Transport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean is awoken in the middle of the night by his head of staff. A bus has gone off the road into a gully. He has no choice but to go to the scene of the acc... Read allTransport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean is awoken in the middle of the night by his head of staff. A bus has gone off the road into a gully. He has no choice but to go to the scene of the accident. Thus begins the odyssey of a politician in a world that is increasingly more comple... Read allTransport Minister Bertrand Saint-Jean is awoken in the middle of the night by his head of staff. A bus has gone off the road into a gully. He has no choice but to go to the scene of the accident. Thus begins the odyssey of a politician in a world that is increasingly more complex and hostile. Speed, power struggles, chaos, economic crisis... Everything follows in qui... Read all
- Awards
- 12 wins & 17 nominations total
- Yan
- (as Laurent Stocker de la Comédie Française)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
The inciting incident, where we only see the aftermath, will have its mirror scene, that will at least startle you. The other reviewer said it too, the impact of that scene is more than just powerful. It freezes you in a very strange way. I can't put my finger on it, but this movie is something that you should watch, if you like dramas and looking behind curtains. You might see things in there, that I didn't notice.
The film is a bit loose in the narration, there are perhaps too many small roles that don't have much to do with the central characters, but all in all this is a picture that is worth seeing. Olivier Gourmet, whom I have enjoyed in many films over the years, here shows some impressive acting skills. This politician is in trouble: he's got to close some train stations and the union is on his back--in France the unions are much more powerful than in North America. His desire not to make waves runs up against political realities; he's running out of time. Philippe Scholler also wrote the music for the film; it's very evocative.
I don't want to say more because I do not want to spoil the film. In my opinion this is a very unusual masterpiece. Special mention for the sound editing.
I'm sure I missed a lot of messages that politically aware French people would not miss, but , in spite of that, there was still an abundance of rich material to absorb . That Olivier Gourmet is really something. I had admired his work in The Son and The Promise , but The Minister will be calling card for Gourmet in the same way Raging Bull was a calling card for DeNiro.I want to see other films by Gourmet and this screenwriter/director.
Storyline
Did you know
- Goofs(at around 39 mins) In the first shot, the carafe of orange juice is half empty, however on the next closer shot it is almost full.
- ConnectionsReferenced in At the Movies: Cannes Film Festival 2011 (2011)
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $3,710,016
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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