Sympathy for the Devil (2019)

In an urban war zone where everything that moves is a target, Paul tries to live, love and inform.

Director:

Guillaume de Fontenay

Writers:

Guillaume Vigneault, Guillaume de Fontenay

Stars:

Niels Schneider, Vincent Rottiers, Ella Rumpf

8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Niels Schneider	...	Paul Marchand
Vincent Rottiers	...	Vincent
Ella Rumpf	...	Boba
Arieh Worthalter	...	Ken
Clément Métayer	...	Philippe, le caméraman
Elisa Lasowski	...	Louise
Luc Van Grunderbeeck	...	Le commandant des Nations Unies
Martin Swabey	...	Le lieutenant
Diego Martín	...	Luis, le journaliste espagnol
Adnan Omerovic	...	Marko
Mark Irons	...	Le journaliste anglais (as Marc Irons)
Izudin Bajrovic	...	Oncle Dusan
Davor Golubovic	...	Le capitaine serbe
Mario Knezovic	...	Danir
Adi Dedovic	...	Adi

Storyline

1992, war is raging in what will become Ex-Yugoslavia. Paul is covering the siege of Sarajevo. Flamboyant dandy, loud mouth, adrenaline junkie, provocative cigar-smoker, Paul Marchand is the war correspondent archetype. Racing through Sniper's Alley in his white Ford, the Frenchman relentlessly tells the apathetic western world about the ongoing massacre . In a urban war zone where everything that moves is a target, Paul tries to live, love and inform. How much can he endure before he starts taking up arms?

---

Plot Keywords:

male full frontal nudity | inspired by true events | based on real person | voice over | voice over narration | 

---

Genres:

War

---

Did You Know?

Trivia

After his wound healed, Paul Marchand went in Chechnya to cover this war and commit suicide by hanging in 2009.

User Reviews

Profession: reporter

"Sympathie pour le diable" is with no doubt one of the great films of the year 2019. But with a rather unpleasant main character and a subject as unglamorous as the Sarajevo siege in the early 1990s, I don't think it will encounter a large success and it is a shame. Very well recreated and featuring very convincing actors, "Sympathie pour le diable" deserves indeed some attention -- and love from movie-goers. Guillaume de Fontenay, the director, knew Paul Marchand who is the central figure of the film. A fearless war reporter, Marchand covered the Bosnian war for several French-speaking media (France Info, Radio Canada, RTBF...). In Sarajevo, which was surrounded by Serb forces constantly firing off mortar shells, Marchand and a handful of foreign correspondents gave daily accounts of the dreadful situation and devastation most Bosnians were in, between snipers shootings and bombings. The journalists had to rush with their cameras, microphones and notepads to capture the 'essence' of the civil war and try to catch the attention of the rest of the world about the ongoing massacre. And when they were not doing that, they killed time as they could. Very realistic, "Sympathie pour le diable" brings you there, in the middle of an ugly war, at the heart of a never ending winter, always following closely Marchand and his team. Niels Schneider delivers a very good interpretation. Paul Marchand was no saint (he could be very critical of his colleagues' work for instance, or make compromising arrangements to get the best news), but was able to do some good whenever he wanted or when it was necessary. A real tribute to his work ethics, "Sympathie pour le diable" is a gripping first film that leaves you often breathless and makes you think long after its ending.

Details

Official Sites:

Festival (French) Producer (French)

Country:

France Canada Belgium

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 November 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sympathy for the Devil

Filming Locations:

Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,144, 1 December 2019

Gross USA:

$51,150

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$114,301

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monkey Pack Films, Go Films, Logical Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1