Louis-Ferdinand Céline (2016)

1948 - Louis-Ferdinand Céline in Denmark, in exile, accused of collaboration with the Nazis during the occupation of the France. He is accompanied by Lucette, his wife and his cat Bebert.

Director:

Emmanuel Bourdieu

Writers:

Emmanuel Bourdieu (scenario), Marcia Romano (scenario)

Stars:

Denis Lavant, Géraldine Pailhas, Philip Desmeules

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denis Lavant	...	Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Géraldine Pailhas	...	Lucette
Philip Desmeules	...	Milton Hindus
Rick Hancke	...	Le ministre de la Justice
Marijke Pinoy	...	La femme du ministre
Vanja Maria Godee	...	Helge Pedersen
Simon Bergulf	...	Professeur Kristiansen
Kim Vetting	...	Magnus
Ton De Wit	...	Le boucher
Jacob Nielsen	...	Le journaliste
Estelle Denamur	...	Danseuse
Valentine Jongen	...	Danseuse
Frederik Haugness	...	Le contrôleur du bus
Barry Reddin	...	Le soldat américain
Helle Fink	...	L'hôtelière

Storyline

1948 - Louis-Ferdinand Céline in Denmark, in exile, accused of collaboration with the Nazis during the occupation of the France. He is accompanied by Lucette, his wife and his cat Bebert. Based on the real-life meeting in between the French author Louis-Ferdinand Céline and Milton Hindus, a young American literature professor, where the Frenchman was in self-imposed exile. Hindus, who was Jewish, would later write of his shock and disappointment at the meeting and seeing a novelist he admired "drooling out of both sides of his mouth". He had been invited to stay with Céline for two months, but left after three weeks. Céline was later convicted of collaboration in his absence by a Paris court and sentenced to a year in jail.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

9 March 2016 (France)

Also Known As:

Louis-Ferdinand Céline, le monstrueux géant

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jem Productions, BE-FILMS, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Supposedly located in Denmark, the film was actually shot in the village of Arquennes, Belgium.

User Reviews

Well-made film, worth seeing

Not quite a biopic, this is a little slice of Céline's life during his flight to Denmark in 1945, to escape prosecution in France for collaboration. The other "clown" in the title is a handsome young Jewish-American professor at Chicago, Milton Hindus. An admirer of Céline's literary work, he has been corresponding with Céline and sending him food parcels. The film begins with Milton's arrival on a 3-week visit, leaving behind his pregnant wife. Welcomed at first, relations between the two men soon turn sour, while Céline's charming (third) wife, Lucette and Milton form a sincere friendship based on mutual respect. Céline comes over as a very nasty person, rabidly anti-semitic and often unable to control his insane rages. Physically, he is shown as a raddled, ugly man of stunted growth while the Jewish Milton is tall, slim, elegant and intelligent (if naive). The film ends with his return to America and his family, wiser and sadder - but he will publish the book he came to write (without informing Céline). By the way, the French title of the film is: "Louis-Ferdinand Céline" - the clowns phrase is a sub- title.