Irreplaceable (2016)

After a doctor is diagnosed with cancer, a new doctor joins him to help him treat his rural patients.

Director:

Thomas Lilti

Writers:

Thomas Lilti (screenplay), Baya Kasmi (screenplay)

Stars:

François Cluzet, Marianne Denicourt, Christophe Odent

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
François Cluzet	...	Jean-Pierre Werner
Marianne Denicourt	...	Nathalie Delezia
Christophe Odent	...	Le docteur Michel Norès
Patrick Descamps	...	Francis Maroini
Guy Faucher	...	Monsieur Sorlin
Margaux Fabre	...	Ninon
Julien Lucas	...	Le fiancé de Ninon
Yohann Goetzmann	...	Alexis
Josée Laprun	...	La mère d'Alexis
Philippe Bertin	...	Guy
Géraldine Schitter	...	Fanny
Isabelle Sadoyan	...	Madame veuve Werner - la mère de Jean-Pierre
Félix Moati	...	Vincent Werner
Sylvie Lachat	...	La patiente dépressive
Régis Iacono	...	Le patient diabétique

Storyline

All the people in this countryside area, can count on Jean-Pierre, the doctor who auscultates them, heals and reassures them day and night, 7 days a week. Now Jean-Pierre is sick, so he sees Natalie, a young doctor, coming from the hospital to assist him. But will she adapt to this new life and be able to replace the man that believed to be irreplaceable?

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Plot Keywords:

medical doctor | 2010s | france | occupation in title | village doctor | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In this movie François Cluzet's character is facing a serious desease. In Untouchables, his character also deals with a serious health matter.

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Connections

Features Les anges de la téléréalité (2011)

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Soundtracks

Wild is the Wind
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Lyrics by Ned Washington
Performed by Nina Simone
(Philips Records 1966)

User Reviews

Life and only life

This is old school French cinema,which displays an humanism recalling Christian-Jaque or even the sometimes unfairly demeaned Jean-Paul Le Chanois.And Except for the rather unlikely abrupt happy end ,it works from start to finish: it is definitely the kind of the movie we are in need of today : it's not overtly optimistic -like the feel-good movies which mar the contemporary French scene : however Marianne Denicourt's warm smile can lighten the darkest night;François Cluzet's commitment to his work is extraordinary : the first sequences ,consisting of very short scenes ,show it all .But ,in an admirable sequence ,exhausted and disheartened ,Werner tells his colleague (us )how hard his prestigious occupation always involves sufferings,death: nature( some people call God) may be a wonderful thing ,but it(He ) makes mistakes or even monstrosities and our task is to correct them.

And correct ,mend ,both of them do: the old man dies in his home ,and he could not ask for more;the boy who passes for a half-wit may be an autistic with an exceptional memory -he is a scholar,as far as WW1 is concerned-: someday ,he may learn to read and to write .So it's not overtly pessimistic either.It's life and life only.There's a wonderful truce in their ceaseless fight ,when the people dance to Cohen's "Hallelujah",a moment when an infinite tenderness emanates from the fete .

It does not always avoid clichés:the first Cluzet/Denicourt confrontation follows the usual pattern: seasoned veteran/modern rookie,it's the same old song ,be they militaries, cops,teachers,or physicians : see the scene of the ganders ("put their beak into their a........");and Cluzet's family is cliché itself.And Nina Simone's superb "wild is the wind" does not fit the bill in that context as well as Cohen's song as a finale .

But after 15 minutes ,the movie hits its stride ,and the words often rings true;except for an old TV series ("Cecilia Medecin De Campagne", sixties),a whole movie was never devoted to the country docs' thankless work in France,and it's much to Thomas Lilti's credit to have broached the subject ,with a valid documentary side which is never dull,thanks to the two principals .Both will win you over.

It's life and life only;as the good old French cinema I like was.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

23 March 2016 (France)

Also Known As:

Irreplaceable

Filming Locations:

Chaussy, Val-d'Oise, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,443, 5 February 2017

Gross USA:

$8,494

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,130,912

Company Credits

Production Co:

31 Juin Films, Les Films du Parc, Le Pacte

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Color:

Color