Artamonov). It is sometimes difficult for those who grew up on Disney, but the time invested is well worth it.

Breillat has now completed two of her fairy tale trilogy films. Bluebeard was first, and we anxiously await her interpretation of Beauty and the Beast.