Les traducteurs (2019)

Nine translators, hired to translate the eagerly awaited final book of a bestselling trilogy, are confined in a luxurious bunker. When the first ten pages of the top-secret manuscript appear online, the dream job becomes a nightmare.

Director:

Régis Roinsard

Writers:

Romain Compingt, Daniel Presley

Stars:

Lambert Wilson, Olga Kurylenko, Riccardo Scamarcio

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lambert Wilson	...	Eric Angstrom
Olga Kurylenko	...	Katerina Anisinova
Riccardo Scamarcio	...	Dario Farelli
Sidse Babett Knudsen	...	Helene Tuxen
Eduardo Noriega	...	Javier Casal
Alex Lawther	...	Alex Goodman
Anna Maria Sturm	...	Ingrid Korbel
Frédéric Chau	...	Chen Yao
Maria Leite	...	Telma Alves
Manolis Mavromatakis	...	Konstantinos Kedrinos
Sara Giraudeau	...	Rose-Marie Houeix
Patrick Bauchau	...	Georges Fontaine
Sergueï Nesterenko	...	Marat
Ilya Nikitenko	...	Ivan
Miglen Mirtchev	...	Sergei

Storyline

Nine translators, hired to translate the eagerly awaited final book of a bestselling trilogy, are confined in a luxurious bunker. When the first ten pages of the top-secret manuscript appear online, the dream job becomes a nightmare - the thief is one of them and the publisher is ready to do whatever it takes to unmask him - or her.

---

Plot Keywords:

nonlinear timeline | fire | frankfurt germany | airport | limousine | 

---

Taglines:

One literary phenomenon. 10 leaked pages. All suspects.

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

Manolis Mavromatakis learned french for his role without any prior knowledge.

User Reviews

Underrated whodunnit gem

A wealthy book publisher locks 9 translators in a bunker to work on the last opus of the series that made his fortune, written by a secretive author that almost no one has seen. As the first pages get leaked to the public, the blackmailer and the publisher engage in a battle of wits where the publisher resorts to harsher and more cruel measures.

I was intrigued by the premise of this whodunnit, but afraid it would fail to entertain. Fortunately, the movie knows when to break its own rules to breathe and explore new directions. The movie starts slow but after about 15 minutes picks up pace and never drops it. The plot has a bagful of twists to entertain you, then as soon as you think it's done there's one more, and one more, then some more for good measure. All in only 1h45min of runtime that will never let you get bored. If every twist is simple and credible enough, the overall plot strains credulity, but no more than a typical movie of the genre. Apart from Lambert Wilson, the actors lack a little in charisma, but there's a refreshing simplicity to their roles and dialogues that makes them likeable. Where the movie is weak in my opinion is how it tries to link various plot elements to the sotry told by the book, which could have worked but feels artificial because the book doesn't have a separate existence. The whole 'translating' twist was a little underused, except in a dazzling scene where unfortunately it ends up making little difference. I watched the movie twice back to back and enjoyed it both times. A solid 8/10.

Details

Official Sites:

Company presentation Official site [Japan]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

Italian Portuguese Danish Russian French English Greek Mandarin Spanish

Release Date:

29 January 2020 (France)

Also Known As:

Les traducteurs

Box Office

Budget:

EUR10,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,940,700

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trésor Films, Mars Films, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1