Oscars 2021: Explore the nominees, videos, photos, and more.
Dheepan is a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.

Director:

Jacques Audiard

Writers:

Jacques Audiard (dialogue), Jacques Audiard (screenplay) | 4 more credits »
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 7 wins & 15 nominations. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesuthasan Antonythasan ... Dheepan
Kalieaswari Srinivasan ... Yalini
Claudine Vinasithamby ... Illayaal
Vincent Rottiers ... Brahim
Faouzi Bensaïdi ... Monsieur Habib
Marc Zinga ... Youssouf
Bass Dhem ... Azziz
Franck Falise Franck Falise ... Le gardien du Hall C
Joséphine de Meaux Joséphine de Meaux ... La directrice de l'école
Jean-Baptiste Pouilloux ... Le juriste au foyer
Nathan Anthonypillai Nathan Anthonypillai ... L'interprète
Vasanth Selvam Vasanth Selvam ... Colonel Cheran
Kartik Krishnan Kartik Krishnan ... Le faussaire au Sri Lanka
Rudhrah Rudhrah ... La femme du camp de réfugié (as Rudhra)
Tassadit Mandi Tassadit Mandi ... La dame dans l'escalier
Edit

Storyline

Dheepan is a Tamil freedom fighter, a Tiger. In Sri Lanka, the Civil War is reaching its end, and defeat is near. Dheepan decides to flee, taking with him two strangers - a woman and a little girl - hoping that they will make it easier for him to claim asylum in Europe. Arriving in Paris, the 'family' moves from one temporary home to another until Dheepan finds work as the caretaker of a run-down housing block in the suburbs. He works to build a new life and a real home for his 'wife' and his 'daughter', but the daily violence he confronts quickly reopens his war wounds, and Dheepan is forced to reconnect with his warrior's instincts to protect the people he hopes will become his true family. Written by Polly_Kat

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

When the war continues to rage in your heart and mind.

Genres:

Crime | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief sexuality/nudity | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lead actor Jesuthasan Antonythasan was a boy soldier with the Tamil Tigers before fleeing Sri Lanka for France, just like the character he plays in the movie. See more »

Quotes

Yalini: Lord Ganesh, spare us misfortune, make things go well here.
See more »

Connections

References Jungle Book (1942) See more »

Soundtracks

MacCain
Written By Fabrice Akour, Jason Akour, Theo Lellouche, Ken Samaras, Gabriel Debarnot
Aranged by Eliott Pullicino
Performed by S-Crew
Editions Undoubleneufcinq / Seine Zoo / Gabriel Debarnot / BMG Rights Management (France)
(p) 2013 Seine Zoo
With the permission of /Avec L'Autorisation d'Universal Music Vision & BMG Rights Management (France)
See more »

User Reviews

 
Interesting and provoking film that won Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival
7 November 2015 | by ma-cortesSee all my reviews

Dheepan (the first leading role for Jesuthasan Antonythasan) is a Tamil fighter. He flees war-torn Sri Lanka with Yalini (Kalieaswari Srinivasan) and Illayaal (Claudine Vinasithamby), posing as his wife and daughter , hoping that they will make it easier for him to get asylum in Europe . The makeshift family arrives in France and Dheepan finds work as a caretaker for an apartment building that is also a drug front . As Dheepan finds work as the caretaker of a run-down housing block in the suburbs ruled by a nasty gangster (Vincent Rottiers) . But the daily violence he faces off quickly reopens his war wounds , and Dheepan is forced to reconnect with his warrior's instincts to protect his new family .

Jacques Audiard's follow-up to Rust and Bone took home the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival . This thoughtful film has emotion , intense drama , thrills , political events and violence . Dheepan thrives on silence and it results to be a French film shot nearly entirely in Tamil language . A nearly wordless opening showing the eponymous character's tragic departure , the desperate meeting of Dheepan, Yalini, and Illayaal, and the voyage west is particularly effective . Audiard jumps smoothly through time and forces the audience to catch up with only the barest context, producing a marvelously suspenseful prologue . Good performance from Jesuthasan Antonythasan as Dheepan , a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris . Jesuthasan was a boy soldier with the Tamil Tigers before fleeing Sri Lanka for France, just like the character he plays in the movie ; he is a writer, novelist and political activist in real-life . Excellent female lead actors Kalieaswari Srinivasan and Claudine Vinasithamby , both of whom never acted in a feature film before . Special mention for Vincent Rottiers as a tough mobster . Being first feature film of cinematographer Éponine Momenceau who creates an evocative as well as atmospheric cinematography and composer Nicolas Jaar who composes an adequate score . Being shot on location in Mandapam, Tamil Nadu, Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, Ooty, Tamil Nadu, India and La Coudraie, Poissy, Yvelines, France .

The motion picture was well directed by Jacques Audiard who gets phenomenal interpretations from the three leads , who are all essentially non-actors . Audiard is a good French writer and filmmaker . In the eighties he wrote the screenplays of some successful movies like "Mortelle Randonnee" (1983), "Reveillon Chez Bob" (1984), "Saxo" (1987), "Frequence Meurtre" (1988) and "Grosse Fatigue" (1994). Most of those films were thrillers directed by prestigious filmmakers like Claude Miller and Michel Blanc . He also directed some well received short movies . Thanks to the success of those movies he was able, in 1994, to raise up the money to make his first movie "Regarde Les Hommes Tomber" starred by Mathieu Kassovitz . Kassovitz also became the star of his second movie "Un Heros Tres Discret" released in the Festival de Cannes in 1996 where it won the award for best screenplay. In 2001 he made his third movie "Sur Mes Levres" about a love story between two outsiders . His last movie, "De Battre Mon Coeur Sest Arrête" was released in the Berlin festival of 2005 . His greatest success was ¨A prophet¨ . With those movies, Audiard has become the new master of the "polar" or French thriller and inheritor of others great French directors like Jean-Pierre Melville and Henri Georges-Clouzot .


22 of 33 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you? | Report this
Review this title | See all 47 user reviews »

Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
Edit

Details

Country:

France

Language:

Tamil | French | English

Release Date:

13 May 2016 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Dheepan See more »

Filming Locations:

France See more »

Edit

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,249, 8 May 2016

Gross USA:

$261,819

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,562,575
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
See full technical specs »

Contribute to This Page

Top Rated and Trending Indian Movies

Check out the Indian movies with the highest ratings from IMDb users, as well as the movies that are trending in real time.



Recently Viewed