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IMDbPro

Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad

Original title: Une histoire de fou
  • 20152015
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
587
YOUR RATING
Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)
  • Drama
In the 80s, Aram, a young man from Marseille of Armenian origin, blows up the Turkish ambassador's car in Paris. Gilles Tessier, a young cyclist who was passing at that moment, is seriously ... Read allIn the 80s, Aram, a young man from Marseille of Armenian origin, blows up the Turkish ambassador's car in Paris. Gilles Tessier, a young cyclist who was passing at that moment, is seriously injured. Aram, on the run, joins the Armenian Liberation Army in Beirut, the hotbed of int... Read allIn the 80s, Aram, a young man from Marseille of Armenian origin, blows up the Turkish ambassador's car in Paris. Gilles Tessier, a young cyclist who was passing at that moment, is seriously injured. Aram, on the run, joins the Armenian Liberation Army in Beirut, the hotbed of international revolution in those years. Gilles is trying to understand when Anouch, Aram's m... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
587
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Guédiguian
  • Writers
    • Robert Guédiguian
    • Gilles Taurand
    • José Antonio Gurriaran(based on the autobiography by)
  • Stars
    • Simon Abkarian
    • Ariane Ascaride
    • Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Guédiguian
  • Writers
    • Robert Guédiguian
    • Gilles Taurand
    • José Antonio Gurriaran(based on the autobiography by)
  • Stars
    • Simon Abkarian
    • Ariane Ascaride
    • Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 4User reviews
    • 26Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos6

    Syrus Shahidi in Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)
    Serge Avedikian, Razane Jammal, and Syrus Shahidi in Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)
    Ariane Ascaride and Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet in Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)
    Robert Guédiguian in Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)
    Razane Jammal and Syrus Shahidi in Don't Tell Me the Boy Was Mad (2015)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Simon Abkarian
    Simon Abkarian
    • Hovannès Alexandrian
    Ariane Ascaride
    Ariane Ascaride
    • Anouch Alexandrian
    Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
    Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
    • Gilles Teissier
    Syrus Shahidi
    Syrus Shahidi
    • Aram Alexandrian
    Razane Jammal
    Razane Jammal
    • Anahit
    Robinson Stévenin
    • Soghomon Tehlirian
    Serge Avedikian
    • Armenak
    Hrayr Kalemkerian
    • Haig
    Sirvart Fazlian
    • Arsinée Sarkissian, la mère d'Anouch
    • (as Siro Fazlian)
    Amir El Kacem
    • Vahé
    Rodney El Haddad
    • Vrej
    • (as Rodney Haddad)
    Lola Naymark
    Lola Naymark
    • Valérie
    Jürgen Zwingel
    • Le président du tribunal
    Jürgen Genuit
    Jürgen Genuit
    • Docteur Lepsius
    • (as Jurgen Genuit)
    Wolfgang Pissors
    Wolfgang Pissors
    • Avocat Werthauer
    Gerald Papasian
    • Leader arménien
    Alain Lenglet
    • Père de Gilles
    Sylvie Degryse
    • Mère de Gilles
    • Director
      • Robert Guédiguian
    • Writers
      • Robert Guédiguian
      • Gilles Taurand
      • José Antonio Gurriaran(based on the autobiography by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Edited into L'heure D: Conversations avec Siro (2021)

    User reviews4

    Review
    Top review
    Ashes to ashes
    The movie comprises a long prologue and a short epilogue .

    Shot in black and white close to documentary ,the prologue(Berlin ,1921) depicts the assassination of Talaat Pacha ,main responsible for the Armenian genocide ;during the flashbacks ,we are told about the horrors the convict endured ,how his whole family and a whole people were butchered like lambs in a slaughter.Against all odds,he is acquitted and the audience gives him a standing ovation.

    The main subject takes place in Marseille and in Beyrouth,sixty years later; a young generation rises and wants to stigmatize the genocide which the Turks have never acknowledged.A young man,Aram,joins the ASALA (Armenian liberation army) ;he blows up the Turkish ambassador's car in Paris but a young cyclist,Gilles ,is seriously injured and becomes crippled .Eaten up with remorse ,he leaves for Lebanon where he joins the forces fighting there .

    Then the screenplay alternates scenes in Lebanon where the terrorist does not know where he stands anymore and his victim 's horrible fate: " I'm in my twenties ,can he give me back my legs" Gilles's character was inspired by an injured Spanish journalist who reportedly forgave the man who made him a crippled man for life. Aram's mom is eaten with remorse too,she goes to the hospital ,and she leaves him a note which reads :" ask us whatever you need" ;some French critics found it incredible and melodramatic .But Ariane Ascaride is an actress to be reckoned with:I once wrote ,about Guédigian's earlier "Les Neiges Du Kilimandjaro" ,that no living French actress could express compassion as she does ;both movies deal with forgiveness in a shaggy-dog story (that's what the title means)and miss Ascaride ,the director's partner in life ,has a face which can lighten the darkest night.Leprince-Ringuet is equally efficient as the victim who,like many French at the time ,had never heard of the Armenian genocide.

    A short epilogue:ten years later, two persons who experimented both tragedy bring back Arem where he belongs .

    It's not the first time Robert Guédigian has used intertwined plots: "La Ville est Tranquille "(2000) ,for instance ,could be subtitled "Sous Le Ciel De Paris" sorry Marseille".A thousand miles away from the trends ,the crazes and the feel-good atmosphere which mar much of the French scene, along Philippe Lioret,he stands alone.
    helpful•5
    1
    • dbdumonteil
    • Feb 19, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 11, 2015 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • France
    • Official site
      • Agat Films & Cie (France)
    • Languages
      • French
      • Armenian
      • German
    • Also known as
      • En vansinnig idé
    • Filming locations
      • Marseille, France
    • Production companies
      • Agat Films & Cie
      • Canal+
      • France Télévisions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • €6,420,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $346,154
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 14 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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