J'embrasse pas (1991)

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

Isabelle Coudrier-Kleist (contributing writer)
Michel Grisolia (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

20 November 1991 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

I'll do almost anything for money. ...but I don't kiss.

Plot:

A young man leaves his native town in southern France to discover Paris. Being too unexperienced and too naive...

Plot Keywords:

France | Pimp | Sex | Prostitution | Male Rape

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Philippe Noiret	...	Romain
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Ingrid
Manuel Blanc	...	Pierre Lacaze
Hélène Vincent	...	Evelyne
Ivan Desny	...	Dimitri
Christophe Bernard	...	Le Mac
Roschdy Zem	...	Saïd
Raphaëline Goupilleau	...	Mireille
Michèle Moretti	...	Professeur d'art dramatique
Philippe Adam	...	Professeur d'art dramatique
Jean-Christophe Bouvet	...	Le client au bois
Paulette Bouvet	...	La mère d'Evelyne
Kleber Bouzzone
Valery Caucigh
Serge Caytan
Jean-Daniel Delrieux
Jacques Goujon
Martine Grimbert
Frank Kirson
Clotilde Le Grand
Marc Lemasson
Max McCarthy
Reginaldo
David Nalepka
Jorge Pereira
Françoise Pont
David Rouvelou
Xavier Schliwanski
Nathalie Schmidt	...	Marguerite, assistante de Romain
Arnaud Simon
Guillaume Vial
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grégory Herpe	...	Le Bel Etudiant (uncredited)

Directed by
André Téchiné

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Isabelle Coudrier-Kleist		contributing writer
Michel Grisolia		writer
Jacques Nolot		screenplay
Jacques Nolot		story
André Téchiné		writer

Produced by
Maurice Bernart	....	producer
Alain Centonze	....	executive producer
Jean Labadie	....	producer
Jacques-Eric Strauss	....	producer

Original Music by
Philippe Sarde

Cinematography by
Thierry Arbogast

Film Editing by
Claudine Merlin
Edith Vassart

Production Design by
Vincent Mateu-Ferreur

Costume Design by
Claire Fraisse

Production Management
Jean-Jacques Albert	....	production manager
Catherine Chouridis	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Didier Carrel	....	assistant director
Didier Charles	....	trainee assistant director
Philippe Landoulsi	....	assistant director
Michel Nasri	....	second assistant director
Catherine Puertas	....	first assistant director

Sound Department
Jacques Lévy	....	post-synchronization
Jérôme Lévy	....	foley artist
Jean-Luc Marino	....	assistant sound editor
Jean-Louis Ughetto	....	sound
Claude Villand	....	sound

Special Effects by
Philippe Hubin	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Pierre Gros d'Aillon	....	still photographer
Aleksander Kaufmann	....	assistant camera
Jeanne Lapoirie	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Jacques Grant	....	casting coordinator

Editorial Department
Yvan Lucas	....	color timer

Music Department
Hubert Bougis	....	orchestrator
Harry Rabinowitz	....	conductor

Other crew
Michèle Andreucci	....	script supervisor
Vincent Mateu-Ferreur	....	decoration
Cécilia Mignon	....	administrator
Florence Ridoux	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Bac Films
• Ciné Cinq
• Gruppo Bema
• Président Films
• Salomé

Distributors

• Bac Films (1991) (France) (theatrical)
• Studio Canal (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Cine Company S.A. (Spain)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (1994) (Argentina) (VHS)

Also Known As:

I Don't Kiss
Niente baci sulla bocca (Italy)

Runtime:

France:115 min | Japan:107 min (cut version) | Argentina:115 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Mont-de-Marsan, Landes, France

Company:

Bac Films

Soundtrack:

Lenda das Sereias, Rainha do Mar

A masterly character study

I am unable to escape the impression that French cinema has lost its way in recent years. So many examples I see are shallow and trite. A few of the old masters are still around. Chabrol was almost back on form with "La Ceremonie" (1995) and Rohmer can generally be called upon to delight, particularly with work as agreeable as "Conte d'Hiver" (1992). But what of the younger generation? Erick Zonca's "The Dream Life of Angels" (1998) was a work of masterly perception but it seems to be a one-off. However, although not on this level the films of Andre Techine are worth exploring. I did not much care for "Les Voleurs", a conventional heist film: "The Young Reeds", although infinitely more interesting, showed some signs of strain in its struggle to focus on a wide range of characters (Techine is no Edward Yang). However of his works I have so far seen I would commend "J'embrasse pas" as a welcome ray of light in the French darkness. Although, as in Techine's other work, there is still rather too much peripheral detail that does not always illumine the situation of the central character, there is no denying that this is a masterly study of a young country innocent who comes to Paris to make a career for himself, totally unaware of his intellectual and social limitations. In Manuel Blanc's Pierre we have one of the outstanding performances of French cinema. We are able to empathise with this young man to an extraordinary extent, so much so that our gradual understanding of his shortcomings is a process almost as slow as his. When he breaks down during an unsuccessful attempt to get into a stage character he is trying to portray we feel his humiliation deeply. Although Pierre is heterosexual his adoption of the role of a rentboy after this is all part of the process of the inevitable downward spiral. That he emerges from degrading experiences unbeaten and ready to take on Paris for a second time reveals that he has gained a certain strength if only through learning to posture. Psychologically it all rings terribly true.